History of Monaco Grimaldis, descended from Otto Canella and taking their name from his son Grimaldo, were an ancient and prominent Guelphic Genoese family. Members of this family, in the course of the civil strife in Genoa between the Guelphs and Ghibellines, took refuge in Monaco, accompanied by various other Guelphic families, most notably the Fieschis. Francesco Grimaldi seized the Rock of Monaco in 1297, starting the Grimaldi dynasty, under the sovereignty of the Republic of Genoa. The Grimaldis acquired Menton in 1346 and Roquebrune in 1355, enlarging their possessions. In 1338 Monegasque ships under the command of Carlo Grimaldi participated, along with
Bagrationi dynasty Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (, "bagrat’ioni" ) is a royal family that reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, this royal line is often referred to as the Georgian Bagratids (a Hellenized form of their dynastic name), also known in English as the Bagrations. The common origin with the Armenian Bagratuni dynasty has been accepted by several scholars (However, other sources claim that dynasty to have had Georgian roots). Early Georgian Bagratids through dynastic marriage gained the Principality of Iberia