[August 16] Giorgi I, king of Georgia

Parents: Bagrat III, king of Georgia, and Martha
Date of Birth: circa 998
House: Bagrationi
Spouse(s): (1) Mariam, daughter of John-Senekerim Artsruni, king of Vaspurakan, then (2) Alda
Predecessor: Bagrat III
Reign: 1014 – 1027
Summary: As the first king who inherited a unified Georgian state, Giorgi was an unfortunately poor replacement for his father, Bagrat III. When Giorgi inherited the throne, he was still a teenager and the nobles jumped at the opportunity to take control of the country. Meanwhile, Kakheti and Hereti, two eastern provinces of Georgia, rebelled and elected their own king, Kvirike III, who went on to conquer a portion of Arran. Later in his reign, Giorgi decided it was better to ally with Kvirike than go to war with him, thereby leaving the territorial war to his descendants. Most of Giorgi's reign was dominated by war with the Byzantine Empire, which had seized significant parts of Georgia some twenty year earlier as part of a treaty made with King David III of Georgia. Bagrat III failed to keep the lands but Giorgi made it his mission to recapture them. He invaded Tao, a small area west of Georgia, in alliance with the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim in 1015. With Egypt suddenly at war with the Byzantines, Emperor Basil II had to divide his forces between the two fronts. The Byzantines were already at war with the Bulgars in the west but things feel apart when the Bulgars were conquered and Al-Hakim died. In 1021, Basil led an army into Georgia. The ensuing war lasted for two years and ended with Giorgi fleeing from battle and signing a peace treaty that lost not only Tao, but other southwestern lands. Worse for Giorgi, he was forced to send his son to Constantinople as a hostage. Georgia and the Byzantine Empire maintained peaceful relationships for a number of years thereafter, with Basil eventually releasing Giorgi's son in 1025 and Byzantine laborers helping to build a major cathedral in Mtskheta. Basil died soon after and Constantine VIII, the new emperor, decided it was best to keep the Georgian king's son, but the son had already been returned to Georgia. The Byzantines and Georgians were ready to return to open warfare in the summer of 1027 when Giorgi suddenly died. His formerly hostage son, Bagrat IV, succeeded him and ruled Georgia for 45 years.
Date of Death: 16 August 1027
Successor: Bagrat IV

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• John II, emperor of Trebizond (1297)
• Albert II, duke of Austria (1358)
• Wenceslaus, king of Bohemia (1419)
• Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, shogun of Japan (1443)
• John, elector of Saxony (1532)
• Peter I, king of Serbia (1921)

[March 12] Demetre II, king of Georgia

Demetre bids farewell to his people, by Henryk Hryniewski, c. 1910

True Name: დემეტრე II თავდადებული

Surname: "The Self-Sacrificer"

Parents: David VII, king of Georgia, and Gvantsa Kakhaberidze

Date of Birth: 1259

House: Bagrationi

Spouse: Theodora Megale Komnena, Solgar, and Natela Jakeli

Reign: 1270 – 1289

Predecessor: David VII

Summary: Demetre was raised in the royal house of his father, David VII, and was deprived of his mother at the age of two when Mongols killed her. He succeeded his father at eleven in 1270 but was too young to rule, so a regency was established under Sadun Mankaberdeli. He assumed his own rule in 1277.

In the early years of his personal reign, he joined Abaqa Khan's campaigns against Egypt, distinguishing himself in battle in 1281. His kingdom had significantly shrunk in recent years and, though he was titled "king of Georgia" he ruled only the eastern part of the historical borders. The western lands north of Armenia were ruled by the kings of Imerati, a cadet branch of the senior line of Bagrationi. Raised in a kingdom under heavy Muslim influence, it is no surprise that Demetre broke with tradition and married multiple wives. At the height of his heresy, he held three wives simultaneously, including the daughter of the emperor of Trebizond. It was with that wife that he produced his two heirs, David VIII and Vakhtang III. With his third wife, Natela, he produced a later successor, George V. Demetre failed in his vassal duties to the Persian Ilkhan. In 1288, Arghun Khan revealed a plot organized by Demetre's son-on-law, Buqa. The family was massacred and Demetre was called to the Mongol capital else Arghun invads Georgia. The king went there and was imprisoned. He finally was beheaded for treason in 1289. The Georgian Orthodox Church later colonized him for standing up to a Muslim emperor. He was succeeded by his cousin, Vakhtang II.

Date of Death: 12 March 1289

Successor: Vakhtang II

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Innocent I, pope of Rome (417)
• Gregory I, pope of Rome (604)
• Stephen, king of Serbia (1316)
• Go-Kogon, emperor of Japan (1374)
• Shah Rukh, khagan of Persia and Transoxonia (1447)

[January 18] Tamar, queen of Georgia

True Name: Tamar (თამარი)

Parents: George III, king of Georgia, and Burdukhan of Alania

Date of Birth: 1160

Royal House: Bagrationi

Spouse: Yuri Bogolyubsky, then David Soslan

Reign: 1184 – 1213
Predecessor: George III

Summary: Perhaps one of the greatest rulers of all Caucasia, Tamar presided over the Golden Age of Georgia, aided by the falls of both the Seljuk Empire in Persia and the Byzantine Empire. Tamar was named after the mother of the Biblical king David, from whom the Bagrationis claimed descent. Tamar became co-monarch with her father in 1178 in an attempt to preempt any question of his designated successor. 

Within the first year of her sole reign, Tamar took to husband Yuri of the Kievan 'Rus. This was to satisfy both the religious and noble factions within the government. When her religious advisor and chancellor, Michael, died, she was able to divorce Yuri, who had attempted to usurp power for himself. Yuri attempted twice to retake power in Georgia, but was finally exiled in 1191. Tamar chose David Soslan, a local prince and fourth cousin-once removed in the male line, to replace him and it is from David whom her children descend. He was much more willing to leave the political power with Tamar while taking on the role of military leader. Turmoil in the Middle East meant that Georgia could rise to heights hitherto unseen. Tamar led expeditions into Anatolia and northern Persia, claiming land never before conquered by Georgia. The successes of her predecessors meant that wealth and culture poured into Georgia and today, much of Georgia's historical art dates to this period. Tamar died suddenly, after ceding the crown to her son, in 1213. 

Date of Death: 18 January 1213

Successor: George IV

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Leo I, emperor of Rome (474)
• Peter I, king of Portugal (1367)
• Go-Hanazono, emperor of Japan (1471)