The Queenly Beauty of King Tamar

Photo by Sean Gilsdorf

    One of the greatest figures in Georgian history and national identity is King Tamar, who both in her time, and now, stood as something of a paradox.  Although bearing the title of mepe, the Georgian word for king and sovereign, Tamar was a woman.  Due to Tamar's unique position as ruler of a patriarchal society, many have struggled to understand how to view this Georgian national heroine.  To help solve the seeming paradox of her rule in patriarchal society, many writers and artists used their skills to help explain who or what exactly Tamar was, such as in “The Life of Tamar” featured in the Georgian national chronicle and in the Georgian national epic, The Knight in the Panther’s Skin.  In both texts, the writers praise Tamar and work to establish her as a ruling woman, including by commenting on her beauty. Although one may see this as simple flattery, the praises that these authors give to Tamar are quite remarkable, as they express how Georgians of the Middle Ages may have understood Tamar as a model of female leadership, and what that ought to entail. By analyzing their poetic praises, it is evident that Tamar’s beauty and the descriptions used convey a sense that Tamar and other female rulers were expected to represent health, prosperity, and divinity for their nation.

    In both works, the authors seek to describe Tamar as being in a state of good health through their descriptions of beauty.  In The Night in the Panther Skin, Rustaveli describes Tamar as “ruby-cheeked and jet-haired” in his address to her, while in “The Life of Tamar,” Ezosmodzghvari also adds says, “Her constitution was perfect, with dark eyes, a rosy tint to her white cheeks.”  Although rosy cheeks may be an unremarkable compliment about someone’s appearance today, Ezosmodzghvari is actually using Tamar’s appearance to increase her legitimacy.  Interestingly, the color of her cheeks is also paired with the idea of having hair or eyes that are dark in color, and these are furthermore related to her “constitution” in Ezosmodzghvari’s account; therefore, the rosiness of her cheeks seems to not only be a compliment to her beauty, but a sign of vitality.  As head of the nation, it is both beautiful and necessary for Tamar to be physically fit for office; thus, through the beauty of her appearance, these authors are arguing for her legitimacy by showing the vitality and youthfulness in her physical appearance.

    In addition to these praises suggesting that Tamar is of good health and constitution for her office of mepe, The Night in the Panther Skin also uses her physical beauty as a sign of wealth and prosperity.  In his introductory praise to Tamar, Rustaveli not only compares Tamar’s cheeks to rubies, but he also compares, “her eyebrows and lashes, her hair, her lips and her teeth,” to “Badakhshan ruby and cut crystal arrayed in two even ranks.”  Here Rustaveli is repeating the ruby metaphor and comparing most of her facial features to crystals.  This repetition shows an importance to the idea that her face needs to not only appear beautiful, but wealthy and well curated.  Hence, Tamar must be a walking example of the wealth of the Georgian kingdom, being compared to expensive and exotic gemstones as a sign of the affluence she brings.

    The affluence that Rustaveli suggests in Tamar’s beauty is enhanced beyond earthly power to divine power in Ezosmodzghvari’s account through the unearthly descriptions of her beauty through behavior.  “Her demeanor was modest,” he writes, “she had a way of regally and freely casting her eyes around her, … her pleasant and cheerful speech, her shunning of any familiarity.”  Here, Tamar almost seems otherworldly, being able to carry herself in an ethereal way that is both free and regal, and she can be cheerful and pleasant while also shunning familiarity.  She is untouchable, almost inhuman, in this description, and from this, Ezosmodzghvari concludes that she is like David, “who said that the kings and princes should worship him.”  Based on her ethereal presence and nearly divine beauty, “The Life of Tamar” suggests that she is in some way divine, being worthy of worship like a God.

    Thus, through the poetic praises of her beauty, it is evident that female beauty is transformed into signs of vitality, opulence, and divinity in Tamar’s case, which provides a unique lens for understanding how female sovereigns can use their physical beauty to garner legitimacy.  Through carefully garnered praise, the outward appearance of a queen can change the very substance of who she is in the eyes of her subjects, changing her from a mortal woman to a heavenly king.  By transforming the character of Tamar in literature, she was able to overcome the patriarchal expectations that she faced, and her rule continues to be glorified in Georgia today.