Ashot I the Great ( ka, აშოტ I დიდი ) (died 826/830) was a
presiding prince 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 ...
(modern
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 ...
), first of the
Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in
Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to:
* Tao-Klarjeti, part of Georgian historical region of Upper Kartli
* Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti, AD 888 to 1008
{{set index article
Kingdom of Iberia
Historical regions of Georgia (country) ...
, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 826. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Kouropalates for the Byzantine
Kouropalates
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii " he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the ti ...
title he wore. A patron of
Christian culture
Christian culture generally includes all the cultural practices which have developed around the religion of Christianity. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions.
Christian culture has ...
and a friend of the church, he has been
canonized
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of Cult (religious practice), public veneration and enterin ...
by the
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
.
Biography
Ashot was the son of the Iberian nobleman
Adarnase who had founded the Bagratoni hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeast
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) and bequeathed to his son extensive possessions acquired upon the extinction of his
Guaramid and
Chosroid cousins. Ashot initially failed to gain a foothold in central Iberia (
Shida Kartli
Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , Sh ...
), his efforts being dashed by the Arab
control of Tiflis. Ashot established himself in his patrimonial duchy of
Klarjeti
Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region wit ...
, where he restored the castle of
Artanuji said to have been built by the Iberian king
Vakhtang I Gorgasali
Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king of Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Georgia) in the second half of the 5th and first quarter o ...
in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince and
Kouropalates
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii " he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the ti ...
of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established by
Grigol Khandzteli
Gregory of Khandzta ( Georgian: გრიგოლ ხანძთელი, ''Grigol Khandzteli''; 759 – 5 October 861) was a Georgian ecclesiastic figure and a founder and leader of numerous monastic communities in Tao-Klarjeti, a historic ...
, and encouraged the settlement of the Georgians in the region. As a result, the political and religious center of Iberia was effectively transferred from central Iberia to the south-west, in Tao-Klarjeti.
[Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', ''passim''. Peeters Publishers, ]
From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, Ashot fought to recover more Georgian lands from the Arab hold and, though not always successful, succeeded in taking much of the adjoining lands from
Tao
''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...
in the southwest to Shida Kartli in the northeast, including
Kola
KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio for ...
,
Artani,
Javakheti
Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Tur ...
,
Samtskhe
Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia.
History
Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...
, and
Trialeti
Trialeti ( ka, თრიალეთი) is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian, its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range
Trialeti Range ( ka, თრიალეთის ქედი) is an east-west mountain ...
. Of the former Chosroid possessions, only
Kakheti
Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...
to the east eluded him. With local Arab emirs in the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
growing ever more independent, the
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
recognized Ashot as the prince of Iberia in order to counter the rebellious emir of Tiflis Isma’il ibn Shu’aib c. 818. The emir had enlisted support of Ashot’s foe—the Kakhetian prince
Grigol—and the Georgian highland tribes of
Mtiulians and
Tsanars. Ashot, joined by the Byzantine vassal king of Abkhazia,
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...
, met the emir on the
Ksani
The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of . , winning a victory and pushing the Kakhetians from central Iberian lands.
The Bagrationi' fortunes reversed when
Khalid b. Yazid, the Caliph's viceroy of
Armīniya, moved in to reinforce the central Arab authority in the Caucasian polities in 827/8. Ashot I must have been still alive at that time, and the information provided by the 11th-century Georgian chronicler
Sumbat, according to which Ashot was murdered in 826, is doubtful. It is more likely that the event took place four years later, on January 29, 830. Driven by the Arabs from central Iberia, Ashot fell back to the
Nigali valley
Nigali or the Nigali valley ( ka, ნიგალი, ნიგალის ხევი, ''nigalis khevi''), also known, through a subsequent metathesis, as Ligani (ლიგანი) or Livana (ლივანა; tr, Livâne)Toumanoff, Cyri ...
where he was assassinated by renegades at the altar of a local church.
Toumanoff, Cyril
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, ...
(1956), "Date of the death of the Kouropalates
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii " he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the ti ...
Ashot". ''Le Muséon'', LXIX, 1—2: 83—85
Upon Ashot's death, his holdings were allotted to his three sons:
Bagrat I,
Adarnase II, and
Guaram. His daughter was married to
Theodosius II of Abkhazia
Theodosius II ( ka, თეოდოს II) was King of the Abkhazia from circa 828 to 855. He was the son and successor of Leon II of the Anchabadze dynasty.
Life
Theodosius II supported his relative Ashot I of Iberia, ruler of Tao-Klarjeti, ...
.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashot 01 of Iberia
Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia
Princes of Iberia
Saints of Georgia (country)
8th-century births
9th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown
Year of death uncertain
9th-century Christian martyrs
9th-century Christian saints
Christian saints killed by Muslims
Vassal rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate
Kouropalatai