Bacurius III of Iberia
Encyclopedia
Bakur III (died 580) was the last Chosroid
king of Iberia
(natively known as Kartli
; ancient Georgia
) upon whose death the Iberian monarchy was abolished by Sassanid Iran.
He succeeded his father, King P'arsman VI
, as the king of Iberia. The date of his ascension to the throne is unknown but he ruled as contemporary of Hormizd IV
of Iran. Bakur's authority was rather limited and hardely extended beyond his fortress at Ujarma while the capital Tbilisi
, and Inner Iberia
was governed more directly by the Sassanids. When he died in 580, Hormizd IV took opportunity to abolish the kingship in Iberia.
Chosroid Dynasty
The Chosroids were a dynasty of the kings and later of the presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia, natively known as Kartli, from the fourth to the ninth centuries. Of Iranian origin and a branch of the Mihranid House, the family accepted Christianity as their official religion c...
king of Iberia
Caucasian Iberia
Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...
(natively known as Kartli
Kartli
Kartli is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari , on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial role in ethnic and political consolidation of the Georgians in the Middle Ages...
; ancient Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
) upon whose death the Iberian monarchy was abolished by Sassanid Iran.
He succeeded his father, King P'arsman VI
Parsman VI of Iberia
P'arsman VI |Latinized]] as Pharasmanes), of the Chosroid Dynasty, became the king of Iberia in 561. The length of his reign is unknown. The royal power was largely nominal at that time as the Sassanid Empire dominated Iberia....
, as the king of Iberia. The date of his ascension to the throne is unknown but he ruled as contemporary of Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV, son of Khosrau I, reigned as the twenty-first King of Persia from 579 to 590.He seems to have been imperious and violent, but not without some kindness of heart. Some very characteristic stories are told of him by Tabari. His father's sympathies had been with the nobles and the priests...
of Iran. Bakur's authority was rather limited and hardely extended beyond his fortress at Ujarma while the capital Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
, and Inner Iberia
Shida Kartli
Shida Kartli is a region in Georgia. It consists of the following districts: Gori, Kaspi, Kareli, Java, Khashuri.The northern part of the region, namely Java, and northern territories of Kareli and Gori, is controlled by the authorities of the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia since...
was governed more directly by the Sassanids. When he died in 580, Hormizd IV took opportunity to abolish the kingship in Iberia.