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| Fifty Lari |
Georgia banknotes 50 Lari note 2004
Obverse: The obverse of the banknote features a portrait of Queen Tamar, a 12th century Georgian ruler, in the center and an image of an animal with wings on the left hand side.
Reverse: The reverse of the banknote features the astrological sign of Sagittarius from a Georgian miniature manuscript of the 12th century.
Date of issue - 2004
Size - 135x66 mm
Georgian banknotes - Georgia paper money
50 Lari 100 Lari 200 Lari 500 Lari
Tamar of Georgia - Tamar the Great
Tamar the Great (c. 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dynasty, her position as the first woman to rule Georgia in her own right was emphasized by the title mep'e ("king"), commonly afforded to Tamar in the medieval Georgian sources.
Tamar was proclaimed heir and co-ruler by her reigning father George III in 1178, but she faced significant opposition from the aristocracy upon her ascension to full ruling powers after George's death. Tamar was successful in neutralizing this opposition and embarked on an energetic foreign policy aided by the decline of the hostile Seljuq Turks. Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire which dominated the Caucasus until its collapse under the Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death.
Tamar was married twice, her first union being, from 1185 to 1187, to the Rus' prince Yuri, whom she divorced and expelled from the country, defeating his subsequent attempts at coup. For her second consort Tamar chose, in 1191, the Alan prince David Soslan, by whom she had two children, George and Rusudan, the two successive monarchs on the throne of Georgia.
Tamar's association with the period of political and military successes and cultural achievements, combined with her role as a female ruler, has led to her idealization and romantization in Georgian arts and historical memory. She remains an important symbol in Georgian popular culture and has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church as the Holy Righteous King Tamar, with her feast day commemorated on 14 May (O.S. 1 May).