Georgia, Kingdom Tamar, David Soslan 1 Follis

History

1 Follis 1200, Georgia, Kingdom, Tamar, David Soslan

Obverse. Photo © Daniel Barnstead

Description

The Kingdom of Georgia, also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval monarchy which emerged in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar the Great from 11th to 13th centuries. At the peak of its dominance, the kingdom's influence spanned from the south of modern-day Ukraine to the northern provinces of Iran, while also maintaining religious possessions in the Holy Land and Greece. A predominantly Christian, Georgian-speaking realm, it was the principal historical precursor of present-day Georgia.

Lasting for several centuries, the kingdom fell to the Mongol invasions in the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by the 1340s. The following decades were marked by Black Death spread by the nomads, as well as numerous invasions under the leadership of Tamerlane, who devastated the country's economy, population, and urban centers. The Kingdom's geopolitical situation further worsened after the Fall of Constantinople, which effectively marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, Georgia's traditional ally. As a result of these processes, by the end of the 15th century Georgia turned into an isolated, fractured Christian enclave, surrounded by hostile Turco-Iranic neighbors. Renewed incursions from 1386 led to the final collapse of the kingdom into anarchy by 1466 and the mutual recognition of its constituent kingdoms of Kartli, Kakheti and Imereti as independent states between 1490 and 1493.

Obverse	A mysterious symbol representing a military standard or upright crossbow, acronym of “Tamar Davit’” to left and right. Paschal cycle date around. The Paschal cycle, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Pascha (Easter). Countermark at 6 o'clock.
Reverse	Name and titles of Tamar in Arabic in four lines. Tamar the Great (c. 1160 – 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mepe ("king"), afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources. Tamar was proclaimed heir and co-ruler by her reigning father George III in 1178, but she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon her ascension to full ruling powers after George's death. Tamar was successful in neutralizing this opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the decline of the hostile Seljuq Turks. Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death. Tamar was married twice, her first union being, from 1185 to 1187, to the Rus' prince Yuri Bogolyubsky, whom she divorced and expelled from the country, defeating his subsequent coup attempts. For her second husband Tamar chose, in 1191, the Alan prince David Soslan, by whom she had two children, George and Rusudan, the two successive monarchs on the throne of Georgia. David Soslan's status as Tamar's husband, as well as his presence in art, on charters and on coins, was strictly dictated by the necessity of male aspects of kingship, but he remained a subordinate ruler who shared the throne with Tamar but had no independent authority, his power being derived from his reigning spouse. David energetically supported Tamar's expansionist policy and was responsible for Georgia's military successes in a series of conflicts of those years. ملكة الملكات جلال الدنيا والدين تامار ابنة كيوركي ظهير المسيح
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