The Orbeliani were in possession of a large fief called Saorbelo or Saqaplanishvilo which comprised the southern part of the Baratashvili princedom (Sabaratiano), including much of the Ktsia and the Dmanisi valleys in what is now the Kvemo Kartli region of Georgia.
An alternative hypothesis makes the Ratishvili a branch of the Baratashvili-Orbeliani dynasty; yet another has it that both these genealogies are correct and there were, in fact, two Ratishvili families of different origin.