Commemoration: May 1/14, Week of the Myrrh-Bearing Women (movable celebration)
The time of the reign of St. Tamara is known as the golden age of Georgian history: Queen Tamara was distinguished by high piety and, continuing the undertakings of her grandfather, the faithful King David III the Restorer, contributed to the wide spread of the faith of Christ throughout Georgia, the construction of temples and monasteries. At one time, she convened a church council, which eliminated the turmoil in church life and removed unworthy hierarchs. In 1204, the ruler of the Rum Sultanate, Rukn-ed-Din, turned to Queen Tamara demanding that Georgia renounce Christianity and adopt Islam. Queen Tamara rejected this demand, and in historical battle near Basiani, the Georgian army defeated a coalition of Muslim states. The peace that settled after the victorious wars had a beneficial effect on the development of Georgian culture.
Saint Tamara was distinguished by extraordinary mercy towards the poor, generosity towards her enemies. The day on which the queen could not give alms to the poor, she considered lost for herself. In her reign, there was not a single case death penalty and corporal punishment, punishments involving self-mutilation. There was no oppression, no extortion, no robbery among the people in her time. Desiring to give alms from the labors of her own hands, the holy queen Tamara spun and embroidered at night, and distributed the money earned for her needlework to the poor. The reign of the faithful Queen Tamara won her popular love. She spent the last years of her life in the cave monastery of Vardzia.
Saint Tamara of Georgia is the mother and heavenly patroness of Georgia, benefactors, temple builders, judges, soldiers and other sovereign people, as well as creative intelligentsia. They pray to Queen Tamara to protect the home and family from troubles, theft and other misfortunes. Honored among the myrrh-bearing women, they turn to her for protection from the pernicious vices of their own and loved ones, from unbelief or doubts in faith, for healing from mental and bodily ailments, for the fullness and depth of repentance and for intercession before the Lord for the salvation of the soul.
Blessed Queen Tamara of Georgia. Contemporary Georgian Icon
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Troparion to Blessed Tamara, Queen of Georgia, tone 8
Wishing for the highest beauty, the lower bodily sweetness far from yourself drove you away and, in the devil of the royal abiding, you forwarded the angelic life, blessed Queen Tamaro, pray to Christ God to be saved to our souls.
Kontakion to Blessed Tamara, Queen of Georgia, Tone 8
In the saints wondrous, Iberia shone, faithful to Queen Tamaro, on the mountains high temples who raised up, and in them prayers are sent to the Lord, with your prayers, the fortress bestowed with a howl the Christ-loving people of the country of Iberian, with your right hand overthrowing the hordes of Hagar, pray to Christ God to be saved to our souls.
Prayer to Blessed Tamara, Queen of Georgia
O holy queen Tamaro! Do not forget us, but remember in your holy prayers the servant of God ( names), pray for us, holy queen. Do not depart from us in spirit, save us from the arrows of the enemy, from the charms of demons and the machinations of the devil. Ask us time for repentance and unhinderedly pass from earth to heaven through the ordeals of bitter demons, but by your intercession from eternal torment, we will be able to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven with all the righteous, who have pleased our Lord Christ from time immemorial: He deserves all glory, honor and worship, now and for endless ages.
Second Prayer to Blessed Tamara, Queen of Georgia
Oh, holy great noble queen Tamara! We are sinners names) and humility, as if we are diligently resorting to a warm protector and quick helper, asking for help and intercession in the abyss of troubles, you have great boldness to God, pray for us in sorrows, needs and misfortunes, and protect us from all enemies visible and invisible, most of all from demonic intrigues and cunning, arrogant attacks and flattering immersed, like every day and hour we are from crafty people who happen, and are obsessed with various diseases, but by your intercession, if approaches, let us not be mocked and ridiculed by them, and with your strong help they drive away from us, as if you drove away from the country of Iver and affirm true love for God in our hearts and make it worthy.
When our departure from this temporal life and to eternity will be resettled, soon stand up to help us, and from the violence of the enemy freedom, as if you have eternal life, and lead our hearts to true repentance, and we will stand with undefiled lips and a pure conscience Holy Trinity, glorifying and singing yu, with all the saints in endless ages. Amen.
May 1, 1207 (May 14). - Blgv. Tamara, Queen of Georgia
St. Tamara, Queen of Georgia
(c. 1165–1207) descended from the ancient Georgian Bagratid dynasty and from 1178 was co-ruler with her father, George III. The reign of St. Tamara is known as the golden age of Georgian history: Queen Tamara was distinguished by high piety and, continuing the undertakings of her grandfather, St. the faithful King David III the Restorer, contributed to the widespread spread of Orthodoxy throughout Georgia, the construction of churches and monasteries. She also built fortresses, bridges, roads. She patronized the arts and sciences.
Saint Tamara convened a church council, which eliminated the turmoil in church life and removed the unworthy hierarchs. She proclaimed justice and mercy as the motto of her reign: “I am the father of the orphans and the judge of widows,” said Tamara. In her reign, there was not a single case of the death penalty and corporal punishment. The wise rule of the faithful Queen Tamara earned her popular love. During her reign, the Georgian kingdom increased and strengthened.
The reign of Tamara is surrounded by a poetic halo. Modern queen poets praised her intelligence and beauty. She was called a vessel of wisdom, a smiling sun, a slender reed, a radiant face, glorified her meekness, diligence, obedience, religiosity, beauty. There were legends about her perfections that have come down in oral transmission to our times. Byzantine princes, the Sultan of Aleppo, the Shah of Persia were looking for her hands.
Her first husband was the Russian Prince George (son), but this marriage was annulled. 10 years after her accession to the throne, Tamara enters into a new marriage - with a childhood friend, the Ossetian ruler David Soslani - and opens an offensive policy. She conquers almost all of Transcaucasia from the Muslims, which brings her great fame, the echoes of which are heard in the Russian legend about the Iberian Queen Dinara. Tamara was recognized as the queen from Pontus to Gurgan (Caspian) and from Sper (the line from Trebizond to Kars) to Derbent, Khazaretia and Scythia. In 1204, the ruler of the Rum Sultanate, Rukn-ed-Din, turned to Queen Tamara demanding that Georgia renounce Christianity and adopt Islam. Queen Tamara rejected this demand, and in the historic battle near Basiani, the Georgian army defeated the coalition of Muslim states.
She spent the last years of her life in the cave monastery of Vardzia. The Blessed Queen had a cell that communicated with the temple through a window, from which she could offer prayers to God during Divine Services. She died peacefully in 1207 (and not in 1213, according to updated data) and was canonized as a saint. Her memory is celebrated twice: on May 1 - the day of the repose, and again on (passing celebration).
