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. ...

and curopalates of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...

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 rol ...

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 ...

, 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, 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, he was baptized by the famous Georgian saint Grigol of Khandzta, 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-Muttal ...

. 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 tim ...

''. 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 medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which was established in the 780s. Through d ...

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

881 __NOTOC__ Year 881 ( DCCCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 12 – King Charles the Fat, the third son of the late Louis the German, is crowned as Holy Roman Emper ...

, 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 Trialeti Range ( ka, თრიალეთის ქედი) is an east-west mountain ...

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 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 ...

, 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 m ...

as ''Kouropalates'' in Iberia, which would lead to a civil war that ended in 888 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 Constantine III may refer to: * Constantine III (Western Roman Emperor), self-proclaimed western Roman Emperor 407–411 * Heraclius Constantine, Byzantine Emperor in 641 * Constans II, Byzantine emperor 641–668, sometimes referred to under this ...

, though the latter started his reign in 894. 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), 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