Katsia II Dadiani

Katsia II Dadiani (Georgian: კაცია II დადიანი; died 6 December 1788) was a Georgian prince who ruled the Principality of Mingrelia from 1758 to 1788.

A member of the House of Chikovani-Dadiani, which had governed Mingrelia since the late 17th century, he was the son of Prince Otia Dadiani, whom he succeeded upon his death in 1758. Inheriting a principality torn by internal conflicts, Katsia initially served as a close ally of his suzerain, the young King Solomon I of Imereti, whom he assisted during the Battle of Khresili and later supported at the royal assembly of 1759, during which the Kingdom of Imereti prohibited the slave trade.

Despite a policy largely aligned with that of other Georgian states, Katsia was forced to join the Ottoman Empire during its invasion of western Georgia in 1765. This led to a protracted war between Mingrelia and Imereti lasting until 1776, and to the schism of the Western Georgian Orthodox Church (1769–1774), despite multiple mediation efforts by the Catholicate of Abkhazia, the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti, and Russian Empire.

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774, Katsia II shifted allegiance to the Russian forces under General Tottleben, who encouraged a Mingrelian uprising against Solomon I and joined Dadiani in the siege of Poti, which ended in disaster for the Russians. The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca placed Mingrelia under nominal Ottoman protection, though in practice this had little effect, as only Poti remained under Turkish control.

In 1780, Katsia and Solomon successfully repelled a major Abkhaz–Circassian invasion supported by the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Rukhi. Subsequently, Katsia intervened in Abkhazia to install Zurab Sharvashidze on the princely throne.

Following Solomon's death in 1784, Katsia proclaimed David II as King of Imereti in opposition to the legitimate heir, triggering a series of noble revolts and an attempted Ottoman invasion aimed at placing Prince Kaikhosro Abashidze on the Imeretian throne. Under David II's reign, Katsia II Dadiani expanded his wealth and territories, secured the de jure independence of Mingrelia, and sought the protection of the Russian Empire.