Karmazanashvili

Karmazanashvili (Georgian: ყარმაზანაშვილი) is a Georgian surname historically associated with the Aragvi Valley in eastern Georgia. The name is traditionally linked to noble lineage, with some sources identifying the family among the regional Eristavi (ducal) class during the late medieval and early modern periods. Although unconfirmed, certain oral traditions and historical speculations suggest possible Circassian origins, likely through alliances or migration during the 15th–16th centuries. Some sources further speculate that the family descends from Circassian royalty displaced after the Karamirzey Massacre on April 17, 1825, linking them to a noble and prestigious lineage. Due to the loss of many aristocratic records following the fall of the Georgian kingdoms and Sovietization in the 20th century, full genealogical documentation remains a mystery.

Throughout the 17th to 19th centuries, members of the Karmazanashvili family were noted in Georgian chronicles and local documents as playing political and administrative roles in highland affairs. They were reputed for their independence and cultural influence within the highland nobility of the Aragvi and Ksani valleys. The family achieved distinction from other Eristavi houses when they defied the Treaty of Georgievsk, rejecting Russian titles and privileges while maintaining de facto authority in the Aragvi region. This stubborn loyalty to Georgian sovereignty became a defining feature of the Aragvians. During the 19th century, the family took part in major uprisings and conspiracies aimed at restoring Georgian statehood and noble authority, including the 1804 Mtiuleti uprising and the 1832 plot to reinstate the Georgian monarchy. Their defiance ultimately provoked harsh reprisals: several members of the family was exiled, the rest executed, and their ancestral town deliberately submerged beneath an artificial lake. The sunken town remains a locus of legend and folklore, symbolizing the family's enduring power, defiance, and loyalty.

• Georgian National Center of Manuscripts (საქართველოს ხელნაწერთა ეროვნული ცენტრი), Archival Documents on Aragvi Nobility, 18th c.
• Georgian Soviet Encyclopedia (ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია), Volume 6, Tbilisi, 1981.
• Suny, Ronald Grigor. The Making of the Georgian Nation. Indiana University Press, 1994.
• Rayfield, Donald. Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia. Reaktion Books, 2012.

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