Mirian III, King of Iberia, founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty

• According to the Georgian Chronicles, the first Chosroid king Mirian III (Mihran) (ruled 284-361 AD) was installed, through his marriage to an Iberian princess Abeshura (daughter of the last Georgian Arsacid king Aspacures I ), on the throne of Iberia from his father whom the Georgian chronicles call "Chosroes", Great King of Iran. [9] Another Georgian chronicle medieval Kartli Conversion , is at odds with the tradition of the kings Life of the Georgian Chronicles and identifies Mirian as the king's son Lev, after the king Aspacures I . Lev is not attested elsewhere.

CONCISE HISTORY OF THE OF THE GEORGIANS

By Juansher Juansheriani , Translated by Robert Bedrosian

Chapter 7

At that time Iran was ruled by K'arse-Sharvan [Artashir, c.221-241], son of Sasan, who did away with the Arshakunis, presently called Biwroyk'. Xosrov, king of Armenia, fought with him aided by Asparagur [Aspacures/Asp'agur I, 265-84] who sent the Lexs, Leks, Ossetians and Khazars via the Caucasus Gate to great king Xosrov. [Xosrov] entered Iran with a motley band, struck the Iranian army, and put the king of Iran, Karseshar--Artashir himself--to flight. Following this, Artashir consulted with his grandees regarding what they should do about the Armenian king who had harassed them for ten years. Then a certain relation of Xosrov's, named Anak, came forward and said in the presence of everyone: "You should serve Xosrov by paying taxes, to preserve the Iranians from his evil." [g39] Secretly approaching [Artashir's] ear, he said: "I shall go to him [filled] with family affection, as someone having rebelled from you, and I shall slay him treacherously." Which is just what he did. [Anak] came to [Xosrov] together with his brother, and at the onset of the following year he killed him during a hunt. [Anak] then wanted to escape to Iran, but he and all his people died, excepting two boys whom their dayeaks took and ran off with--one fleeing to the Byzantine area, and one to Iran. [32]When the king of Iran heard about this, he came to Mts'xet'a ... [lines missing]. He swore an oath to them and enthroned the five year old lad Mihran [Meribanes/Mirian III, 284-361], and designated his dayeak Mirvanos [Mirvanoz] [g40] as district-chief and the boy's nourisher. [Artashir] left with him 40,000 select Iranian cavalry and stated that 5,000 of them should remain with the king while the rest should camp in Heret' and fight the Khazars. [Furthermore he said] that his son should worship fire as well as the idols of Iberia, since the Iberians had requested that they not be removed from their religion. "For," they said, "it is better that we die than abandon the precepts of our fathers." The Iranian king arose and went to his own land via the base of [mt.] Caucasus, capturing the mountain valley. Now Mirian, who had grown up and reached manhood, loved the Iberians. He used their language and worshipped the five images near the fire-temple. In his fifteenth year, his wife died, so they brought him a woman from Pontus, Anna [Nana], daughter of Ulitos [?Olympus]. Mirian was always fighting the Khazars, because the latter were trying to take Darband, to open that gate and descend on Iran. But Mirian did not allow them to do so.

In the fortieth year of [Mirian's] reign, his father [33] Artashir died and his younger brother, Bartam, reigned. When Mirian heard this he went to Baghdad with a multitude of troops and he himself attempted to take the Iranian kingdom, as the senior brother, "Because," he said, "I am abroad, [g41] and uneasy because of fighting the Khazars, to prevent them from crossing over into Iran." But his brother insulted him as the son of a concubine, and said that it was fitting that he himself should have the kingdom since his father had placed the crown on his head with his own hands and had established him on the throne in writing. Then he gave to Mirian Jozret' and half of Syria, Atrpatakan, Armenia, Movkan and Heret' and confirmed that which he had held previously. Mirian turned to the Ossetian area and conquered [the people] for he had heard that they were raiding Iberia (knowing that it was a passageway to Iran). Mirian reached as far as Xazaret' [i.e., to the Khazars] turned through the Dualet' region and came to Mts'xet'a. After this the Khazars invaded Darband and Mirian went against them and was occupied for many days.

At that time Xosrov's son, Trdates, demonstrated great valor in Greece. There he had seized the king of the Goths who had been harassing the Greeks. As a result of this he [34] was crowned by them, returned to his patrimony, and killed all the foreign troops he found there [including] Mirian's forces. Now Mirian brought to his aid his relative Peroz, giving him his daughter in marriage so that he might have [more] power, since a grave threat had come to Iberian land and to all Iran. In those days Mirian's third brother ruled in Iran. He sent [a messaqe] to Mirian that he should take his troops and go aqainst Armenia and Greece. He went before him with all his strength and crushed a great host, beyond calculation. They entered Armenia and took many captives, for Trdat was unable to challenge them because of their multitude. [g42] Instead, he remained in the land's fortified places. Taking the Armenians with them, they crossed over to the land of Greece, demolishing, killing and plundering without a care. There [the Byzantine] king, Constantine (Kostandianos), was unable to fight with them and was in a great crisis. Then a vision in a dream informed him that if he would worship God Who was crucified, he would vanquish their incalculable army by the power of the Cross. He so moved. Having the sign of the Cross as a guide, he came against them, struck them through the might of Christ, killing with the sword until only very few survivors [remained, who] escaped by a hairsbreadth to the kings of Iran and Iberia. Mirian then entered the stronghold of Mts'xet'a. [35] Knowing that all the select [warriors] of Iberia and Iran had been lost, he felt deep sorrow, and was perturbed. Coming to his senses, he sent envoys to Constantine the Great requesting peace from him so that he would serve him. Similarly he dispatched [envoys] to Trdates the Great. They heeded him and made peace. Constantine took Mirian's son, Bahk'ar [Bak'ar/Bakur], as a hostage. Trdat gave his daughter, Soghome, to Mirian's son, named Rev, and resided at Och'ormi. [g43]

Mirian III of Iberia, Wikipedia

Mirian III (Georgian: 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 Georgian annals and hagiography, Mirian was the first Christian king of Iberia, converted through the ministry of Nino, a Cappadocian female missionary. After Christianization of Iberia he is credited with establishment of Christianity as his kingdom's state religion and is regarded by the Georgian Orthodox Church as saint and is canonized as Saint Equal to the Apostles King Mirian (Georgian: წმინდა მოციქულთასწორი მეფე მირიანი).[1][2]

Traditional chronology after Prince Vakhushti assigns to Mirian's reign—taken to have lasted for 77 years—the dates 268–345, which Professor Cyril Toumanoff corrects to 284–361. He is also known to the contemporary Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus and the medieval Armenian chronicles.

Links

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