Tamar of Imereti (died 1510)

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Tamar
Fresco of Queen Tamar, Gelati Monastery
Queen consort of Imereti
Tenure1484–1510
Died(1510-03-12)12 March 1510
Kutaisi
Burial
Gelati Monastery
SpouseAlexander II of Imereti
Issue
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church

Tamar of Imereti (Georgian: თამარ; died 12 March 1510 in Kutaisi) was a queen of Imereti from 1483. After the collapse of the Kingdom of Georgia in 1490, she became queen consort of the Kingdom of Imereti until her death in 1510.

Tamar was married to King Alexander II of Imereti. Her family origins are unknown, and only limited information about her life has survived. Contemporary and later sources portray her as ruling alongside her husband during a period characterized by prolonged conflicts with Kartli and with the expanding Ottoman Empire. She bore five children, among them the future king Bagrat III of Imereti.

Biography

Little is known about Tamar’s life. She was probably born into a Georgian noble family.[note 1] In 1483, she married Alexander,[1] who in the next year established his authority at Kutaisi as ruler of Imereti, in opposition to Constantine II of Georgia.[2]

According to the French historian Marie-Félicité Brosset, Tamar played a significant political and ceremonial role as queen consort, particularly after the independence of the Kingdom of Imereti in 1490. Brosset notes that Alexander II and Tamar ruled “jointly”.[3] In 1495, Tamar is mentioned alongside the king as having made substantial donations to the Gelati Monastery, contributing to the restoration of this major Orthodox center after its properties had been plundered by Constantine II.[3] That same year, she instituted a charitable ceremony involving the distribution of food to the poor on the Feast of the Ascension, held on 31 May 1495,[note 2] and commissioned the construction of a residence at Gelati for a permanent priest.[3]

Tamar is again recorded in 1509 for organizing a charitable meal for the poor during the feast of Lazarus Saturday on 10 April.[note 3][3]

In 1510, Alexander II left Imereti to launch a military campaign in Kartli. Tamar died in his absence at Kutaisi on 12 March 1510. She was buried at Gelati Monastery. Alexander II died less than a month later.[1]

Family

Tamar married King Alexander II of Imereti in 1483. Their children were:[4]

  • Bagrat III of Imereti (1495–1565), King of Imereti (r. 1510–1565);
  • Prince Vakhtang (fl. 1512–1548), who rebelled against his brother Bagrat III;
  • Prince George (fl. 1511–1545), who was married to a certain Ana (fl. 1565–1578);
  • Prince David (fl. 1510–1524);
  • Prince Demetrius (fl. 1511);
  • Princess Tinatin, who married Spiridon Beenashvili;
  • An unnamed daughter, who was married twice, secondly to George, son of Rostom Gurieli;

Notes

  1. Georgian kings were forbidden to marry women who were not of the nobility, while Tamar is a common Georgian name.
  2. According to mathematician Michael Hartley, Easter fell on 21 April in 1495. Ascension Day is celebrated 40 days later.
  3. According to mathematician Michael Hartley, Easter falls on 18 April in 1509. Lazarus Saturday is celebrated eight days earlier.

References

  1. Buyers, Christopher. "Imereti – Page 3". Royal Ark.
  2. Rayfield 2012, p. 45.
  3. Brosset 1851, p. 50. sfn error: no target: CITEREFBrosset1851 (help)
  4. Metreveli, Roin (2003). ბაგრატიონები. სამეცნიერო და კულტურული მემკვიდრეობა [Scientific and Cultural Heritage of the Bagrationis] (in Georgian and English). Tbilisi: Neostudia. p. 579. ISBN 99928-0-623-0.

Bibliography