Sagdukht (Georgian: საგდუხტი) was a 5th-century queen consort of Iberia, natively known as Kartli in eastern Georgia, as wife of King Mirdat V. She was a daughter of Barzabod, a Mihranid ruler of Gardman.
Sagdukht is primarily known from the Georgian chronicle, written by Juansher c. 800, relating life of King Vakhtang I, the son of Mirdat and Sagdukht. She is also mentioned as Sahakdukht in the works of the 13th-century Armenian historian Vardan. Modern historians such as Ivane Javakhishvili, Simon Janashia, and Cyril Toumanoff identify her with the Sahakdukht recorded in a Georgian inscription on an icon from the Jvarisa church in the village of Znakva.
According to Juansher's chronicle, Sagdukht's hand was sought and obtained by Mirdat—then heir apparent to his reigning father King Archil—who was captivated by Sagdukht's beauty and also sought to ensure the peace between Iberia and Gardman, the Rani (Arran) of the Georgian source. The couple settled at Mirdat's appanage of Samshvilde, where Sagdukht converted to Christianity and built the church of Sioni. Sagdukht gave birth to two daughters, Khvarandze and Mirandukht, and one son, Vakhtang. After Mirdat's death, Sagdukht assumed regency for her underage son under the protection of her father. Later, according to Juansher, Sagdukht and Khvarandze were temporarily left in government of Kartli during Vakhtang's absence on a military expedition against the Alans in the Caucasus Mountains.
References
- Toumanoff, Cyril (1969). The Chronology of the Early Kings of Iberia. Fordham University Press. p. 28, n. 31.
- Danelia, Korneli; Sarjveladze, Zurab (1997). ქართული პალეოგრაფია [Georgian Paleography]. Tbilisi. p. 24.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). Studies in Christian Caucasian history. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. p. 400, n. 186.
- Gamq’relidze, Dmitri (2014). "Juansher Juansheriani, The Life of Vakht'ang Gorgasali". In Jones, Stephen (ed.). Kartlis Tskhovreba. A History of Georgia (PDF). Tbilisi: Artanuji. pp. 78–82. ISBN 978-9941-445-52-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-13.