Rostom of Imereti

Rostom
Fresco of Rostom from the Gelati Monastery.
King of Imereti
1st reign1588–1589
PredecessorLevan
SuccessorBagrat IV
2nd reign1590–1605
PredecessorBagrat IV
SuccessorGeorge III
Born1571 (1571)
Died1605 (aged 33–34)
SpouseTinatin Jaqeli
DynastyBagrationi
FatherPrince Constantine of Imereti (died 1587)
MotherElene
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church
KhelrtvaRostom's signature

Rostom (Georgian: როსტომი) (1571–1605), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king (mepe) of Imereti in the periods of 1588–1589 and 1590–1605.

Biography

A son of Prince Constantine, sometime claimant to the crown of Imereti, and his wife, Princess Elene Gurieli (died 1605), daughter of Rostom Gurieli, Prince of Guria. He was raised to the throne through the support of Mamia IV Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia, who had deposed King Levan of Imereti in 1588. Rostom's authority was defied, however, by his ostensible vassal George II Gurieli, prince of Guria, who employed an Ottoman force to dethrone the king in favor of Rostom's relative Bagrat IV.

Rostom fled to Mingrelia, from where he continued struggle for the crown. The eastern Georgian king Simon I of Kartli exploited the situation and brought most of Imereti under his control. Rostom fled to Mingrelia, with Manuchar I Dadiani, who rejected Simon's ultimatum and moved into Imereti. He defeated Simon at Opshkviti and ousted him from Imereti in 1590.[1]

Rostom was reinstated as king of Imereti and made peace with Simon. His authority was largely nominal though, and the power was effectively held by a Georgian aristocratic élite, most notably by the Prince of Mingrelia. Although Rostom was married to Princess Tinatin Jaqeli (d. 1610), he died childless in 1605 and was succeeded by his half-brother George III.

References

  1. ^ Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition, p. 49. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-20915-3