Russian Orthodox Church honors St. Queen Tamara, remembering also that Georgia is not a foreign country for us. – .
More about Georgia in our calendar:
More than 800 years have passed since this amazing holy ruler of Iberia passed away to the Lord.
We present to your attention the biography of the holy Queen Tamara, prepared according to extremely interesting Georgian chronicles.
In Georgia, the people have an exceptional love for the two holy wives - Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina and the faithful Queen Tamara. Over the centuries that have passed since her death, this love has not weakened in the least, and cannot weaken, for Saint Tamara not only exalted Georgia during her earthly reign, but after her death she only multiplied prayers for the suffering homeland, which for many centuries was plunged into into the unbearable horror of the Islamic yoke.
The very reign of the faithful queen became a real miracle and a gift for Georgia, since it is in this fragile, unusually beautiful woman, the Georgians found their best ruler, fair and merciful, not wise as a woman, but reasonable as an angel. And most importantly, it was in her that they found the eternal, to the very Doomsday vigilant prayer book and intercessor at the Throne of God.
Two major works have come down to our time, in which the contemporaries of the holy empress describe her life and reign. The first of them - "The Life of the Queen of Queens Tamar" - was written, in the opinion of the most authoritative Georgian researchers, by a close associate of Queen Basili Ezosmodzgvari. In this essay, attention is paid primarily to the moral character of the saint, which, in fact, should correspond to the hagiographic genre to the greatest extent.
Another work - "The History and Praise of the Crowned" - was written by a person more secular in spirit than the author of "The Life of the Queen of Queens", but also an eyewitness to most of the events he describes. It is replete with detailed geographical information, descriptions of battles and state councils. Together, both of these works recreate the life of the era in question with sufficient detail.
All other information about the life of St. Tamara is contained in separate surviving decrees and documents like deeds of gift. Fortunately, both works were translated into Russian in the first half of the 20th century, so we can rely on primary sources, detailed information about which you can read in the relevant articles.
Life of the Holy Blessed Queen Tamara
Childhood and youth
The Holy Blessed Queen Tamara The Holy Queen Tamara (1166-1213) came from the Bagratid family, which, according to the established Georgian tradition, is customarily traced back to the descendants of King David. The author of “History and Praise of the Crowned” at the very beginning of his narrative writes that he will “broadcast “praise of praise” to the one who came from the seed of Solomon”, for she “fully corresponded to her ancestors - the Davidides, Khosrovides and Pankratides”.
Saint Tamara's father was the "King of Kings" George, the grandson of the famous Saint David the Builder. He fought a lot with the Mohammedans. Under him, the borders of Georgia were further expanded, so that “gifts were brought to him and the kings of Greece, Aleman in Jerusalem, Roman, Indian and Chinese fraternized with him; the sultans of Khvarasan, Babylonian, Sham, Egyptian and Iconic served him. Burdukhan, the mother of Saint Tamara, was beautiful and intelligent. From such parents came the one who was to become an adornment of Georgia, and of the entire Mediterranean.
In 1178, George, having gathered representatives of his seven kingdoms, with the consent of the patriarchs and all the bishops, nobles, military leaders and commanders, declared Tamara queen.
After 7 years, on Holy Week in 1184, the father died, and representatives of the highest nobility came to Tamara so that she, being “consciously conscious, reasonable and knowledgeable”, took the kingdom into her own hands. The author of "Life ..." describes the young queen as follows: "A properly folded body, dark color eye and pink coloration of white cheeks; shy look... pleasant language, cheerful and alien to any swagger, speech pleasing to the ear, conversation alien to any depravity.
Two marriages and confirmation on the throne
From the very beginning of her reign, Tamara showed remarkable intelligence, attending primarily to the election of the most worthy persons to the positions of viziers and military leaders. During this time, Tamara provided the bishops with donations, freeing churches from dues and taxes. According to the chronicler, "in her reign, farmers became aznaurs, aznaurs - nobles, the latter became rulers."
She made Antony Glonistavisdze from Gareja and two sons of amirspasalar Mkhargrdzeli, Zakharia and Ivane, her close associates. Although they were Armenians by faith, they highly revered Orthodoxy, so that one of them - Ivane - subsequently "comprehended the curvature of the faith of the Armenians, crossed himself and became a true Christian." In the future, all these people will show themselves from the best sides.
However, not everyone appreciated the tenacious mind of the young queen. Some of the top officials conspired to rise even higher and not let new associates go higher up the career ladder. Minister of Finance Kutlu-Arslan openly suggested creating a kind of parliament that would deal with government affairs, while Tamara's power would be reduced only to the formal approval of all the laws they adopted. The queen detained the minister, the military stood up for him, but through negotiations the situation was improved.
In 1185, by unanimous decision of the Patriarch, bishops and courtiers, it was decided to find a husband for young Tamara. For this, the merchant Zerubbabel was sent to Russia, "in view of the belonging of the Russian tribes to Christianity and Orthodoxy." Arriving in Russia and getting acquainted with George, the son of the holy martyr Andrei Bogolyubsky, “a valiant young man, perfect in physique and pleasant for contemplation,” Zankan brought him to Georgia. Everyone approved the choice of the groom, but Tamara, who was judicious beyond her age, said: “How can you take such a rash step? Let me wait until you see the merits or demerits of him.” But the courtiers insisted on their own, forced her consent and arranged a wedding.
A little later, Tamara's fears were justified: our compatriot, alas, proved to be a drunkard who did "many indecent deeds." For two and a half years the saint endured her husband's vices, addressed him through worthy monks, then she herself began to denounce him face to face. But George became even more furious and began to commit more destructive misdeeds. Then Tamara, "shedding tears, sent him into exile, providing him with untold wealth and jewelry." In 1187 George settled in Constantinople.
Thanks to natural beauty With mind and charm, the saint became a desired bride for many kings and princes from all over the world. The eldest son of the Byzantine emperor Manuel almost went crazy because of her. Several sultans were ready to betray Islam, if only to win her hand. But Tamara remained adamant, because. due to her innate craving for purity, she generally wanted to remain celibate.
However, the courtiers were worried about the lack of an heir, and only for the sake of him did the saint agree to marry in 1188 a pupil of her aunt Rusudan, the Ossetian prince David. This marriage turned out to be successful. In David, Saint Tamara found a wonderful husband and a fearless military leader. His contemporaries said of his abilities that "this David, within one year, excelled everyone in everything that comes from the hands of man." Soon Tamara gave birth to an heir, to whom she gave the name of her grandfather George, and then a daughter, whom she named after her aunt - Rusudan.
