Family and Office
Tsotne belonged to the Dadiani family, hereditary eristavi (dukes) of Odishi, later known as Mingrelia or Samegrelo, in western Georgia. His father was Shergil Dadiani and his mother was Nateli; his wife was Khuashak, daughter of Bega, eristavi of Kartli. He had at least three sons, named George, Ioane, and Erashahr.
The House of Dadiani was among the leading noble houses of Georgia, and would become the most powerful feudal house in western Georgia by the 1280s, with branches governing regions including Svaneti, Guria, and Bedia. Tsotne himself rose to high state office, serving as mandaturtukhutsesi (Lord High Steward) and eristavt-eristavi (Duke of Dukes).
Historical Context
Tsotne lived during the Mongol domination of Georgia. In the interregnum of 1245-1250, with the kingdom's rulers detained at the Mongol court in Karakorum, the Mongols partitioned Georgia into eight tax-and-military districts (tumen), each placed under a leading Georgian noble. It was against this overlordship that the nobles met at Kokhtastavi.
The episode that defines Tsotne's memory is preserved in the Georgian tradition and recounted in the synaxarion: his decision to share the torments of his condemned companions rather than save himself. The Georgian Orthodox Church honors him as a Confessor, a title given to those who suffered for the faith and people without dying a martyr's death.
