House of Sharvashidze
The House of Sharvashidze (Shervashidze) was a Georgian‑Abkhazian ruling family in the Principality of Abkhazia. The name is Georgian, with the common suffix meaning “son.” Some sources say the family traces its origins to the Shirvan Shahs of Shirvan, and that Shirvan princes were granted Abkhazian lands after King David IV expanded Georgia to Shirvan in 1124. Other scholars, however, argue Sharvashidze was a local Abkhazian dynasty (also known as Chachba) that used a foreign‑sounding ancestry.
The first prince is said to have held power under the Georgian kings around 1325. By the late 15th century Abkhazia gained independence, but soon became a vassal of the Ottoman Empire.
In the late 18th century the Sharvashidze princes adopted Islam, yet they shifted between Islam and Christianity as the Russians and Ottomans fought for control. A pro‑Russian stance prevailed, and Abkhazia joined Imperial Russia in 1810, with the Sharvashidze family being confirmed as Russian princes under the Treaty of Georgievsk (1783).
Abkhazia was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century (formal incorporation by 1864). The elder branch, the Aslan‑Bey line, is said to live in Georgia, while the junior branch is reported to have died out in Turkey. Modern references list heads of the house such as Giorgi (George) Sharvashidze, Aleksandr (Alexander) Sharvashidze, and later George Konstantinovich, Teimuraz Georgievitch, and Nikoloz Teimurazevich Sharvashidze.
Nikoloz Sharvashidze is identified as the current head of the house and was reported to be studying at the University of Texas at Austin.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:30 (CET).