Bagrat I ( ka, ბაგრატ I) (died 876), of the Bagratid dynasty, 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 ...

) from 830 until his death. Bagrat inherited from his father Ashot I the office of presiding prince of Iberia and 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 ...

title of

curopalates ''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 time ...

. The 10th-century Georgian writer

Giorgi Merchule Giorgi Merchule ( ka, გიორგი მერჩულე) was a 10th-century Georgian monk, calligrapher and writer who authored "The Vita of Grigol Khandzteli", a hagiographic novel dealing with the life of the prominent Georgian churchman S ...

maintains that Bagrat was confirmed as curopalates, following his father, with the agreement of his brothers — Adarnase, and Guaram.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 387. Peeters Publishers, Bagrat shared with his brothers the patrimonial holdings, but which lands he actually possessed is not directly indicated in the medieval sources. He probably ruled over a part of

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 ...

and

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 form ...

(now in

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 ...

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, ...

(1967). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 488-490.

Georgetown University Press Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political sc ...

. Bagrat I found himself in a constant struggle with the

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

, the

Abasgia Abasgia may refer to: *Region inhabited by ancient Abasgoi tribes *Kingdom of Abkhazia, 778–1008 *Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, w ...

ns and the

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 ...

ans over the possession of 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 ...

). In 842, he joined the Arab expedition led by

Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Shaybani Muhammad ibn Khalid ibn Yazid al-Shaybani ( ar, محمد بن خالد بن يزيد الشيباني) was an Arab general and governor for the Abbasid Caliphate, active in the Caliphate's Caucasian provinces in the 9th century. Muhammad was a memb ...

, 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 ...

’s viceroy 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 ...

, against the rebel emir of Tbilisi, Sahak ibn Ismail, and his Kakhetian allies. In turn, the Caliph recognized Bagrat the prince of Iberia-Kartli. The expedition ended fruitlessly and Bagrat had to make peace with Sahak. In August 853, Bagrat joined the Caliph’s second expedition against Sahak, this time led by Bugha the Turk who took Tbilisi and had the emir executed. As a result, Bagrat was able to regain Shida Kartli, but only for a brief time as the resurgent Abasgians forced him out of this region. Like his father Ashot, Bagrat was a patron of the large-scale monastic movement in

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 ...

. He granted the monk

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 historical ...

material help to build the monastery church at

Khandzta Khandzta ( ka, ხანძთა, ) was a medieval Georgian monastery founded by Gregory of Khandzta in 782 AD. It has been identified as probably being the ruined monastery known as Porta, in Pırnallı village, Artvin province, Turkey. History ...

and helped build the monasteries of Shatberdi and

Ishkhani Ishkani or Ishkhan, ( hy, Իշխան, prince, ka, იშხანი, tr, Işhan) is a ruined Georgian Christian monastery in the territory of Turkey in the village of Arpacık, Artvin province. The name Ishkhani derives from the word “Իշխ� ...

. Bagrat I was married to a daughter of the Armenian prince

Smbat VIII Bagratuni Smbat VIII Bagratuni or Smbat the Confessor ( hy, Սմբատ Խոստովանող, Smbat Khostovanogh) was an Armenian noble of the Bagratid (Bagratuni) family and one of the most important princes (''nakharar'') of Armenia in the mid-9th century a ...

, and had three sons: his oldest son

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

who succeeded him as the presiding prince and curopalates; his second oldest son Adarnase who died in the lifetime of his father; and his youngest son Ashot who died in 885.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagrat 01 Of Iberia Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia Princes of Iberia 876 deaths Year of birth unknown Vassal rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate Kouropalatai