Nikoloz "Niko" Dadiani, or Nikolay Davidovich Dadian-Mingrelsky, was the last Prince of Mingrelia from 1853 to 1867. Of the House of Dadiani, one of the leading Georgian noble families, he succeeded on the death of his father, David Dadiani, but he never ruled in his own right; during his minority, the government was run by regency presided by his mother, Princess Ekaterina, and in 1857, Mingrelia was placed under a provisional Russian administration. In 1867, Dadiani formally abdicated the throne and Mingrelia was directly incorporated into the Russian Empire. Dadiani mostly lived in Saint Petersburg, being close to the court. He was an officer in the Imperial Russian Army, distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), and retired with the rank of major-general.

Zugdidi is a city in the western Georgian historical province of Samegrelo (Mingrelia). It is situated in the north-west of that province. The city is located 318 kilometres west of Tbilisi, 30 km from the Black Sea coast and 30 km from the Egrisi Range, at an elevation of 100–110 metres above sea level. Zugdidi is the capital of the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region, which combines Samegrelo (Mingrelia) and upper part of Svaneti, and the centre of the Zugdidi Municipality within. Zugdidi is the sixth most populous city in Georgia.