Gurju Khatun ( ka, გურჯი-ხათუნი, ''Gurji-xatuni'') (''fl.'' 1237-1286) was a

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 ...

royal princess from

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...

and principal consort of Sultanate of Rum being favorite wife of sultan

Kaykhusraw II Ghiyath al-Din Kaykhusraw ibn Kayqubād or Kaykhusraw II ( fa, غياث الدين كيخسرو بن كيقباد) was the sultan of the Seljuqs of Rûm from 1237 until his death in 1246. He ruled at the time of the Babai uprising and the Mongol ...

, whom she married after the death of

Muhammad II of Khwarazm Ala ad-Din Muhammad II ( Persian: علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه; full name: ''Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish'') was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was Anushtegin Gha ...

in 1237. After his death in 1246 she married the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

n strongman Pervane. She was the mother of sultan

Kayqubad II Kayqubad II ( 1ca, كیقباد; fa, علاء الدين كيقباد بن كيخسرو, ''ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Kayqubād bin Kaykhusraw,'' – 1254/1256) was the Seljuk Sultan of Rûm from 1249-1257. He was the only son of the Seljuq Sultan ...

and patron to Rumi. Her title ''Gurju Khatun'' means "Georgian Lady" in

Turkic languages The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...

Life

She was born as Tamar ( ka, თამარი, ''Tamari'') and had a biblical name popular in

Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

and was named after her grandmother Tamar the King. Gurju Khatun was the daughter of (female) King

Rusudan of Georgia Rusudan ( ka, რუსუდანი, tr) (c. 1194–1245), a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, ruled as Queen of Georgia in 1223–1245. Life Daughter of King Tamar of Georgia by David Soslan, she succeeded her brother George IV on January ...

and the Seljuk prince

Ghias ad-din Ghias ad-din ( ka, ღიას ად-დინი; ) was a member of the Seljuk dynasty of Rum and husband of Queen Rusudan of Georgia from 1223 to 1226. A son of the emir of Erzurum, he converted to Christianity on his father's order so as he ...

, a grandson of Kilij Arslan II. She was a sister of King

David VI of Georgia David VI Narin ( ka, დავით VI ნარინი, tr) (also called ''the Clever'') (1225–1293), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1245–1293. From 1259 to 1293, he ruled the kingdom of Imereti under the name David ...

. Like most Georgians, Tamar initially remained an Eastern Orthodox Christian but is known to have converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

at a later point, after unproven accusations (by her own mother) of a secret affair between her and her cousin David Ulu, which put an end to previously harmonious relationship with her husband. She was reportedly beaten by him and ordered to leave her previous faith. He only let her choose which denomination of Islam she wanted to convert to. Gurju Khatun chose

Sufism Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, r ...

. It is said that the sun on the Seljuk coins of that time symbolizes Tamar, while the lion stands for the sultan himself. This emblem, known as ''shir-u hurshid'' (

Lion and Sun The Lion and Sun ( fa, شیر و خورشید, Šir-o xoršid, ; Classical Persian: ) is one of the main emblems of Iran (Persia), and was an element in Iran's national flag until the 1979 Iranian Revolution and is still commonly used by oppo ...

), later became widespread in the Islamic world (though its origins date back to much earlier times). After the death of Kaykhusraw in 1246, the government of the sultanate was seized by the Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman who married Gurju Khatun. She is known to have patronized science and art, and to have been on friendly terms with the famous

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

poet Rumi in particular. She also sponsored the construction of the poet’s tomb in

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...

.H. Crane "Notes on Saldjūq Architectural Patronage in Thirteenth Century Anatolia," ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'', v. 36, n. 1 (1993), p. 18.

References

External links

რატომ გააწკეპლინა გურჯი ხათუნის მეუღლემ მოლა ნასრედინი და რატომ განარისხა რუსუდან მეფე მისმა ქალიშვილმა
ეკა სალაღაია, 2010-06-03

* 13th-century women Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Princesses from Georgia (country) People from the Sultanate of Rum 13th-century people from Georgia (country) Muslims from Georgia (country) Rumi {{Georgia-royal-stub Remarried royal consorts