Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia (died 2 May 1395) was the first Empress consort of Manuel III of Trebizond. Her original name was Gulkhan Khatun. Eudokia was her Christian baptismal name.[1]
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Gulkhan was a daughter of David IX of Georgia and his wife Sindukhtar Jaqeli. She was also a sister of Bagrat V of Georgia.[2]
Her paternal grandfather was George V of Georgia. The identity of his wife is not known. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century reports him marrying a daughter of "the Greek Emperor, Lord Michael Komnenos". However the reigning dynasty of the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century were the Palaiologoi, not the Komnenoi. The marriage of a daughter of Michael IX Palaiologos and his wife Rita of Armenia to a Georgian ruler is not recorded in Byzantine sources. Neither is the existence of any illegitimate daughters of Michael IX.[3] The Komnenoi did rule however in the Empire of Trebizond. A Michael Komnenos was Emperor from 1344 to 1349. His wife was Acropolitissa. Their only child recorded in primary sources was John III of Trebizond. Whether John III had siblings is unknown.[4]
Her maternal grandfather was Qvarqvare II Jaqeli, Prince of Samtskhe.[5] The Jaqelis held the Georgian feudal office of Eristavi. An Eristavi could be "governor of a region" or an "army-commander" [6], roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "duke".
Gulkhan was first betrothed or married to Andronikos of Trebizond, an illegitimate son of Alexios III of Trebizond. On 14 March 1376, Andronikos was assassinated. The Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke reports him killed by being thrown out of a tower.[7]
On 6 September 1377, Gulkhan married Manuel III of Trebizond. He was a younger, paternal half-brother of Andronikos. Manuel was the eldest surviving son of Alexios III and his wife Theodora Kantakouzene.[8] Their only known son would reign as Alexios IV of Trebizond.[9]
On 20 March 1390, Alexios III died. Manuel III succeeded him with Gulkhan as his Empress consort. Her term as Empress was brief, ending with her death on 2 May 1395. Manuel would go on to marry Anna Philanthropene.[10]
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| Preceded by Theodora Kantakouzene |
Empress consort of Trebizond 1390–1395 |
Succeeded by Anna Philanthropene |