Orbeliani, Ilya Dmitrievich

Born in 1815 in the family of Prince Dmitry Nikolayevich Orbeliani (1766-1827), head of the Tiflis customs.

He graduated from the course at the Tiflis Gymnasium and in 1832 began serving as a cadet in the Georgian Grenadier Regiment; in 1838 he was promoted to officer and in 1841 was appointed adjutant to General Fezi . Sent by him at the beginning of 1842 with a special assignment to the Samur district, Orbeliani was captured by Shamil , in which he spent 7 months.

Upon returning from captivity, Orbeliani continued to participate in almost all expeditions to Dagestan and Chechnya . So, in 1844 he spent campaigns with Neidgardt , Gurko and Leaders , in 1845 he took part in the Dargins expedition of Prince Vorontsov, and, commanding the Andi assault on the Georgian squad, received the Order of St. July 7 . George 4th degree (No. 7374 according to the cavalier list of Grigorovich - Stepanov).

In 1846, Orbeliani was sent to Elizabethpol to destroy the "robber mountain gangs"; then, together with Sleptsov, he participates in the laying of the Sunzhensky line , in the Dagestan detachments he commands the cavalry, near Saltami - the infantry battalion, and near Chokh he works in trenches and, after taking him, is sent to the emperor by courier to give a detailed report on the progress of the siege work and the general military operations of the Dagestan detachment .

Produced as a major general , Orbeliani was given the command of the Georgian Grenadier Regiment in 1851, and in 1853, with the outbreak of the Eastern War , he was entrusted with the command of an advanced detachment sent to Bayandur to delay the Turkish offensive to Akhaltsykh and Alexandropol .

At Bayandur, Orbeliani withstands a stubborn battle with a superior enemy and forces him to retreat behind Arpachai. Having received short-term leave after the Battle of Bayandur on the occasion of the birth of two twin sons, he learned on the road about the troops coming to Bashkadiklar and returned to them to take part in the upcoming battle.

On November 19, near Bashkadiklar, Orbeliani with his grenadiers was instructed to attack the main Turkish battery. He led them astride a gray horse and attacked the battery from the front. At the very beginning of the attack, a bullet pierced his arm, but, ignoring the wound, he turned in the saddle and shouted: “Well done, grenadiers!” At that time another bullet pierced his shoulder blade and stopped in his chest. He was taken to Alexandropol, where he died on December 8, 1853 , demanding before his death the shot-out banner of his regiment to kiss him. According to contemporaries, this was a man of "brilliant courage."

In 1852 he married the daughter of the Georgian Tsarevich Ilya Georgievich named Barbara (1831-12.03.1884). According to contemporary reviews, “princesse Barbe”, as she was usually called, was unusually pretty, smart, educated and therefore extremely attractive ^[1] . The poet J. Polonsky , who served in Tiflis, wrote poetry in her honor in 1851 ^[2] . In 1854, Princess Orbeliani had the misfortune of being captured by Shamil. Died of acute pleurisy in Nice ^[3] . In marriage, she had two sons, George and Dmitry.

• Joined the service (07/18/1832) ^[4]
• Sub-ensign (02/05/1834)
• Warrant Officer (11/3/1836)
• Second Lieutenant (05.16.1842)
• Lieutenant for distinction in the service (07.15.1843)
• Headquarters Captain (02.26.1845)
• Captain for Distinction (1845)
• Major for distinction (06/12/1846)
• Lieutenant Colonel for honors (12.10.1847)
• Colonel (1849)
• Major General for Distinction (10/01/1852)

Russian ^[5] :

• Order of St. Stanislav 3 tbsp. (01/01/1842)
• Order of St. George 4 tbsp. (07/07/1845)
• Order of St. Stanislav 1 tbsp. with swords (11.29.1853) ^[4]

foreign:

• Persian Order of Leo and Sun 2 tbsp. (1852)

• Military Encyclopedia / Ed. V.F. Novitsky and others - St. Petersburg. : t. in I.V. Sytin, 1911-1915.
• Stepanov V.S., Grigorovich P.I. In memory of the centenary of the imperial Military Order of the Holy Great Martyr and Victorious George (1769-1869) . SPb., 1869.