Tamta

Tamta Mkhargrdzeli or Tamta Zakarian (c. 1195–1254) was an Armenian Chalcedonian Christian noblewoman, born at the court of queen Tamar of Georgia. She appears in only a few written sources, including contemporary histories by Kirakos Gandzaketsi and Vardan Areveltsi.

Biography Early life and family There is no information about the place and date of her birth. Nothing is known about Tamta's mother except the name Khoshak. Tamta probably spent her childhood in the province of Lori, where her father Ivane I Zakarian had large estates. By 1210, Tamta was of marriageable age, meaning she was over 13 years old. Tamta died at an old age in about 1254, which suggests that she was born around 1195. Tamta had a brother Avag.

Marriage to Al-Awhad The first time Tamta is mentioned is in connection with the events that led to her first marriage. In 1209/10 or 1210/11 Tamta's father, Ivane besieged Ahlat. The ruler of Ahlat, Al-Awhad at that time together with the brothers Al-Kamil and al-Ashraf, was in Damascus or Egypt. The position of the Armenian-Georgian army was advantageous and they would have taken the city if not for an accident. Historians described the reasons for it in different ways: they blamed a lame horse, carelessness or drunkenness on Ivane, who, “swinging aimlessly,” came too close to the city walls; they praised the townspeople who dug a trap on which the horse had tripped. As a result, Ivane was captured. To liberate Ivane, Zakare had to enter into negotiations; he demanded that his brother not be handed over to the Ayyubids, threatening to ruin the lands of Ahlat. According to the agreement, for the release of Ivane, Zakare and Ivane undertook to return many fortresses to the Ayyubids, release 5,000 Muslim captives, pay a ransom, conclude a truce for 30 years and give Tamta, Ivane's daughter, to al-Awhad as his wife.

Marriage to Al-Ashraf

Al-Ashraf did not send Tamta back to her parental family as a widow, but made her his wife. Zaroui Pogossian takes issue with Eastmon's emphasis of the role and influence of men over Mkhargrdzeli's life and argues that female influence on Tamta herself, through her family and the court would have been considerable.

Selected publications Sergio La Porta, 'Reconstructing Armenia: Strategies of Co-Existence amongst Christians and Muslims in the Thirteenth Century', in Negotiating Co-Existence: Communities, Cultures and Convivencia in Byzantine Society (2013) gives an account of Tamta's life and family.