Japaridze (noble family)

Princely Coat of Arms of the Japaridze family

The Japaridze family (Armenian: ջափարիձեն) is an ancient Georgian noble family, originated in the Duchy of Racha, known from c. 1400.[1]

History

A family legend recorded by Prince Ioann of Georgia in his genealogical treatise holds it that the Japaridze family descended from the Mongol ("Chingisid-armenia") officer in Racha called Som'ekh whose scions later converted to Armenian Orthodox Christianity and were ennobled by the Kings of Armenia. The Japaridze family formed several lines: a princely one in the Kingdom of Imereti, and a petite noble branches in the kingdoms of Kartli, Kakheti, and Imereti.[2]

Under the Russian rule, after annexation of Georgia, the family was incorporated into the Russian nobility and in 1850 received the hereditary title of Knyaz in the Russian Empire.[3][4] The title can be inherited only by the legitimate male-line descendants. That means that legitimate male members of the family were entitled to the rank of knyaz, while legitimate female born members were also entitled to the rank of knyaginya, but without the right to transmit their title to their offspring when they get married.

Notable members

Former residence of Agrippina Japaridze in Tbilisi, currently a museum

References

  1. ^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p. 272. Georgetown University Press.
  2. ^ Bagrationi, Ioane (1768-1830). Japaridze (Princes of Imereti). The Brief Description of the Georgian Noble Houses. Retrieved on December 19, 2007.
  3. ^ (in Russian) Джапаридзе. Russian Biographic Lexicon. Retrieved on December 19, 2007.
  4. ^ https://russiannobility.org/georgian-nobility-in-the-russian-empire/
  5. ^ (in Russian) Fedorchenko, Valery Ivanovich (2003), Дом Романовых: энциклопедия биографий (The House of Romanov: Encyclopedia of Biographies), p. 58. Olma Media Group, ISBN 5-7867-0097-6