The Chosroid dynasty (a Latinization of ''Khosro
anni'', ka, ხოსრო
ანები), also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
of the kings and later the
presiding princes of the early
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
state 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 ...
from the 4th to the 9th centuries. The family, of
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
Mihranid The Mihranids were an Iranian family which ruled several regions of Caucasus from 330 to 821. They claimed to be of Sasanian Persian descent but were of Parthian origin.
History
The dynasty was founded when a certain Mihran, a distant relative o ...
origin, accepted
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
as their official religion (or 319/326), and maneuvered between the
Byzantine Empire
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 ...
and
Sassanid
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 ...
Iran to retain a degree of independence. After the
abolition of the Iberian kingship by the Sassanids c. 580, the dynasty survived in its two closely related, but sometimes competing princely branches—the elder Chosroid and the younger
Guaramid—down to the early ninth century when they were succeeded by the Georgian
Bagratids on the throne of Iberia.
Origins
The Chosroids were a branch of the
Mihranid The Mihranids were an Iranian family which ruled several regions of Caucasus from 330 to 821. They claimed to be of Sasanian Persian descent but were of Parthian origin.
History
The dynasty was founded when a certain Mihran, a distant relative o ...
princely family, one of the
Seven Great Houses of Iran
The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians.
The seven Great ...
, who were distantly related to the Sasanians, and whose two other branches were soon placed on the thrones of
Gogarene
Gugark ( hy, Գուգարք, lat, Gogarene, Greek: ''Γογαρινή'') was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia.
Etymology
Etymologically ...
and
Gardman
Gardman ( hy, Գարդման), also known as Gardmank, was one of the eight cantons of the ancient province of Utik in the Kingdom of Armenia and simultaneously, together with the canton of Tuchkatak, an Armenian principality. It roughly corre ...
, the two
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
principalities where the three nations –
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Se ...
, and
Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
– commingled.
According to the ''
Georgian Chronicles
''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Ka ...
'', the first Chosroid king
Mirian III (Mihran) (ruled 284–361 AD) was installed, through his marriage to an Iberian princess Abeshura (daughter of the last
Georgian Arsacid king
Aspacures I), on the throne of Iberia by his father whom the Georgian chronicles refer to as "Chosroes", Great King of Iran. Another medieval Georgian chronicle, ''
Conversion of Kartli
The ''Conversion of Kartli'' ( ka, მოქცევაჲ ქართლისაჲ ''moktsevay kartlisay'', Asomtavruli: ႫႭႵႺႤႥႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႪႨႱႠჂ, ) is the earliest surviving medieval Georgian historical compendiu ...
'', is at odds with the tradition of ''Life of the Kings'' of the ''
Georgian Chronicles
''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Ka ...
'' and identifies Mirian as the son of King Lev, successor of King
Aspacures I. Lev is unattested elsewhere.
Early Chosroids
The ascendance of the Mihranid lines to the thrones of Caucasia was, in fact, a manifestation of the victory of the Sassanids over what remained in the region of the
Arsacid dynasty of Parthia
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...
whose
Armenian branch was now in decline and the Georgian one had already been extinct.
As an Iranian vassal king, Mirian III (ruled 284–361), the founder of the Chosroid dynasty, participated in the
Sassanid war against the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. However, in the
Peace of Nisibis of 298, Rome was acknowledged its suzerainty over eastern Georgia, but recognized Mirian as the king of Iberia. Mirian quickly adapted to the change in the political fabric of Caucasia, and established close ties with Rome. This association was further enhanced after the female Christian missionary,
Nino, converted Mirian, his wife Nana and household into Christianity in or around 337. However, the Sassanids continued to vie with Rome for influence over Iberia, and succeeded in temporarily deposing Mirian's Romanophile successor,
Sauromaces II, in favor of the pro-Iranian
Aspacures II in 361. The Roman emperor
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
intervened and restored Sauromaces to the throne in 370, although Aspacures’ son and successor,
Mihrdat III (r. 365–380), was permitted to retain control of the eastern part of the kingdom. However, by 380, the Sassanids had successfully reasserted their claims by reuniting Iberia under the authority of
Aspacures III of Iberia (r. 380–394) and began to extract tribute from the country. The Romans evidently admitted the loss of Iberia in the aftermath of the 387
Treaty of Acilisene with Iran. The growth of Iranian influence in eastern Georgia, including the promotion of
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
, was resisted by the Christian church and a part of the nobility, the invention of the
Georgian alphabet
The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri and Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, their letters share the same names and alphabetical order and are written hor ...
