View source for Prince Alexander of Kartli (1726–1791)

{{Short description|Georgian prince}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Alexander Gruzinsky
| image        = A. Antropov. Alexander Bakarovich Gruzinsky. 1761.jpg
| caption      = Alexander by [[Aleksey Antropov]]
| succession   =
| reign        =
| predecessor  =
| successor    =
| spouse       = Daria Menshikova
| issue        = [[Georgy Gruzinsky]] <br>[[Ana Gruzinsky Galitzine]] <br>[[Darejan-Daria Gruzinsky]]
| full name    =
| house        = [[Bagrationi dynasty]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Prince Bakar of Kartli]]
| mother       = Ana [[Eristavi]]
| birth_date   = 1726
| birth_place  =
| death_date   = 1791
| death_place  =
| burial_date  =
| occupation   =
| burial_place =
| religion     = [[Georgian Orthodox Church]]
}}
'''Alexander, son of Bakar''' ({{lang-ka|ალექსანდრე ბაქარის ძე}}) or '''Aleksandr Bakarovich Gruzinsky''' ({{langx|ru|Александр Бакарович Грузинский}}) (1726–1791) was a [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] [[batonishvili|royal prince]]. Born in [[Russian Empire|Russia]] into the [[House of Mukhrani|Mukhrani]] branch of the Georgian [[Bagrationi|royal dynasty]], Alexander is known for his unsuccessful attempt to reclaim the crown of Georgia from his dynastic relatives ruling [[Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti|Eastern Georgia]]. At the request of [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Heraclius II]], Alexander was deported back to Russia where he was held in confinement by the Russian authorities until his death. In Russia, Alexander bore the surname of [[Gruzinsky]], meaning "Georgian".<ref name="DRRI">{{in lang|ru}} Grebelsky, P. Kh., Dumin, S. V., Lapin, V. V. (1993), Дворянские роды Российской империи (''Noble families of Russian Empire''), vol. 3, p. 48. IPK Vesti</ref>
== Early life and career ==
Alexander was the son of [[Bakar of Georgia|Bakar, Crown Prince]] who had followed his father [[Vakhtang VI of Kartli|Vakhtang VI]], the king of [[Kartli]], into exile to Russia in 1724. Alexander was born and raised in Russia. After incomplete studies at the [[Moscow University]], he enrolled into the [[Page Corps]] and then joined the Imperial Russian army, attaining the rank of a [[Poruchik|Captain-Poruchik]].<ref name="DRRI"/>
== Claimant to the Georgian throne ==
After Bakar's death, Alexander renewed his family's claims to the lost throne of Kartli, now held by their cousins from the neighbouring Kakheti. Alexander's unsanctioned attempts to make his way to Georgia, combined with his support of the [[Tsar]] [[Peter III of Russia]], led to him falling out of favour with the new Russian empress [[Catherine II of Russia]]. In 1766, the Russian government freed Alexander of his allegiance to Russia, depriving him of his military rank, and arranged his travel to the [[Caucasus]]. This came a year after Alexander's half-uncle, [[Prince Paata of Kartli|Prince Paata]], was executed for plotting a coup against the rule of the Kakhetian Bagrationi.
Alexander first travelled to [[Shiraz]] to garner the support of [[Iran]]'s ruler [[Karim Khan]] for his cause. Disappointed by Karim's reluctance to assist him, he found shelter at the court of [[Solomon I of Imereti|Solomon I]], the [[Kingdom of Imereti|king of Imereti]] in western Georgia in 1779. As Solomon's relations with his eastern neighbour, King [[Erekle II|Heraclius II of Kartli and Kakheti]], were not always easy, Alexander was welcomed in Imereti. From there, he entered Kartli and attempted a coup in [[Tbilisi]] while Heraclius was absent on a campaign in [[Erivan]] in 1779. The revolt was promptly suppressed and Alexander, accompanied by Prince [[Alexander Amilakhvari]], fled to the mountains of [[Dagestan]].
Anxious to eliminate the threat to his rule, Heraclius requested that the Russian government arrest Alexander. It was only after Georgia [[Treaty of Georgievsk|agreed]] to becoming a Russian protectorate in 1783 that [[Fatali Khan]] of Quba and Derbent was persuaded by the Russian government to surrender the pretender to the Georgian throne. The prince was deported to [[Smolensk]] and held there in confinement until his death in 1791. Thus, Heraclius II's last rival for the throne was removed from the scene.<ref name="DRRI"/><ref name="gvosdev">[[Nikolas Gvosdev|Gvosdev, Nikolas K.]] (2000), ''Imperial policies and perspectives towards Georgia, 1760-1819'', p. 61. Palgrave Macmillan, {{ISBN|0-312-22990-9}}</ref><ref name="Allen-32">[[William Edward David Allen|Allen, William Edward David]] (1932), ''A History of the Georgian People: From the Beginning Down to the Russian Conquest in the Nineteenth Century'', p. 203. Taylor & Francis, {{ISBN|0-7100-6959-6}}</ref>
== Family ==
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = ГрузинскийГА.jpg
| width1 = 150
| alt1 =
| caption1 =
| image2 = Anna Alexandrovna Galitzin, nee Gruzinsky.jpg
| width2 = 160
| alt2 =
| caption2 =
| image3 = Daria Troubetskay by Rokotov.jpg
| width3 = 170
| alt3 =
| caption3 =
| footer = Alexander's children: [[Georgy Gruzinsky|Georgy]], [[Ana Gruzinsky-Golitsyn|Anna]] and [[Darejan-Daria Gruzinsky|Daria]]
}}
Alexander married Princess Daria Aleksandrovna née Menshikova (1747–1817), granddaughter of the once powerful [[Aleksandr Danilovich Menshikov]]. They had three sons and two daughters:
* Prince Ivane (Ivan Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky), of whom almost nothing is known.
* Prince [[Georgy Gruzinsky|Giorgi]] (Georgy Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky; 1762–1852). He had a daughter named [[Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky Tolstoy]].
* Prince Aleksandre (Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Gruzinsky; c. 1763–1823), Colonel of the Russian army. He died unmarried.
* Princess [[Ana Bagration-Gruzinsky Galitzine|Ana]] (Anna Aleksandrovna Gruzinskaya; c. 1763–1842). She was married first to Chevalier Alexander De Litzine (1760–1789), without issue, and then to General Prince Boris Andreyevich Galitzine (1766–1822), with eight children.
* Princess [[Darejan Gruzinsky|Darejan]] (Daria Aleksandrovna Gruzinskaya; d. 1796).
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Son Of Bakar Of Georgia}}
[[Category:1726 births]]
[[Category:1791 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from Georgia (country)]]
[[Category:House of Mukhrani (royal line)]]
[[Category:Military personnel of the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire]]
[[Category:Pretenders to the Georgian throne]]
[[Category:18th-century people from Georgia (country)]]