Having learned about the marriage of St. Tamara, the Russian prince decided to fight for the lost throne. He departed from Constantinople and came to the country of Ezinkan. There he was joined by numerous traitors. Having gathered a large army, they went to war against Tamara, but were defeated in a night battle near the Kura River. The saint showed mercy and did not execute any of the traitors, even releasing her ex-husband. George twice more after that tried to regain the Georgian throne, but each time he was defeated by vassals loyal to Tamara.
State Accomplishments
The reign of the holy noble queen Tamara became a time of prosperity not only for Georgia, but also for the neighboring peoples.
According to the chronicler, "she sat as a judge between neighboring kings, making sure that no one started a war or tried to throw a yoke of violence on each other." At the same time, she herself never relaxed from the action of time and did not show lack of diligence in management. And it was during her reign that Georgia achieved such glory and power, which it did not possess either before or after.
Enumeration of the cities taken by her alone can make up a whole book. And therefore, we will dwell in detail on only two brilliant victories won by her over those who, out of hatred for Christianity, wanted to wipe Georgia off the face of the earth.
Caliph Abu-Bakr, who hated Christianity, "opened the ancient treasuries" in order to gather a huge army from India, Samarkand and Derbent and move on Georgia. There were so many troops gathered by him that, according to the chronicler, they "did not have the opportunity to fit in any one country." Upon learning of the impending invasion, Saint Tamara commanded that a decree be circulated so that an army would immediately gather, that all-night vigils and litias be held in all churches and monasteries, and that the courtiers would send “more money and everything necessary for the poor.”
In ten days, they managed to gather a considerable army. The saint turned to the soldiers: “My brothers, do not be afraid because there are so many of them, and few of you, because God is with us.” After that, she entrusted them to God, and she herself took off her shoes and came barefoot to the temple of the Mother of God in Metekhi, where, falling before the holy icon, she did not stop praying with tears.
The Georgians were the first to attack the enemy. Seeing the Islamic forces between Gandza and Shamkhor, they dismounted their horses, bowed to God and prayed before the holy Cross with tears, and then struck at the enemies and won. The number of prisoners was so great that they were sold for a wooden measure of flour.
“Did Tamar’s heart become proud?” Her biographer asks, and he immediately answers: “On the contrary, she became even more modest before God.”
In 1202, Rukn-ad-Din, Sultan of Rum, came out against St. Tamara, who feignedly concluded a number of peace treaties with her, and at that time he himself recruited troops throughout Ecumene: in Mesopotamia and Kalonero, in Galatia, Gangra, Ankyria, Isauria, Cappadocia , Great Armenia, Bithynia and on the borders of Paphlagonia.
Rukn-ad-Din, seeing the army gathered by him, sent an ambassador to Tamara: “I, Rukn-ad-Din, the sultan of all the skies, co-sitting with God, notify you, Queen of Georgia, Tamara. I am coming so that you will never again dare to take up the sword. And I will give life only to those who profess the faith of the Prophet Muhammad, reject your faith and begin to break the cross with their own hands. Expect punishment from me for the trouble that I brought on the Muslims.
Tamara, placing all her hope in God, called on the courtiers and began to confer with them "not like a woman and not with disregard for the dictates of reason." In a few days, they managed to gather the soldiers, who first went to the temple Holy Mother of God in Vardzia. The queen entrusted her husband and all his army to the Mother of God, and wrote a letter to the Sultan: honest cross, I read your message, angering God, Nucardin. Anyone who falsely swears by the name of the Lord will be wiped off the face of the earth by God. I am sending a Christ-loving army to crush your pride and arrogance." The warriors bowed Life-Giving Cross and went on a campaign, and the queen devoted herself to fasting and prayer.
When the Georgian troops arrived in Basiani, they saw that the Sultan did not have guards posted. They attacked first, the Turks abandoned their camp and rushed into the fortifications. The Georgians surrounded them and frightened them so much that the vanquished themselves tied up their fellow tribesmen. The townspeople decorated Tbilisi for the arrival of the king and queen, and they entered the city with the banner of Rukn-ad-Din. The royal treasuries were filled with gold and golden utensils.
Interestingly, through the efforts of Queen Tamara, the whole Trebizond Empire was approved, which appeared in 1204 after the sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders. As is known, Saint Tamara patronized monasteries and temples a lot. One day, many monks from the Black Mountain, Cyprus and other places arrived to her. The saint gave them a large number of gold. When the Byzantine emperor Alexius Angel saw him, he took him away from the monks. The queen sent gold in the name of the venerable fathers more.
At the same time, angry with the Greek king, she sent an army from Western Georgia to the Greek possessions, so that the Georgians took Lazika, Trebizond, Limon, Samison, Sinop, Kerasund, Kitiora, Amastrida, Araclia and all the lands of Paphlagonia and Pontus from the Greeks. Above all these lands, she placed her distant relative Alexius Komnenos, who became the emperor of the Empire of Trebizond.
The heyday of Georgian culture
Immediately after her election, Saint Tamara expressed her will for a church council to be convened. She summoned Nikolay Gulaberisdze from Jerusalem, who, in his modesty, had once fled from the rank of Catholicos of Kartli. When he arrived in Kartli, she gathered all the clergy, monks and hermits of her kingdom and people, connoisseurs of the law of God, striving to ensure that the evil seeds that sprouted in the soil of Orthodoxy were destroyed in her kingdom.
Gathering everyone to the Cathedral in one room and seating them on thrones, the empress sat down at a distance and said: “Oh, holy fathers, examine everything well and establish the straight and cast out the crooked. Do not be partial to princes because of their wealth, and do not neglect the poor because of their poverty. You in word, and I in deed, you in teaching, and I in teaching, you in instruction, and I in establishment, let us all give each other a helping hand in order to keep God's laws undefiled.
The queen did everything to ensure that in her reign the rank church service was carried out in full, according to the prescription of the Typicon and according to the Charter of the Palestinian monasteries.
Saint Tamara cared a lot about landscaping God's temples. In the palace itself, vigils and prayers were continuously served, the Bloodless Sacrifice was offered. In Kartli during this period the churches of Ikorta, Betania, Kvatakhevi were built, in Tbilisi - Lurgi Monasteri. Only the ruins of the once magnificent Gegut Palace have come down to us. A unique monument of the XII century is the Vardzia monastery complex carved into the rock in Javakheti. This is a walled city, which consists of several hundred caves. Not far from Vardzia, there is also the Wakhan Monastery carved into the rock. O high level engineering art is evidenced by the Besletsky, Rkonsky bridges and the Dandalo bridge.
