THE POPULATION OF THE VILLAGE OF VARIANI IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY
Abstract
The paper discusses the population of the village of Variani in the first half of the 19th century. The historical and geographical environment of the village, the roads there and their importance in the political and economic life of both Shida Kartli and the country are reviewed.
Attention is paid to the first information about Variani, dating back to the second half of the 17th century; as is known, in 1656, the last representative of the Bagrationi dynasty of Kartli, King Rostom (also known as Khosro Mirza, Kaikhosro Batonishvili), granted an estate in Variani to the Machabeli.
Other important decrees of Georgian kings and feudal lords about Variani, the famous historian and geographer Vakhushti Batonishvili and the “Notes” of the German traveler, a participant in the expedition of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg, Johann (Anton) Guldenstedt, are also important.
The Great Book of the Tbilisi Province of 1728 contains noteworthy information about the population of Variani, where Variani is mentioned in the Gori Livas of the Satsitsiano Nahiya. The Turkish source allows us to determine the demographic and economic situation of the village, as well as social relations. In this regard, Ioane Bagrationi’s description of the Kartli-Kakheti Kingdom in 1794-1799 is also noteworthy.
As for the demographic situation in Variani in the first half of the nineteenth century. The study analyzed the data of the cameral censuses of 1804, 1818, 1831-1832 and 1841, where we find different categories of peasants at that time: treasury, sabaton and church.
Historically, serfs in Variani belonged to: Machabeli, Kherkheulidze, Amilakhveri, Eristavi, Gankar Bortishvili of Machabeli and other feudal lords. The census shows the mutual relationship between the serfs and peasants, the number of sabatoni and purchased lands of the peasants, the income received from the estates in the form of bread and wine, and other sources of income.
As we know, the great Georgian teacher and public figure Iakob Gogebashvili was from this village. The work outlines the period of settlement of the Gogebashvili family in Variani, and attention is also paid to their previous residence.
The past is compared with the present.
Key words: Variani population; funds; chamber lists; household; Machables; Sabatono estate; Sabatono; treasury and church serfs.
