Demna of Georgia

Demna (Georgian: დემნა, a hypocorism for Demetrius, დემეტრე) (born before 1155 - died c. 1178) was a Georgian royal prince and pretender to the throne proclaimed as king during the failed nobles’ revolt of 1177/8.

He was the only son and heir of King David V of Georgia who had deposed his father, Demetrius I, in a palace coup in 1155. Shortly after David’s death (1155), Demetrius declared his younger son, George (the future King George III), heir apparent violating thus a principal law of succession and depriving Demna of his rights to the throne.

The medieval Georgian and Armenian chronicles are confused about the circumstances in which David died. According to the medieval Armenian historians, George was somehow implicated in his murder though Georgian sources say nothing about it. An Armenian chronicler, Vardan Araveltsi, says that David was murdered “by Sumbat and Ivane [Orbeli] in a plot of the Orbels... They had made an agreement with Giorgi, Davit’s brother, that he would appoint them generals”. Ivane Orbeli was indeed rewarded by George III with the title of amirspasalar on his coronation. Another Armenian Stepanos Orbelian, a descendent of the Orbeli clan, writing shortly after Vardan, denies any family involvement in the murder of the king and claims George had sworn to his reigning brother that he would rule only until Demna reached his majority, but then reneged on his vow. He claims that the Orbelis had been the witnesses of this vow and that they led the 1177 revolt to restore Demna, who was now adult, to his rightful position. Either way, Demna was considered by many as a lawful pretender to the Georgian crown and victim of injustice. Furthermore, he had married the daughter of Ivane Orbeli and the family’s interest in the revolt was clear. Demna was also sympathized by several high-ranking courtiers and military officers who had their fiefdoms mainly in southern Georgian and Georgian-dominated Armenian lands.