Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia

Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia (d. 2 May, 1395) was the first Empress consort of Manuel III of Trebizond. Her original name was Gulkhan Khatun. Eudokia was her Christian baptismal name. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIIITrebizondB Profile of Alexios III and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

Family

Gulkhan was a daughter of David IX of Georgia and his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. She was also a sister of Bagrat V of Georgia. [ [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/georgia/bagrat3.html#GD9 Listing of Bagrationi, page 3] ]

Her paternal grandfather was George V of Georgia. The identity of his wife is not known. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century reports him marrying a daughter of "the Greek Emperor, Lord Michael Komnenos". However the reigning dynasty of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century were the Palaiologoi, not the Komnenoi. The marriage of a daughter of Michael IX Palaiologos and his wife Rita of Armenia to a Georgian ruler is not recorded in Byzantine sources. Neither is the existence of any illegitimate daughters of Michael IX. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/GEORGIA.htm#GiorgiVdied1346B Profile of George V in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] The Komnenoi did rule however in the Empire of Trebizond. A Michael Komnenos was Emperor from 1344 to 1349. His wife was Acropolitissa. Their only child recorded in primary sources was John III of Trebizond. Whether John III had siblings is unknown. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#IoannesIITrebizondB Profile of John III and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

Her maternal grandfather was Qvarqvare II Jaqeli, Prince of Samtskhe. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#IoannesIITrebizondB Profile of George V and his son 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".

Marriage

Gulkhan was first betrothed or married to Andronikos of Trebizond, an illegitimate son of Alexios III of Trebizond. On 14 March, 1376, Andronikos was assassinated. The "Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten" (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke reports him killed by being thrown out of a tower. [ Detlev Schwennicke, "Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten" (1978), vol. 2, page 176]

On 6 September, 1377, Gulkhan married Manuel III of Trebizond. He was a younger, paternal half-brother of Andronikos. Manuel was the eldest surviving son of Alexios III and his wife Theodora Kantakouzene. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIIITrebizondB Profile of Alexios III and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ] Their only known son would reign as Alexios IV of Trebizond. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIVTrebizondB Profile of Alexios IV in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

Empress

On 20 March, 1390, Alexios III died. Manuel III succeeded him with Gulkhan as his Empress consort. Her term as Empress was brief, ending with her death on 2 May, 1395. Manuel would go on to marry Anna Philanthropene. [ [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/TREBIZOND.htm#AlexiosIIITrebizondB Profile of Profile of Alexios III and his children in "Medieval Lands" by Charles Cawley] ]

References