Ashot I the Great, Prince of Iberia

After the Islamic conquest of eastern Georgia, Georgia's cultural and economic center shifted to the west. There, Lazica (Egrisi) broke away from Byzantium and its ruler assumed the title of king. In the westernmost parts of Georgia, now part of Turkey, there was the principality of Tao-Klarjeti. The Bagratid dynasty ruled there from the time of Ashot I, who was appointed “prince of Kartli” by the caliph in 813. One of his successors, Adarnase, received the title of king in 888. During this period, Tao-Klarjeti turned into Georgia's cultural center, as evidenced by the numerous famous church and monastery buildings still in existence today. King Bagrat III was able to unite the majority of Georgian territories and resided in Kutaisi in Imereti.

Bibliography

M. Tamarati, L'église géorgienne, 1910

D.M. Lang, The Georgians, 1966

K. Salia, Histoire de la nation géorgienne, 1980; ET: History of the Georgian Nation, 1983

W. Beridse & E. Neubauer, Die Baukunst des Mittelalters in Georgien, 1980

V. Minorsky & C.E. Bosworth, “Al-Kurdj,” EI 2 V, 1986, 486–497

R. Mepisaschwili & W. Zinzadse, Georgien. Wehrbauten und Kirchen, 1987

I. Reissner, Georgien. Geschichte, Kunst, Kultur, 1989

L. Heiser, Die georgische orthodoxe Kirche und ihr Glaubenszeugnis, 1989

R. Metreveli, Georgia, 1995

A. Miron & W. Orthmann, eds., Unterwegs zum Goldenen Vlies. Archäologische Funde aus Georgien, 1995

M. Lortkipanidze, H. Brakmann & H. Rohrbacher, “Iberia II (Georgien),” RAC XVII, 1997, 12–106.

Citation Kaufhold, Hubert. " Georgia." Religion Past and Present. Edited by Hans Dieter Betz, Don S. Browning, Bernd Janowski and , Eberhard Jüngel. Brill Online , 2012. Reference.<http://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/religion-past-and-pre...>

---

Ashot I the Great (Georgian: აშოტ I დიდი) (died 826/830) was a presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia), first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 830. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Curopalates for the Byzantine title he wore. A patron of Christian culture and a friend of the church, he has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Biography

Ashot was the son of the Iberian nobleman Adarnase who had founded the Bagratid hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeast Turkey) 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, where he restored the castle of Artanuji said to have been built by the Iberian king Vakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince and curopalates of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established by Grigol Khandzteli, 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.[1][2]

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 in the southwest to Shida Kartli in the northeast, including Kola, Artani, Javakheti, Samtskhe, and Trialeti. Of the former Chosroid possessions, only Kakheti to the east eluded him. With local Arab emirs in the Caucasus growing ever more independent, the Caliph 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 and Tsanars. Ashot, joined by the Byzantine vassal king of Abasgia, Theodosius II, met the emir on the Ksani, winning a victory and pushing the Kakhetians from central Iberian lands.[2]

The Bagratids' fortunes reversed when Khalid b. Yazid, the Caliph's viceroy of Armīniya, 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.[3][4]

Upon Ashot's death, his holdings were allotted to his three sons: Bagrat, Adarnase, and Guaram.[2] His daughter was married to Theodosius II of Abasgia.

References

^ Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts, passim. Peeters Publishers, ISBN 90-429-1318-5

^ a b c Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation, pp. 29-30. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0253209153

^ Rapp (2003), p. 356

^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1956), "Date of the death of the Curopalates Ashot". Le Museon, LХIХ, 1—2: 83—85

---

The sons and grandsons of Ashot I established three separate branches – the lines of Kartli, Tao, and Klarjeti – frequently struggling with each other and with neighboring rulers. The Kartli line prevailed; in 888, with Adarnase I, it restored the indigenous Georgian royal authority dormant since 580. His descendant Bagrat III was able to consolidate his inheritance in Tao-Klarjeti and the Abkhazian Kingdom, due largely to the diplomacy and conquests of his energetic foster-father David III of Tao.ref:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagrationi_dynasty

Ashot I the Great (Georgian: აშოტ I დიდი) (died 826/830) was a presiding prince of Iberia (modern Georgia), first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 830. Ashot is also known as Ashot I Curopalates for the Byzantine title he wore. A patron of Christian culture and a friend of the church, he has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Ashot was the son of the Iberian nobleman Adarnase who had founded the Bagratoni hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeast Turkey) 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, where he restored the castle of Artanuji said to have been built by the Iberian king Vakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince and curopalates of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established by Grigol Khandzteli, 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.

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 in the southwest to Shida Kartli in the northeast, including Kola, Artani, Javakheti, Samtskhe, and Trialeti. Of the former Chosroid possessions, only Kakheti to the east eluded him. With local Arab emirs in the Caucasus growing ever more independent, the Caliph 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 and Tsanars. Ashot, joined by the Byzantine vassal king of Abasgia, Theodosius II, met the emir on the Ksani, 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, 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.

Upon Ashot's death, his holdings were allotted to his three sons: Bagrat, Adarnase, and Guaram.[2] His daughter was married to Theodosius II of Abkhazia.