The House of Bagration-Davitishvili () is a Georgian noble family, a cadet branch of the Kakhetian line of the royal Bagration dynasty. The Kakhetian line descends from George VIII, last king of the united Georgian kingdom and first king of Kakheti.
In historical sources, this branch first appears under the names Tvaldamtsvrishvili or Tvaldamtsvriani (Georgian: თვალდამწვრიშვილები, თვალდამწვრიანები), literally meaning "descendants of the one whose eyes were burned out". Over time, the surname Davitishvili—derived from the name of Prince Davit, son of the branch's founder, Kakhetian Crown Prince Demetre—replaced the earlier family epithets. In the Russian tradition, this was adapted as Davydov, leading to the formal compound surname Bagration-Davydov.Georgian princely families in the Lists of the Titled Families and Persons of the Russian Empire, 1892. Some modern descendants use the simplified form—Bagration.Noble Families of the Russian Empire. Volume 3. Princes / Edited by S. V. Dumin. — Moscow: Linkominvest, 1996.
An early 19th-century source by Prince Ioane Bagrationi (son of King George XII of Kartli-Kakheti) explicitly states: "The Davitishvili are of the Bagrationi family, who now live in Tskhinvali, specifically in the Nuli Valley, and are divided into two houses: 1) the children of Zaal, and 2) the children of Elizbar. The others, of lower rank (aznauri) from the same family, living in Ptsa, are: Shanshe with his children and others, apparently the children of Leon".Ioane Batonishvili (1997). აღწერა საქართველოს თავად-აზნაურთა გვარებისა. p. 28; Tbilisi: National Library of Parliament of Georgia
According to the conclusion of the Russian genealogist S. V. Dumin (Heraldry Master of the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House), the male-line descendants of King George II of Kakheti (the branch to which the Serene Princes Gruzinsky belonged) were represented only by daughters by the end of the 20th century (1998). Consequently, in the foreseeable future, the seniority within the Bagrationi royal house is expected to pass to the descendants of the brother whom he blinded — Prince Demetre (1472–1513), whose progeny later became known as the Princes Bagration-Davitishvili. The Chancellery of the Georgian Royal House (which represented the interests of the descendants of George XII, later known as the Serene Princes Gruzinsky in the Russian Empire), in its 2010 statement (Appendix No. 4), defines seniority within the dynasty through descent from King George VIII (1446–1466), the last ruler of a unified Georgia before its collapse. Since neither the Kartlian nor the Imeretian branches descend from George VIII, and the direct male line of his descendants (the Bagration-Gruzinsky) effectively became extinct in 2025, dynastic seniority passes to the male line of his brother — Demetre, i.e., to the Bagration-Davitishvili line. Thus, from the perspective of agnatic primogeniture, the Davitishvili represent not a princely, but a royal line, which retains the rights of seniority within the House of Bagrationi. This line also remains the most numerous branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, with the most extensive male descent capable of perpetuating the lineage.
History George VIII was succeeded by his son, King Alexander I of Kakheti (1476–1511). According to the historian Vakhushti Bagrationi, Alexander was a capable ruler who maintained peace on his borders. However, a dynastic conflict arose between his two sons: the elder, George (the future George II of Kakheti), described as envious and power-hungry, and the younger, Prince Demetre (born 1472), who enjoyed their father's trust. In 1501, Alexander entrusted Demetre with a diplomatic mission to Shah Ismail I of Persia. The prince succeeded in securing the exemption of Kakheti from tribute. This success deepened the elder brother's resentment. In 1511, George staged a coup: he murdered his father and ordered Demetre blinded. The usurper received the epithet "Av-Giorgi" (George the Mad).Vakhushti Bagrationi. History of the Kingdom of Georgia. Life of Kakheti and Hereti (Part 1) The blinded Demetre — thereafter known as Tvaldamtsvari ("he whose eyes were burned out") — fled with his family, including his son Davit, to the Safavid court. Shah Ismail I, who remembered Demetre favourably, recognised David as the rightful king of Kakheti, thereby delegitimising George. With the shah's support, the family settled in the Kingdom of Kartli, acquiring lands and building alliances with local nobles. After the shah's death, King Levan of Kakheti (son of the usurper George) moved against the family. With the cooperation of King Luarsab I of Kartli, the Davitishvili fortress at Dirbi was destroyed, and Davit was expelled. His son Ramaz resisted successfully with help from the Prince of Mukhrani but was ultimately forced into exile.Parsadan Gorgijanidze. History of Georgia: A Narrative of the Descendants of the Blinded One. Ramaz and his father found refuge at the court of Bagrat III of Imereti (1510–1565). The king gave Ramaz his daughter in marriage and granted him estates in Upper Kartli. These lands — centred on the village of Nuli — became the hereditary appanage principality of Sadavitishvilo.
