Mikheil, Prince of Abkhazia
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Prince Mikheil, Mikheil (Michael) Sharvashidze (died 1866) was the head of state of the principality of Abkhazia and reigned from 1822 to 1864.
Mikheil came to power at a time when Abkhazia had only recently been declared a protectorate of Russia, as a result of the 1810 manifesto of Tsar Alexander I. During the Crimean War of 1853-55, Abkhazia was invaded by Turkey, and Mikheil was forced to declare his loyalty to Turkey. This came back to haunt him when, in 1864, the Russians accused him of cooperating with Turkey during the war. He was subsequently exiled to Voronezh, in Russia - an act which was vastly unpopular with the Abkhaz people.
Mikheil's deportation, and death not long after, also marked the beginning of the end for Abkhazian self-governance for the next 140 years. Though Mikheil was not the last of the Sharvashidze dynasty, the rule of Grigol III, his son, was short-lived and Russia subsequently abolished the principality in Abkhazia, incorporated it into Russia itself, and renamed it the Sukhumi District.
