Saurmag II ( ka, საურმაგ II, Latinized as ''Sauromaces''), of the

Chosroid Dynasty The Chosroid dynasty (a Latinization of ''Khosro anni'', ka, ხოსრო ��ანები), also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a dynasty of the kings and later the presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia from the 4 ...

, was a king 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 ...

(

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 ...

, eastern

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 ...

) from 361 to 363 and diarch from 370 to 378. He is ignored by the Georgian historic tradition, but mentioned by the 4th-century historian of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus (occasionally anglicised as Ammian) (born , died 400) was a Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquity (preceding Procopius). His work, known as the ''Res Gestae ...

. He was the first son of Rev II to Salome and brother of Trdat of Iberia. Saurmag seems to have succeeded on the death of his paternal grandfather,

Mirian III Mirian III ( ka, მირიან III) was a king of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ( r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty. According to the early medieval Geo ...

, the first Christian king of Iberia, in 361 and pursued pro-Roman policy. In 363, he was ousted by the Sassanid king

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigne ...

who installed Aspacures II (Varaz-Bakur) in his place. Aspacures II was Saurmag's paternal uncle. The Sassanid intervention in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

eventually drew a Roman response and, later in 370, Roman Emperor

Valens Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...

sent in the twelfth legions—about 12,000 men—under Terentius who restored Saurmag in the western provinces of Iberia adjoining

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 ' ...

and

Lazica Lazica ( ka, ეგრისი, ; lzz, ლაზიკა, ; grc-gre, Λαζική, ; fa, لازستان, ; hy, Եգեր, ) was the Latin name given to the territory of Colchis during the Roman/Byzantine period, from about the 1st centur ...

, while Aspacures' successor Mihrdat III was permitted to retain control of the northeastern part of the kingdom. The deal was not recognized by Shapur, who regarded it as grounds for war, and resumed hostilities against Rome early in 371. By 378, however, the Gothic War had constrained Rome to abandon Sauromaces; his realm must have ceased to exist as Iberia passed, whole or nearly so, under the Sassanid suzerainty.

Cyril Toumanoff 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, ...

(1963), ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 460-461. Georgetown University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauromaces 02 Of Iberia Chosroid kings of Iberia 4th-century monarchs in Asia