Vardan I Dadiani

Vardan I Dadiani
Ruler ofOdishi
Successor	Shergil Dadiani
Born	unknown
Died	1213
Noble family	House of Dadiani

Vardan I Dadiani(Georgian:ვარდან I დადიანი) (diedc.1213) was aGeorgiannoble and the forefather of theDadiani,the princely dynasty ofSamegrelo(Mingrelia), a region in western Georgia which Vardan ruled aseristavi( "duke" ) from 1183 to 1213. He was a prominent courtier of QueenTamar of Georgia,but fell out of favor after leading an abortive rebellion in support of Tamar's disgraced former husbandGeorge the Rus'in 1191.

In royal service

A descendant of his namesake theeristavi( "duke" ) ofSvaneti,a contemporary of KingGeorge II of Georgia(r.1072–1089), Vardan belonged to the Marushiani-Vardanisdzedynasty and is one of the earliest members of this family to be mentioned under the surname Dadiani,possibly after the familial castle of Dadi.Vardan was appointedmsakhurt-ukhutsesi( "Lord High Chamberlain" ) of Georgia and grantedOdishi,that is,Samegrelo,as a fief by Tamar in 1183. In 1186 or 1187 Vardan fought with distinction in the victorious campaign against theEldiguzid stateinArran,masterminded byAsat Grigolisdze,lord ofGishi,during which the Georgians raidedBeylaganand theAraxesplain.

In rebellion

Vardan's downfall came with the abortive rebellion raised by the nobles of western and southern Georgia on behalf of the exiled ex-consort of Queen Tamar, George the Rus' (Yuri Andreyevich), in 1191. By that time, Vardan had been one of the most influential dignitaries in Georgia, being in possession of Orbeti and Kaeni in the eastern part of the kingdom in addition to the vast lands in the west, from theLikhi mountainstoNicopsia,that is, "the whole ofSvaneti,Abkhazia,Saegro,Guria,Samokalako,Racha,TakveriandArgveti".He brought these lands as well as theSanigiand "Keshigi"(Circassians) over to the rebels' cause and crowned George as king of Georgia at the royal palace ofGegutinearKutaisi.Tamar's loyalamirspasalar(constable)Gamrekeli Torelidefeated Vardan's army at the Niali plain inJavakhetiand forced the rest of the rebels, including George the Rus', into surrender. As a result, Vardan lost the office of Lord High Chamberlain and the fief of Kaeni, both of which were then conferred upon the queen's loyal nobleIvane Mkhargrdzeli.Thereafter, Vardan Dadiani played no significant role in the country’s political life and died around 1213.His descendants continued to flourish in western Georgia, eventually producing two important princely dynasties, those ofDadianiandGurieli.