Europe · Reformation to revolution
Principality of Svaneti
drawn on the map 1721–1833
The Principality of Svaneti (Georgian Svanetis samtavro) was a remote highland principality in the upper Inguri and Tskhenistsqali valleys of the Great Caucasus, one of the most isolated and defensible regions of Georgia, famous for its clustered stone defensive tower-houses. Free (upper) Svaneti retained a largely clan-based, quasi-independent society, while lower Svaneti fell under princely houses (the Dadeshkeliani in the west, and lords linked to the Dadianis).
- Shown on the map
- 1721–1833
- Peak area
- 3k km²
- Region
- Europe
Overview
The Principality of Svaneti (Georgian Svanetis samtavro) was a remote highland principality in the upper Inguri and Tskhenistsqali valleys of the Great Caucasus, one of the most isolated and defensible regions of Georgia, famous for its clustered stone defensive tower-houses. Free (upper) Svaneti retained a largely clan-based, quasi-independent society, while lower Svaneti fell under princely houses (the Dadeshkeliani in the west, and lords linked to the Dadianis). It emerged as an autonomous unit in the fragmentation of the Georgian kingdom and remained nominally attached to Imereti/Mingrelia. Its inaccessibility preserved archaic Georgian Christian traditions, manuscripts, and icons (Svaneti is a treasury of medieval Georgian art). Russia absorbed Svaneti in stages during the 19th century, abolishing the last princely authority by the 1850s–1860s.
Common questions
- What was the Principality of Svaneti?
- The Principality of Svaneti (Georgian Svanetis samtavro) was a remote highland principality in the upper Inguri and Tskhenistsqali valleys of the Great Caucasus, one of the most isolated and defensible regions of Georgia, famous for its clustered stone defensive tower-houses. Free (upper) Svaneti retained a largely clan-based, quasi-independent society, while lower Svaneti fell under princely houses (the Dadeshkeliani in the west, and lords linked to the Dadianis).
- When is the Principality of Svaneti shown on the map?
- The border data draws the Principality of Svaneti 1721–1833. The source samples borders at fixed dates, so a span can begin late or run on past the end.
- How large was the Principality of Svaneti?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, the Principality of Svaneti covered about 3,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each beylik, khanate and principality as the primary basis, with Encyclopædia Britannica, the World History Encyclopedia, museum and academic sources (the Baku Presidential Library on the Shirvanshahs, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum on the Armenian Genocide) and the historiography of early Ottoman state formation (Wittek, Lindner, Kafadar, Lowry). The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Principality of Svaneti en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Svaneti
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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