Mamia III Gurieli

Who was Mamia III Gurieli?

Mamia III "the Great", of the Gurieli, also known as the Black Gurieli was Prince of Guria from 1689 to 1714 and King of Imereti in 1701–02, 1711 and 1713.

A son of Giorgi III Gurieli, he deposed and blinded his uncle Malkhaz Gurieli and became prince of Guria in 1689. Through a flexible policy and maneuvering between his formal suzerains – the Ottoman Empire and the Kingdom of Imereti – he expanded his principality and helped his brother-in-law Simon to become king of Imereti in 1699. In 1701, however, he conspired with the nobles of Imereti and allowed them to murder Simon, being crowned himself king of Imereti. A year later, he was deposed by Prince Giorgi-Malakia Abashidze who usurped the crown and forced Mamia to retire to Guria. In 1703, Mamia was forced to submit to the Turkish invasion, ceding the Batumi province to the Ottomans. In October 1711, he expelled George VII of Imereti and reestablished himself as king of Imereti, leaving Guria to his son Giorgi IV Gurieli. In June 1712, George VII reclaimed the crown, but eventually Mamia gained an upper hand and deposed George in November 1713. Mamia died shortly thereafter and George VII was restored once again.