Amazasp III or Hamazasp I ( ka, ამაზასპ III, Latinized as ''Amazaspus'') was a king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(also natively known as

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

; in ancient

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) from 260 to 265 AD. According to

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

he may have been a scion of the Pharnavazid dynasty, while

Richard N. Frye Richard Nelson Frye (January 10, 1920 – March 27, 2014) was an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University. His professional areas of interest were Irania ...

states that he was an Iranian, possibly related to the royal

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

family. The name Amazasp derives from

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle ...

''*Hamazāsp'', ultimately from Old Persian ''Hamāzāspa''. Although the precise etymology of ''*Hamazāsp''/''Hamāzāspa'' remains unresolved, it may be explained through Avestan ''*hamāza-'', "colliding/clashing" + ''aspa-'', "horse" i.e. "one who possessed war steeds". Although Amazasp III is unfortunately unknown to the High Medieval & Georgian literary traditions, some Georgian chronicles do record two early kings named Amazasp. However, Amazasp III is indeed attested in a contemporaneous text of the Sasanian Empire, an Old Persian written source, and in the tri-lingual inscription found in

Ka'ba-ye Zartosht The Ka'ba-ye Zartosht ( fa, کعبه زرتشت), or the Cube of Zarathustra, is a stone quadrangular stepped structure in the Naqsh-e Rustam compound beside Zangiabad village in Marvdasht county in Fars, Iran. The Naqsh-e Rustam compound als ...

Temple in which is the lists of the Princedom of Wirričān (

) as among the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

dependencies and Protectorates and testifies to an privileged diplomatic position of its Princedom. Hamazasp, III was said to be of high rank in the contemporaneous Court Hierarchy of the Persian Sasanian dynasty and entirely of the Old Persian world. He is mentioned early in the tri-lingual inscription only following the names of King Ardashir of

Adiabene Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N ...

, King Ardashir of

Kirman Kerman is the capital city of Kerman Province, Iran. Kerman or Kirman may also refer to: Places *Kirman (Sasanian province), province of the Sasanian Empire * Kerman Province, province of Iran ** Kerman County *Kerman, California People * Jo ...

, and also Queen Denag of

Meshan Meshan ( Middle Persian: 𐭬𐭩𐭱𐭠𐭭) was a province of the Sasanian Empire. It consisted of the Parthian vassal kingdom of Characene and reached north along the Shatt al-Arab river and then the lower Tigris to Madhar and possibly fur ...

, and preceded by a long list of minor princes, ministers, and satrapal Dukes and Temple Ruler’s of the Royal cities of the Empire. Professor Cyril Toumanoff has suggested that Amazasp III was ‘helped’ to be proclaimed King by the influence of energetic Sasanian High King

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

as a helpful

anti-king An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...

to the ''although Romano-phile'' Prince

Mihrdat II of Iberia Mihrdat II ( ka, მირდატ II, Latinized as ''Mithridates''), of the Arsacid dynasty, was a king of Iberia (natively known as Kartli; ancient Georgia) from 249 to 265 AD. He is known exclusively from the medieval Georgian chronicles wh ...

, who is known only and exclusively from the Georgian chronicles. Another Sasanian inscription, of the Zohroastiani high priest indeed alludes to a sunset invasion of Iberia (and of

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

) some time after 260. Amazasp III seems to have been dispossessed of the throne in 265, the moment, precisely, when Shapur’s imperial activity was definitely coming to an end.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 293. Peeters Bvba . Some modern historians such as Sir Giorgi Tsereteli, Dr T'amila Mgaloblishvili, and Prof. Stephen H. Rapp mainly identify King Hamazasp with Lord-Prince Habzā: a king of the Waručān who are mentioned in some of the early manichaean texts discovered by Zee German scientific expeditions of 1908 & early 1914; (in the West Asian), Xinjian Regions, and its Turpan oasis. In an interesting aside, another document from this collection refers to an unnamed proud High-Prince of Waruzān, who appears to have impressed the Manichaeans by his perspectives on learning and knowledge.T‘amila Mgaloblishvili and Stephen H. Rapp Jr. (2011), "Manichaeism in Late Antique Georgia?," pp. 269–274, in ''In Search of Truth: Manichaica, Augustiniana & Varia Gnostica'', Jacob Albert van den Berg ed. Leiden—Boston: Brill, .

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Amazasp 03 Of Iberia Arsacid dynasty of Iberia Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire 3rd-century monarchs in Asia