Gvantsa ( ka, გვანცა, or,
archaically
In language, an archaism is a word, a sense of a word, or a style of speech or writing that belongs to a historical epoch beyond living memory, but that has survived in a few practical settings or affairs. Lexical archaisms are single archaic w ...
, Guantsa, გუანცა; also transliterated as Gwantza, Gontza, Gontsa, or Gonc'a) (died 1263) was a
Queen Consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social Imperial, royal and noble ranks, rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but hi ...
of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
as the third wife of King
David VII “Ulu” (
r.: 1245–1270).
Biography
She was the daughter of Kakhaber IV
Kakhaberidze,
Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
of
Racha
Racha (also Račha, , ''Račʼa'') is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains. Under Georgia's current subdivision, Racha is included in the Racha-Lechkhumi and ...
and
Takveri
Lechkhumi ( ) is a historic province in northwestern Georgia (country), Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni river, Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and K ...
, who married Gvantsa off to Prince
Avag Mkhargrdzeli,
Lord High Tutor and
Lord High Constable of Georgia with whom she begot a daughter
Khvashak. After Avag’s death in 1250, Gvantsa remarried the Georgian king David VII in 1252 and gave birth to a son, the future king
Demetrius II of Georgia
Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer or the Devoted ( ka, დემეტრე II თავდადებული, tr) (1259–12 March 1289) of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king (''mepe'') of Eastern Georgia reigning from 1270 until his execution ...
, in 1259. In the meantime, Khvashak was reared by the king’s trustee
Sumbat Orbeli or
Sadun of Mankaberdi (here the medieval sources diverge) and later given in marriage to
Shams al-Din Juvayni
Shams al-Din Juvayni (; also spelled Joveyni) was a Persian statesman and member of the Juvayni family. He was an influential figure in early Ilkhanate politics, serving as ''sahib-i divan'' (vizier and minister of finance) under four Mongol Ilkh ...
, an influential minister at the Mongol
Il-Khan
Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ...
’s court.
Unlike David VII's first wife, the late Jigda-Khatun, Gvantsa was on extremely bad terms with the influential royal favorite
Jikur, the
Master of Ceremonies (''mestumre'') of Georgia. Jikur's rivals exploited this enmity and accused him of treason before the king who had him executed by drowning in the
Mtkvari River
The Kura, also known in Georgian as Mtkvari ( ), is an east-flowing transboundary river south of the Greater Caucasus Mountains which drains the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus east into the Caspian Sea. It also drains the north side of ...
. When David staged a failed revolt from the Il-Khan hegemony in 1260, Gvantsa was captured by the Mongol punitive forces and killed on the orders of the Il-Khan
Hulagu
Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ar ...
through the intrigues of rival Georgian nobles.
[ Brosset, Marie-Félicité. ''Histoire de la Géorgie depuis l’antiquite jusqu’ au XIX siècle, v. 1-7'', pp. 554-555. St.-Рb., 1848-58.]
References
1260s deaths
13th-century executions
13th-century people from Georgia (country)
Executed royalty
Executed women from Georgia (country)
Queens consort from Georgia (country)
People executed by the Mongol Empire
Year of birth unknown
13th-century women from Georgia (country)
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