Sanctity, Gender and Authority in Medieval Caucasia

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Nikoloz Aleksidze (Professor of the History of Religion and Political Thought, Free University of Tbilisi, Georgia)

Sanctity, Gender and Authority in Medieval Caucasia

Nikoloz Aleksidze (Professor of the History of Religion and Political Thought, Free University of Tbilisi, Georgia)

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English

Edinburgh University Press
31 December 2025

European history; Ancient history: to c 500 CE; Medieval history; Religious & spiritual leaders

Series: Edinburgh Byzantine Studies

From the early fourth century, the veneration of saints and relics spread rapidly across Christendom from the British Isles to Iran. In late antique Caucasia, the cult of the saints was immediately integrated into Armenian and Georgian identity and political discourses. It was used to legitimise royal rule, sanctify domains and dynasties, define political realms and justify political decisions.

This book is the first systematic study of this history. Discussing a wide variety of sources from Armenia, Georgia, Byzantium and Russia which have not been examined together before, it investigates the interaction of sanctity, holy relics, gender and politics in the medieval Caucasus, with a particular focus on Georgia. Nikoloz Aleksidze analyses three chronological eras: the first section focuses on late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, when the cult of the relics was formed in Caucasian writing; the second explores the medieval era, when the Bagratids ruled in Georgia and the cults of figures such as St George, the Mother of God and Queen Tamar were shaped and politicised; and the third navigates a similar entanglement of sanctity, gender and political rhetoric in Russian Imperial and Georgian national discourse.

By: Nikoloz Aleksidze (Professor of the History of Religion and Political Thought Free University of Tbilisi Georgia)
Imprint: Edinburgh University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9781474498623
ISBN 10: 1474498620
Series: Edinburgh Byzantine Studies
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 31 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Nikoloz Aleksidze is a Professor of the History of Religion and Political Thought at the Free University in Tbilisi. He is the author of The Narrative of the Caucasian Schism: Memory and Forgetting in Medieval Caucasia (Peeters, 2018) and Georgia: A Cultural Journey through the Wardrop Collection (Bodleian Libraries, 2018).

Reviews for Sanctity, Gender and Authority in Medieval Caucasia

Nikoloz Aleksidze's monograph offers a fascinating survey of the unique and crucial role of sainthood in Caucasian religion and national identity from medieval times to present times, demonstrating how the focus on ""exceptional"" individuals creates political legitimacy through popular interpretation of legend and history.--Pascal Boyer, Washington University