Principado de Svaneti

El Principado de Svaneti ( en georgiano : სვანეთის სამთავრო , romanizado : svanetis samtavro ) fue un pequeño principado ( samtavro ) en la región de Svaneti , en las montañas del Gran Cáucaso , que surgió tras la desintegración del Reino de Georgia a finales del siglo XV. Fue gobernado sucesivamente por las casas de Gelovani y Dadeshkeliani , y fue anexionado al Imperio ruso en 1858.

Svaneti se encuentra en el noroeste de Georgia , a lo largo de dos amplios valles de tierras altas situados al sur del monte Elbrus : el valle superior del río Enguri al oeste y el valle superior del Tskhenistskali y su afluente, el Kheladula, al este. En el período de la unidad georgiana (1008-1463), fue un ducado ( saeristavo ) dentro del reino bagrátida de Georgia, gobernado primero por la casa de Vardanidze desde finales del siglo XI hasta el siglo XIV, y luego por la de Gelovani, que se estableció como príncipes prácticamente independientes cuando Georgia se fragmentó, en la década de 1460 (oficialmente 1490/1491), en tres reinos —Kartli , Kakheti e Imereti— y varios principados regionales y enclaves feudales. ^{[ 1 ]}

Una serie de invasiones otomanas y guerras civiles en el oeste de Georgia provocaron la interrupción de las comunicaciones y el creciente aislamiento de las regiones montañosas. En Svaneti, el sistema feudal medieval se derrumbó y la otrora floreciente cultura ortodoxa georgiana regional entró en decadencia, llegando incluso a retomar algunas prácticas paganas. Los habitantes de las tierras altas de Svaneti se atrincheraron en sus aldeas de difícil acceso, fortificadas con cadenas de torres defensivas , y solo participaron pasivamente en la agitación que asolaba Georgia, lo que explica la relativa escasez de registros escritos sobre Svaneti de ese período. Sus relaciones con los vecinos del otro lado de la cordillera del Cáucaso, principalmente Kabardia y los Balkares , solían ser hostiles, aunque el comercio a través de los pasos de montaña y los matrimonios entre familias nobles también eran comunes.

Los dos valles de Svaneti

= Alto Svaneti = Bajo Svaneti

= Valle de Kodori, que también tiene una población svan.

Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Svaneti fragmented into three political entities. The first, Lower Svaneti in the upper Tskhenistskali valley, dominated by the clans of Gelovani and Gardabkhadze, was gradually subjugated by the Dadiani princes of Mingrelia and came to be known as Dadiani Svaneti. The second, Upper Svaneti, lay along the upper reaches of the Enguri river for whose control the families of Richgviani and Dadeshkeliani vied. The latter clan emerged as the eventual winners by the 1720s and established their rule on the territory to the west of the Enguri, which henceforth came to be known as Dadeshkeliani Svaneti (Principality of Svaneti). The communities to the east of the Enguri seceded, however, and organized themselves into a confederation of clans which was deprived of any centralized government and was known as "Free Svaneti".

In the 1820s, the Principality of Svaneti effectively split into two as a result of a blood feud between the rival Dadeshkeliani branches. Through the mediation by the princes of Mingrelia, both branches accepted nominal Russian suzerainty in 1833 as did the Free Svanetian communities in 1840. Nevertheless, they continued to run their affairs independently and did not allow Russian officials or church missions into the area until the late 1840s.

Continuing dynastic strife among the Dadishkeliani, their defiance to the Russian government, and vacillation during the Crimean War (1854–1856), however, led to direct Russian intervention. In 1857, Prince Alexander Baryatinsky, Viceroy of the Caucasus, ordered Svaneti to be subdued by armed force. The ruling prince of Svaneti, Constantine, chose to negotiate, but was ordered into exile to Erivan. On a farewell audience in Kutaisi, he quarreled with a local Russian administrator, Alexander Gagarin, and stabbed him to death along with three of his staff. When captured, Constantine was summarily tried by court martial and shot. In 1858, the principality was abolished and converted into a district administered by a Russian-appointed officer (pristav). Several members of the Dadeshekeliani family were exiled to the remote Russian provinces and those who remained in Georgia were deprived of their autonomous powers.^[2]

• Svaneti uprising of 1875–1876