8. Tamar of Georgia was no quiet, retiring princess; in fact, she made history by serving alongside her father, King George, and then ruling on her own
In 1178, King George III of Georgia made a shock announcement. He decreed that, from then on, his own daughter, Princess Tamar, would rule alongside him. She was just a teenager and, moreover, medieval Georgia was a highly sexist society. Men were supposed to rule through strength alone, and women were supposed to be subservient, even if they were of royal blood. But the King’s decision was a wise one. Tamar was not just any princess. She had been raised to be a warrior and groomed for power from an early age. From 1178 onward, she was required to put all that knowledge to good use.
Between the ages of 18 and 24, Princess Tamar ruled as co-monarch. Then, in 1184, her father died. She became Queen of Georgia. Not surprisingly, many powerful clan leaders were against the idea of being ruled by a woman. However, Tamar was just as ruthless a queen as she had been a princess. Despite her young age, she quickly asserted her dominance. Even when she gave in to nobles’ requests to marry a political ally, she quickly tired of her husband and sent him into exile. In partnership with her second husband, Tamar crushed all potential opposition and ushered in the ‘Golden Age’ of Georgian history – not bad for a young princess whose reign looked doomed from the start.