Caucasian Iberians
Encyclopedia
Caucasian Iberians was a Greco-Roman designation for ancient Georgians
, Ibero-Caucasian people
(South Caucasian or Kartvelians) who inhabited the east and southeast of the Transcaucasus region in prehistoric and historic times. Ancient Iberians are identified as modern eastern Georgians
who have originated from the early Georgian state of Iberia-Kartli
.
Caucasian Iberians should not be confused with the ancient inhabitants of the Roman
Hispania
, the Iberians
of the Iberian Peninsula
, or today's Spanish
and Portuguese
who are also referred to as Iberians.
by several relative tribes of Tibareni
, Moschia
, Saspers, Diaokhi, etc., collectively called Iberians (the Eastern Iberians) by ancient Greek
(Herodotus
, Strabo
, etc.) and Roman
authors. Iberians called their country Kartli
after a mythic chief, Kartlos
. One of the Iberian tribes of Mtskheta
(the future capital of the Iberian kingdom) dominated the early Kingdom. The Mtskheta tribe was later ruled by a prince locally known as mamasakhlisi (“the father of the household” in Georgian
).
The Georgian chronicle Kartlis Tskhovreba (“History of Kartli”) claims that a Persian general Azo of Alexander’s army massacred a local ruling family and conquered the area, until being defeated at the end of the 4th century BC by Prince Pharnavaz
, who was at that time a local chief. Pharnavaz, victorious in the power struggle, became the first king of Iberia (ca. 302
-ca. 237 BC
). Driving back an invasion, he subjugated the neighbouring areas, including a significant part of the western Georgian state of Colchis
(locally known as Egrisi
). Pharnavaz then focused on social projects, including the citadel of the capitol, the Armaztsikhe, and the idol of the god Armazi
(derived from the Iranian god Ahura-Mazda). He also reformed the Georgian written language
, and created a new system of administration, subdividing the country in several counties called saeristavo
s. His successors managed to gain control over the mountainous passes of the Caucasus
, with the Daryal (also known as the Iberian Gates) being the most important of them.
Roman
general Pompey
invaded Iberia in 65 BC
, during his war with Mithradates VI of Pontus, and Armenia; but Rome did not establish her power permanently over Iberia. Nineteen years later, the Romans again marched (36 BC
) on Iberia, forcing King Pharnavaz II to join their campaign against Albania
as their ally. While another Georgian kingdom of Colchis
was administered as a Roman province, Iberia freely accepted the Roman Imperial protection and became her ally.
The Iberian king Mirian III
adopted Christianity as a state religion
in AD 327 (this event is attributed to the mission of a Cappadocia
n woman, Saint Nino
, who since 303 had preached Christianity in Iberia), and Iberia allied itself with the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The religion would become a strong tie between Georgia and Rome (later the Byzantine Empire
), and would have a large scale impact on the state's culture and society. However, after the emperor Julian
was slain during his failed campaign in Persia in 363
, Rome ceded control of Iberia to Persia, and King Varaz-Bakur I (Asphagur) (363
-365
) became a Persian vassal — an outcome confirmed by the Peace of Acilisene
in 387
.
The early reign of the Iberian king Vakhtang I dubbed Gorgasali (447
-502
) was marked by relative revival of the kingdom. Formally a vassal of the Persians, he secured the northern borders by subjugating the Caucasian mountaineers, and brought the adjacent western and southern Georgian lands under his control. He established an autocephalic
patriarchate at Mtskheta
, and made Tbilisi
his capital. In 482
, he led a general uprising against Persia. A desperate war for independence lasted for twenty years, but he could not get Byzantine support, and was defeated, dying in battle in 502
.
region, united by a common language, the ancestor of the Ibero-Caucasian language group. There are multiple theories regarding the origin of the name Iberian; one of the most commonplace is that it is derived from the tribe of Tibareni
in the classical period, and possibly also from the even earlier state of Tabal
, known from the annals of the Assyrian Kings).
The name Iberian in its own right appears in ancient Greek authors who identified early Georgian (Kartvelian) tribes as Iberoi, as well as in the annals of the Roman Plutarch
. The Iberians called their kingdom Kartli, and their nation Kartlians.
