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

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

, 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