Parsbit, also known as Prisbit, was a

Khazar The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...

noblewoman active in the 730s CE. In

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

sources ( Lewond), Parsbit is called "the mother of the khagan". Whether she was the regent for an infant

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...

(unlikely, since during the same period Barjik is called "the son of the khagan") or for an incompetent one (again unlikely, since the Khazars during this period practiced

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

once a monarch's ability to rule was compromised), or whether she ruled in her own right is unclear. What is certain is that Parsbit (called ''Barsbek'' in some sources) wielded an enormous degree of power, even commanding armies (such as the expeditionary force led against

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

by Tar'mach in 730).

Sources

* Golden, Peter B. ''Khazar Studies: An Historio-Philological Inquiry into the Origins of the Khazars.'' Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1980. {{Khazaria Khazar rulers 8th-century women rulers Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Women in war in Western Asia Women in medieval European warfare Women in medieval warfare