She also sent her trustees all over the world, asking them: "Go around, starting from Alexandria, all of Libya and Mount Sinai." She grieved for the needs of the churches, monasteries and Christian peoples of those countries, sent chalices, diskos, covers for shrines and innumerable gold for monks and beggars. She did the same in the regions of Hellas and the Holy Mountain, also in Macedonia and Bulgaria, in the regions of Thrace and in monasteries of Constantinople, in Isauria and in all the vicinity of the Black Mountain and Cyprus.
In general, the very time of the reign of St. Tamara became the "Golden Age" of Georgian culture. Even if we do not mention the names of Chakhrukhadze and Shavteli, little known to the Russian reader, who wrote "Tamariani" and "Abdul-Messiah", everyone knows the most famous Georgian poetic work"The Knight in the Panther's Skin". It is interesting that its author, the brilliant Shote Rustaveli, according to one version, was hopelessly in love with his mistress and brought her bright image into the personality of one of the heroines of his great poem.
Death and posthumous veneration
In 1206, the husband of Saint Tamara, David Soslan, died, a man "full of all goodness, divine and human, beautiful in appearance, brave and courageous in battles and war, generous, humble and exalted in virtues."
The saint made her son George Lasha her co-ruler, and herself, according to the inevitable law of the universe, began to prepare for death. First, she took care of state affairs and managed them, then she managed church and monastic affairs. It was then that she discovered an unknown disease. All human art has been in vain. Everywhere, litias and uninterrupted all-night vigils were served for her health, and one could see "how both rich and poor alike shed tears." People cried out to God: “If only she would remain alive, but destroy us all!”
The wise Tamara summoned all the eminent people of the kingdom to her: “My brothers and children! So I am called by the Terrible Judge. In my heart I kept love for you. I beg you all to do good deeds and remember me. I leave you the heirs of my house of my children, George and Rusudan, accept them instead of me. Then she turned to God: “Christ, my One and only God, I entrust to You this kingdom, which You have entrusted to me, and this people, redeemed by Your precious Blood, and these my children whom You have given me, and then my soul.”
On January 18, the patron saint of the Georgian people died peacefully and quietly. “The sun of Georgia went out”, and the fun of the Georgians was replaced by grief, “their mouth became like the earth, deprived of salt.”
The ashes of St. Tamara were laid for several days in the cathedral in Mtskheta, and then they were buried in Gelati in the ancestral tomb of the Bagrations. However, no one knows where her relics actually lie. Knowing that the enemies of Christ would want to take revenge on her after death, she bequeathed to bury herself secretly so that the grave would remain hidden from the world. At night, ten detachments left the gates of the castle, where Queen Tamara died. Each carried a coffin, ten coffins were secretly buried in different places.
No one knew which of them contained the queen's body. According to one legend, she is buried in the Gelati Monastery. Another claims that she was buried in the Cross Monastery of Jerusalem, as she made a promise to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but during her lifetime she could not do this, and the new king Lasha fulfilled cherished desire his mother.
Moral Qualities of the Holy Queen
The name of St. Tamara spread everywhere, like "the name of an angel of the four countries of the world, from east to west, from north to south."
People loved her without looking back, and the animals themselves obeyed her. Once the Sultan sent her a lion cub as a gift; he grew up in the palace and became so attached to the saint that when he, already a huge, ferocious-looking lion, was taken out for a walk, he laid his muzzle on her knees and fawned like the lion of St. Gerasim. When they took him away, he wept profusely, flooding the earth with tears.
Saint Tamara made every effort so that "her human nature remained simple, according to the nature of her inner warehouse, without connection with passions." She turned out to be wiser than Solomon, for she loved God and began to shun all the temptations of the world. To the surprise of everyone, she "spent the whole night standing on her feet, awake, praying, bowing and tearful supplications to the Lord, as well as in needlework to help the poor." She possessed the beginning of all blessings - she was imbued with fear of the Almighty and served God faithfully. The prayers and vigils performed in her palace, according to the chronicler, "surpassed the prayers of Theodosius the Great and even the hermits."
The saint spent the days of her life in joy because every day she herself brought joy to all the poor and infirm. She placed faithful overseers over the poor. tenth of everything state income- external and internal - she gave to the poor and made sure that not even one grain of barley was lost.
In all of Georgia, it was impossible to meet a single person who, with her knowledge, was subjected to violence. For 31 years of her reign, by her order, no one was even punished with a whip. It is impossible to describe her love for priests and monks. In front of her were constantly people who followed the rules of a righteous life.
Saint Tamara became one of the closest to everything Orthodox world saints. No wonder so many women not only in Georgia, but also in Russia bear her name. Rideya about her beloved Georgia, and during her lifetime she did not forget about Byzantium and the Orthodox Slavic countries, sending help to Christians languishing in captivity, arranging magnificent monasteries and temples. Especially now, after death, she became the representative of all of us. Her wisdom in governing the country had a truly divine basis and is therefore very useful for the study of all of us.
Finally, the love for God manifested in her life, the hope in His holy will and Providence, is an example to all of us who look forward to the life of the future century, which, through the prayers of the holy blessed Queen Tamara, may the All-Merciful Lord reward us so generously with His servant! Amen
QUEEN TAMARA
Troparion, tone 8
Desiring the highest beauty, / the lower bodily sweetness far from yourself drove you away / and, in the royal devil, / you forwarded the angelic life, / blessed Queen Tamaro, / pray to Christ God to be saved to our souls.
Another troparion, tone 4
In the saints, marvelous, / Iveria shone, / faithful to Queen Tamaro, / erecting temples on the high mountains, / yes prayers are sent to the Lord in them, / with your prayers, the fortress bestowed by howling the Christ-loving people of the country of Iberia, / with your right hand overthrowing the hordes of Hagar, / pray to Christ God / be saved for our souls.
In contact with
In the same year, the issue of succession to the throne became the reason for the uprising of the nobility under the leadership of John Orbeli, who stood up for the rights of Tsarevcha Demna (Demetrius), the nephew of George III. The king brutally crushed the uprising, but he understood that the nobility was defeated only for the time being and was waiting for an opportune moment to resume the fight. This prompted George to resolve the issue of succession to the throne during his lifetime.
Rusudan supported this proposal and Queen Tamara heeded the request of the nobles, agreeing to the re-marriage to the kingdom. During the coronation, the young queen showed exceptional generosity, distributing countless treasures for the needs of the poor and the Church. She promised that she would persecute lawlessness, duplicity and other vices, encourage virtue, support legal principles, and take care of the people's welfare, the greatness of the fatherland. The people were delighted with the queen.
