13 Facts About Irakli Gruzinsky

Irakli Gruzinsky was a Georgian prince belonging to the House of Bagrationi and a colonel in the Russian Imperial army.

Irakli Gruzinsky was a grandson of Heraclius II, the penultimate king of Georgia, and the son of Prince Alexander, a staunch opponent of the Russian possession of Georgia.

Prince Irakli was born in Erivan, then part of the Persian Empire, in 1826.

Irakli Gruzinsky's mother was Mariam, daughter of Sahak Melik-Aghamalyan, the influential Armenian dignitary of Erivan.

Mariam and Irakli Gruzinsky lived in Erivan until 1834, when they were moved by the Russian government to St Petersburg, where Irakli Gruzinsky received his military training, first at the Alexandrovsky Military College and then the Page Corps.

Prince Irakli Gruzinsky saw his first promotion to lieutenant in 1845 for his conduct during the expedition against the Lesgians in the Caucasus War, a year after his father died in exile in Tabriz.

Irakli Gruzinsky was transferred to the Regiment of Mounted Grenadiers in 1852 and retired with the rank of colonel in 1855.

Irakli Gruzinsky rejoined the Caucasian Army in 1858, but retired shortly thereafter due to failing health.

Irakli Gruzinsky was recognized in the title of Prince Gruzinsky, literally, "of Georgia", in 1833 and granted the style of Serene Highness, for himself and his male-line descendants in 1865.

Irakli Gruzinsky was an object of romantic affection of Bertha von Suttner, an Austrian novelist and the first woman to become a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, but Prince Irakli did not reciprocate.

Prince Irakli Gruzinsky died in Paris aged 56 and was buried at the cathedral of Mtskheta in Georgia.

Prince Irakli Gruzinsky was married to Tamara, daughter of Lieutenant-General Prince David Chavchavadze.

Irakli Gruzinsky first became known to the larger public at the age of two when she was part of the Chavchavadze family abducted and held in captivity for ten months by Imam Shamil's men in 1854 during the Crimean War.