Demetre Tavdadebuli Street

Overview

Demetre Tavdadebuli Street (Georgian: დემეტრე თავდადებულის ქუჩა) is a street in Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi. Georgian Wikipedia lists it among the streets of Didi Dighomi, together with Ioane Petritsi, Giorgi Brtskinvale, Mepe Archil, Farnavaz, Petre Iberi and Mirian Mepe Streets. According to OpenStreetMap (OSM), the street runs from west to east, from Mirian Mepe Street to Farnavaz Mepe Avenue. Its main line is about 2.7 km long.

The street’s name, “Demetre Tavdadebuli” (Demetrius the Self-Sacrificer), is the epithet of King Demetrius II of Georgia (1259–1289), who was executed by the Mongol Ilkhans in 1289.

Location

According to OSM, the western end of the street is at Mirian Mepe Street (about 41.7932° N, 44.7346° E) and the eastern end is at Farnavaz Mepe Avenue (about 41.7963° N, 44.7646° E). The ends are about 2.5 km apart in a straight line. In the eastern part, north of the main road, a parallel residential carriageway of about 0.75 km carries the same name. The total length of all sections with this name in OSM is 3,456 m. The midpoint is at about 41.7959° N, 44.7504° E.

From west to east, the street crosses or meets:

• Mirian Mepe Street (western end)

• Iase Shakarishvili Street

• Sergi Tskhakaia Street

• Aleksandre Javakhishvili Street

• Archil Mepe Street

• Vakhtang Karseladze Street

• Sandro Mirianashvili Street

• Teimuraz I Street

• Petre Iberi Street

• Nakulbakevi Street (at the parallel carriageway)

• Farnavaz Mepe Avenue (eastern end)

In OSM, the eastern part of the street is mapped as a secondary road, partly with four lanes and a 40 km/h speed limit. The central part is a tertiary road and the western part is a residential street. OSM address data place most of the street in the “Dighomi, Vashlijvari” area and its western section in Didi Dighomi.

There is no metro station near the street. Based on OSM coordinates, the nearest station, Sarajishvili, is about 3.2 km in a straight line from the eastern end.

The name: Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer

We could not find the official decision naming the street in the Legislative Herald of Georgia. “Demetre Tavdadebuli” is the name and epithet by which King Demetrius II of Georgia is known in history.

According to English Wikipedia, Demetrius II belonged to the Bagrationi dynasty and was a son of David VII. He was born in 1259 and reigned from 1270 to 1289, coming to the throne at the age of 11 after his father’s death. In practice his rule covered eastern Georgia, and the country was under the supremacy of the Mongol Ilkhanate.

According to Georgian Wikipedia, in 1288 a plot against the Ilkhan Arghun was uncovered. The Khan summoned Demetrius to the Horde as a friend of the accused vizier Buqa. The royal council advised the king to hide in the mountains, but Demetrius refused: if he did not go, the Mongols would massacre ordinary people and devastate the country. On 12 March 1289, at Movakan on the banks of the Mtkvari, he was beheaded on the Khan’s orders. He is buried in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta. The Georgian Orthodox Church canonised him, with his feast day on 12 March.

Naming of nearby streets

Tbilisi City Council decisions published in the Legislative Herald of Georgia use Demetre Tavdadebuli Street as a reference point:

• Decision No. 311 of 13 September 2016 — two unnamed streets next to Demetre Tavdadebuli Street were named after composer and People’s Artist of Georgia Sandro Mirianashvili (together with its sixteen dead ends) and engineer Nikoloz Svanishvili (together with its passage).

• Decision No. 35 of 3 February 2017 — an unnamed street next to Farnavaz Mepe Avenue and Demetre Tavdadebuli Street was named after Catholicos Abraham I.

Didi Dighomi

According to Georgian Wikipedia, Didi Dighomi is a neighbourhood of the Saburtalo district in the north-west of the city. David Aghmashenebeli Alley separates it from Dighomi Massive. The neighbourhood was planned in the 1970s and built in 1985–1991. Before that, the land was farmland of the Dighomi state farm.

Nearby places

• Kindergarten No. 198 — about 0.23 km from the street (in a straight line, from OSM coordinates).

FAQ

1) Where is Demetre Tavdadebuli Street?
In Didi Dighomi, in the Saburtalo district of Tbilisi. Georgian Wikipedia lists it among the streets of Didi Dighomi. It runs from Mirian Mepe Street in the west to Farnavaz Mepe Avenue in the east.

2) How long is the street?
According to OpenStreetMap, the main line is about 2.7 km long. In the eastern part, a parallel residential carriageway of about 0.75 km carries the same name.

3) Which streets does it cross?
From west to east, among others: Mirian Mepe, Iase Shakarishvili, Sergi Tskhakaia, Aleksandre Javakhishvili, Archil Mepe, Vakhtang Karseladze, Sandro Mirianashvili, Teimuraz I and Petre Iberi Streets, and Farnavaz Mepe Avenue.

4) Who is the street named after?
“Demetre Tavdadebuli” (Demetrius the Self-Sacrificer) is the epithet of King Demetrius II of Georgia (1259–1289). We could not find the official naming decision, but this is the name and epithet by which he is known in history.

5) Who was Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer?
A king of the Bagrationi dynasty who reigned from 1270 to 1289. He was executed on the orders of the Mongol Ilkhan at Movakan on 12 March 1289 and is buried in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral in Mtskheta.

6) Why is he called “the Self-Sacrificer”?
According to Georgian Wikipedia, the royal council advised Demetrius not to go to the Khan’s Horde. He refused, because if he did not go, the Mongols would massacre the people and devastate the country.

7) Which nearby streets were named recently?
In 2016 two unnamed streets next to Demetre Tavdadebuli Street were named after composer Sandro Mirianashvili and engineer Nikoloz Svanishvili. In 2017 a street near Farnavaz Mepe Avenue and this street was named after Catholicos Abraham I.

8) What type of road is it?
In OSM, the eastern part is a secondary road, partly with four lanes; the central part is a tertiary road and the western part is a residential street.

9) What is the nearest metro station?
There is no metro nearby. The nearest station, Sarajishvili, is about 3.2 km in a straight line from the eastern end of the street.

Sources

• Demetre Tavdadebuli Street (central section) — OpenStreetMap (14 sections in total, incl. 637530807, 1137034960, 58779883)

• Demetre Tavdadebuli Street (parallel carriageway) — OpenStreetMap

• Didi Dighomi — Georgian Wikipedia

• Demetre II Tavdadebuli — Georgian Wikipedia

• Demetrius II of Georgia — English Wikipedia

• Tbilisi City Council decision No. 311 of 13 September 2016 (Sandro Mirianashvili and Nikoloz Svanishvili Streets) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)

• Tbilisi City Council decision No. 35 of 3 February 2017 (Catholicos Abraham I Street) — Legislative Herald of Georgia (in Georgian)