David Soslan
David Soslan (d. circa 1205) was a statesman and the second husband of Queen Tamar. Tamar married him in 1187 (according to other sources, 1189) at the Didube Palace.
According to sources, David Soslan was “raised” by and considered “one of her own” by Tamar’s aunt Rusudan. The term “one of her own” can, from one perspective, indicate a relative, and from another, a subordinate or vassal. Similarly, the term “raised” had a double meaning: either the original meaning or a vassal. Chroniclers describe David Soslan as a man with moral and knightly qualities and possessing a pleasant appearance. He commanded the Georgian army in nearly all major battles: the campaign in the Barda region in the early 1190s, and battles in Erzurum, Karnu-Kalaki, Gelakun, Belakan, the vicinity of Ganja, the Battle of Shamkor (1195), and the Battle of Basiani (1203).
As co-ruler, Soslan also participated in the governance of the kingdom. There is no consensus about his origin. In Georgian scholarly literature, the prevailing view is that David Soslan was a member of a branch of the Bagrationi dynasty that had settled in Ossetia. According to researchers, this branch descended from Demetre, son of King Giorgi I and Queen Alde (of Alan origin).
According to Vakhushti Batonishvili (18th century), Demetre had a son who, along with his grandmother Alde, fled to Ossetia. There, he married the daughter of the king of the Ossetians and came to be known as king of the Ossetians himself. David Soslan was his descendant. He is also considered a Bagrationi by the chronicler from the time of Lasha-Giorgi.
Some researchers believe David Soslan belonged to the Ossetian noble family of Tsarazon, but there is no historical evidence in written sources to confirm this.
Sources: ბასილი ეზოსმოძღუარი, ცხოვრება მეფეთ-მეფისა თამარისი, წგ.: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 2, თბ., 1959; ისტორიანი და აზმანი შარავანდედთანი, იქვე; გიორგი კედრენე, წგ.: გეორგიკა, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 5, თბ., 1963.
Literature: ლ ო ლ ა შ ვ ი ლ ი ი., დავით სოსლანის აკლდამის საიდუმლოება, თბ., 1971; მ ე ტ რ ე ვ ე ლ ი რ., დავით IV, მეფე თამარი, თბ., 2002; ჯ ა ვ ა ხ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ივ., ქართველი ერის ისტორია, წგ. 2, თბ., 1983 (თხზ. თორმეტ ტომად, ტ.2).
N. Shoshiashvili
