About searching holy relics of Ketevan the Martyr

Abstract

Many generations of Georgians have been searching for the sacred relics of the Georgian queen, Ketevan the Martyr, for centuries. She was reportedly tortured on September 22, 1624, in the Iranian city of Shiraz by order of Shah Abbas I. There were numerous references to the martyrdom of the Queen and the location of her sacred parts in both Georgian and foreign historical and literary sources. Completely new, previously unknown sources for Georgia were published in the second half of the twentieth century. First of all, these are the works published by a prominent Portuguese scholar, Father Antonio da Silva Rego, as well as by Roberto Gulbeciani, a well-known Portuguese researcher, owner of Lisbon private archives. According to these works, the resting place of the Queen’s sacred parts is the Temple of Agraca in Goa, India. Based on these data, prominent Georgian researcher, writer and public figure Rezo Tabukashvili started searching for Queen Ketevan’s resting place. Unfortunately, due to a serious illness, he did not have time to finish this work. To continue his work, a scientific expedition was set up in February 2001, which traveled to Goa. The present paper is an attempt to present the extensive research and exploration work carried out by the expedition. The conclusions and versions concerning the resting place of the Queen’s sacred parts are presented. Also, those new references concerning the history of the temple and the reasons for its demolition.