Some theories have proposed common ethnic and linguistic origins of Caucasian Iberians with the ancient Iberians
of the Iberian Peninsula
, or the modern Basques in Spain
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, Ibero-Caucasian people
Ibero-Caucasian languages
The term Ibero-Caucasian was proposed by Georgian linguist Arnold Chikobava for the union of the three language families that are specific to the Caucasus area, namely* Kartvelian languages...
(South Caucasian or Kartvelians) who inhabited the east and southeast of the Transcaucasus region in prehistoric and historic times. Ancient Iberians are identified as modern eastern Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
who have originated from the early Georgian state of Iberia-Kartli
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...
.
Caucasian Iberians should not be confused with the ancient inhabitants of the Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Hispania
Hispania
Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....
, the Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, or today's Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
and Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
who are also referred to as Iberians.
History
The area was inhabited in earliest timesAncient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
by several relative tribes of Tibareni
Tibareni
The Tibareni were a people referred to in Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo and other classical authors. In classical times, they and other related tribes, the Chalybes and the Mossynoeci, were considered the founders of metallurgy...
, Moschia
Moschia
Moschia is a mountainous region of Georgia between Iberia, Armenia, and Colchis. The Moschian Mountains were the connecting chain between the Caucasus and Anti Taurus Mountains...
, Saspers, Diaokhi, etc., collectively called Iberians (the Eastern Iberians) by ancient Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
(Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
, etc.) and Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
authors. Iberians called their country 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...
after a mythic chief, Kartlos
Kartlos
Kartlos or K'art'los was the legendary establisher and eponymous father of Georgia, and the mythic ancestor of Georgians, namely its nucleus Kartli...
. One of the Iberian tribes of Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
(the future capital of the Iberian kingdom) dominated the early Kingdom. The Mtskheta tribe was later ruled by a prince locally known as mamasakhlisi (“the father of the household” in Georgian
Georgian language
Georgian is the native language of the Georgians and the official language of Georgia, a country in the Caucasus.Georgian is the primary language of about 4 million people in Georgia itself, and of another 500,000 abroad...
).
Pharnavaz I of Iberia
Pharnavaz I was the first king of Kartli, an ancient Georgian kingdom known as Iberia to the Classical sources, who is credited by the medieval Georgian written tradition with founding the kingship of Kartli and the Parnavaziani dynasty...
, who was at that time a local chief. Pharnavaz, victorious in the power struggle, became the first king of Iberia (ca. 302
302 BC
Year 302 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Denter and Paullus...
-ca. 237 BC
237 BC
Year 237 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Caudinus and Flaccus...
). Driving back an invasion, he subjugated the neighbouring areas, including a significant part of the western Georgian state of Colchis
Colchis
In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis was an ancient Georgian state kingdom and region in Western Georgia, which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation.The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian...
(locally known as Egrisi
Egrisi
Lazica or Egrisi in Georgian |Georgia]], named after the Laz tribe, which at some time dominated the local ruling élite.The kingdom flourished between the 6th century BC and the 7th century AD. It covered part of the territory of the former kingdom Colchis and subjugated the territory of modern...
). Pharnavaz then focused on social projects, including the citadel of the capitol, the Armaztsikhe, and the idol of the god Armazi
Armazi
Armazi was, according to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the supreme deity in a pre-Christian pantheon of ancient Georgians of Kartli ....
(derived from the Iranian god Ahura-Mazda). He also reformed the Georgian written language
Georgian alphabet
The Georgian alphabet is the writing system used to write the Georgian language and other Kartvelian languages , and occasionally other languages of the Caucasus such as Ossetic and Abkhaz during the 1940s...
, and created a new system of administration, subdividing the country in several counties called saeristavo
Eristavi
Eristavi was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, it was the title of the third rank of prince and governor of a large province...
s. His successors managed to gain control over the mountainous passes of the Caucasus
Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains is a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region .The Caucasus Mountains includes:* the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range and* the Lesser Caucasus Mountains....
, with the Daryal (also known as the Iberian Gates) being the most important of them.
Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
general Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
invaded Iberia in 65 BC
65 BC
Year 65 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Cotta and Torquatus...
, during his war with Mithradates VI of Pontus, and Armenia; but Rome did not establish her power permanently over Iberia. Nineteen years later, the Romans again marched (36 BC
36 BC
Year 36 BC was either a common year starting on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Wednesday of the Proleptic Julian calendar...
