Gulkhan-Eudokia ( ka, გულქან-ევდოკია) (died 2 May 1395) was the first Empress consort of
Manuel III of Trebizond
Manuel III Megas Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Μέγας Κομνηνός; 16 December 13645 March 1417) was Emperor of Empire of Trebizond, Trebizond from 20 March, 1390 to his death in 1417.
The major event of Manuel's reign was the arrival o ...
. Her original name was Gulkhan
Khatun
Khatun ( Mongolian: хатан; otk, 𐰴𐰍𐰣, katun; ota, خاتون, hatun or قادین ''kadın''; fa, خاتون ''khātūn''; ; hi, ख़ातून ') is a female title of nobility and counterpart to " khan" or "Khagan" prominen ...
;
Eudokia was her Christian baptismal name.
Family
Gulkhan was a daughter of
David IX of Georgia
David IX of Georgia (died 1360), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1346 until his death.
Family
David was the only known son of George V of Georgia. The identity of his mother is not known. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18t ...
and his wife Sindukhtar
Jaqeli
The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli.
History
"Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was ori ...
. She was also a sister of
Bagrat V of Georgia
Bagrat V the Great (, ) (died 1393) from the Bagrationi dynasty was the son of the Georgian king David IX of Georgia by his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. He was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360.
Life
A fair a ...
.
Her paternal grandfather was
George V of Georgia
George V the Brilliant ( ka, გიორგი V ბრწყინვალე, ''Giorgi V Brtskinvale''; also translated as the ''Illustrious'', or ''Magnificent''; 1286/1289–1346) was King of Georgia from 1299 to 1302 and again from 1314 un ...
. The identity of his wife is not known. "
The Georgian Chronicles
''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Kar ...
" of the 18th century reports him marrying a daughter of "the Greek Emperor, Lord Michael
Komnenos
Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...
". However the reigning dynasty of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
in the 14th century were the
Palaiologoi
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...
, not the Komnenoi. The marriage of a daughter of
Michael IX Palaiologos
, image = 154 - Michael IX Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png
, caption = 15th-century portrait of Michael IX (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the ''Extracts of History'' by Joannes Zonaras)
, succession ...
and his wife
Rita of Armenia
Rita of Armenia (10/11 January 1278 – July 1333) was an Armenian Byzantine Empress consort.
She was the daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, making her a jun ...
to a Georgian ruler is not recorded in Byzantine sources. Neither is the existence of any illegitimate daughters of Michael IX. The Komnenoi did rule however in the
Empire of Trebizond
The Empire of Trebizond, or Trapezuntine Empire, was a monarchy and one of three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Despotate of the Morea and the Principality of Theodoro, that flourished during the 13th through to t ...
. A
Michael Komnenos was Emperor from 1344 to 1349. His wife was
Acropolitissa. Their only child recorded in primary sources was
John III of Trebizond John III Megas Komnenos or Grand Comnenus ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Mégas Komnēnós''; – 1362) was emperor of Trebizond from September 4, 1342, to May 3, 1344. He was a son of Emperor Michael of Trebizond (who had reigned for a day in 1341) and A ...
. Whether John III had siblings is unknown.
Her maternal grandfather was Qvarqvare II Jaqeli, Prince of
Samtskhe
Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) (Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
History
Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the ...
. The
Jaqeli
The House of Jaqeli ( ka, ჯაყელი) was a Georgian princely (''mtavari'') family and a ruling dynasty of the Principality of Samtskhe, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli.
History
"Jaqeli", literally meaning "of/from Jaqi", was ori ...
held the
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 ...
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
office of
Eristavi
''Eristavi'' (; literally, "head of the nation") was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine ''strategos'' and normally translated into English as "prince" or less commonly as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, i ...
, a title that could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander", roughly equivalent to the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
'' and normally translated into
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
as "
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
".
Marriage
Gulkhan was first betrothed or married to Andronikos of Trebizond, an illegitimate son of
Alexios III of Trebizond
Alexios III Megas Komnenos ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός, 5 October 1338 – 20 March 1390), or Alexius III, was Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He is perhaps the best-documented ruler of that country, ...
. On 14 March 1376, Andronikos fell from a window in the imperial palace and subsequently died from his injuries. According to
Michael Panaretos Michael Panaretos ( el, ) (c. 1320 – c. 1390) was an official of the Trapezuntine empire and a Greek historian. His sole surviving work is a chronicle of the Trapezuntine empire of Alexios I Komnenos and his successors. This chronicle not only pr ...
, only his mother and the Empress mother took part in the funeral procession, and the betrothal was transferred to
Manuel III of Trebizond
Manuel III Megas Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Μέγας Κομνηνός; 16 December 13645 March 1417) was Emperor of Empire of Trebizond, Trebizond from 20 March, 1390 to his death in 1417.
The major event of Manuel's reign was the arrival o ...
, whom Panaretos describes as the "younger, proper and legitimate" son of the Emperor. Details like these have led historians to suspect more to the incident.
[Panaretos, ''Chronicle'', 48. Greek text in ''Original-Fragmente, Chroniken, Inschiften und anderes Materiale zur Geschichte des Kaiserthums Trapezunt'', part 2; in ''Abhandlungen der historischen Classe der königlich bayerischen Akademie'' 4 (1844), abth. 1, p. 36; German translation, pp. 64f] The ''
Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'' (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke reports him killed by being thrown out of a tower.
Panaretos sets forth Gulkhan's chronology in the marriage process. The revised betrothal was negotiated while she was still residing in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
: she left her father's kingdom and met the imperial party at Macragialos on 15 August 1377; together they returned to Trebizond on Sunday, 30 August. On 5 September Gulkhan was crowned Empress, taking the royal name of Eudokia, and she was married to Manuel the next day by the
Metropolitan
Metropolitan may refer to:
* Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories
* Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England
* Metropolitan county, a typ ...
of Trebizond, Theodosius; the nuptial festivities lasted a week.
Their only known son would reign as
Alexios IV of Trebizond
Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV ( el, Αλέξιος Μέγας Κομνηνός , translit=Alexios Megas Komnēnos, 1379 – 1429), Emperor of Trebizond from 5 March 1417 to 26 April 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkha ...
.
Empress
On 20 March 1390, Alexios III died. Manuel III succeeded him with Gulkhan as his Empress consort. Her term as Empress was brief, ending with her death on 2 May 1395.
[Panaretos, ''Chronicle'', 54. Greek text in ''Original-Fragmente'', p. 40; German translation, p. 68] Manuel would go on to marry
Anna Philanthropene Anna Philanthropene (Greek: Άννα Φιλανθρώπινη; 1395–1404) was the second Empress consort of Manuel III of Trebizond.
Family
Anna was the daughter of Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos, ''Caesar'' of the Byzantine Empire and governor ...
.
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulkhan-Eudokia Of Georgia
14th-century births
1395 deaths
Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia
Empresses consort of Trebizond
14th-century Byzantine women
14th-century women from Georgia (country)
Year of birth unknown