Aspacures II (or Varaz-Bakur I)

• Son of Mirian III, King of Iberia, founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty and Nana, Queen consort of Iberia.
• The 24th king of the Kingdom of Iberia.

CONCISE HISTORY OF THE OF THE GEORGIANS

By Juansher Juansheriani , Translated by Robert Bedrosian

Chapter 12

The Armenians did not allow Bak'ar to rule, for they wanted to enthrone the son of Trdat's daughter [Salome]. Bak'ar took [62] refuge in Iran, giving the country to them. To P'eroz he gave from Shamshoylde to the head of Ashots'k'. Similarly he sent protests to Byzantium ("Greece") and mustered troops from all parts. He fought the Armenians in Jawaxet', driving them out. [g69] Then Bak'ar reigned [Aspacures II/ Varaz-Bakur I, 363-365], through the might of the Byzantines and Iranians. He obtained a document from Salome and her son stating that they would not seek the throne unless Bak'ar's line was extinguished. He gave them Kuxet' and set him up as prince of Risha. He himself remained firm in the faith and converted many of the Caucasians to Christianity. He built a church at Tsilkan and increased the clergy and deacons. He died in peace and was buried near his brother. Then his son, Mirdat [Mithridates/Mihrdat III, 365-380, diarch 370-378], ruled.

After Yohannes, Yakob became bishop, and after him the kat'oghikos of Armenia, Nerses, ordained his own deacon, Yakob, as bishop of Iberia and sent him there. King Mihrdat, a man who believed in God, was a builder and embellisher of churches. In his day they started to take fragments from the column which we mentioned earlier, and the king did not stop this. Mihrdat died and his son Varzabak'ar [Aspacures III/ Varaz-Bakur II, 380-394] ruled. The latter had two wives: the daughter of Rev [II], who bore him Mihrdat and Trdat; and the granddaughter of P'eroz [of Gugark'], [63] [g70] who bore him P'arsman. Varaz-Bakur, an evil man lacking in faith, did nothing worthy of recall. Now in his day [and] in the time of the king of Armenia, brave Trdat's son Xosrov, the military commander of Iran came to the borders of Armenia and Iberia and demanded taxes from them. Xosrov ordered the Iberian king to send inhabitants of Caucasus, Leks and Ossetians, to fight the Iranians. But that coward Varaz-Bakur, filled with fear, hid himself in the valley of Kuxet'. The Iranians came and built a fortress opposite Mts'xet'a at the gate of Tiflis. When the Iberians sought peace, [the Iranian commander] demanded Aghbania and Movkan, "for it is Iranian," he said, "and K'art'li where you were born should be sufficient for you, sons of a maid-servant; furthermore, you must pay taxes to the Xosrovunik." Which is in fact what [the Iberians] did, abandoning Aghbania and Movkan to the Iranians and becoming tributary. The Iranian army departed. In the same period the Byzantines raided, capturing T'oxark' and Klarjk', from the sea to Arsion. Only K'art'li, Heret' and Egris remained under Varaz-Bakur. After a short time he died, leaving small boys [as heirs]. [g71] The princes enthroned Trdat [Tiridates, 394-406], Trdat the Great's daughter's son, from the land of the Armenian king. He was a good, devout, and wise man who put an end to the Iranian assaults, built churches, and increased all spiritual and physical benefits. He freed Risha and built a church there. After the [64] repose of bishop Yakob, he appointed Eghia in his place. He built Nekaria, and then died leaving a good name. Then P'arsman [II, Pharasmanes II, 406-409] reigned. Finding aid from the emperor he resisted Iran; however, he died after a short while. Then Rev's grandson Mihrdat [IV, Mithridates IV, 409-411] ruled, an insolent, senseless man who did not pay taxes to Iran. So the Iranian king dispatched the commander Up'rib against them. Mihrdat went against them in Gardaban, was seized by them and the troops were beaten. The Iranians entered K'art'li, pulled down the churches, and established fire-temples everywhere.

