Gürcü Hatun

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Dirham coin of Sultan Kaykhusraw II minted in Sivas, AH 638/AD 1240-1. The sun is thought to represent Gürcü Hatun and the lion the sultan.

Gürcü Hatun (fl. 1237-1286?) was the favourite wife of Kaykhusraw II, Seljuk Sultan of Rum. After his death in 1246 she married the Anatolian strongman Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman. She was the mother of Kayqubad II and patron to Rumi. Her title Gürcü Hatun means "Georgian Lady"; her baptismal name was Tamar.

Gürcü Hatun was born Princess Tamar to Queen Rusudan of Georgia and Moghis ad-Din, son of the Seljuk sultan Tugrul II. Rusudan gave her daughter to Kaykhusraw in marriage to secure the peace with the Seljuks.

Initially, Tamar remained a Christian, but later embraced Islam. It is said that the sun on the Seljuk coins of that time symbolizes Tamar, while the lion stands for the sultan himself. This emblem, known as shir-i hurshid (Lion and Sun), would later become widespread in the Islamic world (though its origins date back to much earlier times). After the death of Kaykhusraw in 1246, the government of the sultanate was seized by the Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman who married Gürcü Hatun.

She is known to have patronized science and art, and to have been on friendly terms with the famous Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi in particular. She also sponsored the construction of the poet’s tomb in Konya.^[1]

[edit] References

^ H. Crane "Notes on Saldjūq Architectural Patronage in Thirteenth Century Anatolia," Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, v. 36, n. 1 (1993), p. 18.