Ramaz's son, Prince David II Tvaldamtsvrishvili (a grandson of Bagrat III through his mother), built a career at the Kartlian court. In 1608, King Luarsab II appointed him to the high office of bokaultukhutsesi. Under King Rostom, David II held the posts of eshikagasbashi and mdivanbeg. After David II's death in 1635, his son Elizbar succeeded him, holding the post of bokaultukhutsesi for three decades. He played key roles in suppressing a revolt (1639), conducting a diplomatic mission to Safavid Persia, and fighting at the Battle of Magaro (1648). The marriage of Prince Elizbar Davitishvili to Princess Tinatin of Mukhrani (daughter of Kaikhosro Mukhranbatoni) strengthened the family's strategic alliance. Their granddaughter, Tamar I Davitishvili, became queen of Kartli through her marriage to Prince George of Kartli — the future King George XI. Thus, the house intermarried directly with the reigning Kartlian branch of the Bagrations.Parsadan Gorgijanidze. History of GeorgiaSekhnia Chkheidze. Life of the KingsAnonymous authors. The Paris Chronicle (Georgian Chronicle) (in Georgian). — 17th century. Tamar was buried in the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral (1684), whereas other members of this family were buried primarily within the territory of the Ruisi-Urbnisi Eparchy.
The youth of George Davitishvili (c. 1709–1782) was overshadowed by the Ottoman invasion of 1723–1724, during which ancestral lands were devastated. After King Vakhtang VI departed for Russia, tavadi Givi Amilakhvari (1689–1754) seized part of the Sadavitishvilo estates, initiating a long conflict. George took part in the Kartlian uprising of 1742–1745 against Nader Shah. His son and heir, Prince Zaal Davitishvili (1744–1801), participated in the disastrous Battle of Krtsanisi (1795) against Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar. A court case in 1797 over ancestral lands ended badly for Zaal: under the legal code of King Vakhtang VI, he was sentenced to have his right hand cut off for destroying boundary markers, and the disputed lands were awarded to the Amilakhvari family. Zaal died in 1801, the same year the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti was annexed by the Russian Empire. The Davitishvili appanage, which had lasted nearly three centuries, came to an end.
By imperial decrees of Nicholas I of Russia in 1849 and 1857, the family — under the Russified name Bagration-Davydov — was recognised in the princely dignity of the Russian Empire. Modern genetics confirm the family's direct male-line descent from the Bagrationi dynasty (haplogroup Q1b2b1b2b2-L939).
Scholarly debate on the origins of the aznauri line Studying the genealogy of this branch of the Bagrationi dynasty, researchers have not reached a consensus. While some scholars, such as Ioseb Bichikashvili, have argued that the noble (aznauri) Davitishvili family should be identified as Bagration-Davitishvili — a juniorbranch descending from Prince David, son of Elizbar Bagrationi — this view has been challenged by other genealogists. A detailed critique was offered by the Georgian genealogist Iuri Chikovani (1937–2018). Chikovani was the founder and chairman of the Georgian Genealogical Society, head of the Genealogical Research Center at the National Library of Parliament of Georgia, vice-chairman and chief genealogist of the Assembly of Nobility of Georgia, and from 2004 a member of the International Academy of Genealogy. Examining the sources cited by Bichikashvili (including "Antiquities of Georgia", "Monuments of Georgian Law", and the works of D. Ninidze), Chikovani concluded that none of them actually prove that a certain Iese Davitishvili was the son of Prince David Bagration-Davitishvili. Furthermore, he noted that Ninidze explicitly denies any genealogical link between the noble Davitishvili families and the princely Bagration-Davitishvili line. Chikovani also examined archival materials, including the 1820–1915 file "On the recognition of the noble dignity of the family of Ivan and Dimitri Davydov" (Central Historical Archive of Georgia, fund 213, inventory 1, file 1990). He found no evidence that any noble Davitishvili was recorded as a male-line descendant of the Bagration-Davitishvili princes. Based on this, he argued that the inclusion of 107 individuals in Table No. 16 of Bichikashvili's book "Bagrations – Genealogy of the Royal Dynasty of Georgia and Its Branches" as Bagration-Davitishvili lacks sufficient documentary foundation. Chikovani did not rule out the possibility that some noble Davitishvili families may indeed originate from the princely branch. However, he stressed that, based on the currently available written sources, this descent remains unproven.