There are historical names that invariably arouse interest in the fate of their bearer. This, undoubtedly, is the name of Queen Tamara, about whom many songs, legends and tales have been composed. In the work of M. Yu. Lermontov, she appears as a Caucasian beauty who killed every young man in love with her who spent the night with her. Perhaps this is just a fictional legend, but in the real life of Queen Tamara there were a lot of mysterious and unusual things. And the very first secret is the date of her birth. And the last one is the time and place of her burial.
Tamara came from the famous Bagration family. The father of the future ruler of Georgia was Tsar George III, and her mother was the daughter of the Ossetian king - Burdukhan. Tamara was raised by the girl's aunt, Rusudan. Tsar George III was faced with wars of unprecedented destructiveness and constant turmoil. In this regard, he made a very difficult and wise decision - he crowned his daughter to the kingdom during his lifetime. He did this for the sole purpose of saving the country from the strife of relatives who could plunge the state into chaos, trying to take the vacated throne after his death.
At the time of the coronation, Tamara was only 14 years old. Immediately after the death of her father, the young queen faced opposition from the highest Georgian nobility. And despite her young age, she wisely made concessions. She had to send many of her faithful people out of the court, including the only relative from the Bagration branch and her beloved, Prince David Soslani. The next blow for the ruler was the decision, the same nobility, to marry her. The Aleppo sultan, the Russian prince Yuri, the Byzantine princes and even the Persian shah asked for her hand.
The Georgian nobility chose the Russian prince. Prince Yuri after the death of his father, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky, left Russia and lived with his retinue in Byzantium. The ruler Tamara was against the proposed groom, she considered him a "dark horse", from whom it was not known what could be expected. Soon Yuri arrived in Georgia. The nobility believed that Yuri, in gratitude for the throne, would fulfill all their requirements. But the Russian prince did not justify their hopes.
Contemporaries described Prince Yuri as a very dishonest person with a disgusting character, so his choice by the Georgian elite, as the husband of Queen Tamara, was unfortunate. The young queen herself did not want to marry the proposed groom, but no one was interested in her opinion …
Their marriage did not last long. Yuri showed himself from the worst side: he made a rowdy, drank and arranged drunken revels. The queen soon demanded a divorce. But Yuri could not leave the family kindly. Gathering an army, he made a trip to Georgia, with the aim of taking the throne from his ex-wife, but was driven out in disgrace. Tamara, despite the first unsuccessful marriage, married a childhood friend - Prince David. They loved and treated each other carefully, lived together for many years and were considered very good rulers. Tamara was a true queen, possessing all the necessary qualities to govern Georgia. Thanks to her husband, Tsarevich David, and the loyal military leader Zakhariy, Georgian troops won numerous victories. This tandem turned out to be the most successful.
In history, the era of Queen Tamar's reign was quite difficult. Bloody clouds were gathering over many countries at that time. In the steppes of Mongolia, Temuchin (Genghis Khan) began to create a future empire. In the West, the crusaders entered the cities with fire and sword, dragging almost all of Europe into the showdown. In the North, the Russian princes defended their borders with all their might from the attack of the steppe inhabitants.
The queen managed to secure the political dominance of her state in the region of Asia Minor. She expanded and secured the borders of Georgia, defeating all enemies. The weakening of the position of Byzantium allowed Georgia to reach the Black Sea coast, where there were many settlements with Georgian tribes. Georgian troops occupied the Black Sea towns. The created Trypizonian empire was headed by a protege of Georgia. In 1206, the queen's husband, David Soslan, died. The queen decided to transfer part of the powers to govern the state to her son, George-Lasha. In 2010, the Georgian army made a successful trip deep into Iran, returning with huge booty and demonstrating its military power.
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Within the state, the ruler also resolved many issues. The Queen abolished the death penalty by her decree. It is worth noting that she took care not only of the spirituality of her people, but also in every possible way took part in the support and development of the culture of Georgia. She often interacted with artists, writers and poets. She showed a special favor to the writer Shota Rustaveli, who dedicated his poem "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" to her. Until now, in Georgia, many legends are told orally about the poet's love for the beautiful queen. But whether Queen Tamara reciprocated the poet Shota is not known.
The Georgian queen professed the Orthodox faith and spread this religion throughout the country. For her services to the faith, the queen was numbered among the saints and now in front of her image in churches they pray for healing from all diseases.
The queen was a participant in all significant events in Georgia, communicated with all strata of society, did not hesitate to talk with the poor and help them. She lived very modestly and was respected for her wisdom, beauty, kindness and humility. The inhabitants of the country called her a king, not a queen, and this was a tribute to her. There is evidence that Ivan the Terrible spoke of her as a wise ruler.
The spoils of war brought from the occupied territories have enriched Georgia. The wise queen invested this wealth in the construction of monasteries, schools, bridges, fortresses and ships. Queen Tamara made every effort to improve the quality of education in the state. She believed that only with an educated people would Georgia reach a high world level. Even today, the list of compulsory disciplines in schools during the reign of Queen Tamara is shocking: arithmetic, philosophy, history, theology, Hebrew and Greek, versification, astrology, and the ability to conduct a conversation.
It is known from historical sources that Sultan Nukardin appealed to Queen Tamara with a demand to accept Islam and then marry him. The indignant queen answered the Turkish sultan with a daring letter. The offended Nukardin gathered an army and went on a campaign against Georgia. The queen herself led her army and defeated the sultan's army. There is a legend that the defeated failed "groom" swore to get to her after death, since it was not possible to get it during life …
Queen Tamara spent the last years of her life in a cave monastery. She prayed in a small cell.
It is officially believed that Queen Tamara was buried in the city of Gelati in the royal tomb, but her body is definitely not there. The Vatican claims that she was buried in Palestine, but this is not confirmed by any evidence. It is strange that the place of her burial is unknown, because it is customary to bury kings with great honor, but not secretly, especially since we are talking about such a great ruler. After all, her grave could become a place of saint worship and pilgrimage.
Perhaps this was due to the threat of Nukardin, and the queen was afraid that her grave would be destroyed. They say that before her death, she gave instructions to her bodyguards and they followed it exactly. There were seven bodyguards and exactly seven coffins were made, only one of them contained the body of the queen, and the rest were empty. Each of the bodyguards buried one of the coffins himself, and only the one who lowered the coffin into the grave knew the place. Following the last order of the queen, the bodyguards committed suicide in order to keep the burial place of queen Tamara a secret.
After the death of the queen, the golden age for Georgia ended. The state has lost political weight in its region. Enemies who were so afraid of the warrior queen rushed to the unprotected state: the Mongol-Tatars, the Turks …
Until now, the memory of Queen Tamara is cherished by every citizen of Georgia.
For eight centuries, researchers have been looking for the burial place of the Georgian queen. All the supposed places were studied: the slopes of Mount Kazbek, the royal cemetery in Mtskheta, caves in the Kara gorge and many other places. Gradually, the search engines, tired of numerous failures, abandoned the search.
At the beginning of the 60s of the last century, an incident occurred that gave hope to find the final resting place of the famous Georgian queen. It is said that a major accident occurred near the village of Kazbegi on the Georgian Military Highway. On a sharp turn, the driver could not hold the car, and it collapsed with the passengers into the gorge. The guys from the mine rescue squad took part in the rescue operation. They had to go down to the gorge using climbing equipment. Under one of the cornices, rescuers saw the entrance to the cave, closed by a rusty metal grate. An attempt to get close to her failed. The guys decided to return to this place later. But a year later, all the participants in that rescue operation died in the mountains. Until now, this cave has not been explored, which means that the chance to make a historical find of great importance has not been used.