She was born as
Tamar or
Tamara (,
Tamari), had a biblical name popular in
Kingdom of Georgia and was named after her own grandmother
Tamar the Great. Gurju Khatun was the daughter of Queen
Rusudan of Georgia and the
Seljuk prince
Ghias ad-Din-not to be mixed with her husband's name-a grandson of
Kilij Arslan II. She was a sister of King
David VI of Georgia. The raids conducted by
Kayqubad I, the
Seljuk sultan of
Rum, into Georgian lands alarmed the Georgian queen
Rusudan, who sent a letter to the sultan. Among other matters, she offered her daughter Tamar — "of the line of the Seljuks, of the line of
David" — in marriage to Kayqubad's son,
Kaykhusraw. An agreement was reached, but the wedding took place only after the sultan's death. The vizier Shehabeddin Kermani traveled to
Tbilisi bearing gifts, and once preparations were completed, the bridal procession departed for Konya. Upon reaching
Erzincan, Shehabeddin informed the groom, now the reigning sultan, and preparations began in
Kayseri. When the bride arrived, a magnificent wedding ceremony was held. This occurred in 1237, when Tamar was about thirteen years old. According to the Centennial Chronicle (Anonymous Chronicle of the 14th century, part of the
Kartlis Tskhovreba), Rusudan granted her the city of
Atskuri, including its church and fortress, as her dowry. Kaykhusraw and Tamar's marriage was a
political one. Nevertheless, Tamar became his favored wife and bore the prestigious title Malikat al-Malikat ("Queen of Queens"). Among the Turks she was known as Gurju Khatun ("the Georgian Lady"). She spent most of her life in Kayseri. According to
Tamara Talbot Rice, Tamar exerted considerable influence over her husband. Kaykhusraw who was much affectionate to her minted coins depicting himself as a lion and Tamar as a rising sun with a woman's face.
Rusudan married off her daughter on the condition that Tamar would not be compelled to accept
Islam, and
Kaykhusraw agreed to this promise. Tamar "came from her country wearing Christian garments, accompanied by a catholicos, holy men, and priests of the Church," as well as Georgian attendants. Her cousin
David traveled with her as well. According to the
Centennial Chronicle, Rusudan later wrote to her son-in-law Kaykhusraw and to her daughter, urging them to kill David. She died in 1286 at age 65-66 and is buried in Erzurum Kalesi in modern-day
Turkey. Her tomb has been recently discovered as reported by Georgian Ambassador Plenipotentiary as in 2019. == Family ==