Now after three years, when the Iranians were occupied fighting their enemies in the East, the Iberians lifted their heads and enthroned Mihrdat's son Arch'il as their king [A.D. 411-435]. He did away with the fire-temples in the land, taking refuge in the holy Cross. They expelled the Iranians and warred against them with Byzantine aid. Consequently the Iranian lieutenant in charge of Aghbania, Movkan, and Atrpatakan [g72] came against [Arch'il] with a great force. But Arch'il, also taking along a great force, went before him to Berdahoj and expelled them through the power of the holy Cross. Entering Aghbania, he captured them and returned with great delight. He sent messengers to the entire country, saying: "It was [65] not through our strength or wisdom that we vanquished the Iranians, but in the name of the blessed Trinity and by the might of the Cross of Christ our God. Now be firm in the faith and glorify God the great." When all heard this they blessed the holy Trinity in Its glory, and renovated the churches. Now since the Iranian king was warring with India, the Sindians, and Ethiopia, he was unable to [fight] Iberia. Arch'il's son, Mihrdat, a brave and successful [warrior] destroyed and demolished the Iranian regions, but was unable to capture fortresses or cities. The military commander of Aghbania, Barzabot', gave his daughter in marriage to Mihrdat, and so they made peace between them. Arch'il gave Shamshoylte and its entire theme to his son. And Mihrdat's wife believed in Christ and was baptised. Her name was Sakduxt, and she built the [church] of st. Sion in Shamshoylte.

As for the episcopacy, after Eghia it was held by Yunan, followed by Grigor, Barsegh and then Mushid, who was an Iranian. The latter was insufficiently pious of the Lord; quite the contrary, he secretly held magianism. He neither preached nor encouraged the people to piety, but rather wrote books on the study of magian doctrine. Arch'il and his son were unable to find out about [his leaning] but subsequently the bishop Mik'ayel discovered and wrote about it.[66]

Arch'il piously reposed in Christ, and his son Mirdat [Mithridates/Mihrdat V, 435-447] ruled, a virtuous man like his father. He had a daughter, named Xorandze, [g73] yet they requested a male child from the Lord. After four years a son was born to him who was named Varazxosrovt'ang in Iranian, or Vaxt'ang in Georgian. They rejoiced exceedingly, gave to the poor, and thanked God. The lad grew and the spayapet Sayurmak nourished him. Mihrdat died when Vaxt'ang was but seven years old. The child's mother Sakduxt was terrified that her father would try to avenge her apostasy from magianism and the destruction done to Iran by her husband, Mihrdat. So she gave up the boy and went to her father, beseeching him to forgive her for what had happened. And Barzabat' said to her: "All the damage done is forgiven you. But now return to your home, and I shall implant the Iranian faith in Iberia and I shall secure things so that [people] may willingly choose what pleases them, either our [faith] or the Iberian." He immediately dispatched a fire-attendant to Mts'xet'a and a chief priest, named Bink'aran. They came and resided in Mogt'a. Then Sakduxt ruled the realm according to her father's will until he died. His son, Varaz-Bakur, Sakduxt's brother, took his place. The spayapet Sayurmak also died and his position was taken by Jewansher. Now the chief-priest [67] tried to convert Iberia to his own faith. But no one paid attention to him, excepting a few insignificant people who ruined their own lives. In this period bishop Mushid died and his place was taken by Mik'ayel who was from the Byzantines and who, by his diligence, kept prominent people in the true faith.[g74]

Aspacures II of Iberia, by Wikipedia

Aspacures II (or Varaz-Bakur I, Georgian: ვარაზ-ბაკურ I), of the Chosroid Dynasty, was the king of Iberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from c. 363 to 365. He was the second son of Mirian III of Iberia and Nana of Iberia.

His name, recorded by the contemporaneous historian Ammianus Marcellinus (XXVII 12. 16), is evidently a Latinized rendition of Varaz-Bakur or Varaz-Bakar of the later, early medieval, Georgian chronicles. According to Ammianus, Aspacures was made king of Iberia by the Sassanid King Shapur II after the overthrow of his nephew Sauromaces. His being described as "an impious man and a hater of the faith" by the Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroveli is significant in this regard: the term implied at that time Zoroastrianism religious sympathies; and connote also his pro-Iranian political orientation. Leonti, indeed, then goes on to tell us of his becoming a Sassanid vassal.

Links

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Georgia