"Correctly folded body, dark eye color and pink coloration of white cheeks; shy look ... pleasant language, cheerful and alien to any swagger, speech that delights the ear, conversation alien to any viciousness" .
Marriage and approval on the throne
From the very beginning of her reign, Tamara showed a remarkable mind, attending primarily to the election of the most worthy persons to the positions of advisers (veziers) and military leaders. She made Antony Glonistavisdze from Gareja and the two sons of the chief governor (amirspasalar) Mkhargrdzeli: Zakharia and Ivane, who later proved to be faithful and skilled people, her close associates. At the same time, Tamara provided the bishops with donations, freeing the churches from dues and taxes, and tried to gather people of a righteous life to her.
Some of the top officials conspired to rise even higher and not let new associates go higher up the career ladder. The treasurer (mechurchletukhutses) Kutlu-Arslan openly suggested creating a kind of parliament that would deal with government affairs, and the power of the queen would be reduced only to the formal approval of all the laws adopted by them. Tamara detained Kutla-Arslan. The military stood up for him, but through negotiations, the confrontation was resolved.
Thanks to her natural beauty, intelligence and charm, the saint became a desired bride for many kings and princes from all over the world. The eldest son of the emperor Manuel Comnenus strove for her hand, several sultans were ready to abandon Islam for her sake. But Tamara remained adamant, because, due to her innate craving for purity, she generally wanted to remain celibate. Only yielding to the convictions of the courtiers, who were worried about the lack of an heir, she finally agreed to marry in the year for the pupil of her aunt Rusudan, the Alanian prince David Soslan. This marriage turned out to be successful: in David, Saint Tamara found a wonderful husband and a fearless military leader. Soon Tamara gave birth to an heir, the future king George IV, and then a daughter, Rusudan.
Having learned about the second marriage of the holy empress, her first husband decided to fight for the lost throne. He appeared in the country of Ezinkan (Erzinjan), where numerous traitors joined him and went to war against Tamara. The army of rebels was defeated in the night battle near the Kura River, but the saint showed mercy and did not execute any of the traitors, and set her ex-husband free. Subsequently, Yuri Andreevich tried twice more to regain the Georgian throne, but each time he was beaten by vassals devoted to Tamara.
Foreign policy
Ten years after her accession to the throne, Queen Tamara launched an offensive policy against neighboring Muslim states. Her forces took Khorasan, Tabriz (now Tabriz) and Erzurum. In response, the Baghdad caliph decided to conquer the growing Christian Georgia and in the year gathered a powerful united army of the Muslim world against it, which included forces from India, Samarkand and Derbent under the command of the Atabek of Azerbaijan Abu Bakr. Upon learning of the impending invasion, Saint Tamara ordered that a decree be distributed so that an army would immediately gather, that all-night vigils and litias be performed in all churches and monasteries, and that the courtiers would send "more money and everything necessary for the poor." In ten days, they managed to gather a considerable army. The saint turned to the soldiers: "My brothers, do not be afraid because there are so many of them, and you are few, because God is with us." After that, she entrusted them to God, and she herself took off her shoes and came barefoot to the temple of the Mother of God in Metekhi, where, falling before the holy icon, she did not stop praying with tears. Georgian troops won a brilliant victory near Shamkhor (now Shamkir), capturing many enemy soldiers. The great victory brought fame to the queen, but her biographer emphasizes that the faithful Tamara did not succumb to pride, but "on the contrary, she became even more modest before God."
Another difficult test for the queen and the country was the fight with the Sultan of Rum Rukn ad-din. Having feignedly concluded a number of peace treaties with Tamara, he gathered a large army throughout his state, and in the early 1200s spoke out against her, declaring that life would leave "only to those who profess the faith of the prophet Muhammad, reject your faith and begin to break with his own hand cross " . Tamara, placing all her hope in God, called on the courtiers and began to confer with them "not like a woman and not with disregard for the dictates of reason." In a few days, they managed to gather the soldiers, who first went to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Vardzia. The queen entrusted her husband and all his army to the Theotokos, and she herself indulged in fasting and prayer. In the Battle of Basian, the Georgians defeated the enemy, took rich trophies and again repelled the threat looming over the Christians. The biography has preserved a letter from the blessed queen to Sultan Rukn ad-din, written on the eve of the battle:
"Having entrusted herself to the Almighty God the Almighty and eternally praying to the Virgin Mary and trusting with faith in the honest Cross, I read your God-wrathing message, Nucardin. Anyone who falsely swears by the name of the Lord will be wiped off the face of the earth by God. I send a Christ-loving army to crush your pride and arrogance" .
The noble queen, continuing the expansion of the state in the fight against Muslim countries, also contributed to the creation of the allied Georgia, the Roman Empire of Trebizond. Having received her relatives, the exiled Roman princes Alexius and David Komnenos, she found herself in a confrontation with their persecutor, Emperor Alexius III Angelus. The impetus for the aggravation of relations was the seizure by Alexy Angel generous gifts with which Tamara endowed the monks who came to her. Upon learning of this, the queen sent gold in even greater quantities to the name of the Reverend Fathers. Then, in the same year, she sent an army to the northeastern limits of the Roman possessions and installed Alexius Komnenos as emperor over these lands, with his capital in Trebizond.
Thus, during the years of her reign, the faithful Queen Tamara humbled internal and external enemies, expanded the boundaries of the kingdom and delivered to Georgia the predominant political significance throughout Asia Minor. The queen was able to take the place of an arbitrator over a vast region - according to the chronicler, "she sat as a judge between neighboring kings, made sure that no one started a war or tried to throw a yoke of violence on each other." At the same time, Tamara herself did not relax from the action of time and did not show lack of diligence in management.
Internal management
The reign of St. Tamara is known as the golden age of Georgian history, not only from the political side, but also from the spiritual and cultural side. The high piety and wisdom of the empress manifested itself in many deeds, but the faithful Tamara became especially famous as the guardian of Orthodoxy, the generous patroness of the Church and the arts.
Immediately after her election, Saint Tamara announced the convening of a Church Council, for participation in which she called the former Catholicos Nicholas of Mtskheta from Jerusalem and, under his chairmanship, gathered numerous hierarchs, monks, hermits and experts in the law of God from all over the kingdom. Having seated everyone in one room, the queen sat down at a distance and said:
"Oh, holy fathers, examine everything well and establish what is right and cast out what is crooked. Do not be partial to princes because of their wealth, and do not neglect the poor because of their poverty. You in word, and I in deed, you in teaching, and I in teaching, you in instruction, and I in establishment let us all give each other a helping hand in order to keep God's laws undefiled" .
