Mariam was married to George I (r. 1014-1027) as his first wife, but seems to have been divorced by the king so that he could marry
Alda, daughter of the king of
Alania. Mariam returned to prominence upon the death of George and the ascension of their son, Bagrat IV, to the throne of Georgia in 1027. During Bagrat’s minority, she shared the regency with the grandees, particularly with the
dukes Liparit and
Ivane. In 1031/2, Mariam paid a visit to
Romanos III Argyros's court at
Constantinople on behalf of Bagrat, and returned with a peace treaty, the dignity of
curopalates and the Byzantine bride
Helena (daughter of Romanos III's brother
Basil) for her son. Mariam continued to play a prominent role in Georgia’s politics even after Bagrat assumed full reigning powers. The Georgian chronicles speak of the Armenians being her subjects because of her parentage, a possible reference to a three-month-long Georgian control of
Ani before the city was finally annexed by the Byzantines in 1045, and report a disagreement between Bagrat and Mariam regarding the future of Bagrat’s half-brother
Demetre, who defected to the Byzantines in 1033 handing over the fortress of
Anacopia. Mariam advocated the reconciliation between the brothers and made a futile attempt at bringing the rebellious Demetre back to loyalty. During Bagrat’s enforced exile at the Byzantine court in the 1050s, Mariam accompanied her son and spent three years with him in residence at Constantinople during the reign of
Constantine IX Monomachos. Mariam was distinguished by her contributions to the Christian church and monastic foundations. She was fluent in several languages including
Georgian,
Greek and
Armenian. Mariam is commemorated for donations to the
Iviron monastery (on
Mount Athos) in its Synodicon. He was known for his association with the eminent Georgian monk and scholar
George the Hagiorite under whose auspices Mariam would eventually become a
nun. According to the
Life of George the Hagiorite, after the marriage of her granddaughter
Martha-Maria to
Michael VII Ducas (1065), Mariam traveled to
Antioch with the intention to make a further pilgrimage to
Jerusalem, carrying with her an imperial order for the
governor and
patriarch of Antioch. These, however, persuaded the queen to refrain from visiting the
Saracen-held Jerusalem; George the Hagiorite himself took her money and distributed it among the poor and the monasteries there. The death of Mariam is not mentioned in the chronicles; she was present at Bagrat IV’s deathbed in 1072, and was certainly dead by 1103 when she is commemorated in the record of the Georgian church council at Ruisi–Urbnisi. == References ==