Ivan Makarovich Orbeliani


Prince Ivan Makarovich Dzhambakurian-Orbeliani was a Russian imperial general, governor of Kutaisi and Georgian prince.

Biography

He was born as a member of one of the most important princely families of Georgia, the House of Orbeliani. His parents were Prince Mamuka Tomazovich Orbeliani and Princess Ketevan Eristavi of Ksani. His family originated from Georgia, then part of the Russian Empire.
He was in the army since the 1860s. His first success was shown in the battles with the mountaineers and later he also took part in the Russian-Turkish war. As a lieutenant he fought in the Caucasus, by 1883 he was already a colonel and six years later a major-general.
He was also the commander of the:
Orbeliani led Russian forces in the Russo-Japanese War. He was promoted to lieutenant general in January 1901 and took command of the 2nd Cossack Division. In 1905 he was acting commander of the 22nd and 18th Russian Army Corps. Due to illness Ivan Orbeliani retired from service in 1906 with the rank General of the cavalry.

Family and descendants

In Tiflis in 1872, he married his cousin Princess Maria Dmitrievna Svyatopolk-Mirsky, daughter of the Russian General Prince Dmitry Ivanovich Svyatopolk-Mirsky and his wife, Princess Sophia Yakovlevna Orbeliani. They had three children:
Prince Ivan died in 1919 and was buried at the Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta, Georgia.