Apridon or Afridon () was the 12th-century

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

politician, a dependent "

aznauri ''Aznauri'' ( ka, აზნაური, ; pl. ''aznaurni'', აზნაურნი, or ''aznaurebi'', აზნაურები) was a class of Georgian nobility. The word derives from Middle Persian ''āznāvar'', which, in turn, corresponds ...

", who had been raised to the rank of '' msakhurtukhutsesi ("Master of Servants").'' In sharp contrast to old, frequently rebellious Georgian feudal lords, Apridon represented ennobled statesman at Georgian

royal court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

, who gained distinction through their loyalty to the King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

( 1156-1184) whom Apridon served upon

Queen Tamar Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty ...

’s ascend to the throne in 1184.

History

In 1177,

, was confronted by a rebellious faction of nobles. The rebels intended to dethrone George in favor of the king's fraternal nephew,

Demna Demna (, a hypocorism for Demetrius, ) (born before 1155 - died c. 1178) was a Georgia (country), Georgian royal prince and pretender to the throne proclaimed as king during the failed nobles’ revolt of 1177/8. He was the only son and heir of Kin ...

, it was little but a pretext for the nobles, led by the pretender's father-in-law, the a''mirspasalar'' Ivane Orbeli, the viceroy of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of th ...

and the head of the powerful and ambitious Orbeli clan, to weaken the crown.. The insurgents crowned Demna the king at the Agara Castle and marched, with 30,000 men, to the Georgian capital of

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

. George was saved by the

royal guard A royal guard is a group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as the emperor or empress, king or queen, or prince or princess. They often are an elite unit of the regular arm ...

commanded by Kipchak Qubasar and Apridon, the latter was elevated to the office of '' Msakhurtukhutsesi''. He was given possessions over

Tmogvi Tmogvi or Tmkaberd ( ka, თმოგვი ; hy, Թմկաբերդ) is a ruined fortress and medieval town in the southern Georgian region of Samtskhe-Javakheti, on the left bank of the Kura River, a few kilometers downstream of the cave city ...

and

Trialeti Trialeti ( ka, თრიალეთი) is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian, its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range is a part of the greater Trialeti Region. It corresponds to the modern-day Tsalka Municipa ...

to secure frontier borders in

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Tur ...

. Following the death of George III, Queen Tamar faced considerable opposition to her succession; this was sparked by a reaction against the repressive policies of her father and encouraged by the new sovereign's other perceived weakness, her sex.. The aristocratic feudal lords directed their hatred mainly at the ''

amirspasalar ''Amirspasalar'' or ''amirspasalari'' ( ka, ამირსპასალარი, from fa, امیر سپه سالار, ) was the commander-in-chief of the medieval Georgian army and one of the highest officials of the Kingdom of Georgia, comm ...

'' Kubasar, who had rendered King George III invaluable service during the rising, and Apridon, a dependent "aznauri", who had been raised to the rank of ''msakhurtukhutsesi''. The nobles demanded their removal and the deprivation of all their estates and honours. The queen had to agree to concession. Apridon was stripped of all his honours and estates.

References

Sources

* * Politicians from Georgia (country) 12th-century people from Georgia (country) 12th-century Kipchacks {{Georgia-hist-stub

History

See also

References

Sources