Djiadjak Jaqeli
Encyclopedia
Family
Jiajak was a daughter of Beka I, the JaqeliJaqeli
Jaqeli was a Georgian noble family, an offshoot of the House of Chorchaneli, that rose to a ruling house of the principality of Samtskhe in the 13th century, and eventually Islamized to become a dynasty of Akhaltsikhe under the Ottoman Empire in the 16th/17th century.-History:"Jaqeli", literally...
atabeg
Atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince...
of Samtskhe. The Jaqelis held the Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
feudal office of Eristavi
Eristavi
Eristavi was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, it was the title of the third rank of prince and governor of a large province...
. An Eristavi could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander", roughly equivalent to the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
and normally translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
as "duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
".
David Hughes, a modern genealogist, theorised her mother was "Sayaluna". He identifies this "Sayaluna" as the widow of Farrukhzad II, Shirvanshah
Shirvanshah
Shirvanshah also spelled as Shīrwān Shāh or Sharwān Shāh, was the title in mediaeval Islamic times of an Arab in Ethnos but speedily Persianized dynasty within their culturally Persian environment. The Shirvanshah established a native state in Shirvan...
from c. 1281 to 1317. He suggests "Sayaluna" was a daughter of Pervâne
Pervâne
The Pervâne Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman was for a time a key player in Anatolian politics involving the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm, the Mongol Ilkhanate and the Mamluks under Baybars.- Biography :...
and Gürcü Hatun
Gürcü Hatun
Gürcü Hatun was a Georgian princess and favorite wife of Kaykhusraw II, Seljuk Sultan of Rum. After his death in 1246 she married the Anatolian strongman Pervane Mu‘in al-Din Suleyman. She was the mother of Kayqubad II and patron to Rumi...
. This theory would make Sayaluna a younger, maternal half-sister to Kayqubad II
Kayqubad II
Kayqubad II was the youngest of the three sons of the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm Kaykhusraw II. As son of the sultan’s favorite wife, the Georgian princess Tamar, he was designated heir. He had a weak constitution and was likely seven years old at the time of his father’s death in 1246, being born ca...
. Hughes has also suggested a second theory, identifying the mother as Jigda Khanum, otherwise said to be the second wife of Alexios II.
Marriage
The marriage of Jiajak to Alexios II can be estimated to c. 1300. According to the "Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era" (1926) by William Miller, Andronikos II PalaiologosAndronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
, maternal uncle and guardian of the underage Alexios II, had planned to marry his ward to a daughter of Nikephoros Choumnos
Nikephoros Choumnos
Nikephoros Choumnos was a Byzantine scholar and official of the early Palaiologan period, one of the most important figures in the flowering of arts and letters of the so-called "Palaiologan Renaissance"...
(1250–1327). According to the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
The Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary.- Characteristic :...
, Choumnos was a statesman, philosopher and divine in the court of Andronikos II in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. He was also a personal friend and favourite
Favourite
A favourite , or favorite , was the intimate companion of a ruler or other important person. In medieval and Early Modern Europe, among other times and places, the term is used of individuals delegated significant political power by a ruler...
of his emperor. Choumnos was the author of works on ecclesiastical, legal, philosophical, religious and rhetorical subjects. In 1303, Irene Choumnaina, daughter of the philosopher, married John Palaiologos. Her husband was the eldest son of Andronikos II and his second wife Irene of Montferrat. The marriage was reported by George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
and John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
. This bride was given the title basilissa
Basilissa
Basilissa or Vasilissa may refer to one of the following:*The female form of the Greek title vasilefs/basileus; see also Vasilisa * A female first name;**Saint Basilissa, 1st century Christian martyr...
, female form of basileus
Basileus
Basileus is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. It is perhaps best known in English as a title used by the Byzantine Emperors, but also has a longer history of use for persons of authority and sovereigns in ancient Greece, as well as for the kings of...
. John died childless in 1308. Irene survived him and retired to a monastery under the monastic name "Eulogia
Eulogia
The term eulogia , Greek for "a blessing", has been applied in ecclesiastical usage to the object blessed.-History:It was occasionally used in early times to signify the Holy Eucharist, and in this sense is especially frequent in the writings of St. Cyril of Alexandria. The origin of this use is...
" (Blessing).
According to Miller, Andronikos had never conceded to the marriage of his nephew and was only informed after the fact. Andronikos attempted to have an annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
of the marriage declared by Patriarch John XII of Constantinople
Patriarch John XII of Constantinople
John XII was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1294 to 1303. John XII was born in Sozopolis on the western Black Sea coast . Prior to becoming patriarch, he was known as Kosmas....
