Mepe (title)

''Mepe'' ( Old Georgian: ႫႴ; ka, მეფე ; ) is a royal title used to designate the Georgian monarch, whether it is referring to a king or a queen regnant. The title was originally a male ruling title.

Etymology

The word is derived from Georgian word მეუფე (''meupe'') which literally means sovereign and lord. Some Georgian dialects has the term as ნეფე (''nepe''), all derived from common Proto-Kartvelian მფ/მეფე/მაფა (''mp/mepe/mapa''). Even though ''mepe'' has a female equivalent, დედოფალი (''dedopali;'' ) it is only applied to the king's consort and does not have a meaning of a ruling monarch.

History

The term ''mepe'' was utilized since pre-Christian beginnings with Azo, but the role would get more structured during the reign of Pharnavaz I in the 3rd century BC. His successors, the Pharnavazid ''mepes'' would be titled as ''goliath'' who would possess 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ('' pharnah''; ), the divinely endowed glory believed by ancient Persians to mark only a legitimate ruler, accompanied with დიდებაჲ (''didebay''; ) and სუე (''sue''; ). Georgian monarch's reign was known as მეფობაჲ (''mepobay''; ). Loss of ''pharnah'' and ''sue'' led to imminent death or overthrow of ''mepe''.

In the late 6th century, the Sassanid Empire would abolish the Georgian kingship of the Kingdom of Iberia resulting in the interregnum stretching from 580 to 888 as a demoted principality. Despite the monarchy was in abeyance, and that royal governing disintegrated, the principality rulers would still continue to claim to be referred to as ''mepes'' and ჴელმწიფე (''helmts'ipe''; ). After 888 (or 889) restoration under next successive dynasty of ''mepe'' Adarnase IV, the new kingdom would emerge as the fusion of many lands and territories, that would lead towards a total Georgian unification, culminating in 1008.

In the 12th century, the Bagratid ''mepe'' David IV the Builder, who had established himself as the region's superlative political and military force, with his ambitious and sophisticated push for his kingdom's royal imagery promotion, the official style of a king would become imperial თჳთმპყრობელი (''tuitmp'q'robeli''; i.e. '' autokratōr'') and მეფეთ ����ეფე (''mepet epe''; ), similar to the Byzantine βασιλεὺς βασιλέων (''basileus basileōn'') and Persian شاهنشاه (''shahanshah''). David IV's royal projection of his grandiose title was partly aimed at a non-Georgian audience. Title ''Shahanshah'' was later totally usurped and consistently used by Georgian monarchs, denoting sovereignty over several Persianate subjects such as Shirvanshahs, the Shaddadids and the Eldiguzids. The royal cult of a monarch would reach its zenith with a female ruler, Tamar, whose execution of power would inaugurate the Georgian Golden Age, her being styled as Tamar, the ''mepe''. Tamar was given the longest and more elaborate titles on the royal charters, listing all the peoples and lands that she ruled as a semi-saint ''mepetamepe''. The Bagrationi ''mepe'', with its royal legitimacy and ideological pillar, would rule Georgia for a millennium, from its medieval elevation down to the Russian conquest in the early 19th century.Rapp, pp. 234-338

See also

* Caesar, Roman title
*Basileus, Greek title
*Shah, Persian title
*Tsar, Slavic title

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Rapp, Stephen H. (2014) The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature, Ashgate Publishing,
* Rapp, Stephen H. (2003) Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts; Peeters Bvba
*Eastmond, A. (2017) Eastern Approaches to Byzantium: Papers from the Thirty-Third Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, University of Warwick, Routledge,
*Eastmond, A. (1998) Royal imagery in medieval Georgia, Pennsylvania State University,
* Rayfield, D. (2013) Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia, Reaktion Books,
*Bakhtadze, M. (2015) Georgian titulature of Tao-Klarjeti ruling Bagrationi dynasty, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Institute of Georgian History Proceedings, IX, Tbilisi, Publishing Meridiani
* Klimov, G. (1998) Etymological Dictionary of the Kartvelian Languages; Walter de Gruyter GmbH;

Royal titles
Georgian words and phrases
Honorifics
Pharnavazid dynasty
Chosroid dynasty
Bagrationi dynasty
Monarchs of Georgia (country)
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