Constantine III ( ka, კონსტანტინე III) was King of the Abkhazia from 894 to 923 AD. He was the son and successor of Bagrat I of the Anchabadze dynasty.

Life

Constantine's reign is marked as a constant fighting for the hegemony within the Georgian territories. The increasingly expansionist tendencies of the kingdom led to the enlargement of its realm to the east. In 904 he had finally annexed a significant portion of

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 role ...

, bringing his borders close to the Arab-controlled Tiflis (modern-day

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 ...

Soon he had to face the alliance of the King

Smbat I of Armenia Smbat I (; c. 850–912/14) was the second king of the medieval Kingdom of Armenia of the Bagratuni dynasty, and son of Ashot I. He is the father of Ashot II (known as Ashot Yerkat) and Abas I. Rule Smbat I was crowned king in 892 in Shiraka ...

and

Adarnase IV of Iberia Adarnase IV ( ka, ადარნასე, tr) (died 923) was a member of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and prince of Iberia, responsible for the restoration of the Iberian kingship, which had been in abeyance since it had been ...

. The two men collaborated in defeating Constantine III, their common relative, who competed with Adarnase for hegemony in Inner Iberia and with Smbat in

Gugark 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 ...

. Adarnase captured Constantine and turned him over to Smbat. Constantine was imprisoned in Ani. Smbat freed his captive in order to make an alliance against the resurgent Muslims. This alliance was facilitated by Constantine's marriage to the Smbat's daughter. This move, however, turned Adarnase against Smbat. In 912, when Emir Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj invaded Armenia, Smbat attempted to take refuge in Abkhazia, but Adarnase did not let him cross his territories and was eventually captured and hanged at Dvin (914). Subsequently, Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj took the opportunity to devastate the

Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to: *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 Ge ...

. This campaign was one of the last major attempts on the part of the

Abbasid Caliphate The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

to retain its crumbling hold of the Georgian lands, which, at that time, were a patchwork of rival, native states and Muslim holdings. As a result of the campaign, Tao-Klarjeti was weakened. Constantine III used Adarnase's weakness and restored his authority over Kartli. Adarnase was relegated to his portion of the Bagratid hereditary lands in

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 ...

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. 490-493.

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 ...

. and was forced to recognize himself as a vassal of Constantine III. This was the beginning of almost sixty years of Abkhazian dominance over Tao-Klarjeti. Next year, Constantine forged an alliance with

Kvirike I of Kakheti Kvirike I ( ka, კვირიკე I) (died 918) was a Prince and Chorepiscopus of Kakheti in eastern Georgia from 893 to 918. He succeeded upon the death of Padla I of Kakheti, his possible father. In 914, he faced an Arab invasion led by Yu ...

. The allies invaded

Hereti The Kingdom of Hereti ( ka, ჰერეთის სამეფო ''heretis samepo'') was a medieval monarchy which emerged in Caucasus on the Iberian-Albanian frontier. Nowadays it roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of Georgia's Ka ...

(principality in the Georgian-

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

marchlands) and divided its major strongholds. Constantine III also tried to extend his influence over

Alania Alania was a medieval kingdom of the Iranian Alans (proto-Ossetians) that flourished in the Northern Caucasus, roughly in the location of latter-day Circassia, Chechnya, Ingushetia, and modern North Ossetia–Alania, from its independence from th ...

by supporting their

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

Family

Constantine III married a daughter of

Issue

* Anonymous daughter, married to Ashot of Klarjeti *

George II George II or 2 may refer to: People * George II of Antioch (seventh century AD) * George II of Armenia (late ninth century) * George II of Abkhazia (916–960) * Patriarch George II of Alexandria (1021–1051) * George II of Georgia (1072–1089) * ...

, king of the Abkhazia from 916 until 960. * Bagrat II, co-king of Abkhazia.

Genealogy

Sources.

Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. He worked mostly in Russia. Early life and first works Marie-Félicité Brosset was born in Paris int ...

, ''Histoire de la Géorgie''..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Constantine Iii Constantine 03 9th-century Kings of Abkhazia