Gürcü Hatun

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Gürcü Hatun (also Gurji Khatun) was the most favourite wife of Kay Khusrau II, sultan of the Seljuks of Rüm (1237-1246).

She was born Princess Tamar to Queen Rusudan of Georgia and Moghis ad-Din, son of the Seljuk sultan Tugrul II. Rusudan gave her daughter to Kay Khusrau in marriage to secure the peace with the Seljuks of Anatolia.

Initially, Tamar remained a Christian, but later embraced Islam and accepted the name of Gürcü Hatun. It is said that the sun on the Seljuk coins of that time symbolizes Tamar, while the lion stands for the sultan himself. This emblem, known as shir-i hurshid (Lion and Sun), would later become widespread in the Islamic world (though its origins date back to much earlier times). After the death of Kay Khusrau (1246), the government of the sultanate was seized by the vizier Sahib Parwan Muhi ud-Din who married Gürcü Hatun.

She is known to have patronized science and art, and to have been on friendly terms with the famous Sufi poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi in particular. She also sponsored the construction of the poet’s tomb in Konya (now in Turkey).