4 June 2023 The Future is the Product of the Past

Georgia’s Queen of Kings “Tamar the Great”

Queen Tamar (1160-1235 CE) reigned during Georgia’s Golden Age, when the country’s frontiers stretched from the Black Sea to the Caspian, over the mountainous Caucasus to the north, and into modern-day Armenia and Iran to the south.

She was regarded as a wise patron of culture, arts, and sciences, a devoted follower of the Christian Church, and a formidable warrior queen in her own day and throughout history. Georgia was governed by several queens, but only Tamar was given the title of “mepe,” or “king.” She was dubbed “Queen of Kings, Glory of the World, Kingdom, and Faith, Queen of Queens” by her contemporaries.

The daughter of King George III and Queen Burdukhan of Georgia, Tamar was born in 1166. Her status as King George III’s heir was unique: a woman had never governed Georgia before, but her father determined in designating her his heir, declaring, “it matters not if a lion is male or female.” While he was still alive, he proclaimed Tamar queen and vowed that they would reign jointly. George III thought that by doing so, he would be able to teach Tamar the art of monarchy while also securing her succession. Tamar, on the other hand, gave her first political test just after her father’s death in 1184.

She forged connections with other senior royals as well as the head of the Georgian Church, Michael IV Mirianisdze, to strengthen her claim to the throne. Tamar was pushed into an unhappy marriage with the Rus Prince Yuri initially, but she later publicly accused him of drinking and sodomy. The nobility was obliged to sanction her divorce, and the humiliated Yuri was deported to Constantinople.

Beauty Queen Tamar
Tamar was as beautiful as she was smart, according to all contemporary chronicles.

Despite Yuri’s attempts to return again, Tamar found herself a new suitor – the Alan prince David Soslan – and the two of them kept him at bay.

Tamar started on an ambitious plan of expansion, leveraging her new husband’s previous experience as a military commander to develop and implement daring initiatives. She also had two children by David Soslan, a descendant of the noble Bagrationi family.

She was able to establish a new empire at Trebizond (Turkey) in 1204, extending down the Black Sea coast, and she used the crumbling Byzantine Empire to enhance Georgia’s reputation and power on the world scene. Tamar’s envoys were welcomed as far as Jerusalem, where, unlike other Christian visitors, they were given free passage.

However, Tamar’s achievements were not limited to the battlefield. She was a brilliant reformer who was able to unite various kingdoms and principalities inside Georgia, ushering in the country’s Golden Age.

Shota Rustavelli, Georgia's most famous poet, dedicated his epic poem "The Knight in the Panther Skin," to Tamar during her reign.
Shota Rustavelli, Georgia’s most famous poet, dedicated his epic poem “The Knight in the Panther Skin,” to Tamar during her reign.

Georgian culture thrived under Queen Tamar’s rule. Tamar was really interested in construction. She funded the building of several of Georgia’s beautiful cathedrals and churches, as well as the intriguing Vardzia Caves Monastery. The queen was an enthusiastic patroness of science and learning, as well as poets and authors. Shota Rustavelli, Georgia’s most famous poet, dedicated his epic poem “The Knight in the Panther Skin,” to Tamar during her reign.

Tamar was as beautiful as she was smart, according to all contemporary chronicles. Superlatives abound in descriptions of her physical characteristics, and even two-dimensional, other-worldly depictions of her in ancient icons and frescoes on the walls of Georgia’s magnificent cathedrals depict an attractive young woman with abundant dark hair, a swan-like neck, emotional, intelligent eyes, and dressed in elegant robes. She is a beloved saint of the Orthodox Church, numerous churches and cathedrals bear her name, as do countless girls and women in the Caucuses.

The location of Queen Tamar’s tomb is a mystery that has spawned various legends similar to those of Arthur of Camelot. Some claim her ashes were transferred to Jerusalem for safekeeping. Others claim Tamar is alive and well, sleeping in a cave deep in the Caucasus. She will awaken and emerge from the cave one day, ushering in a new Golden Age for Georgia.

Source: Lordkipanidze, M. Georgia in the 11th-12th Centuries. Ganatleba Publishers, 1987.

Rapp, S. Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography. Peeters Publishers, 2003.

Banner
Related Post

Michelangelo, the artistic giant, was actually rather short

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

The legendary Michelangelo Buonarroti left huge works behind as an artist. But Italian researchers found that the shoes of this...

The Oldest “Book” of Europe: Derveni Papyrus

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The Derveni papyrus is considered Europe’s oldest legible manuscript still in existence today. It is an ancient Greek papyrus roll...

The Dispilio Tablet: may be the earliest known written text

7 January 2022

7 January 2022

Although traditional archeology claims that writing was not invented in Sumer between 3000 and 4000 BC, an artifact that contradicted...

Jordan’s mysterious ancient wall “Khatt Shebib”

22 October 2022

22 October 2022

The accomplishments of ancient civilizations are typically woefully underappreciated because we stereotype them as primitives who only wore loincloths, and...

Spain’s little-known Viking history is being uncovered

9 August 2021

9 August 2021

Spain has been subjected to more invasions and conquests than any other European country. And, while the Roman, Visigothic, and...

A birthplace of complex musical instruments “Iran”

9 January 2022

9 January 2022

Music is a form of art, which derives from the Greek word meaning “art of the Muses.” While it is...

A Pagan cemetery belongs to the Late Roman Empire period in Istanbul

12 June 2022

12 June 2022

During the restoration of the ancient Sheikh Suleiman Mosque, which was restored as part of the Med-Art Education Project by...

Contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia the Indus Valley Civilization city of ‘Mohenjo Daro’: Skilled urban planners with a reverence for the control of water

10 September 2022

10 September 2022

The Indus River Valley (or Harappan) civilization (3300-1300 BCE) lasted 2,000 years and spanned northeast Afghanistan to Pakistan and northwest...

Unsolvable Megalithic Mystery of ancient Greek “Dragon Houses”

4 July 2022

4 July 2022

The Dragon Houses of Euboea, which probably dates to the Preclassical period of ancient Greece, are one of the historical...

Istanbul’s Iron Church of Unique Beauty

1 November 2021

1 November 2021

The Bulgarian Church of St. Stephens was constructed like a cross-shaped Basilica. St. Stephen Church is also known as The...

Some interesting facts regarding its use the Galata Tower in Istanbul

10 July 2021

10 July 2021

The Galata Tower is one of Istanbul’s most recognizable landmarks, and its bright lights can be seen from all across...

Balkanatolia: The Forgotten Continent That Sheds Light On The Evolution Of Mammals

25 February 2022

25 February 2022

A team of French, American and Turkish paleontologists and geologists led by CNRS researchers has discovered the existence of a...

7500-year-old cursed city of Iran

17 March 2023

17 March 2023

Sialk Hills, located in the southwestern part of Kashan city in Iran, was known among the locals as a ‘cursed...

Khirbet Midras pyramid and  Archaeological Site in Israel

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

Khirbet Midras (Arabic) or Horvat Midras (Hebrew) is one of several antiquities sites located within the Adullam Grove National Park,...

Famous Celtic hero bust of the Czech Republic “The head of Mšecké Žehrovice”

5 May 2022

5 May 2022

Located in the Czech Republic, the Mšecké Žehrovice’s head makes an appealing piece with its delightful curling mustaches- “perhaps the...

Comments
Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *