Ashotan I, Prince of Mukhrani

Ashotan I (Georgian: აშოთან I მუხრანბატონი, Ashot'an I Mukhranbatoni) (died 1561) was a Georgian tavadi ("prince") of the House of Mukhrani, a collateral branch of the royal Bagrationi dynasty, and a co-prince (batoni) of Mukhrani from 1539 to 1561.

Ashotan was a son of Bagrat I, son of Constantine II of Georgia, by his wife Elene. After the resignation of Bagrat in 1539, Ashotan acceded as co-prince with his elder brother Vakhtang I.[1] At the same time, he was commander of the Banner of Shida Kartli, one of the key provinces of the Kingdom of Kartli, a successor of the Kingdom of Georgia ruled by his royal cousins.[2] Ashotan followed the tradition of the Georgian royals of patronizing the Iviron monastery on Mount Athos.[3] A refectory at the Iviron commissioned by Ashotan housed the tomb of Catholicos Nicholas V of Georgia. During the Safavid invasion of Georgia in 1554, Ashotan joined his brothers, Vakhtang and Archil, in their refuge at the court of their sister, Dedisimedi, in Samtskhe. Back to his demesne, Ashotan successfully defended Mukhrani against the attack by the highlanders of Pkhovi in 1561, but he himself died in the battle.[2]

The identity of Ashotan's wife is not known, but he had a daughter, Ketevan (c. 1560 – 13 September 1624), who was married to King David I of Kakheti. She was tortured to death at the order of Shah Abbas I of Persia for having refused to convert to Islam and was subsequently canonized as a saint by the Georgian Orthodox Church.[4]

  1. ^ Toumanoff, Cyrille (1990). Les dynasties de la Caucasie Chrétienne: de l'Antiquité jusqu'au XIXe siècle: tables généalogiques et chronologique [Dynasties of Christian Caucasia from Antiquity to the 19th century: genealogical and chronological tables] (in French). Rome. p. 556.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b Jamburia, M. (1984). "აშოთან მუხრანბატონი [Ashotan Mukhranbatoni]". ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია, ტ. 7 [Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia] (in Georgian). Tbilisi. p. 230.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Davitashvili (2010). "ორი აშოთან მუხრანბატონის მოღვაწეობის კვალი ათონის წმ. მთაზე" [Traces of activity of the two Ashotan Mukhranbatoni on the holy Mount Athos]. Christian Researches (in Georgian). 5. Tbilisi State University: 9–17. ISSN 1987-7129. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  4. ^ Avalishvili, Zurab (1937). "T'eimuraz I and his poem "the Martyrdom of Queen K'et'evan"". Georgica. 4–5: 17.