) on Iberia, forcing King Pharnavaz II to join their campaign against Albania
Caucasian Albania
Albania is a name for the historical region of the eastern Caucasus, that existed on the territory of present-day republic of...
as their ally. While another Georgian kingdom of Colchis
Colchis
In ancient geography, Colchis or Kolkhis was an ancient Georgian state kingdom and region in Western Georgia, which played an important role in the ethnic and cultural formation of the Georgian nation.The Kingdom of Colchis contributed significantly to the development of medieval Georgian...
was administered as a Roman province, Iberia freely accepted the Roman Imperial protection and became her ally.
The Iberian king Mirian III
Mirian III of Iberia
Mirian III was a king of Iberia , contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine I .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...
adopted Christianity as a state religion
State religion
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...
in AD 327 (this event is attributed to the mission of a Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
n woman, Saint Nino
Saint Nino
Saint Nino , ), Equal to the Apostles in and the Enlightener of Georgia, was a woman who preached Christianity in Georgia....
, who since 303 had preached Christianity in Iberia), and Iberia allied itself with the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. The religion would become a strong tie between Georgia and Rome (later the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
), and would have a large scale impact on the state's culture and society. However, after the emperor Julian
Julian the Apostate
Julian "the Apostate" , commonly known as Julian, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer....
was slain during his failed campaign in Persia in 363
363
Year 363 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iulianus and Sallustius...
, Rome ceded control of Iberia to Persia, and King Varaz-Bakur I (Asphagur) (363
363
Year 363 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Iulianus and Sallustius...
-365
365
Year 365 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Valens...
) became a Persian vassal — an outcome confirmed by the Peace of Acilisene
Hachdeanq
Hachdeanq was a region and family of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia c. 400-800. It is also known as Acilisene in Greek and Latin works. It was a strip of land along the Upper Euphrates or Arsanias roughly corresponding to today's Erzincan Province of Turkey...
in 387
387
Year 387 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augustus and Eutropius...
.
The early reign of the Iberian king Vakhtang I dubbed Gorgasali (447
447
Year 447 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Calepius and Ardabur...
-502
502
Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus...
) was marked by relative revival of the kingdom. Formally a vassal of the Persians, he secured the northern borders by subjugating the Caucasian mountaineers, and brought the adjacent western and southern Georgian lands under his control. He established an autocephalic
Autocephaly
Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...
patriarchate at Mtskheta
Mtskheta
Mtskheta , one of the oldest cities of the country of Georgia , is located approximately 20 kilometers north of Tbilisi at the confluence of the Aragvi and Kura rivers. The city is now the administrative centre of the Mtskheta-Mtianeti region...
, and made 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...
his capital. In 482
482
Year 482 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severinus and Illus...
, he led a general uprising against Persia. A desperate war for independence lasted for twenty years, but he could not get Byzantine support, and was defeated, dying in battle in 502
502
Year 502 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Avienus and Probus...
.
Origins
It may be possible to trace the presence of Caucasian Iberians in the region for several millennia. The Iberian tribes were an indigenous people of the CaucasusCaucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
region, united by a common language, the ancestor of the Ibero-Caucasian language group. There are multiple theories regarding the origin of the name Iberian; one of the most commonplace is that it is derived from the tribe of Tibareni
Tibareni
The Tibareni were a people referred to in Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo and other classical authors. In classical times, they and other related tribes, the Chalybes and the Mossynoeci, were considered the founders of metallurgy...
in the classical period, and possibly also from the even earlier state of Tabal
Tabal
Tabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia. According to archaeologist Kurt Bittel, the kingdom of Tabal first appeared after the collapse of the Hittite Empire....
, known from the annals of the Assyrian Kings).
The name Iberian in its own right appears in ancient Greek authors who identified early Georgian (Kartvelian) tribes as Iberoi, as well as in the annals of the Roman Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
. The Iberians called their kingdom Kartli, and their nation Kartlians.
Some theories have proposed common ethnic and linguistic origins of Caucasian Iberians with the ancient Iberians
Iberians
The Iberians were a set of peoples that Greek and Roman sources identified with that name in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian peninsula at least from the 6th century BC...
of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
, or the modern Basques in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...