, a crucial instrument in the propagation of Christian learning, being the most important cultural legacy of this struggle. The Chosroid kings of Iberia, albeit Christian, remained generally loyal to their Iranian suzerains until
Vakhang I Gorgasali (r. 447–522), perhaps the most popular Chosroid king of Iberia traditionally credited also with the foundation of Georgia’s modern-day capital
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
, reversed his political orientation in 482, bringing his state and church more into line with current Byzantine policy. He then led, in alliance with the Armenian prince
Vardan Mamikonian
Vardan Mamikonian ( hy, Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of , ...
, an open revolt against the Sassanids and continued a desperate, but eventually unsuccessful, struggle until the end of his life.
Later Chosroids
After Vakhtang I's death in 522, the family went in decline and exercised only a limited authority over Iberia, the government being effectively run by the Tbilisi-based Iranian viceroy through the compromise with local princes. When
Bacurius III of Iberia
Bakur III ( ka, ბაკურ III, Latinized as ''Bacurius'') (died 580) was the last Chosroid king of Iberia (natively known as Kartli; ancient Georgia) upon whose death the Iberian monarchy was abolished by Sassanid Iran.
The name ' is the L ...
died in 580, the Sassanids seized opportunity to abolish the monarchy, without much resistance from the Iberian aristocracy. Dispossessed of the crown, heirs of Vakhtang I remained in their mountain fortresses – the senior Chosroid branch in the province of
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 ...
, and the minor one, the Guaramids, 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 ...
and
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 ...
. A member of the latter branch,
Guaram I (r. 588–590), revolted, in 588, from the Sassanid rule and pledged his loyalty the
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
, being bestowed with the high
Byzantine dignity 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 ti ...
. He succeeded in restoring the autonomy of Iberia in the form of a presiding principate, a rearrangement that was accepted by Iran in the peace of 591, which divided Iberia between Byzantium and Iran at Tbilisi. Guaram's son and successor,
Stephanus I (r. 590–627), transferred his allegiance to the Sassanids and reunited Iberia, eventually drawing a vigorous response from the Byzantine emperor
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
(610–641), who, in alliance with the
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
, campaigned in Iberia and captured Tbilisi after an uneasy siege in 627. Heraclius I had Stephanus flayed alive and gave his office to the pro-Byzantine Chosroid prince
Adarnase I of Kakheti (r. 627–637/42).
Reinstated by Heraclius, the Chosroid dynasty were persistent in their pro-Byzantine line, but
Stephanus II (637/642–c. 650) was forced to recognize himself a tributary to the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
Caliphate
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 ...
which would eventually become a dominant regional power. Following the death of
Adarnase II (r. c. 650–684), the rival Guaramid branch, with
Guaram II (684–c. 693), regained power, and the elder Chosroid branch again withdrew into their appanages in Kakheti, where it produced a notable member,
Archil, a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
of the
Georgian Orthodox Church
The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
, martyred at the hands of the Arabs in 786. Upon Archil’s death, his elder son
Iovane (died c. 799) evacuated to the Byzantine-dominated region of
Egrisi
In Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the Colchians are generally though ...
(Lazica) in western Georgia, while his younger son
Juansher
Juansher was the Mihranid prince of Caucasian Albania, ruling the principality from 637 to 669. He was the son and successor of Varaz Grigor ().