Guided by this order, the Council eliminated the troubles in church life and removed the unworthy hierarchs. In the future, the queen did everything to ensure that during her reign the rite of church service was carried out in full, according to the prescription of the Typicon and according to the Charter of the Palestinian monasteries. In the palace itself, prayers and vigils were continuously served, the Bloodless Sacrifice was offered. Saint Tamara cared a lot about the beautification of God's temples: in Kartli during this period the churches of Ikorta, Betania, Kvatakhevi were built; Lurgi Monastery was erected in Tbilisi; The monastery complex of Vardzia in Javakheti, carved into the rock, became an outstanding monument, and the Vakhan Monastery, carved nearby at the same time, is also noteworthy.
Under the holy queen, Georgian culture experienced an unprecedented flourishing. Such outstanding poems as "Abdul-Messiah" by St. John Shavteli, "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" by Shota Rustaveli and "Tamariani" by Chakhrukhadze are being written. In addition to magnificent temples, numerous new buildings are being built, such as the Gegut Palace, as well as the masterfully crafted Beslet, Rkonsky and Dandalo bridges.
The prosperity of Georgia under Tamara was also based on her special concern for the poor. She put faithful overseers over the needy and gave the poor a tenth of the entire state income, and she watched not even one grain of barley go missing. Executions have stopped in the country; in all of Georgia it was impossible to meet a single person who would have been subjected to violence with the knowledge of the queen. For 31 years of her reign, by her order, no one was even punished with a whip.
spiritual form
Georgian legends glorify the piety, meekness, peacefulness, wisdom and beauty of the holy queen. People loved her without looking back and the animals obeyed her: the biographer speaks of a lion that grew up at her court, who laid his face on the queen's knees, cuddled up to her, and when he was taken away, he cried profusely. Her name was famous as "the name of the angel of the four countries of the world, from east to west, from north to south."
Saint Tamara was imbued with fear of the Most High and served God faithfully. She made every effort so that "her human nature remained simple, according to the nature of her inner warehouse, without connection with passions." The queen amazed those close to her by "spent the whole night standing on her feet, awake, praying, bowing and tearful supplications to the Lord, as well as in needlework to help the poor." The queen rejoiced at the opportunity to help the poor and the weak, and she had a special love for priests and monks.
Last years and death
Then Tamara turned to God:
"Christ, my One and only God, I entrust to You this kingdom, which You have entrusted to me, and this people, redeemed by Your precious Blood, and these children of mine, whom You have given me, and then my soul" .
With these words, the faithful queen of the Georgian people died peacefully and quietly. Her death is most often dated January 18 of the year.
Relics and veneration
According to the biographer, with the repose of the holy Queen Tamara, "the sun of Georgia went out", and the joy of the Georgians was replaced by grief: "their mouth became like the earth, dehydrated from salt." According to the "Life of the Queen of Queens Tamar", the ashes of St. Tamara were laid for several days in the cathedral in Mtskheta, and then buried in Gelati in the ancestral tomb of the Bagrations. However, in fact, the true resting place of her relics remained hidden. Knowing that the enemies of Christ would want to take revenge on her after her death, she bequeathed to bury herself secretly so that the grave would remain hidden from the world. At night, ten detachments left the gates of the castle, where the queen died. Everyone carried a coffin, and all ten coffins were secretly buried in different places. No one knew which of them contained the queen's body. According to one tradition, she was buried in the Gelati Monastery. Another tradition claims that she was buried in the Jerusalem Cross Monastery, as she made a promise to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but during her lifetime she could not do this, and the new king George Lasha fulfilled his mother's cherished desire.
Queen Tamara's contemporaries left two major life stories of the saint that have survived over the centuries. "The Life of the Queen of Queens Tamar" was written, in the opinion of the most authoritative Georgian researchers, by Vasily Ezosmodzgvari, an approximate queen, and is devoted primarily to the moral character of the saint. Another work - "The History and Praise of the Crowned" - was written in a more secular manner by an eyewitness to most of the events he describes and is replete with detailed geographical information, descriptions of battles and state councils. Information about the life of the saint is also contained in decrees and documents like deeds of gift.
Both her personal piety and the unparalleled flourishing of Georgia under her hand contributed to the creation of a special reverence around her name. Along with Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, the blessed empress became the most revered and beloved saint among Georgians. The veneration of the holy empress approved by the Church was supplemented by various folk legends and beliefs. Over time, the veneration of the saint began to spread to other Orthodox nations. On the
If we compare the Church with a marvelous garden, then Queen Tamar will be a royal lily in this garden. Whoever pronounces her name in prayer feels the spiritual fragrance, like the heavenly flowers, the monasteries she built in the heart of the mountains, the chapels on the tops of the rocks and the temples and cathedrals erected in the valleys, majestic as the cliffs of the Caucasus. Whoever pronounces her name in prayer hears the ringing of bells announcing victory over the enemies of the cross. Whoever pronounces her name sees the blue and scarlet color of the dawn in the sky of Georgia, in the rays of which the moon and stars fade. Most of the peoples of the world in their songs and legends called May the most beautiful month of the year. His first day dedicates Georgian Church Queen Tamar, perhaps because her kingdom was the brightest and most beautiful day in the life of Georgia.The Georgian Church celebrates the memory of Queen Tamar on the day of the holy myrrh-bearing women - those who, like the apostles, left everything earthly and followed Christ. Queen Tamar, ruling over a vast state, abode with Christ in her soul, like one of the myrrh-bearing women. She poured out her mercy, like peace, on the wounds of Georgia and tried to wipe every tear from her eyes. If it were possible to call the queen by another name, then this name would be "mercy." If it were possible to call her reign in one word, then this word would be "nobility." The people and history called her great, but it was not only the greatness of her victories, but also the greatness of her Christian soul, which shines on us through the mists of time. Holy Queen Tamar took the scepter - like a cross and, ascending the throne, said: "I am the father of orphans and the mother of widows." She became not only a queen, but a mother and guardian angel of the peoples of Georgia.
Queen Tamar was called wise. Love gives a person unearthly wisdom, love opens a person's heart to God, love gives a person the only true happiness - to be a victim for others.
The life of the holy Queen Tamar was an invisible crucifixion for her people. If the holy fools hid the gift of clairvoyance and healing under the mask of imaginary madness, and the monks hid their spiritual exploits in the desert or behind the walls of monasteries, then the ascetic life of the Iberian crowned bearer was hidden from the eyes of the world even deeper - behind the splendor of the royal court, behind piles of gold and precious stones that brought to her feet the capitals and cities of the East.
