medieval-women:Tamar the Great Queen of Georgia Born c. 1160 – Died 1213 Claim to fame: The
medieval-women: Tamar the Great Queen of Georgia Born c. 1160 – Died 1213 Claim to fame: The first woman to rule Georgia in her own right, Tamar presided over the apex of the ‘Georgian Golden Age’, a period of political, military and cultural achievements As a teenager Tamar became co-ruler of Georgia with her father Giorgi III from 1178 until his death six years later. Although named as heir she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon commencing autonomous rule. With diplomacy and concessions Tamar was able to secure her throne. The nobles quickly arranged for her to marry a Russian prince, Yuri, but the marriage was not happy. Tamar’s increasing strength and assertiveness meant that she was able to divorce her drunk and debauched husband and expel him from Georgia. Yuri then attempted two large-scale coups, both of which were put down. Tamar then chose a capable military commander, David Soslan, to be her second king consort and she continued to be styled as mep’et’a mep’e, “king of kings”. Tamar and David had a son and a daughter who both became rulers of Georgia. Once Tamar succeeded in consolidating her power she looked to increase it by repulsing attackers and reducing nearby regions into tributary states. She used her troops to support the establishment of the empire of Trebizond, thus creating a friendly region that was formerly controlled by the Byzantine Empire. Tamar took advantage of the weakness of the Byzantines to position Georgia as the protector of eastern Christians, supporting religious institutions throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Tamar accompanied her army and was involved in campaign planning but she was never directly involved in the fighting. Despite this the military victories of her reign contributed to her image as a warrior-queen. Tamar’s leadership brought the Georgia to the zenith of its “Golden Age”, a period of political, economic and cultural might. Her greatly expanded kingdom brought new wealth to the country and enabled a unique Georgian Christian culture to flourish, along with military, industrial, commercial, literary and architectural triumphs. Tamar died of a “devastating disease” in 1213 and there is continuing speculation about the site of her burial. The Georgian writer Grigol Robakidze wrote “Thus far, nobody knows where Tamar’s grave is. She belongs to everyone and to no one: her grave is in the heart of the Georgian”. Though sometimes portrayed as cruel and seductive, Tamar’s legacy is now mostly that of a pious and merciful queen (she opposed torture, mutilation and executions) who has since been canonised by the Georgian Orthodox Church. Sources: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. -- source link