Ashot I the Great
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Ashot I the Great ( ka, აშოტ I დიდი ) (died 826/830) was a presiding prince 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 ...
(modern Georgia), first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base 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 fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought 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 ...
protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 826. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Kouropalates for the Byzantine
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 ...
title he wore. A patron of Christian culture and a friend of the church, he has been canonized by the
Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...
.


Biography

Ashot was the son of the Iberian nobleman Adarnase who had founded the Bagratoni hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeast
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
) and bequeathed to his son extensive possessions acquired upon the extinction of his Guaramid and Chosroid cousins. Ashot initially failed to gain a foothold in central Iberia ( Shida Kartli), his efforts being dashed by the Arab control of Tiflis. Ashot established himself in his patrimonial duchy of
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 ...
, where he restored the castle of Artanuji said to have been built by the Iberian king
Vakhtang I Gorgasali Vakhtang I Gorgasali ( ka, ვახტანგ I გორგასალი, tr; or 443 – 502 or 522), of the Chosroid dynasty, was a king of Iberia, natively known as Kartli (eastern Georgia) in the second half of the 5th and first quarter o ...
in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince and
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 ...
of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established by
Grigol Khandzteli 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 ...
, and encouraged the settlement of the Georgians in the region. As a result, the political and religious center of Iberia was effectively transferred from central Iberia to the south-west, in Tao-Klarjeti.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', ''passim''. Peeters Publishers, From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, Ashot fought to recover more Georgian lands from the Arab hold and, though not always successful, succeeded in taking much of the adjoining lands from
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 philo ...
in the southwest to Shida Kartli in the northeast, including
Kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio form ...
, Artani, Javakheti,
Samtskhe Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) (Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were the ...
, and Trialeti. Of the former Chosroid possessions, only
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 ...
to the east eluded him. With local Arab emirs in the
Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
growing ever more independent, 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 ...
recognized Ashot as the prince of Iberia in order to counter the rebellious emir of Tiflis Isma’il ibn Shu’aib c. 818. The emir had enlisted support of Ashot’s foe—the Kakhetian prince Grigol—and the Georgian highland tribes of
Mtiulians Mtiuleti ( ka, მთიულეთი; literally, "the land of mountains") is a historical province in eastern Georgia, on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. It primarily comprises the White Aragvi Valley, and is bordered ...
and
Tsanars Tsanareti ( ka, წანარეთი) (alternative spellings: Tsanaria, Canaria, Sanaria, Sanaryia) was a historic district (Khevi) in the early medieval Caucasus, lying chiefly in what is now the northeastern corner in Georgia’s region of Mt ...
. Ashot, joined by the Byzantine vassal king of Abkhazia, Theodosius II, met the emir on the
Ksani The Ksani (, , ''Ĉysandon'') is a river in central Georgia, which rises on the southern slopes of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in South Ossetia and flows into the Kura (''Mtkvari''). It is long, and has a drainage basin of .
, winning a victory and pushing the Kakhetians from central Iberian lands. The Bagrationi' fortunes reversed when Khalid b. Yazid, the Caliph's viceroy 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 ...
, moved in to reinforce the central Arab authority in the Caucasian polities in 827/8. Ashot I must have been still alive at that time, and the information provided by the 11th-century Georgian chronicler Sumbat, according to which Ashot was murdered in 826, is doubtful. It is more likely that the event took place four years later, on January 29, 830. Driven by the Arabs from central Iberia, Ashot fell back to the Nigali valley where he was assassinated by renegades at the altar of a local church. Toumanoff, Cyril (1956), "Date of the death of the
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 ...
Ashot". ''Le Muséon'', LXIX, 1—2: 83—85
Upon Ashot's death, his holdings were allotted to his three sons: Bagrat I, Adarnase II, and Guaram. His daughter was married to
Theodosius II of Abkhazia Theodosius II ( ka, თეოდოს II) was King of the Abkhazia from circa 828 to 855. He was the son and successor of Leon II of the Anchabadze dynasty. Life Theodosius II supported his relative Ashot I of Iberia, ruler of Tao-Klarjeti, ...
.


References


Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashot 01 of Iberia Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia Princes of Iberia Saints of Georgia (country) 8th-century births 9th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 9th-century Christian martyrs 9th-century Christian saints Christian saints killed by Muslims Vassal rulers of the Abbasid Caliphate Kouropalatai