Right-believing (Ruler) 12th century

Right-believing Tamara Queen of Georgia

c. 1160 - 1213

Also known as Tamar of Georgia · Queen Tamar

Queen of Georgia at the height of its golden age, remembered for her just and Christian rule, her defense and adornment of the Church, and her care for the poor.

Feast Day

May 1

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Commemorated as

The Holy Right-believing Queen Tamara of Georgia

Life

Tamara (also rendered Tamar) was Queen of Georgia at the height of the kingdom's medieval power, ruling first as co-regent alongside her father, George III, from 1178 and then as sole monarch from 1184 until her death. Her reign is remembered in Georgian tradition as the Golden Age, a period of territorial expansion, cultural flourishing, and the consolidation of a Christian kingdom that extended its influence across the Caucasus.

Georgian narratives extol her meekness, love of peace, wisdom, piety, and beauty. She is remembered above all as a just and Christian ruler who defended and adorned the Church, supported monasteries at home and in the wider Orthodox world, and showed constant care for the poor, widows, and orphans. For these labors and her generosity to the Church, she was numbered among the saints by the Georgian Orthodox Church, which commemorates her as a right-believing queen.

Timeline 6 moments Read Hide

c. 1160 Birth Tamara was born about 1160, the daughter of King George III of Georgia and Queen Burdukhan, who came from the royal house of Alania.
1178 Crowned co-ruler with her father Because George III had no male heir, he had Tamara crowned as co-monarch during his lifetime to secure the succession; for this reason Georgian usage styles her "King."
1184 Sole reign begins On the death of her father Tamara became sole ruler of Georgia, beginning a reign that would be remembered as the kingdom's Golden Age.
1191 - 1207 Marriage to David Soslan After the failure and dissolution of an earlier marriage, Tamara married the Alan prince David Soslan, with whom she had two children, George and Rusudan, both of whom later reigned.
c. 1203 - 1206 Military expansion Georgian forces under her reign won notable victories over Seljuk armies, including at the Battle of Basian, and extended the kingdom's dominion across much of the Caucasus.
1213 Repose Tamara died in 1213 and was numbered among the saints; her traditional burial is associated with the Gelati Monastery.

Contributions & Legacy

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A Christian queen and the Golden Age of Georgia

Tamara ruled Georgia with a wisdom and godliness that gave her reign its enduring reputation as the Golden Age. Under her government the kingdom grew in strength and extent, and Georgian arts and letters flourished, an era later associated with the poet Shota Rustaveli. Tradition praises her not for conquest alone but for the meekness, love of peace, and piety with which she is said to have governed.

Because her father George III left no son, Tamara was crowned during his lifetime and ruled in her own right rather than as a consort, which is why Georgian sources call her 'King.' Her second marriage, to the Alan prince David Soslan, produced two children, George and Rusudan, who each reigned after her.

Defender and adorner of the Church

Tamara's care for the Church was a defining feature of her rule. Orthodox accounts relate that she summoned a Church assembly to set aside disorder and to replace unworthy hierarchs, acting to restore good order among the clergy. She built many churches and supported monastic life, and her patronage reached beyond Georgia to Georgian monastic communities in Jerusalem and the eastern Mediterranean and to centers on Mount Athos.

Her solicitude for the poor, for widows, and for orphans is remembered alongside her ecclesiastical works, and she assisted in the spiritual development of Georgia. For these cares and her generous gifts to the Church, she was added to the roster of saints; many Georgians have venerated her as a healer of infirmities.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints