Queen Tamar (Fragment)

. . () 50 x 30 2010 .
Teimuraz Kharabadze. Queen Tamar. (Fragment) canvas / oil 50cm. x 30cm. 2010.
Харабадзе Теймураз. Царица Тамара. ( Фрагмент ) холст/масло 50см x 30см 2010 г.

1178-84 Joint Ruler Queen Tamar of Georgia
1184-1213 The Most High Queen, by the will of our Lord, King and Queen of Queens of the Abkhazis, Kartvelians, Ranians, Kakhetians and the Armenians, Shirvanshah and Shahanshah and Master of all the East and West, Glory of the World and Faith, Champion of the Messiah
Thamar or Tamara was member of the royal house of Bagrationi, she was 19 years old when her father Grigori III had her crowned co-ruler, and when he died she became the sole ruler of Georgia. Despite the fact that she was 25 on her accession, Tamar was placed under the official guardianship of her fathers sister Rusudani. She dealt with the various factions within the nobility by giving commands of provinces to important generals and prominent nobles. During her reign the kingdom reached the apex of its political, economic and cultural might. A unique Georgian Christian Culture flourished in this multinational state, exalted by great building projects. After the conquest of Byzantium by the Fourth Crusaders in 1204, Tamar sent troops to Trebizond and Kerasund in support of her relative, Alexios Comnenus, who would become Byzantine Emperor 1205. She personally led the Georgian forces and routed the Turks at the battle of Basiani. From here on, she pursued a policy of military aggression - Kars surrendered in 1205 and her son Grigori was made Governor; she exerted her hold over the local Muslim semi-protectorates; received tribute from some of the southern Russians provinces. In 1209 The Emir of Ardabil attacked Georgia, slaughtering 12.000 Georgians and enslaving thousands more. Tamar took her revenge the following year - she took the Emir of Ardabil by surprise, killing him, and as warnings to others who might threaten Georgi, Tamars troops began raiding deep into North Persia and other surrounding regions. Married 1185 and divorced two years later to Prince Giorgi of Novgorod and then in 1189 she married King Davit-Soslani of Ossetia (d. 1207). Succeeded first by son, Giorgi IV Lasha, and then by daughter Rusudan in 1223. Tamar lived (1159-1213).