Melikov

The family descended from an Armenian nobleman named Malek Miriman who hailed from Somkhiti, had converted to Islam and was enfeoffed with the melikdom of Lori by the Safavid Iranian king Tahmasp I (r.

[2] Under the Safavids, the family continued to rise to prominence, and they were known as the Mirimanidze clan/family.

Later, the family returned to Christianity (Georgian Orthodox) and were confirmed as Princes Melikishvili (Georgian: მელიქიშვილი) and dukes of Somkhiti.

A branch of this family became Armenian Apostolic and came to be known as Loris-Melikov (Лорис-Меликов), which means Meliks of Lori (Princes of Lori).

After the Russian annexation of Georgia, the family was received among the princely nobility (knyaz) of the Russian Empire, and was made famous by General Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (1825–88) who was bestowed with the dignity of count in 1878.