Bagrationi in the context of "Unification of the Georgian realm"

The collapse of the Georgian realm (Georgian: ქართული სახელმწიფოს დაშლა, romanized: kartuli sakhelmts'ipos dashla) was a political and territorial fragmentation process that resulted in the dynastic triumvirate military conflict of the Bagrationi monarchs and war of succession in the united Kingdom of Georgia culminating during the second half of the 15th century.

The fragmentation of the unified realm started in the 13th century during the Mongol invasions that resulted in the establishment of de facto independent Kingdom of Western Georgia led by King David VI Narin and his successors, even though several reunifications would take place that would then bring back monarchy united in fold.

The Kingdom of Imereti (Georgian: იმერეთის სამეფო, romanized: imeretis samepo) was a Georgian monarchy established in 1463 by a member of the house of Bagrationi when the Kingdom of Georgia was dissolved into rival kingdoms. Before that time, Imereti was considered a separate kingdom within the Kingdom of Georgia, of which a cadet branch of the Bagrationi royal family held the crown.

The realm was conquered by George V the Brilliant and once again united with the east Kingdom of Georgia. From 1463 onward, however, Imereti became a constant battleground between Georgian and Ottoman forces for several centuries, resulting in the kingdom's progressive decline due to this ongoing instability. These threats pushed local Georgian rulers to seek closer ties with Tsardom of Russia. In 1649, Imereti sent ambassadors to the Russian royal court and Russia returned favor in 1651. In the presence of Russian ambassadors, Alexander III of Imereti swore an oath of allegiance to Tsar Alexis of Russia. However, internal conflicts among Georgian royalty continued and, although Alexander III briefly managed to control all of Western Georgia, this consolidation was short lived. By the time of his death in 1660, Western Georgia was still in a state of flux. In this chaotic period, Archil of Imereti was enthroned and deposed several times. His efforts to secure assistance from Russia and, later, Pope Innocent XII proved unsuccessful and he was finally exiled to Russia.

Eristavi (Georgian: ერისთავი; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, it was the title of the third rank of prince and governor of a large province. Holders of the title were ex-officio commanders of a military 'banner', wore a distinctive dress, ring, belt and spear and rode a particular breed of horse.

Some high-ranking eristavis were also titled as eristavt-eristavi (Georgian: ერისთავთ-ერისთავი), i.e. "duke of dukes" or archduke but it is improbable that the holder of the title had any subordinate eristavis. Erismtavari (Georgian: ერისმთავარი; literally, "chief of the people" or grand duke) was a similar title chiefly endowed upon the pre-Bagratid rulers of Iberia (Eastern Georgia) and later used interchangeably with the eristavi.

David III Kuropalates (Georgian: დავით III კურაპალატი, Davit’ III Kurapalati) or David III the Great (დავით III დიდი, Davit’ III Didi), also known as David II, (c. 930s – 1000/1001) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao, a historic region in the Georgian–Armenian marchlands, from 966 until his murder in 1000 or 1001. Kuropalates was a Byzantine courtier title bestowed upon him in 978 and again in 990.

David is best known for his crucial assistance to the Byzantine Macedonian dynasty in the 976–9 civil war and his unique role in the political unification of various Georgian polities as well as his patronage of Christian culture and learning. Between 987 and 989, David joined his friend Bardas Phocas in a revolt against the Byzantine emperor Basil II, but was defeated and agreed to cede his lands to the empire on his death. Yet he was able to secure for his heir, Bagrat III, an opportunity to become the first ruler of a unified Georgian kingdom.

The House of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family that is a branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi, from which it sprang early in the 16th century, receiving in appanage the domain of Mukhrani, in the Kingdom of Kartli. The family — currently the seniormost genealogical line of the entire Bagrationi dynasty — has since been known as Mukhranbatoni (Georgian: მუხრანბატონი lit. 'Lords (batoni) of Mukhrani').

An elder branch of the house of Mukhrani, now extinct, furnished five royal sovereigns of Kartli between 1658 and 1724. Its descendants bore the Imperial Russian titles of Prince Gruzinsky (Грузи́нский, გრუზინსკი) and Princes Bagration (Багратион, ბაგრატიონი). Another branch, presiding in Mukhrani as tavadi and received among the princely nobility of Russia under the name of Bagration of Mukhrani (Bagration-Mukhransky; Багратион-Мухранский; Bagration-Mukhraneli, ბაგრატიონ-მუხრანელი), still flourishes and has, since 1957, claimed to be the Royal House of Georgia by virtue of being the genealogically eldest surviving line of the Bagrationi dynasty. David Bagration of Mukhrani has been the head of this house since January 16, 2008.