duchy · Caucasus
Duchy of Aragvi
Origins
The upper Aragvi valley lay on the route that later became the Georgian Military Road through the Darial Pass. From the late 14th century the eristavis of Aragvi held the region hereditarily, first under the Kingdom of Georgia and after 1490 as vassals of the Kingdom of Kartli.
Rule and society
The dukes commanded the mountaineers of Mtiuleti, Gudamakari and the Pshav and Khevsur communities and could field large armies. Their fortress of Ananuri, with its 17th-century churches, overlooked the road. Ambitious dukes such as Nugzar and Zurab played major roles in Kartli's politics; Zurab helped defeat Persian forces in 1625 before being killed on the king's orders in 1629.
Decline and legacy
Feuds with the dukes of Ksani, who stormed Ananuri in 1739, and rebellions against the crown weakened the house. In 1743 King Teimuraz II abolished the duchy and annexed it to the Kingdom of Kartli.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Duchy of Aragvi was part of Kingdom of Georgia1380 CE – 1490 CE
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Aragvi. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-aragvi
- MLA
- “Duchy of Aragvi.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-aragvi. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Aragvi.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-aragvi.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Aragvi’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-aragvi (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