David I ( ka, დავით I) (died 881) was a Georgian Bagratid

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

from 876 to 881. He was murdered by

Nasra of Tao-Klarjeti Nasra or Nasri ( ka, ნასრა, tr) (died 888) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti involved and eventually killed in a dynastic war with his relatives. The oldest and only surviving son of Guaram Mampali, Nasra mu ...

, who self-proclaimed as his successor. David's death led to an inter-dynastic feud under David's only son Adarnase, who eventually, in 888, avenged the killing of his father.

Biography

Reign

David Bagrationi was born before

861 __NOTOC__ Year 861 ( DCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * March – Robert the Strong is appointed margrave of Neustria by King Ch ...

, son of Prince

Bagrat I of Iberia Bagrat I ( ka, ბაგრატ I) (died 876), of the Bagratid dynasty, was a presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia) from 830 until his death. Bagrat inherited from his father Ashot I the office of presiding prince of Iberia and the Byza ...

and of his wife, a daughter of 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 ...

. Spending his youth in his father's domains in

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 ...

, he was baptized by the famous Georgian saint

Grigol of Khandzta 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 ...

, at the time in charge of the spiritual mobilization of Georgians against 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 ...

. At the death of his father in

876 __NOTOC__ Year 876 ( DCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * At the invitation of Benevento, the newly-restored Byzantine fleet appe ...

, he inherited the Duchy of Lower Tao and was recognized as legitimate ruler of Iberia by 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 ...

, which granted him the title of ''

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 time ...

''. David I's foreign policy remains poorly known. He was recognized by Byzantium as legitimate leader of Iberia, though he paid tribute to the Abbasid Caliphate. Moreover, he sought a pro-Armenian policy by backing

Ashot I Bagratuni Ashot or Ashod ( hy, ) is an Armenian given name. Notable persons with that surname include: Kings of the Bagratuni Dynasty *Ashot Msaker (Ashot the Carnivorous) (died 826) *Ashot I of Armenia (Ashot the Great), ruled 884-890 *Ashot II, Ashot Yerk ...

against the influence of the

Kingdom of Abkhazia The Kingdom of Abkhazia ( ka, აფხაზთა სამეფო, tr; lit. "Kingdom of the Abkhazians"), also known as Abasgia or Egrisi-Abkhazia, was a Middle Ages, medieval feudalism, feudal state in the Caucasus which was established i ...

in Western Georgia. Despite that, he sought an alliance by marrying the daughter of an Abkhazian King. His reign only lasted for five years, but he remains known for his building of the Monastery of Khakhuli in Tao-Klarjeti.

Murder

In 881, northern Georgian nobleman Guram Mamphali ceded his domains in

Trialeti Trialeti ( ka, თრიალეთი) is a mountainous area in central Georgia. In Georgian, its name means "a place of wandering". The Trialeti Range is a part of the greater Trialeti Region. It corresponds to the modern-day Tsalka Municipa ...

to the powerful Liparit Baghvashi, a prince under David I's suzerainty. Fearing losing his inheritance, Guram's son

Nasra Nasra or Nasri ( ka, ნასრა, tr) (died 888) was a Georgia (country), Georgian prince of the Bagrationi, Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti involved and eventually killed in a dynastic war with his relatives. The oldest and only surviving s ...

, himself a cousin of David I, murdered the latter. This forced Guram Mamphali to resign, while Nasra sought and failed to be recognized as ''Kouropalates''. An Armenian-Abbasid coalition, reinforced by troops loyal to the Bagrationi dynasty, intervened and expelled Nasra to the Byzantine Empire. David's young son Adarnase inherited his father's territories as Duke of Lower Tao. However, his young age led Byzantium to appoint David's cousin

Gurgen Gurgen or Gourgen (Armenian: Գուրգեն, Georgian: გურგენ) is an Armenian and Georgian masculine name of Middle Persian origin (''Gurgēn''), itself ultimately deriving from Old Iranian ''Vṛkaina-''. It may refer to: Georgian mona ...

as ''Kouropalates'' in Iberia, which would lead to a civil war that ended in

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with the crowning of Adarnase as the "king of the Iberians".

Family

David I's wife is unknown. According to ancient Georgian sources, she may have been a daughter of King "Constantine of Abkhazia", who chronologically can only Constantine III, though the latter started his reign in

894 __NOTOC__ Year 894 ( DCCCXCIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Stylianos Zaoutzes, leading minister and ...

. Meanwhile, the ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'' of

Constantine IX Monomachos Constantine IX Monomachos ( grc-x-medieval, Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, translit=Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; 1004 – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita ...

talks of the wife of "David, father of Adarnase Kouropalates" as being a daughter of "Smbat, son of David". This lineage cannot be confirmed by Georgian sources and it may be an anachronism confusing with his own daughter, who married another Adarnase (David I himself being the grandson of Smbat VIII Bagratuni). David I had at least two children: *

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 ...

(d.

923 __NOTOC__ Year 923 ( CMXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * June 15 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I is killed; the Frankish a ...

), king of the Iberians. * a daughter, wife of duke

Adarnase III of Tao Adarnase III ( ka, ადარნასე III) (died 896) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Tao with the title of ''eristavt-eristavi'', "duke of dukes". The name Adarnase derives from Middle ...

Bibliography

References

Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia 881 deaths Princes of Iberia 9th-century murdered monarchs 9th-century monarchs in Asia Year of birth unknown Kouropalatai {{georgia-royal-stub