During the day, sitting on the throne, she sorted out state affairs and held court, like Solomon, amazing with the wisdom and generosity of those who came to her. It was a court where truth triumphed, but the spring of its mercy was not closed to the condemned either. The sword of Solomon overtook even at the altar of the temple; in the palace of Tamar, even the enemies of the queen found forgiveness and mercy - those who wished her death and tried to point the sword at her chest. At night, Saint Tamar put on a sackcloth and prayed Mother of God, calling Her the Queen of Georgia, and himself - the last slave. The prayers of the holy crowned bearer, like fortress walls, protected the country from visible and invisible enemies.
Kings rule over the people, and the best of them serve their subjects as their masters. In prayers, long as those of a schematress, the queen's sleepless nights passed, and her tears - now transparent, like a diamond, now bloody, like a ruby - flowed down like streams of peace to the earth. Her prayer was the flame that the demons feared: so wild animals they are afraid of a lit torch, so wolves cannot approach the fire of a fire and only howl piercingly from afar.
Even in her youth, the holy Queen Tamar was granted a dream: as if wings were given to her, and she rose high into the sky over Georgia. She sees the Black Sea in the west. In it, like swans in a lake, Byzantine and Genoese ships sail. In the south, Byzantium is of the same faith, Tsargrad is a fortress of Orthodoxy, standing like a giant on two continents. In the north - the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains, like white clouds, shining like the domes of a temple. She looked to the east and sees the Caspian, which in a rage raises waves higher and higher. With a terrible roar they rush like lions to prey, and the boiling waters of the Caspian fall. It seems that the crests of the waves rise above the Caucasus Mountains, that the Caspian will tip over like a huge bowl and swallow the entire Caucasus in its abyss, and it, as under Noah, will turn into the bottom of the ocean, and Georgia will disappear forever in the abyss of raging waves. The holy Queen Tamar began to pray to God for the salvation of her country, and she saw three angels in the form of young men who raced on horseback to the shore of the Caspian Sea and, stopping, began to shoot fiery arrows into the sea. There was a roar, as if the mountains of the Caucasus had collapsed, a pillar of fire rose to the sky, as during the destruction of Sodom, and the entire huge Caspian was on fire, like a swamp of oil is on fire. And she sees the Caspian again in the form of an old man who groans and begs for mercy.
Queen Tamar woke up in deep sorrow. She realized that a terrible danger was coming from the east, but the Lord would preserve Georgia during her earthly life, just as the Lord had preserved the Jews from the invasions of the Assyrians and Babylonians for the sake of the righteous king Ezekiah.
Under Queen Tamar, Georgia reached the pinnacle of its power. The traveler stands on the top of the mountains and examines the surroundings under his feet, as from the height of an eagle's flight. He admires the azure flames of the firmament and clouds like bizarre fabulous islands, floating in the blue expanse, meadows, like a carpet embroidered with fresh flowers. And at this time, black clouds are gathering over the horizon. A storm can catch a traveler in the mountains, raging streams block his path. But nothing portends trouble, the sky is clear and calm.
Already in the east, the hordes of Genghis Khan are gathering. In the mountains of Altai, in the plains of Manchuria, in the deserts of Mongolia, terrible forces are gathering. The Mongolian blade will soon cut the world map from Pacific Ocean before mediterranean sea. China will fall. The smoke from the burnt cities and villages will cover the sky over Georgia with black mourning. A fiery avalanche of the Mongols will sweep over Russia. The Mongol cavalry will reach the borders of Serbia, and Batu, having scooped up water from the Adriatic Sea with his helmet, will pour it on the shore as a sign that this land now belongs to the Mongols. But as long as Queen Tamar is alive, the sun will shine over Georgia, the farmer will throw grain of wheat into the furrows of the field, the architects will build temples and fortresses, and the mother will breastfeed her child.
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The united forces of the Muslim states of the Middle East invaded Georgia twice and twice found a common grave in the land of Georgia. The first campaign was undertaken by the Caliph of Baghdad, the head of the Muslims of the whole world, who combined royal and religious authority. He held the same position and had the same indisputable authority as the pope in the Holy Roman Empire. The Muslim states adjacent to Georgia fielded a huge army. It was led by atabeg Abubekr.
While the Georgian army was gathering, for many days Queen Tamar prayed in the temples of Tbilisi. The army came out of the gates of the capital. Ahead was Queen Tamar - barefoot, with flowing hair, with a cross in her hands, like the prophetess Deborah before the army of Israel. She blessed her warriors with the cross, who marched past her in orderly rows, flashing armor and military weapons, with banners raised, knowing that many of them would not return back. Then she entered the Metekhi Church of the Most Holy Theotokos and, in front of the icon of Hodegetria, began to pray that the Virgin Mary would save Georgia, as she had once saved Tsargrad, surrounded by hordes of Avars and Scythians. The people prayed together with Queen Tamar. Everyone confessed their sins before God. Those who had previously been at enmity with each other reconciled, the rich forgave the debts of their debtors, released the prisoners and captives to freedom. Temples were open day and night. In the battle of Shamkhor, the Georgian army won. The main trophy in this battle was the Shamkhor fortress, which was considered impregnable.
Particularly formidable for Georgia was the invasion of Muslims under the banner of Rum Sultan Ruknadin, the ruler of a state formed from a province torn away from Byzantium, who, like the Caesar of Byzantium, considered himself the heir to the Roman Empire. The Sultan of Rum, confident in his victory, sent a letter to Queen Tamar, where, with unheard-of impudence, he demanded that the queen, together with the people, accept Islam. Therefore, the struggle with the Turkish-Arab army was, first of all, a struggle for faith.
The Sultan of Rum expected that the Georgian army, inferior to him in numbers, would not dare to join the battle and go over to the defense, and he would take fortresses and cities one by one and close the ring of his troops around Tbilisi. The proud sultan, who considered himself the successor of the Caesars, wanted to take Tbilisi by storm, as Titus once did Jerusalem, and wash with the blood of the Georgians the shame for the defeat inflicted on the Turks by King David the Builder, tearing Tbilisi out of their hands like a crown.
The Sultan of Rum was an experienced warrior, he spent his life in battles with the Byzantines and Crusaders, where he won victories and suffered defeats. But now something happened that he did not expect: the war ended in one battle. At the Vardzia monastery, a wave broke like a rock, and his army perished.
In Georgia, an army was hastily assembled, as if the sound of a battle silver trumpet had spread throughout the country. Queen Tamar, addressing the soldiers, said: “Let not the multitude of the enemy intimidate you, rely on the power of the cross. In battle, the judgment of God will take place.