During his reign, Juansher changed his allegiance thrice. He started out as a subject to the Sasan ...
(r. 786–c. 807) remained in Kakheti and married
Latavri, daughter of Prince
Adarnase of
Erusheti
Erusheti ( ka, ერუშეთი) was a medieval Georgian fiefdom, currently part of the Ardahan Province in northeastern Turkey, close to the border with Georgia. The district was centered in the eponymous settlement, at the present-day vill ...
-
Artani, the forefather of the
Georgian Bagratid dynasty.
The main Chosroid branch outlived its younger Guaramid line, extinct since 786, by two decades. With Juansher’s death in c. 807, it too died out. The Chosroid possessions in Kakheti were taken over by the local noble families who formed a
succession of
chorepiscopi
A chorbishop is a rank of Christian clergy below bishop. The name chorepiscope or chorepiscopus (plural chorepiscopi) is taken from the Greek and means "rural bishop".
History
Chorepiscopi are first mentioned by Eusebius as existing in the seco ...
down to the 11th century, while the Guaramid estates passed to their relatives from the Bagratid dynasty.
[Suny (1994), p. 29.]
List of the Chosroid rulers
Kings of Iberia
*
Mirian III
Mirian III ( ka, მირიან III) was a king of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ( r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty.
According to the early medieval Geo ...
, 284–361
**
Rev, co-king 345–361
*
Sauromaces II, 361–363, diarch 370–378
*
Aspacures II, 363–365
*
Mihrdat III, 365–380, diarch 370–378
*
Aspacures III, 380–394
*
Trdat, 394–406
*
Pharasmanes IV, 406–409
*
Mihrdat IV, 409–411
*
Archil, 411–435
*
Mihrdat V, 435–447
*
Vakhtang I
Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king of Kingdom of Iberia (antiquity), Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Georgia (country), Georgia) ...
, 447–522
*
Dachi, 522–534
*
Bacurius II, 534–547
*
Pharasmanes V, 547–561
*
Pharasmanes VI, 561–?
*
Bacurius III, ?–580
Princes of Kakheti and Presiding Princes of Iberia
*
Adarnase I, Prince of Kakheti, c. 580–637; Presiding Prince of Iberia, 627–637
*
Stephen II, Prince of Kakheti and Presiding Prince of Iberia, 637–c. 650
*
Adarnase II, Prince of Kakheti and Presiding Prince of Iberia, c. 650–684
*
Stephen
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; ...
, Prince of Kakheti, 685–736
*
Mirian, Prince of Kakheti, 736–741
*
Archil “the Martyr”, Prince of Kakheti, 736–786
*
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, Prince of Kakheti, 786–790
*
Juansher
Juansher was the Mihranid prince of Caucasian Albania, ruling the principality from 637 to 669. He was the son and successor of Varaz Grigor ().
During his reign, Juansher changed his allegiance thrice. He started out as a subject to the Sasan ...
, Prince of Kakheti, 786–807
See also
*
Guaramid dynasty The Guaramid dynasty or Guaramiani ( ka, გუარამიანი)The dynastic name "Guaramids" is a modern designation introduced by Professor Cyril Toumanoff based on Prince Vakhushti's reference to the dynasty as ''Guaramiani''. It is not u ...
*
Juansheriani Juansher Juansheriani ( ka, ჯუანშერ ჯუანშერიანი) (fl. c. 790–800Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 24, 25, 254. Washington DC: Georgetown University Press. or 11th century) ...
References
Sources
*
*
Yarshater, Ehsan, ed.
''The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3: The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanid Periods''(1983),
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, .
* Charles Allen Burney, David Marshall Lang. (1971). ''The peoples of the hills: ancient Ararat and Caucasus''. Weidenfeld and Nicolson (original from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
).
*
*
*
*
{{Parthian Empire