Turkestanishvili

The genealogical tradition, such as that enshrined in the work of Prince Ioann of Georgia of the early 19th century, ascribes to the Turkestanishvili family an origin from Turkestan, whence, according to a legend, they came to the Kingdom of Georgia in 1202, in the reign of Queen Tamar.

The presence of the family on the Georgian soil, in the province of Somkhiti (Kvemo Kartli), is documented since the late 15th century.

They were part of the untitled nobility (aznauri) under the authority of the kings of Kartli.

Of this branch came Princess Varvara Turkestanova (1775–1819), a mistress of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, and Trifon (1861–1934), a revered hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

In 1857, a coat of arms submitted by the amateur historian Prince Nikolay Turkestanov was approved by the Russian Senate, but it was never officially registered by the Department of Heraldry.