Divan of the Abkhazian Kings
Encyclopedia
The Divan
of the Abkhazian Kings
is a short medieval document composed in Georgian in the late 10th or early 11th century. It has come down to us in a 15th-century version. The text was first studied and published by the Georgian
scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili
. It has also been translated into English
and Russian
.
It is usually attributed to the first king of all-Georgia, Bagrat III
, who began his reign as the Abkhazian king in 978. Somewhat of a manifesto-style, this document may have been issued by Bagrat, a representative of the new dynasty of the Bagrationi, in support of his rights to the Abkhazian throne.
The Divan lists 22 successive rulers from Anos to Bagrat, and styles each of them as “king” (Georgian: mepe) (though until the mid-780s they functioned as the archon
s under the Byzantine
authority). The text does provide the information about the family relationships among these rulers as well as the duration of the last 11 kings’ reigns, but lacks chronology. The two kings of the Shavliani clan (878-887) are omitted probably because they were regarded as usurpers. The dates and achievements of the most of the early Abkhazian rulers remain conjectural.
The names below are given in original transliteration. The dates are as per Prince Cyril Toumanoff
and other modern scholars.
Divan
A divan was a high governmental body in a number of Islamic states, or its chief official .-Etymology:...
of the Abkhazian Kings
Abkhazian Kingdom
The Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as the Kingdom of the Abkhazes refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians in 1008.- Historiographical conundrum :Writing the kingdom’s...
is a short medieval document composed in Georgian in the late 10th or early 11th century. It has come down to us in a 15th-century version. The text was first studied and published by the Georgian
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...
scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili
Ekvtime Takaishvili
Ekvtime Takaishvili was a Georgian historian, archaeologist and public benefactor....
. It has also been translated into English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
It is usually attributed to the first king of all-Georgia, Bagrat III
Bagrat III of Georgia
Bagrat III , of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of the Abkhazians from 978 on and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added some more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of what is...
, who began his reign as the Abkhazian king in 978. Somewhat of a manifesto-style, this document may have been issued by Bagrat, a representative of the new dynasty of the Bagrationi, in support of his rights to the Abkhazian throne.
The Divan lists 22 successive rulers from Anos to Bagrat, and styles each of them as “king” (Georgian: mepe) (though until the mid-780s they functioned as the archon
Archon
Archon is a Greek word that means "ruler" or "lord", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem ἀρχ-, meaning "to rule", derived from the same root as monarch, hierarchy, and anarchy.- Ancient Greece :In ancient Greece the...
s under the Byzantine
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...
authority). The text does provide the information about the family relationships among these rulers as well as the duration of the last 11 kings’ reigns, but lacks chronology. The two kings of the Shavliani clan (878-887) are omitted probably because they were regarded as usurpers. The dates and achievements of the most of the early Abkhazian rulers remain conjectural.
The names below are given in original transliteration. The dates are as per Prince Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...
and other modern scholars.
- Anos (Georgian: ანოს) (circa 510-530)
- Ghozar (ღოზარ) (circa 530-550)
- Istvine (ისტვინე) (circa 550-580)
- Phiniktios (ფინიქტიოს) (circa 580-610)
- Barnuk (ბარნუკ) (circa 610-640)
- Dimitri I (დიმიტრი) (circa 640-660)
- Theodos I (თეოდოს) (circa 660-680)
- Konstanti I (კონსტანტი) (circa 680-710)
- Theodor (თეოდორ) (circa 710-730)
- Konstanti II (კონსტანტი) (circa 730–745)
- Leon I (ლეონ) (circa 745-767)
- Leon IILeon II of AbkhaziaLeon II of Abkhazia was King of Abkhazia, a country in the northern Caucasus Mountains, from 767/68-811/12. He was descended on his father's side from the Anchabadze royal clan, but was also a grandson of the reigning Khagan of the Khazars . Leon recognized the Khazar khagan as his overlord during...
(ლეონ) (circa 767-811) - Theodos II (თეოდოს) (circa 811-837)
- Dimitri II (დიმიტრი) (circa 837-872)
- Giorgi I Aghts’epeli (გიორგი აღწეფელი) (circa 872-878)
- Bagrat IBagrat I of AbkhaziaBagrat I was the King of Abkhazia between 887/88 and 898/99. He was the son of Demetrius II of the Anosids dynasty. After the usurper John Shavliani seized the throne Bagrat fled to Constantinople and lived there for some time until he returned to Abkhazia in 887/888, deposed and put to death...
(ბაგრატ) (circa 887-898) - Konstanti III (კონსტანტი) (circa 898-916)
- Giorgi IIGeorge II of AbkhaziaGeorge II was King of the Abkhazians from 916 AD until 960 AD. His lengthy reign is regarded as a zenith of cultural flowering and political power of his realm....
(გიორგი) (circa 916-960) - Leon III (ლეონ) (circa 960-969)
- Dimitri III (დიმიტრი) (circa 969-976)
- Theodos III BrmaTheodosius III of AbkhaziaTheodosius III the Blind , was King of the Abkhazians from circa 975 to 978.He was a son of George II of Abkhazia, who sent Theodosius to be brought up at Constantinople. After his reigning brother Leon III died in 967, a rebel party of Meskhetian, Egrisian and Kartlian nobles put him as a rival...
(თეოდოს ბრმა) (circa 976-978) - Bagrat IIIBagrat III of GeorgiaBagrat III , of the Georgian Bagrationi dynasty, was King of the Abkhazians from 978 on and King of Georgia from 1008 on. He united these two titles by dynastic inheritance and, through conquest and diplomacy, added some more lands to his realm, effectively becoming the first king of what is...
(ბაგრატ) (978-1014)