- Gürcü Hatun
Gürcü Hatun ( _ka. გურჯი-ხათუნი) ("fl." 1237-1286?) was a Georgian princess and favorite wife of
Kaykhusraw II , Seljuk Sultan of Rum. After his death in1246 she married the Anatolian strongman Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman. She was the mother ofKayqubad II and patron to Rumi. Her title "Gürcü Hatun" means "Georgian Lady"; her baptismal name was Tamar.Gürcü Hatun was born Princess Tamar to Queen Rusudan of Georgia and Moghis ad-Din, son of the Seljuk sultan
Tugrul II . Rusudan gave her daughter to Kaykhusraw in marriage to secure the peace with the Seljuks.Tamar initially remained a
Christian but later embracedIslam . It is said that the sun on the Seljuk coins of that time symbolizes Tamar, while the lion stands for the sultan himself. This emblem, known as "shir-i hurshid" (Lion and Sun ), would later become widespread in the Islamic world (though its origins date back to much earlier times). After the death of Kaykhusraw in1246 , the government of the sultanate was seized by the Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman who married Gürcü Hatun.She is known to have patronized science and art, and to have been on friendly terms with the famous
Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi in particular. She also sponsored the construction of the poet’s tomb inKonya . [H. Crane "Notes on Saldjūq Architectural Patronage in Thirteenth Century Anatolia," "Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient", v. 36, n. 1 (1993), p. 18.]References
External links
*en icon [http://www.4dw.net/royalark/Georgia/georgia2.htm A listing of her Bagrationi ancestors]
*en icon [http://genealogy.euweb.cz/georgia/bagrat3.html An ancestry chart of her]
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