Heraclius II of Georgia
The founder of the family, Arghut, established himself in Lori, northern Armenia, then under Georgian control, at the end of the 15th century. His descendants were received among the lower-class nobility (aznauri) of Georgia, and enfeoffed of Sanahin, where the family's dynastic abbey was located. Under King Heraclius II of Georgia, the Arghutashvili family was officially recognized as descended from the Mkhargrdzeli and elevated to a princely rank (Georgian: tavadi, Russian: knyaz), a title which was confirmed by the Imperial Russian government on March 6, 1819; December 15, 1838; and November 14, 1857.