Adarnase IV ( ka, ადარნასე, tr) (died 923) was a member of the

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 ...

Bagratid dynasty of

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

, responsible for the restoration of the Iberian kingship, which had been in abeyance since it had been abolished by

Sasanian Empire 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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

in the 6th century, in 888.

Suny, Ronald Grigor Ronald Grigor Suny (born September 25, 1940) is an American historian and political scientist. Suny is the William H. Sewell Jr. Distinguished University Professor of History at the University of Michigan and served as director of the Eisenberg In ...

(1994), ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'', pp. 30-31.

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

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.

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. The numbering of successive rulers in the early Bagratid period is very confused in that it moves between the different branches of the family. Hence, Adarnase, known as “IV” for being the fourth Adarnase as the prince of Iberia, is also known as “II” as a sovereign of Tao-Klarjeti and “I” as the king of Iberia.

Name

The name Adarnase derives from

Middle Persian Middle Persian or Pahlavi, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg () in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasanian Empire. For some time after the Sasanian collapse, Middle Per ...

''Ādurnarsēh'', with the second component of the word (''Nase'') being the Georgian attestation of the Middle Persian name ''Narseh'', which ultimately derives from

Avestan Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...

''nairyō.saŋya-''. The Middle Persian name ''Narseh'' also exists in Georgian as ''Nerse''. The name ''Ādurnarsēh'' appears in the

Armenian language Armenian ( classical: , reformed: , , ) is an Indo-European language and an independent branch of that family of languages. It is the official language of Armenia. Historically spoken in the Armenian Highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken t ...

as ''Atrnerseh''.

Dynastic strife

Adarnase was the only son of

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland (di ...

, the prince of Iberia with 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 ...

, who was murdered by his cousin

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 ...

in 881. As Adarnase was still a minor, the Byzantine emperor – pursuant to the policy of division – appointed as curopalates, not Adarnase, but his 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 ...

. Nasra’s subsequent attempt to dispossess Adarnase of patrimonial inheritance was defeated with the help of the Armenian king Ashot I in 888. The victory allowed Adarnase to claim a royal status for him. The historian Valeri Silogava has surmised that Adarnase's crowning as king might have occurred, in a symbolic move, at the ancient Iberian capital of

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...

, as suggested by an ''

asomtavruli The Georgian scripts are the three writing systems used to write the Georgian language: #Asomtavruli, Asomtavruli, #Nuskhuri, Nuskhuri and #Mkhedruli, Mkhedruli. Although the systems differ in appearance, their Letter (alphabet), letters share t ...

'' inscription—probably a 17th-century reinstatement of an earlier epigraph—at the

Samtavro Monastery Samtavro Monastery ( ka, სამთავროს მონასტერი) is a Georgian Orthodox Christian monastery complex that combines Samtavro Transfiguration Church and Nunnery of St. Nino in Mtskheta, Georgia (country), Georgia. Bui ...

. Allied with the resurgent Armenians, Adarnase then launched, from his base in Lower Tao, a policy of expansion. Not being a curopalates and having Armenia's example before him, Adarnase assumed the title of king and subsequently defeated his rival curopalates Gurgen. The Byzantine government adapted itself to the circumstances and, upon Gurgen death in 891, recognized Adarnase as curopalates.

Switching alliances

Adarnase rewarded Ashot of Armenia’s assistance with steadfast loyalty which continued into the reign of Ashot’s successor

Smbat I 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 ...

whom Adarnase aided to win the crown in dynastic struggles in 890 and later joined him against Ahmed ibn-'Isâ of

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

, 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 former governor of

Armīniya Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya ( hy, Արմինիա ոստիկանություն, ''Arminia vostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia ( ar, إمارة أرمينيا, ''imārat Arminiya''), was a political and geographic de ...

. In turn, Smbat recognized Adarnase’s royal status and personally crowned him in 899. The two men collaborated in defeating, in 904, the Abkhazian king Constantine III, their common relative, who competed with Adarnase for hegemony in Inner Iberia (

Duchy of Kartli A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between " ...

) and with Smbat in

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 ...

( Tashir-Dzoraget). Adarnase captured Constantine and turned him over to Smbat. But the latter, inclined to balance Adarnase’s growing power and extend Armenian influence to west Georgia, freed his captive. This move turned Adarnase against Smbat and the ensuing break and enmity weakened both monarchs: Adarnase was dispossessed by Constantine.

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

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 ...

in 904, while Smbat was defeated and tortured to death by

Yusuf Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin meaning "God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning "YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name ...

, a Sajid ruler of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

in 914. As a result of these events, Adarnase was relegated to his portion of the Bagratid hereditary lands in Tao. He rebuilt the church of Bana in Tao and made it a bishop's seat.Thomson, Robert W. (1996), ''Rewriting Caucasian History'', p. 247.

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Family

Adarnase's wife is not known. He was survived by five children: *

David II of Iberia David II ( ka, დავით II) (died 937) was a member of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and titular king of Iberia from 923 until his death. The eldest son and ultimate successor of Adarnase IV of Iberia as king of Iberia, Dav ...

(died 937) *

Ashot II of Tao Ashot II ( ka, აშოტ II, tr) (died 25 January 954) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti with the Byzantine title of curopalates. Ashot was the second son of Adarnase IV, king of Iberia/Kartli and younger brother o ...

(died 954) * Bagrat Magistros (died 945) *

Sumbat I of Iberia Sumbat I ( ka, სუმბატ I) (died 958) was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti, hereditary ruler of Lower Tao and the titular king of Iberia from 937 until his death. Sumbat was the youngest son of Adarnase IV. H ...

(died 958) *Anonymous daughter, married

Constantine III of Abkhazia 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 ...

*Probably, an anonymous daughter, married to

sparapet ' ( hy, սպարապետ) was a military title and office in ancient and medieval Armenia. Under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, the ' was the supreme commander of the kingdom's armed forces. During the Arsacid period and for some time afterwards ...

Abbas, brother of

Ashot I of Armenia Ashot I ( hy, Աշոտ Ա; c. 820 – 890) was an Armenian king who oversaw the beginning of Armenia's second golden age (862 – 977). He was the son of Smbat VIII the Confessor and was a member of the Bagratuni Dynasty. Life Early life Ashot w ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adarnase 04 Of Iberia Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia Year of birth unknown 923 deaths Princes of Iberia Kings of Bagratid Iberia 10th-century monarchs of Georgia Kouropalatai