The Artaxiads ( ka, არტაშესიანი, tr), a branch of the
eponymous dynasty of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, ruled
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 ...
(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 90 BC to 30 AD. According to the medieval Georgian chronicles, they acquired the crown of Iberia after the Iberian nobles revolted against their king
P’arnajom, of the
Pharnabazid dynasty
The Pharnavazid ( ka, ფარნავაზიანი, tr) is the name of the first dynasty of Georgian kings of Kartli (Iberia) preserved by ''The Georgian Chronicles''. Their rule lasted, with intermissions, from the 3rd century BC to the ...
, and petitioned the king of Armenia to send his son, who was married to a Pharnabazid princess, as their new monarch. Both the king of Armenia and his son are referred to in the chronicles as “Arshak”, probably a confusion with ''Artaxias'' which seems to be taken as a general term in reference to the Artaxiad kings of Armenia. Professor
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, ...
identifies the king of Armenia of this account as
Artavasdes I (ruled c. 159 BC - c. 115 BC) and considers the newly installed Iberian king,
Artaxias I
Artaxias I (from gr, Άρταξίας; in hy, Արտաշէս, translit=Artašēs) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling d ...
(ruled 90–78 BC), to have been his son.
[Toumanoff, Cyril. Chronology of the Early Kings of Iberia. ''Traditio'' 25 (1969), pp. 10-11.] The chronicle goes on to describe a great battle between a combined Iberian-Armenian army against P’arnajom and his followers. In the end, P’arnajom was defeated and killed, and thereafter the Armenian prince was the king of Iberia.
[ Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', pp. 282-284. Peeters Bvba .]
Little is known about the early years of the Iberian Artaxiad rule. They seem to have been under the influence of their Armenian cousins to whom Iberia had relinquished a significant portion of its territory. This association with the Armenian Artaxiads, who were at their peak of power during the reign of
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great ( hy, Տիգրան Մեծ, ''Tigran Mets''; grc, Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας ''Tigránes ho Mégas''; la, Tigranes Magnus) (140 – 55 BC) was King of Armenia under whom the ...
(r. 95–55 BC), brought about Iberia’s involvement in the
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of the ...
between the
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
-Armenian alliance and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
(75–65 BC).
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
and
Licinius Macer
Gaius Licinius Macer (died 66BC) was a Roman annalist and politician.
Life
A member of the ancient plebeian clan Licinia, he was tribune in 73BC. Sallust mentions him agitating for the people's rights. He became praetor in 68BC, but in 66BC Cic ...
state that Iberian contingents featured prominently in the battles of
Tigranocerta __NOTOC__
Tigranocerta ( el, Τιγρανόκερτα, ''Tigranόkerta''; Tigranakert; hy, Տիգրանակերտ), also called Cholimma or Chlomaron in antiquity, was a city and the capital of the Armenian Kingdom between 77 and 69 BCE. It bore ...
(69 BC) and
Artaxata
Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...
(68 BC). Even after the surrender of Tigranes to the mercy of
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
, the Artaxiad king of Iberia
Artoces (r. 78–63 BC) continued to offer a stubborn resistance to the invading Romans, but was eventually defeated and forced to plead for peace. This Artoces well known to the
Classical sources is apparently the Artag (Artog), son of Arshak/Artaxias, of the Georgian annals which surprisingly omit any mention of the Roman invasion, but instead report the king’s fighting with the “Persians”.
Roman hegemony over Iberia proved to be impermanent, however, and, in 36 BC, the
legate
Legate may refer to:
*Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class
:*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period
*A member of a legation
*A representative, ...
Publius Canidius Crassus
Publius Canidius Crassus (died 30 BC) was a Roman general and Mark Antony's lieutenant. He served under Lepidus in southern Gallia in 43 BC, and was henceforth allied with Antony. He became suffect consul in 40 BC and then served as a commande ...
had to lead his army into Iberia to force its king
Pharnabazus into a new alliance with Rome. Neither Pharnabazus nor his relations with Rome are recorded in the Georgian chronicles whose narrative focuses on King Bartom, son of Artag, and his demise in the struggle with the once exiled prince
Mirian who eventually restored the Pharnabazid dynasty to the throne of Iberia. Modern scholars tend to identify Pharnabazus with Bartom and consider him the last in the Artaxiad line.
References
*
Melikishvili, Giorgi ''et al.''. (1970), საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები (''Studies in the History of Georgia'')
Vol. 1.Tbilisi: Sabch’ota Sakartvelo.
{{Royal houses of Georgia
Kings of Iberia
Georgian royal dynasties