Helena Argyre or Argyropoulaina ( el, , ka, ელენე, ''elene'') (died c. 1033) was a

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 ...

noblewoman of the

Argyros family Argyros (, derived from , "silver"), feminine Argyre (), Latinized as Argyrus and Argyra, was the name of a prominent aristocratic family of Roman Emperors of the Byzantine Empire active from the middle of the 9th century until the very end of t ...

and Queen Consort of Georgia as the first wife of King Bagrat IV of the Bagratids. She was given off in marriage by her uncle, 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 Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

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 ...

, to the boy-king Bagrat c. 1032. Helena died within a year or so, without issue.Vannier (1975), pp. 47–48.

Family

Helena was a daughter of the ''

magistros The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centu ...

Basil Argyros Basil Argyros ( el, Βασίλειος Ἀργυρός, Basileios Argyros; – after 1023) was a Byzantine nobleman and general of the Argyros family and a brother of the emperor Romanos III.Kazhdan (1987), p. 69. Basil was the maternal grandfath ...

and, thus, a niece of the emperor Romanos III Argyros. The marriage of Helena to King Bagrat, then aged around 14, was arranged as part of a peace deal negotiated, c. 1032, by Bagrat's mother and regent Mariam during her visit to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, which brought an outbreak of Byzantine–Georgian hostilities to an end.Thomson (1996), pp. 287–288. Helena's family was well known to the Georgian leaders; Queen Dowager Mariam was a daughter of the

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n monarch John-Senekerim, the last king of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

, who had surrendered his patrimony to the emperor

Basil II Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar S ...

. The first Byzantine governor of Vaspurakan was Basil Argyros, Helena's father.

Marriage

Mariam returned to Georgia with the bride and the high imperial dignity of ''

curopalates ''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii " he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the ti ...

'' for his son. The marriage was celebrated at the cathedral of Bana, one of the principal royal churches of the Georgian Bagratids, which had also served as a venue for the coronation of Bagrat IV in 1027.Eastmond (1998), p. 233. The marriage is probably the subject of the 1036 fresco from the

Oshki monastery Oshki ( ka, ოშკი Oshki, tr, Oşkvank Manastırı/Çamlıyamaç) is a Georgia (country), GeorgianEastmond (1998), p. 204. According to the Georgian historical tradition, Helene brought, as part of her dowry, "one of the nails of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, the icon of Okona and great riches".Allen (1932), p. 89. In addition, a number of Byzantine artists and craftsmen accompanied her to Georgia.Allen (1932), p. 297. The Georgian noble family of Garsevanishvili later claimed descent from Helena's chorister and were privileged to serve as hereditary keepers of the icon of Okona. This Byzantine ivory icon of the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...

, after an eventful history, found its abode at the

Art Museum of Georgia The Art Museum of Georgia (AMG) ( ka, საქართველოს ხელოვნების მუზეუმი, ''sak'art'velos khelovnebis muzeumi''), alternatively known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is one of the l ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

in 2004. Helena is also credited with the embellishment of the church of Gordi in

Mingrelia Mingrelia ( ka, სამეგრელო, tr; xmf, სამარგალო, samargalo; ab, Агырны, Agirni) is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly known as Odishi. It is primarily inhabited by the Mingrelian ...

.Allen (1932), p. 305. Helena died within a year or so after her marriage in the city of

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

, without issue. All the children of Bagrat were born of his second marriage to the

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Turkish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name **List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' *A ...

princess Borena. Helena's death ended the brief rapprochement of the Georgian Bagratids and the Byzantine court and relations soon became unstable again.

Notes

References

* Allen, William Edward David (1932), ''A History of the Georgian People: From the Beginning Down to the Russian Conquest in the Nineteenth Century''. Taylor & Francis, . *Eastmond, Antony (1998), ''Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia''. Penn State Press, . * Thomson, Robert W. (1996), ''Rewriting Caucasian History''.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, . * Vannier, Jean F. (1975), ''Familles byzantines, les Argyroi: IXe-XIIe siècles''.

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

: Publications de la

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

External links

Helena, niece of Romanos III, wife of Bagrat IV of Georgia
. ''

Prosopography of the Byzantine World The Prosopography of the Byzantine World (PBW) is a project to create a prosopographical database of individuals named in textual sources in the Byzantine Empire and surrounding areas in the period from 642 to 1265. The project is a collaboration b ...

''. Accessed May 28, 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Argyre, Helena 1030s deaths Helena Queens consort from Georgia (country) 11th-century Byzantine people 11th-century Byzantine women Year of birth unknown 11th-century people from Georgia (country) 11th-century women from Georgia (country)