David V ( ka, დავით V, ''Davit' V''; died 1155), of the

Bagrationi Dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...

, was a 7th king of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1154 before his death in 1155 He was an elder son of King Demetre I. Fearing that Demetre would make his younger son Giorgi an heir to the throne, David attempted a revolt in 1130. Ultimately, he forced his father to abdicate and David became a king in 1154 or 1155. The Georgian and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n chronicles are confused about the length and nature of David V’s reign and disagree over the circumstances of his mysterious death. According to the Armenian chronicler

Vardan Areveltsi Vardan ( hy, Վարդան; Vartan in Western Armenian transliteration, pronounced in both Eastern and Western Armenian), Varden ( ka, ვარდენ) in Georgian, is an Armenian name of Middle Persian origin (from Mid. Pers. Wardā), popu ...

, he ruled for a month and was murdered by his nobles, Sumbat and Ivane Orbeli, who had made a secret agreement with George, David’s younger brother. The Armenian

Stepanos Orbelian Stepanos Orbelian ( hy, Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան, originally spelled hy, Ստեփաննոս, translit=Stepʻannos, label=none; – 1303) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian and the metropolitan bishop of the province of Sy ...

, a descendant of the Orbeli clan, writing shortly after Vardan, claims David reigned for two years and denies any family involvement in the murder of the king and says that George had sworn to his reigning brother that he would rule only until David’s son, Demna, reached his majority, but then reneged on his vow. He claims that the Orbelis had been the witnesses of this vow and that they led the 1177 revolt to restore Demna, who was now adult, to his rightful position. Georgian chronicles say David’s reign lasted for six months, but carefully avoid any mention of the circumstances of his death.

See also