Tamar Gurieli (daughter of Mamia II Gurieli)
Tamar Gurieli was a Georgian noblewoman of the 17th century. She was the first wife of the future king Alexander III of Imereti, whom she married during his childhood. Although few details of her life survive, her subsequent divorce from the heir apparent played a significant role in triggering a new civil war in western Georgia, deeply affecting the politics of the Kingdom of Imereti.
Biography
Little is known about the life of Tamar Gurieli, who was likely born in the early 17th century. She was the daughter of Prince Mamia II Gurieli, ruler of the Principality of Guria from 1598 to 1625, and his wife Tinatin Jaqeli. The Theatine monk Giuseppe Maria Zampi described her as a woman of “rare beauty.”In 1618, her father arranged her marriage to Prince Alexander Bagrationi, heir apparent to the Kingdom of Imereti, who was only nine years old at the time. The union formed part of an alliance between the ruling house of Guria and the central government of King George III of Imereti. The marriage was brief: in 1620, Tamar was accused of adultery with a merchant from Kutaisi, leading Alexander to divorce her.
Following the repudiation, Tamar was sent back to Guria, an act that contributed to a new civil war involving the royal capital and the nobles of Guria, Mingrelia, and Abkhazia. After the events of 1620, she disappears from the historical record.