Darbazi () was
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Georgian
council of state
A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...
, introduced by king
David IV of Georgia
David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125.
Popularly considered to be ...
( 1073–1125) after the important government reforms. It functioned as a council of representatives from Didebulis (high
aristocracy) and from the
church hierarchy
The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...
. The council was non-mandatory in the decision of major questions of government and the king could, at his discretion, take the will of the "darbazi" into consideration. The rights and obligations of Darbazi were significantly widened after an insurrection by
Qutlu Arslan and his faction. It was the result of a social struggle that marked a further step in the advancement of Georgian society, however some historians believe that this extensions of the rights of the "Darbazi" was a victory for the "Didebulis".
[Mariam Lordkiphanidze, (1967), "Georgia in the XI-XII centuries" - Ganatleba Publishers, Editor George B. Hewitt] Some other historians believe that in addition to members of the higher secular and ecclesiastical nobility, the "Darbazi" included representatives of the
merchant-class.
References
Kingdom of Georgia
{{Georgia-hist-stub