Khutlubuga Խութլու Բուղա Արծրունի | |
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Amirspasalar | |
In office 1270–1293 | |
Preceded by | Sadun Mankaberdeli |
Succeeded by | Shahnshah II Zakarian |
Atabeg | |
In office 1292–1293 | |
Preceded by | Tarsaich Orbelian |
Succeeded by | Shahnshah II Zakarian |
Personal details | |
Died | 1293 |
Parent | Sadun Mankaberdeli |
Khutlubuga (Armenian: Խութլու Բուղա), also Khutlu Buga or Qutlugh Buqa (Georgian: ხუტლუბუღა; died August, 1293), was an Armenian prince of the House of the Artsrunids,[2] and a court official of the Kingdom of Eastern Georgia in the second half of the 13th century, the son of Atabeg-Amirspasalar Sadun Mankaberdeli. He himself became Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Georgian army, and for a short time towards the end of his life Atabeg (Governor General of Georgia). He also received the title of Paron (derived from the Crusader title "Baron") from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.[3] Khutlubuga and his father Sadun were attached the name of Artsruni in Armenian texts (after the name of their dynasty), and Mankaberdeli in Georgian ones (after the name of their territory).[3]
After the Mongol ruler Arghun executed the Georgian king Demetrius II, Khutlubuga collaborated with Arghun for the selection of the next king Vakhtang II.[4]
Khutlu-Buga held the title of paron (borrowing a term from the Crusader Franks—baron); conferred by the Armenian king in Cilicia, it was a sign of their elite status. However, paron was only one of KhutluBuga's honors: he also held the titles of amirspasalar and atabeg. These honors were bestowed on him by two kings of Georgia, Demetre II (r. 1270–89) and his successor, Vakhtang IV (r. 1289–92), thus making him, like his father Sadun before him, a powerful figure at the Georgian court. Indeed, Sadun and Khutlu-Buga were the leaders of a powerful cross-border family with lands in both Armenia and Georgia, and they are accorded different surnames in Armenian and Georgian sources: Artsruni in Armenian texts, Mankaberdeli in Georgian ones. Khutlu-Buga first rose to prominence in 1284, during the reign of Arghun Khan. Arghun came to power in a revolt against his uncle, Tegüder Ahmad, and Khutlu-Buga used the crisis to his own ends. He manipulated the situation to engineer the downfall of King Demetre II, who was eventually executed in 1289.19 It was once he had accomplished this that he took on the role of atabeg (vizier and tutor to the heir), through which he became the power behind the throne of Demetre's successor, Vakhtang IV. This maneuver also enabled him to build up vast landholdings in northern Armenia.
In 1289, Arghun executed the Georgian King Demetre the Devoted, and personally chose the new king of Georgia, Vakhtang II (r. 1289–1292), grandson of Queen Rusudan, in collaboration with Qutlugh Buqa, son of the Armenian noble Sadun Artsruni.