| Ekateriné Dadiani-Chavchavadze | |
|---|---|
| Princess Regent of Megrelia | |
| Ekateriné Dadiani painted by Franz Xaver Winterhalter | |
| Reign | 30 August 1853 – 1866 |
| Predecessor | David, Prince of Megrelia |
| Successor | Niko, Prince of Megrelia |
| Full name | |
| Ekateriné Alexandres asuli Dadiani-Chavchavadze | |
| Father | Prince Alexander Chavchavadze |
| Mother | Princess Salomé Orbeliani |
| Born | March 19, 1816 Cinandali estates |
| Died | August 25, 1882 (aged 66) |
Princess Ekateriné Dadiani (Georgian: ეკატერინე დადიანი, née Chavchavadze [[March 19, 1816 - died August 13, 1882) was a prominent 19th century Georgian aristocrat and the last ruling princess of the Western Georgian Principality of Megrelia in southeastern Europe. She played an important role in resisting the Ottoman influence in her principality and was at the center of Georgian high society, both inside the country and abroad.
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Ekateriné was born to a distinguished Georgian noble family from Eastern Georgia. Her father was Prince Alexander Chavchavadze, a notable Georgian general and a godchild of Catherine the Great of Russia.[1] Her mother was Princess Salomé Orbeliani, a great-granddaughter of Erekle II (Heraclius II) of Eastern Georgia. Her younger sister Princess Nino was married to Aleksandr Griboyedov, a famous Russian playwright, composer, and diplomat. Ekateriné's older sister Princess Sophie was married to Count Alexandr Nikolai, the minister of education of Imperial Russia.[1]
On December 19, 1838 Ekateriné married the Hereditary Prince of Megrelia, David Dadiani, who in two years became monarch of the principality after the retirement of his father, Levan V of Megrelia.[2] In 1853 David died and Ekateriné quickly assumed the responsibilities of her late husband, rising from relative obscurity. Recognizing her as regent of Megrelia on behalf of her son Prince Niko,[2] Nicholas I of Russia assigned her a regency council which included the brothers of her late husband, Prince Gregory and Prince Constantine.
During the Crimean War, Turks sent a considerable force to Megrelia, occupying significant parts of the principality and forcing Ekateriné to flee for security reasons. She soon received a threatening letter from the commanding Turkish general Omar Pasha demanding her surrender, as well as the transfer of her son's principality to the Ottoman Empire. Refusing to dignify Pasha's letter with an answer, Ekateriné assumed control of the Megrelian forces and organized successful counter-attacks which inflicted serious damage on the invading Turks.
The Crimean War soon ended in 1856 with the Treaty of Paris and Princess Dadiani was re-instated as regent, receiving an invitation to the coronation of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. She attended the ceremony with her children, as well as her sister, Nino. According to the Russian memoirist K.A. Borozdin, Ekateriné retained "the luster of her beauty" and looked extraordinary in her "original and richly decorated costume." The memoirist, like many others in modern-day Georgia, refers to Princess Dadiani as the "Megrelian Queen" and states that at the coronation ball everyone was "delighted with (Ekateriné), her sister, children, and entourage."
In 1856 Ekateriné left the Megrelian principality to General George Dadiani and moved to live in Tsarskoe Selo, the residence of the Russian Imperial Family, where she became one of the "ladies of the court." In 1857 she was forced to return to Georgia because of the peasant uprising organized by a Megrelian smith, Uta Miqava. On May 12, the rebels took control of the province's capital Zugdid, forcing Princess Dadiani to request help from Russia. Having already effectively annexed Eastern Georgia, Russia eagerly intervened, subdued the uprising, and asked Ekateriné to move to Saint Petersburg on the pretext of facilitating her children's education and upbringing there. Her departure and the establishment of a "temporary" Russian military authority in Megrelia marked the de facto abolition of the principality.[2]
After moving to Russia, Ekateriné kept her private salon in Tsarskoe Selo open to the Georgian and Russian intelligentsia. After living there for nearly ten years, she moved to Paris where her daughter Princess Salomé already lived with her French husband, Prince Achille Murat. In the final years of her life, Princess Ekateriné moved back to Western Georgia, then officially part of the Russian Empire, and lived there to the end. She was interred in the medieval Eastern Orthodox monastery of Martvili.
| Image | Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prince Nikolas | 4 January 1847 | 22 January 1903 | Elder son | |
| Prince Andria | 1850 | 1910 | Younger son | |
| Princess Salomé | 12 January 1848 | 27 July 1913 | Daughter |