INFORMATION OF PERSIAN WRITTEN SOURCES ABOUT THE MARRIAGE OF KING ROSTOM

Abstract

The presented article is dedicated to the marriage of the Vali of Kartli - Rostom, the same Khosro-Mirza Bagrationi (1633-1658) and to a discussion of dramatic events related to it. Specifically, we are talking about the marriage of King Rostom and Mariam, the sister of Levan Dadiani, the Ruler of Odishi, in 1634. The information about it is found in various (Georgian, Persian, Turkish, European) written sources. Most of them are well known and properly studied in Georgian historiography, though a certain part of sources is less known, and, accordingly, is not used in the scientific literature. Consequently, it is highly important to research and discover new sources and, based on appropriate critical analysis, to consider their data in order to reveal a number of historical facts or events of the distant past.
This time we focus on the Persian sources of the seventeenth century (the works of Mohammad Yusuf, Mohammad Ma’sum, Abu al-Mafakher Tafreshi, Mir Temur Marashi), which contain interesting information on the issues under consideration. Particularly noteworthy is their information about the advancement of Khosro-Mirza at the royal court of Safavids, his and Shah Safi I’s (1629-1642) cordial relationship, his enthronement in Kartli and marriage with Mariam Dadiani, the failed attempt of King Teimuraz and King George III of Imereti to prevent the mentioned marriage, about the controversy between Teimuraz and Rostom, etc. Iranian chroniclers, who were contemporaries (perhaps sometimes eyewitnesses) of the events described in their writings, point out that Rostom, as an ordained and devoted vassal of the Iranian government, first obtained approval to marry Mariam Dadiani from Shah Safi. As much as establishing the kinship between Dadiani and Rostom suited the interests of the Safavid state in all its aspects, Shah Safi approved the choice of Rostom and sent him wedding gifts as well.
In the work the information preserved in the Persian historical compositions, is compared with the data of Georgian, Turkish and European sources, containing parallel data. Based on their appropriate analysis and taking into account the specific historical-political situation of the study period, the relevant conclusions are drawn.