Parsbit, also known as Prisbit (705 – 737 CE) was a

Khazar The Khazars ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a nomadic Turkic people who, in the late 6th century CE, established a major commercial empire covering the southeastern section of modern European Russia, southern Ukraine, Crimea, an ...

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 around the ...

sources ( Lewond), Parsbit is called "the mother of the

khagan Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...

". Whether she was the regent for an infant

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

(unlikely, since during the same period

Barjik Barjik (died 731/732) was a Khazar prince who flourished in the early 8th century, he was the commander of Khazar armies during Arab–Khazar wars. Dunlop and Blankinship argue that he might have been the ''khagan'' mentioned in the Arabic sou ...

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 repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

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, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

by Tar'mach in 730).

References

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 regents Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Women in war in West Asia Women in medieval European warfare Women in medieval warfare 8th-century regents 705 births