Djiadjak Jaqeli

Djiadjak Jaqeli was the Empress consort of Alexios II of Trebizond.

Family

Djiadjak was a daughter of Beka II, the Jaqeli atabeg of Samtskhe. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIITrebizond Profile of Alexios II and his wife/wives in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] The Jaqelis held the Georgian feudal office of Eristavi. An Eristavi could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander" [ [http://www.georgianweb.com/history/mariam/glossary.html Mariam Lordkiphanidze, "Georgia in the XI-XII centuries", Glossary] ] , roughly equivalent to the Byzantine "strategos" and normally translated into English as "duke".

David Hughes, a modern genealogist, theorised her mother was "Sayaluna". He identifies this "Sayaluna" as the widow of Farrukhzad II, Shirvanshah [ [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2004-03/1080611845 David Hughes, "possible Seljuk connection"] ] from c. 1281 to 1317 [ [http://www.starnarcosis.net/obsidian/caucasus.html#Azerbaijan "Regnal Chronologies:The Caucasus", Azerbaijan section] ] . He suggests "Sayaluna" was a daughter of Pervâne and Gürcü Hatun. [ [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2004-03/1080611845 David Hughes, "possible Seljuk connection"] ] This theory would make Sayaluna a younger, maternal half-sister to Kayqubad II. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TURKS.htm#KayKhusrawIIRumdied1246 Profile of Gürcü Hatun and her first husband in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Hughes has also suggested a second theory, identifying the mother as Jigda Khanum, otherwise said to be the second wife of Alexios II. [ [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2004-04/1080922915 David Hughes, "Possible Seljuk Connection", revised version] ]

Marriage

The marriage of Djiadjak to Alexios II can be estimated to c. 1300. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIITrebizond Profile of Alexios II and his wife/wives in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] According to the "Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era" (1926) by William Miller, Andronikos II Palaiologos, maternal uncle and guardian of the underage Alexios II, had planned to marry his ward to a daughter of Nikephoros Choumnos (1250 - 1327). According to the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Choumnos was a statesman, philosopher and divine in the court of Andronikos II in Constantinople. He was also a personal friend and favourite of his emperor. Choumnos was the author of works on ecclesiastical, legal, philosophical, religious and rhetorical subjects. [Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1849), pages 706-707, entry "Nicephorus Chumnus"] In 1303, Irene Choumnaina, daughter of the philosopher, married John Palaiologos. Her husband was the eldest son of Andronikos II and his second wife Eirene of Montferrat. The marriage was reported by George Pachymeres and John VI Kantakouzenos. This bride was given the title basilissa, female form of basileus. John died childless in 1308. Irene survived him and retired to a monastery under the monastic name "Eulogia" (Blessing). [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM%2012611453.htm#AndronikosIIdied1332B Profile of Andronikos II and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

According to Miller, Andronikos had never conceded to the marriage of his nephew and was only informed after the fact. Andronikos attempted to have an annulment of the marriage declared by Patriarch John XII of Constantinople. Alexios however informed the Patriarch that the marriage had already been consummated and his wife pregnant. John XII consequently refused to dissolve the marriage. In 1301, Eudokia Palaiologina, sister of Andronikos II and mother of Alexios II, was sent from Constantinople to Trebizond with the mission to convince Alexios to dissolve his own marriage. Eudokia instead advised her son to keep Djiadjak as his wife, in order to maintain his independence from the Byzantine Empire.

The duration of the marriage remains uncertain. Alexios died in 1330 but there is no report concerning Djiadjak's time of death. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza considers her to be only the first of two wives. The second one being Jidga Khatun. Jidga was the only daughter of Demetre II of Georgia and his second wife Solghar, a Mongol. Demetre II practiced polygamy and had three known wives at the same time. The existence of this daughter is reported in an 18th-century continuation of the "Georgian Chronicle". However the Chronicle does not mention her being married. However older works such as the "Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten" (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke do not mention any second marriage for Alexios II. As as a result Sturdza's theory is not universally accepted. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/GEORGIA.htm#JidjaKhanunMAlexiosIITrebizond Profile of Jidga Khanun in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

The theory of Sturdza has found its place in later genealogies. For example, David Hughes considers Jidga Khatun to be the second wife of Alexios II and identifies Solghar as a possible daughter of Abaqa Khan of the Ilkhanate. Hughes also favors the theory that her actual mother was not Solghar but Demetre's first wife, an unnamed daughter of Manuel I of Trebizond. [ [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2004-03/1080611845 David Hughes, "possible Seljuk connection"] ] The marriage of Demetre II to a daughter of an Emperor of Trebizond is recorded in the "Georgian Chronicle". This marriage occurred c. 1277 and the father-in-law is identified as Manuel I of Trebizond for chronological reasons. His daughters would have probably reached marriage age by that time. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#dauTrebizaondMDemetreIIGeorgia Profile of Komnene in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] . Hughes identifies the first wife of Demetre II with Theodora of Trebizond, the eldest daughter of Manuel I by his second wife Rusudan of Georgia. [ [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/GEN-MEDIEVAL/2004-03/1080611845 David Hughes, "possible Seljuk connection"] ] The main problem with this theory is that Manuel I was the paternal grandfather of Alexios II. Hughes' theory would make Jidga his first cousin, well within the prohibited degree of kinship as defined by the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Children

Djiadjak and Alexios II had at least six children [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIITrebizond Profile of Alexios II and his wife/wives in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] :
# Andronikos III, Emperor of Trebizond 1330-1332.
# Basil, Emperor of Trebizond 1332-1340.
# Michael Anachoutlous, murdered by his brother Andronikos III in 1330.
# George Achpougas, murdered by his brother Andronikos III in 1330.
# Anna Anachoutlou, a nun, became Empress of Trebizond 1341-1342.
# Eudokia, may have married Adil beg ibn Yakub Kandaride.

References

External links

* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIITrebizond Profile of Alexios II and his wife/wives in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley]
* [http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0715.html Profile of Nikephoros Choumnos in the "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology"]