Yury Bogolyubsky (russian: Юрий Боголюбский), known as Giorgi Rusi ( ka, გიორგი რუსი, George the Rus') in the
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 ...
, was a
Rus' prince of
Novgorod (1172–1175). Born around 1160, He was married to Queen
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dyna ...
from 1185 until being divorced and exiled in 1188.
Reign
Son of
Grand Prince
Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...
Andrey Bogolyubsky
Andrew I (died 28 June 1174), his Russian name in full, Andrey Yuryevich Bogolyubsky "Andrew made Vladimir the centre of the grand principality and placed a series of his relatives on the now secondary princely throne of Kiev. Later he also com ...
of
Vladimir-Suzdal
Vladimir-Suzdal (russian: Владимирско-Су́здальская, ''Vladimirsko-Suzdal'skaya''), also Vladimir-Suzdalian Rus', formally known as the Grand Duchy of Vladimir (1157–1331) (russian: Владимиро-Су́здальс ...
, he ruled Novgorod from 1172 to 1175. He was dethroned and expelled after the murder of his father in 1175. Defeated in a series of internal wars, he finally found a shelter in the
Northern Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
in the late 1170s. He was found among the
Kipchak, with whom he hoped to restore his rights to his father's princedom in 1184–1185.
Marriage and revolt
In 1185, Georgian nobles headed by
Abulasan,
Catholicos Mikel Marianidze
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient G ...
and
Rusudan, daughter of Demetre I arranged a marriage of Prince Yury with Queen
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dyna ...
. As her husband, he commanded, in 1186–1187, a Georgian army which successfully raided the
Seljuk possessions of
Rüm
Rūm ( ar, روم , collective; singulative: Rūmī ; plural: Arwām ; fa, روم Rum or Rumiyān, singular Rumi; tr, Rûm or , singular ), also romanized as ''Roum'', is a derivative of the Aramaic (''rhπmÈ'') and Parthian (''frwm'') t ...
in the west and the
Eldiguzids
The Ildegizids, EldiguzidsC.E. Bosworth, "Ildenizids or Eldiguzids", Encyclopaedia of Islam, Edited by P.J. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel and W.P. Heinrichs et al., Encyclopædia of Islam, 2nd Edition., 12 vols. with index ...
in
Arran in the east. However, Tamar soon was disappointed in her husband and divorced him in 1187. Yuri was said to be a heavy drinker, ambitious, involved in sexual misdeeds, torture, and
sodomy
Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sod ...
. He both physically and verbally abused his wife, and with the full support of the Georgian nobility and
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
Yury was exiled from Georgia to Constantinople in 1188.
Yury allied himself with a powerful party of Georgian nobles led by
Vardan Dadiani
Vardan I Dadiani ( ka, ვარდან I დადიანი) (died 1213) was a Georgian noble and the forefather of the Dadiani, the princely dynasty of Samegrelo (Mingrelia), a region in western Georgia which Vardan ruled as '' eristavi'' ...
,
Guzan Abulasanisdze and
Botso Jaqeli Botso Jaqeli ( ka, ბოცო ჯაყელი; ) was a Georgian nobleman of the Jaqeli family, the first to have the rank of '' eristavi'' ("duke") of Samtskhe. He lost his positions for having joined an aristocratic revolt against Queen Tama ...
, and returned to lead a revolt against Tamar in 1191. The rebels proclaimed Yury King of Western Georgia in the palace of
Geguti and captured several provinces in the south-western Georgia, but were eventually crushed by the Queen's devoted general
Gamrekel Toreli at the battles of
Tmogvi and
Erusheti
Erusheti ( ka, ერუშეთი) was a medieval Georgian fiefdom, currently part of the Ardahan Province in northeastern Turkey, close to the border with Georgia. The district was centered in the eponymous settlement, at the present-day vill ...
. The rebels capitulated and Yury was pardoned by Tamar. However, he revolted again in 1193 and invaded
Kakheti province. Defeated in the vicinities of
Kambechani, he was imprisoned in the
Lurji Monastery
The Lurji Monastery ( ka, ლურჯი მონასტერი), that is the "Blue Monastery", is a 12th-century Georgian Orthodox church built in the name of Saint Andrew in the Vere neighborhood of Tbilisi, Georgia. The popular historical ...
in Tbilisi. Yury disappeared from history after. His tomb has not been found.
Legacy and popular culture
Tamar's marriage to the Rus prince Yuri became a subject of two resonant prose works in modern Georgia.
Shalva Dadiani's play, originally entitled ''The Unfortunate Russian'' (უბედური რუსი; 1916–1926), was attacked by the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
critics for distorting the "centuries-long friendship of the Russian and Georgian peoples." Under the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
pressure, Dadiani had to revise both the title and the plot to bring it into line of the official ideology. In 2002, a satyrical short-story ''The First Russian'' (პირველი რუსი) penned by the young Georgian writer
Lasha Bughadze and focused on a frustrated wedding night of Tamar and Yuri outraged many conservatives and triggered a nationwide controversy, including heated discussions in the
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
, the
Parliament of Georgia
The Parliament of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს პარლამენტი, tr) is the supreme national legislature of Georgia. It is a unicameral parliament, currently consisting of 150 members; of these, 120 are proporti ...
and the Patriarchate of the Georgian Orthodox Church.
[Spurling, Amy (2003), "The Georgian Literary Scene". '']PEN
A pen is a common writing instrument that applies ink to a surface, usually paper, for writing or drawing. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens and ruling pens held a small amount of ink on a nib or in a small void or cavity wh ...
Bulletin of Selected Books''. 53-54: 100
References
External links
*
Юрий Андреевич (''Yury Andreyevich'') Hronos.Ru. Retrieved on 2006-06-28.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bogolyubsky, Yury
12th-century princes in Kievan Rus'
Pardon recipients
Yurievichi family
Georgian kings consort
Generals from Georgia (country)
Princes of Novgorod
Rurik dynasty