Teimuraz, Bagrationi

(more correctly Teimuraz Bagrationi). Born Apr. 23,1782; died Oct. 25 (Nov. 6), 1846, in St. Petersburg. Georgian scholar and authority on the Caucasus. Son of the last king of Georgia, Georgii XII.

Teimuraz spent 11 years in Iran, returning to Georgia in 1810. He subsequently lived in St. Petersburg. A collector and gifted scholar of Georgian chronicles and monuments of ancient Georgian literature, he organized a circle for Georgian studies in St. Petersburg. He was a close friend and teacher of the academician M. I. Brosset. Using Greek and Roman sources, Teimuraz wrote several works on the early history of the Georgian people. He also published articles on Georgian studies in the Journal Asiatique, published in Paris by the Société Asiatique, of which he was a member. An interesting sketch, The Taking of Tiflis by Agha Muhammad Khan in 1795, was published in Russian in Tbilisi in 1895 from one of Teimuraz’ manuscripts.

Teimuraz’ chief significance in cultural history lies in his work as an enlightened popularizer of Georgian historiography. Teimuraz bequeathed his library of ancient manuscripts and books to the Russian Academy of Sciences, of which he was elected an honorary member in 1837.