Guramishvili Davit

Guramishvili Davit (1705-1792), Classic of Georgian poetry. He spent his youth in Saguramo, his familial estate. Increased brigandish raids of North Caucasian Lezghins prompted the Guramishvili family to move to Ksani Gorge and settle down there. Circa 1727-1728 the Lezghins kidnapped D. Guramishvili and took him to Osokolo village in Dagestan. He escaped from the captivity and found shelter with Russian new settlers residing at the banks of the Terek River. In 1729 he managed to get to Moscow and join King Vakhtang VI and his Georgian coterie. After the death of King Vakhtang VI, Georgian immigrants lost hope of returning to homeland and became Russian citizens. D. Guramishvili enlisted in the Georgian regiment of hussars; he was donated estates in South Ukraine – in Mirgorod and Zubovka. In 1738-1760 he took part in the Russian military campaign against Turkey, Sweden and Prussia. In 1760 he retired from the military service in the rank of poruchik (lieutenant), settled down in Mirgorod with his young wife Tatiana Avalishvili and spent the rest of his life there. He died in Mirgorod and was buried in the yard of the Church of Dormition of Virgin Mary.

In 1787 Davit Guramishvili collected all his literary works in a single volume, entitled it Davitiani, and forwarded it to Georgia with Prince Mirian (son of King Erekle II) who lived in Moscow at the court of Count Potyomkin.