''Mepe'' ( ka, მეფე ) is a title used to designate the Georgian monarch, whether it is a

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

or a

Queen regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

. The word is derived from Georgian word ''"me-u-pe"'' which literally means sovereign and

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

. Even though ''mepe'' has a female equivalent, დედოფალი (''dedopali,'' literally meaning ''queen'') it is only applied to the king's consort and does not have a meaning of a ruling monarch.Royal Imagery in Medieval Georgia, Antony Eastmond, p109 Later, after

David IV David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be ...

, the official style of Georgian kings became "mepetmepe" ( King of Kings), similar to the Byzantine "Basileus Basileōn" and Persian Shahanshah. Title

Shahanshah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

was also separately used by Georgian monarchs, denoting sovereignty over several Persianate subjects such as

Shirvanshahs ''Shirvanshah'' ( fa, شروانشاه), also spelled as ''Shīrwān Shāh'' or ''Sharwān Shāh'', was the title of the rulers of Shirvan from the mid-9th century to the early 16th century. The title remained in a single family, the Yazidids, ...

and Atabegate of Azerbaijan.

References

Royal titles Georgian words and phrases Honorifics Noble titles of Georgia (country) Bagrationi dynasty Monarchs of Georgia {{italic title

See also

References