Borena of Alania


Borena was a sister of the Alan king Durgulel "the Great", and the Queen consort of Georgia, as the second wife of Bagrat IV.
The medieval Georgian historical tradition exposes little information about Borena. Bagrat married her, in the early 1030s, after the death of his first wife, Elene. This was just one of the several intermarriages between the medieval Georgian Bagratids and their natural allies, the royal house of Alania. Borena seems to have retained some contacts with her native Alania: the Georgian chronicles report that when Durgulel paid a visit to Bagrat IV, he also arranged an audience with his sister Borena. The last we hear about Borena is her presence at Bagrat's deathbed in 1072.
Borena is primarily known as a patron and promoter of Georgian Orthodox culture and monastic life. She sponsored the construction of the Georgian Kapata Monastery on Mount Sion at Jerusalem. She is frequently identified with the Borena who was an author of a passionate and moving hymn to Virgin Mary, which is found as an inscription on the Theotokos icon from that time.
Bagrat IV and Borena were the parents of:
In addition to these well-documented children, the couple may have had a daughter, Mariam, possibly a wife of the Byzantine dignitary Theodore Gabras.