. Alexios however informed the Patriarch that the marriage had already been consummate
Consummate
Consummation or consummation of a marriage, in many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, is the first act of sexual intercourse between two individuals, following their marriage to each other...
d and his wife pregnant. John XII consequently refused to dissolve the marriage. In 1301, Eudokia Palaiologina
Eudokia Palaiologina
Eudokia Palaiologina or was the third daughter of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and his wife, Theodora Doukaina Vatatzaina, a grandniece of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea....
, sister of Andronikos II and mother of Alexios II, was sent from Constantinople to Trebizond
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
with the mission to convince Alexios to dissolve his own marriage. Eudokia instead advised her son to keep Jiajak as his wife, in order to maintain his independence from the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
The duration of the marriage remains uncertain. Alexios died in 1330 but there is no report concerning Jiajak's time of death. The Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza considers her to be only the first of two wives. The second one being Jidga Khatun
Khatun
Khatun is a female title of nobility and alternative to male "khan" prominently used in the First Turkic Empire and in the subsequent Mongol Empire...
. Jidga was the only daughter of Demetre II of Georgia
Demetre II of Georgia
Saint King Demetrius II the Self-sacrificer , from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia in 1270–1289.-Life:...
and his second wife Solghar, a Mongol
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. Demetre II practiced polygamy
Polygamy
Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...
and had three known wives at the same time. The existence of this daughter is reported in an 18th-century continuation of the "Georgian Chronicle". However the Chronicle does not mention her being married. However older works such as the Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke do not mention any second marriage for Alexios II. As as a result Sturdza's theory is not universally accepted.
The theory of Sturdza has found its place in later genealogies. For example, David Hughes considers Jidga Khatun to be the second wife of Alexios II and identifies Solghar as a possible daughter of Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan , also Abaga , or Abagha Khan, was the second Mongol ruler of the Persian Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Yesuncin Khatun, he reigned from 1265–1282 and was succeeded by his brother Tekuder Khan...
of the Ilkhanate
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
. Hughes also favors the theory that her actual mother was not Solghar but Demetre's first wife, an unnamed daughter of Manuel I of Trebizond
Manuel I of Trebizond
Manuel I Megas Komnenos , Emperor of Trebizond from 1238 to 1263, surnamed the "Great Captain", was the second son of Alexios I, the first emperor of Trebizond, and Theodora Axuchina. He succeeded his brother, John I Axouchos...
. The marriage of Demetre II to a daughter of an Emperor of Trebizond is recorded in the "Georgian Chronicle". This marriage occurred c. 1277 and the father-in-law is identified as Manuel I of Trebizond for chronological reasons. His daughters would have probably reached marriage age by that time. Hughes identifies the first wife of Demetre II with Theodora of Trebizond
Theodora of Trebizond
Theodora Megale Komnene , , Empress of Trebizond from 1284 to 1285. She was a daughter of Emperor Manuel I of Trebizond by his second wife, Rusudan, a Georgian princess....
, the eldest daughter of Manuel I by his second wife Rusudan of Georgia
Rusudan of Georgia, Empress of Trebizond
Rusudan of Georgia, Empress of Trebizond was the second Empress consort of Manuel I of Trebizond.-Family:Rusudan was a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, but there are at least two theories concerning the identities of her parents....
. The main problem with this theory is that Manuel I was the paternal grandfather of Alexios II. Hughes' theory would make Jidga his first cousin, well within the prohibited degree of kinship
Prohibited degree of kinship
In law, a prohibited degree of kinship refers to a degree of consanguinity between persons that results in certain actions between them becoming illegal. Two major examples of prohibited degrees are found in incest and nepotism. Incest is a taboo across all cultures worldwide, but which specific...
as defined by the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Children
Jiajak and Alexios II had at least six children:- Andronikos IIIAndronikos III of TrebizondAndronikos III Megas Komnenos or Andronicus III , Emperor of Trebizond from 1330 to 1332. He was an eldest son of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Iberian wife, Djiadjak Jaqeli of Samckhe....
, Emperor of Trebizond 1330-1332. - BasilBasil of TrebizondBasil Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from August 1332 to his death in 1340. Basil was a younger son of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his wife Djiadjak Jaqeli...
, Emperor of Trebizond 1332-1340. - Michael Anachoutlous, murdered by his brother Andronikos III in 1330.
- George Achpougas, murdered by his brother Andronikos III in 1330.
- Anna AnachoutlouAnna of TrebizondAnna Anachoutlou Megale Komnene , , Empress of Trebizond from July 17, 1341 to September 4, 1342. Anna was the elder daughter of Emperor Alexios II of Trebizond and his Georgian wife, Djiadjak Jaqeli....
, a nun, became Empress of Trebizond 1341-1342. - Eudokia, may have married Adil beg ibn Yakub Kandaride.