Borena ( ka, ბორენა) was a sister of the Alan king Durgulel "the Great", and the Queen consort of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, as the second wife of Bagrat IV (r. 1027–1072). The medieval Georgian historical tradition provides little information about Borena. Bagrat married Borena sometime after the death of his first wife in the early 1030s,

Elene ''Elene'' is a poem in Old English, that is sometimes known as ''Saint Helena Finds the True Cross''. It was translated from a Latin text and is the longest of Cynewulf's four signed poems. It is the last of six poems appearing in the Vercelli man ...

(niece of the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Romanos III Argyros Romanos III Argyros ( el, Ρωμανός Αργυρός; Latinized Romanus III Argyrus; 968 – 11 April 1034), or Argyropoulos was Byzantine Emperor from 1028 until his death. He was a Byzantine noble and senior official in Constantinople whe ...

). The births of their children in the 1050s is a clue that their marriage was in the 1040s or early 1050s. This was just one of the several intermarriages between the medieval Georgian Bagratids and their natural allies, the royal house of Alania. Borena seems to have retained some contacts with her native Alania: the Georgian chronicles report that when Durgulel paid a visit to Bagrat IV, he also arranged an audience with his sister Borena. The last we hear about Borena is her presence at Bagrat's deathbed in 1072.Lynda Garland & Stephen Rapp. Mary 'of Alania': Woman and Empress Between Two Worlds, pp. 94-95, 120-121. In: Lynda Garland (ed., 2006), ''Byzantine Women: Varieties of Experience, 800-1200''. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., . Borena is primarily known as a patron and promoter of

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

culture and monastic life. She sponsored the construction of the Georgian Kapata Monastery on Mount Sion at

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. She is frequently identified with the Borena who was an author of a passionate and moving hymn to

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, which is found as an inscription on the Theotokos icon from that time (now preserved at the Lenjer Church in highland

Svaneti Svaneti or Svanetia (Suania in ancient sources; ka, სვანეთი ) is a historic province in the northwestern part of Georgia. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of Georgians. Geography Situated on the southern slop ...

). Rayfield, Donald (2000), '' The Literature of Georgia: A History'', p. 28.

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law ...

(UK), . Bagrat IV and Borena were the parents of: *

George II of Georgia :''There was also a Giorgi II, Catholicos of Kartli who ruled in 826–838.'' George II ( ka, გიორგი II, ''Giorgi II'') ( 1054 – 1112), of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Georgia from 1072 to 1089. He was a son and successor ...

, Bagrat's successor to the throne of Georgia * Martha-Maria, the future queen consort of the Byzantine Empire In addition to these well-documented children, the couple may have had a daughter, Mariam, possibly a wife of the Byzantine dignitary Theodore Gabras.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borena Of Alania Alanic women Queens consort from Georgia (country) Women poets from Georgia (country) Women writers from Georgia (country) 11th-century poets from Georgia (country) 11th-century women writers 11th-century writers 11th-century Iranian people 11th-century people from Georgia (country) 11th-century women from Georgia (country)