Batumi (new coat of arms)

On 30 October 2009, the Batumi City Council adopted a new coat of arms. I am grateful to Givi Koberidze for informing about the change.

The Greater Coat of Arms of Kartli-Kakheti under King Erekle II

Presented here is the Greater Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti during the reign of King Erekle II. I rendered it based on a royal seal that was affixed to the famous Treaty of Georgievsk signed between Kartli-Kakheti and the Russian Empire in the summer of 1783. The seal shows not only the traditional Bagrationi coat of arms, but also the coats of arms of the states King Erekle II claimed as his vassals at the time.

I am grateful to David Gulordava for great assistance he provided me in rendering this coat of arms.

These minor shield are rather interesting because they do not necessary represent the actual coat of arms of a stat in question but rather constitute a Georgian attempt to create a coat of arms representing this state.

(rendered by David Gulordava)

In rendering this coat of arms I made several assumptions. Since the base drawing was from a seal, it lacked tincture. I assumed that the four quarters of the main (Bagrationi) shield will have the same traditional tinctures. However the tincture of the top quarter - which contains the two headed eagle of the Russian Empire - is debatable - but I used Or. I kept the shields of the vassal states in B&W, although the description below specifies that the first shield emblazoned with St. George on a black horse against Or quarter.

The Bagrationi shield is surrounded by the chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First Called, the highest imperial order of the Russian Empire which King Erekle received in 1769. Fredrik Brodin has graciously shared his superb rendering of this chain for which I am very grateful to him.

David Gulordava has kindly shared a description of this coat of arms which he found in the Russian archives (ЦГАДА. фонд 15, дело 135, л. 239 оборотный.)

Герб Грузинский; гора с двумя стрелами (при этом острия стрел направлены вниз, и не пронзают гору, в таком виде встречается только на печати Царя Ираклия, в то время как на вариантах зафиксированных в России стрелы остриями вверх пронзают гору);

Герб Кахетинский; есть Великомученик Георгий на коне сидящий* (* конь вороной на золотом поле);

Герб Ереванский; Араратская гора с ноевым ковчегом;

Ганжинский герб; пламени три струи (на печати вместо этого изображена сцена Рождества Христова - Богоматерь с младенцем и три волхва (см. рис.);

Атабегской герб (т.е. Самцхе-Саатабаго); озеро с монастырем;

Герб Казацкой (т.е. провинции Казахи); рука копье держит;

Герб Борчалу; сабля поперек;

Герб Шамшадила; ружья (на печати лишь одно ружье (см. рис.);

Герб Ширвана; волк;

Герб Шакской; лиса .

В отличие от титулатуры царя на печати нет герба провинции “Каки”.

1. Kakheti (St. George killing a dragon)

2. Georgia (a mountain, with two arrows pointed at it.)

3. Yerevan Khanate (Mt. Ararat with Noah's Ark

4. Ganja Khanate (The Nativity Scene)

5. Samtskhe Saatabago (A church/cathedral on a lake)

6. Kazakh (arm holding a spear)

7. Borchalo (a sabre)

8. Shamshal (Shamshadilo) (a musket)

9. Shirvan (a wolf)

10. Shaki (a fox)

Safavid symbols

For over two hundred years, Georgia's history was closely interwoven with that of the Safavid dynasty of Iran. Founded by Shah Ismail I (1502–1524), the Safavids, at their height, controlled Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, parts of Armenia, Georgia and Afghanistan. The early Safavid Shah, especially Tahmasp (1524-1576), actively campaigned against Georgian kingdoms, seeking wealth and political influence in the region. Shah Abbas I (1588–1629) brought the Safavid dynasty to its height and played a crucial (but destructive) role in Georgia where he campaigned repeatedly in early 17th century. He resettled tens of thousands of Georgians to Iran where they eventually played one of the leading political roles. The early 18th century saw economic and political decline of the Iranian state which culminated in the Afghan invasion in 1722. The last Safavid ruler, Shah Tahmasp II (1722–1732), was overthrown by the military commander Nadir Khan Afshar in 1736.

Safavid flag under Shah Ismail (1501-1524)

Safavid flag under Shah Tahmasp (1524-1576)

Safavid flag under Shah Ismail II and his successors (1576-1736)

David Aghmashenebeli's Royal Standard

The Royal Standard of David Aghmashenebeli (1089-1125). I recreated it based on description provided in David Kldiashvili, Kartuli heraldikis istoria, Tbilisi, 2003.

Chichua

1. Based on Yuri Chikovani, Knyazya Makashvili. Knyazya Chichua: genealogicheskoe issledovanie (Tbilisi, 2006)

2. Based on Asatiani 2002