Darejan Dadiani

Darejan Dadiani, also known as Daria (Georgian: ; ) (20 July 1738 – 8 November 1807), was Queen Consort of Kakheti, and later Kartli-Kakheti in Eastern Georgia, as the third wife of King Erekle II (also known as Heraclius II). She was a daughter of Katsia-Giorgi Dadiani, a member of the princely house of Mingrelia. Darajan married Heraclius in 1750 and their marriage lasted 48 years until his death in 1798; the union produced 23 children. In the final years of her husband's reign, Darejan exerted significant influence on politics and court affairs. She was skeptical of the pro-Russian policies of Heraclius II and his successor, her step-son, George XII, whose progeny she tried to prevent from succeeding to the throne of Georgia. After the Russian annexation of Georgia, Queen Dowager Darejan was deported to Russia proper in 1803. She died in St. Petersburg at the age of 69 and was buried at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. Early life and marriage Darejan was a daughter of Prince Katsia-Giorgi Dadiani, a younger son of Bezhan Dadiani, Prince of Mingrelia in western Georgia. She was only 12 years old in 1750, when Heraclius, then reigning in Kakheti, chose her as his third wife, a year after his second wife, Princess Ana Abashidze, died. The marriage was negotiated on Heraclius's behalf by his relative, Princess Khoreshan, daughter of the late King of Kartli Jesse and wife of Prince Jesse Amilakhvari. The bride was brought by Khoreshan and Saba, Bishop of Ninotsminda, to Surami, where Heraclius met her. The wedding was then lavishly celebrated at the court of Heraclius's father, Teimuraz II, King of Kartli, in Tbilisi. In 1762, Heraclius of Kakheti succeeded on his father's death as king of Kartli, thus uniting both eastern Georgian kingdoms into a single state. Issue of succession The couple's first better documented child, Princess Elene, was born in 1753, followed by 22 more between 1755 and 1782. As her sons grew up, Darejan's desire to secure the right of succession for her offspring against Heraclius's eldest surviving son of his second marriage to Anna Abashidze, the Crown Prince George, became the cornerstone of Darejan's involvement in the politics of Georgia. In the last years of Heraclius II's life, she became more involved and influential.