Rusudan ( ka, რუსუდანი) was a 12th-century Georgian princess of the Bagrationi royal family. She was a daughter of King

Demetrius I of Georgia Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumitru, Demitri, D ...

, sister of the kings

David V David V ( ka, დავით V, tr; 1113 — 1155), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1154 until his death in 1155. Life David was born around 1113 and was the eldest son of Prince Demetrius and ...

and

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

, and a paternal aunt of the famous Queen

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) queen regnant, reigned as the List of monarchs of Georgia#Kings of unified Georgia (1008–1490), Queen of Kingdom of Georgia, Georgia from 1184 to 1213, ...

. She was referred as ''dedopali'' in Georgian which translates to queen. In the

Seljuk Empire The Seljuk Empire, or the Great Seljuk Empire, was a High Middle Ages, high medieval, culturally Turco-Persian tradition, Turco-Persian, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim empire, established and ruled by the Qiniq (tribe), Qïnïq branch of Oghuz Turks. ...

, she was known as ''Abkhaziyya Khatun''. In 1143, Rusudan married

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

Sultan

Ghiyath ad-Din Mas'ud Ghiyath al-Dunya wa'l-Din Abu'l-Fath Mas'ud bin Muhammad ( 1107 – 10 October 1152) was the Seljuq Sultan of Iraq and western Persia in 1133–1152. Reign Ghiyath ad-Din Masud was the son of sultan Muhammad I Tapar and his wife Nistandar Jaha ...

, and was given

Ganja ''Ganja'' (, ; ) is one of the oldest and most commonly used synonyms for cannabis flower, specifically marijuana or hashish. Its usage in English dates to before 1689. Etymology ''Ganja'' is borrowed from Hindi (, IPA: �aːɲd͡ʒa� ...

as a dowry. However, the marriage only lasted a few years before his death in 1152. She then married his uncle Sultan

Ahmad Sanjar Sanjar (, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (6 November 1086 – 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until 1118,Suleiman-Shah Mu'izz al-Dunya wa'l-Din Abu'l-Harith Suleiman-Shah bin Muhammad (October–November 1117 – 13 March 1161; ), was ''sultan'' of the Seljuq Empire from 1159 to 1160. Early life Suleiman-Shah was the son of sultan Muhammad I Tapar. His mother ...

. The marriage lasted until his death in 1161, after which she returned to Georgia. She was childless and never remarried.

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...

. On the Relationship between the Founder of the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

and the Georgian Queen Thamar. ''Speculum'', Vol. 15, No. 3. (Jul., 1940), p. 305. Her brother George's daughters, Tamar and

Rusudan Rusudani ( ka, რუსუდანი) or Rusudan ( ka, რუსუდან) is a feminine Georgian name of Old Persian origin, today widely used in Georgia. Other forms of name Rusudan used in Georgian are: Rusa, Ruso, Rusiko and Ruska. It m ...

, were educated at her court in

Samshvilde Samshvilde ( ka, სამშვილდე, ) is a ruined fortified city and archaeological site in Georgia, in the country's south, near the homonymous modern-day village in the Tetritsqaro Municipality, Kvemo Kartli region. The ruins of the ...

. After Rusudan's brother died in 1184, her niece Tamar ascended the throne. Rusudan was influential during her reign. In 1185,

Yury Bogolyubsky Yury Bogolyubsky (), known as Giorgi Rusi ( ka, გიორგი რუსი, George the Rus') in the Kingdom of Georgia, was a Rus' prince of Novgorod (1172–1175). Born around 1160, he was married to Queen Tamar of Georgia from 1185 until ...

joined a political conspiracy aimed at restraining the authority of Tamar. During this period, Rusudan, collaborated with the Catholicos (the leader of the Georgian Church) to orchestrate the marriage between Yury and Tamar. Despite Tamar being initially crowned as mepe (ruler) by her father, their union resulted in Yury also holding the title of mepe, altering Tamar's designation to 'king of kings and queen of queens.' She was also foster-mother to

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish 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.'' * ...

prince

David Soslan David Soslan ( ), (died 1207) was a prince from Alania and second husband of Queen regnant Tamar, whom he married in 1189. He is chiefly known for his military exploits during Georgia's wars against its Muslim neighbors. Name David's second ...

whom Tamar married as her second husband in 1189, after her divorce from her first husband in 1187.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusudan, Daughter Of Demetrius 01 Of Georgia 12th-century women from Georgia (country) 13th-century women from Georgia (country) 13th-century people from Georgia (country) Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia Princesses from Georgia (country) 12th-century births Remarried royal consorts Regents of Georgia 12th-century women regents 12th-century regents Daughters of kings