The Sultan of Rum received an ambassador in his tent made of snow-white silk, who brought the answer that the challenge to the war had been accepted by the Georgians. At this time, the Sultan was informed that the Georgian army was approaching. “Perhaps this is a detachment from the allied emirates rushing towards us, who have heard the call for jihad - a holy war against Christians.” The Sultan was answered: these are Christians; we saw the cross on their banners.
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At night, ten detachments left the gates of the castle, where Queen Tamar died. Each carried a coffin, ten coffins were secretly buried in different places. No one knew which of them contained the queen's body. According to one legend, she is buried in the Gelati Monastery, in the tomb of the Bagrations. Another claims that she was buried in Jerusalem, as she made a promise to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but during her lifetime she could not do this, and the new king Lasha - George fulfilled the cherished desire of his mother: a detachment of Georgians, having joined the crusader army, brought the coffin of Queen Tamar to the Cross Monastery. But this is a secret that the mouth of the earth will never tell...
The highlanders have a legend that when troubles and sorrows multiply, Queen Tamar will come to Georgia again, sit on her golden throne again and console the people. But Queen Tamar, reigning not on earth, but in heaven with her spirit, never left Georgia with love and will never leave it.
It is characteristic that the Georgian people, in gratitude and for great deeds, call Saint Tamar not a queen, but a king. This is the only woman who has received such an honor. The years of her reign are 1184–1213.
The father of Queen Tamar, the Georgian king George III, ruled Georgia from 1156 to 1184. - Note here and below. editor of the Pravoslavie.Ru website.
Saint David the Builder- Georgian king, who ruled from 1089 to 1125. During his reign, with the help of God, he brought Georgia out of a state of complete ruin, united the country, expelled the invaders, corrected the disorganizations in the Church, reorganized the state administration structures, streamlined finances, created a regular army and did much more, leaving the country independent and strong. In 1122, having liberated Tbilisi, King David made it the capital of Georgia. The Georgian Orthodox Church honors the memory of St. David the Builder on January 26.
Monastery Vardzia- Monastery of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin - a unique cave monastery complex (XII century) in southern Georgia, in the valley of the river. Kura: for 900 m along the left bank of the Kura in the sheer tuff wall of Mount Erusheti (Bear), up to 600 rooms were carved: churches, chapels, residential cells, pantries, baths, refectories, treasuries, libraries. The premises of the complex go 50 meters deep into the cliff and rise to a height of eight floors. Folk etymology explains the origin of the name "Vardzia" with the following legend: once, when Queen Tamar was still a little girl, she played with her uncle in the caves of the then unfinished monastery; suddenly the man lost sight of her in the labyrinths of the caves, and then the young Tamar shouted: "I'm here, uncle!" (“Ak var, dzia!”). Tsar George III ordered to make the exclamation of his daughter the name of the monastery. In the XVI century. the monastery was captured and destroyed by the Persians and then by the Turks. In the first half of the 19th century, after the liberation of this territory by Russian troops, it was renewed as a Greek one. AT Soviet time- museum. From the end of the 20th century monastic life resumed in the monastery.
Monastery of Betania(from Hebrew beit-khani - Bethany) - a monastery in honor of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located 16 km from Tbilisi. Founded before the 11th century. Among the frescoes of the church of the monastery, a fresco depicting Queen Tamar has been preserved. For a long time the monastery, lost in the mountains and dilapidated, was empty. FROM late XIX in. monastic life resumed in him. During the years of the Bolshevik hard times, the inhabitants of the monastery, which was officially considered closed, continued to offer their prayers to the Lord. The elders of the monastery were known far beyond the borders of Georgia.
Cross Monastery in Palestine- Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, founded in the IV-VII centuries. on the spot where once grew the tree from which the Cross of the Lord was made. It was destroyed by the Arab conquerors in the X-XI centuries. Restored at the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII centuries. like Georgian. Shota Rustaveli, who was the attorney of Queen Tamar, took an active part in the restoration of the monastery complex: his portrait, the only one in the world, was preserved on one of the columns of the main monastery church. Since the 18th century The Theological School of the Jerusalem Patriarchate operated in the monastery (closed in 1908 due to financial difficulties). Throughout the 20th century the monastery was in decline: apart from the abbot, there were no other inhabitants here.
Metekhi- an ancient citadel and the residence of Georgian kings. The Church of the Mother of God was built in the XII century. Over the centuries, it was destroyed more than once (first by the Mongols, later by the Persians), but the Georgian kings restored it again and again. The first Georgian martyr, the holy Empress Shushanika of Ranskaya (Comm. 28 August), who was martyred by her fire-worshipping husband in the 5th century, is buried in the deacon of the church. During the communist era, the temple was converted into a theater, but now it is again used for worship.
This refers to the siege of Constantinople in June 626. This, in particular, is narrated by one of the monuments of ancient Georgian writing - the story "The Siege of Constantinople by the Scythians, who are Russians", translated from Greek in 1042 by St. George of Iberia (Comm. 15 May, 27 June).
The Battle of Shamkhor (Shamkhorat) took place in 1203.
The Sultanate of Rum was created by the Seljuk Turks on the lands of Asia Minor seized from the Byzantines. Sultan Suleiman (1077-1086) became the founder and ruler of the Rum Sultanate with its center in the Bithynian city of Nicaea. Later, after the conquest of Nicaea in 1097 by the Byzantines, the capital of the Seljuk state was moved to the Central Asia Minor city of Iconium or Kony (hence another name for this state - the Iconian Sultanate). The Rum Sultanate collapsed by the beginning of the 14th century.
This refers to the Battle of Didgori (1121), in which a 300,000-strong Muslim army was opposed by a 55,000-strong Georgian army, which completely defeated the enemy.
The Sultan of Rum was defeated by the Georgian army in 1204.
The Gelati Monastery of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was founded in 1106 by the Georgian king David the Builder, who was buried here. For many years Gelati Monastery was the cultural and educational center of Georgia. The famous academy was located at the monastery. Time and historical upheavals, of course, left their mark on the external and interior decoration monastic buildings, but in general the monastery and the paintings of its temples are perfectly preserved. During the years of Soviet persecution, the Gelati Church was turned into a museum. Currently transferred to the Georgian Orthodox Church.
The ancient royal family of Georgia, ascending, according to legend, to the Old Testament king David. Queen Tamar was from this family.
George IV Lasha (1198-1223) - son and successor of Queen Tamar. He died in the fight against the hordes of Genghis Khan.
Georgian troops took part in the fifth crusade (1217-1221).
