Amirspasalar

{{Short description|Medieval-era commander-in-chief of the Georgian army}} [[File:Mural representing Khutlubuga. Church of the Holy Sign. Haghpat Monastery, southern wall. Late 13th century. (color).jpg|thumb|[[Khutlubuga]] was ''Amirspasalar'' for Georgia from 1270 to 1293. Church of the Holy Sign. [[Haghpat Monastery]], southern wall. Late 13th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hakobyan |first1=Zaruhi A. |title=The Frescoes of the Haghpat Monastery in the Historical-Confessional Context of the 13th Century |journal=Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art |date=2021 |volume=11 |page=265 |doi=10.18688/aa2111-02-21 |url=https://www.academia.edu/76574994/The_Frescoes_of_the_Haghpat_Monastery_in_the_Historical_Confessional_Context_of_the_13th_Century|doi-access=free }}</ref>]] '''''Amirspasalar''''' ({{lang-ka|ამირსპასალარი|tr}}, from {{langx|fa|امیر سپه سالار}}, {{Lang|fa-latn|amīr sipahsālār}}) was the [[commander-in-chief]] of the medieval Georgian army and one of the [[Court officials of the Kingdom of Georgia|highest officials]] of the [[Kingdom of Georgia]], commonly rendered as "Lord High Constable" (and sometimes also as ''[[generalissimo]]'') in English. It is composed of ''[[amir]]'', an [[Arabic]] term meaning 'commander', 'governor', or 'prince'; and ''[[sipahsalar]]'', from the Persian for 'army commander'.<ref name="DMA">Robert Bedrosian, "Amirspasalar", in: Joseph Reese Strayer (1983), ''[[Dictionary of the Middle Ages]]'', p. 235. Scribner, {{ISBN|0-684-16760-3}}.</ref>

The ''amirspasalar'' was a wartime supreme commander-in-chief of the royal armies, and the bearer of the state flag. Under [[Queen Tamar]] (r. 1184–1213), it was the third great office of the Georgian state, after King and ''[[atabek]]''. ''[[Regulations of the Royal Court|The Institution of the Royal Court]]'', most probably codified during the second reign of [[George V of Georgia|George V]] (1314–1346) defines the office as "an honorary [[vizier]] and the head of army".

The title of ''amirspasalar'' is first mentioned in the reign of [[George III of Georgia]] (1156–1184), but it was apparently introduced by George's grandfather [[David IV of Georgia|David IV]] (r. 1089–1125), who had substantially reformed Georgia's military and civil administration. In the early 12th century the ''amirspasalar'' was chosen from the [[House of Orbeli]], but in 1155, [[David V of Georgia|David]], son of [[Demetrius I of Georgia]], overthrow his father and attempted to curb the Orbeli influence by transferring the post to their rival, [[Abuletisdze|Tirkash Abuletisdze]]. After Demetrius's restoration, the Orbeli again held the post down to their rebellion against George III in 1176–1177, when it was given to Qubasar, of [[Kipchaks in Georgia|Kipchak]] origin. In 1184, Queen Tamar removed Qubasar and appointed a member of the [[Gamrekeli]] family. Later, the office passed to the family of [[Zachariads]] ([[Mkhargrdzeli]]), succeeded by the [[Jaqeli]].<ref name="DMA"/>

The position was effectively abolished with the dismemberment of the Kingdom of Georgia later in the 15th century.

== See also == *[[Court officials of the Kingdom of Georgia]] *''[[Spaspet]]''

== References == {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Military ranks of Georgia (country)]] [[Category:Noble titles of Georgia (country)]] [[Category:Military history of the Kingdom of Georgia]] [[Category:Georgian words and phrases]] [[Category:Georgian military ranks of Persian origin]] [[Category:11th-century establishments in the Kingdom of Georgia]] [[Category:15th-century disestablishments in the Kingdom of Georgia]]