Tao-Klarjeti
Encyclopedia
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western 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...
principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and divided among the provinces of Erzurum
Erzurum Province
Erzurum Province is a Province of Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia Region of the country. It is bordered by the provinces of Kars and Ağrı to the east, Muş and Bingöl to the south, Erzincan and Bayburt to the west, Rize and Artvin to the north and Ardahan to the northeast. The provincial capital is...
, Artvin
Artvin Province
Artvin Province is a province in Turkey, on the Black Sea coast in the north-eastern corner of the country, on the border with Georgia.The provincial capital is the city of Artvin.-Geography:...
, Ardahan
Ardahan Province
Ardahan Province is a province in the far north-east of Turkey, at the very end of the country, where Turkey borders with Georgia . The provincial capital is the city of Ardahan.- Geography :...
and Kars
Kars Province
Kars Province is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its border with the Republic of Armenia.The provinces of Ardahan and Iğdır were until the 1990s part of Kars Province.-History:...
. Tao
Tao (historical region)
Tao is a historical region in the territory of modern Turkey roughly corresponding to the Taochi of Greeks and Tayk of Armenians. It was a province within various Georgian Bagratid states from the 8th to the 16th century, when the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.-External references:*...
and Klarjeti
Klarjeti
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is currently part of the Artvin Province in northeastern Turkey. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as...
were originally only the names of the two most important provinces of the Georgian lands that stretched from the “Georgian Gorge” (Turk. Gürcü Boğazı) in the south to the Lesser Caucasus
Lesser Caucasus
Lesser Caucasus is one of the two main mountain ranges of Caucasus mountains, of length about 600 km....
in the north.
Historically, the area comprised the following provinces: West of the Arsiani Mountains (Turk. Yalnızçam Dağları) were Tao
Tao (historical region)
Tao is a historical region in the territory of modern Turkey roughly corresponding to the Taochi of Greeks and Tayk of Armenians. It was a province within various Georgian Bagratid states from the 8th to the 16th century, when the region was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.-External references:*...
/Tayk
Tayk
Tayk was a historical province of the Greater Armenia, one of its 15 ashkars . Tayk consisted of 8 cantons:* Kogh* Berdats por* Partizats por* Tchakatk* Bokha* Vokaghe* Azordats por* Arsiats por....
, Klarjeti
Klarjeti
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is currently part of the Artvin Province in northeastern Turkey. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as...
and Shavsheti
Savsat
Şavşat is a town and district of Artvin Province in the Black Sea region, between the cities of Artvin and Kars on the border with Georgia at the far eastern end of Turkey.- Geography :...
, to the east lay Samtskhe, Erusheti, Javakheti
Javakheti
Javakheti is a historical region of the nation of Georgia, in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Today it comprises the Akhalkalaki and Ninotsminda municipal territories. It was historically bordered in the west with both sides of the Mtkvari river, in the north,...
, Artaani
Ardahan
Ardahan is a city in northeastern Turkey, near the Georgian border.-Ancient and medieval:In Ancient times the region was called Gogarene, which is assumed to derive from the name of Gugars, who were a Proto-Kartvelian tribe...
and Kola
Göle
Göle ) is a small city and surrounding district in Ardahan Province of Turkey. The city was formerly known as Merdenik, Merdinik or Ardahan-ı Küçük ....
. The landscape is characterised by mountains and the river-systems of the Chorokhi (Turk. Çoruh) and the Mtkvari (Turk. Kura
Kura
Kura may refer to:* Kura River in Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan* Kura River, Russia in Russia* Kura Test Range in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, a major ICBM testing site during the Cold War* Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State...
).
Tao-Klarjeti’s geographical position between the great Empires of the East and the West, and the fact that one branch of the Silk Road
Silk Road
The Silk Road or Silk Route refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa...
ran through its territory, meant that it was subject to a constant stream of diverging influences. In the 9th-11th centuries, Tao-Klarjeti was ruled by the Iberian Bagratids, and the region played a crucial role in the unification of the Georgian principalities into a single feudal state in 1008.
Alongside the magnificent nature, the architectural monuments of Tao-Klarjeti (churches, monasteries, bridges and castles) function as tourist attractions today, but many monuments are endangered, since nothing is done for their preservation. There have also been cases of deliberate destruction (for instance in Opiza and Tbeti).
Early history
The history of the region goes back to 3000 BC, i.e. the Bronze AgeBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
known as the Kura-Araxes culture
Kura-Araxes culture
The Kura-Araxes culture or the Early trans-Caucasian culture, was a civilization that existed from 3400 BC until about 2000 BC. The earliest evidence for this culture is found on the Ararat plain; thence it spread to Georgia by 3000 BC, and during the next millennium it proceeded westward to the...
. In the 1st millennium BC
1st millennium BC
The 1st millennium BC encompasses the Iron Age and sees the rise of many successive empires, and spanned from 1000 BC to 1 BC.The Neo-Assyrian Empire, followed by the Achaemenids. In Greece, Classical Antiquity begins with the colonization of Magna Graecia and peaks with the rise of Hellenism. The...
, the area was predominantly inhabited by various proto-Georgian
Georgian people
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....
people which was divided into the kingdoms of Diaokhi, 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...
and 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...
.
In ca. 302 BC
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...
, these territories were absorbed into the ancient Kingdom 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...
under the king of Pharnavaz I
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...
and since then it was occupied and annexed by various countries.
Contested between Iberia and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
throughout the following centuries, the region was invaded and completely destroyed by the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s in the 7th century.
Tao-Klarjeti in the 9th-11th centuries
Principate of Iberia
The Principate of Iberia is a conventional term applied to an aristocratic regime in early medieval Caucasian Georgia that flourished in the period of interregnum between the sixth and ninth centuries, when the leading political authority was exercised by a succession of princes...
(erismtavari) Ashot I
Ashot I Kuropalates
Ashot I the Great was a presiding prince of Iberia , first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 830...
of the Bagrationi family made Klarjeti
Klarjeti
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is currently part of the Artvin Province in northeastern Turkey. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as...
a base in his struggle against the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
occupation. Recognizing 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...
suzerainty, he received a title of κουροπαλάτης and established the Principality of the Georgians known to the Byzantines as the Kouropalatate (Kuropalatinate) 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...
. Ashot fought the Arabs from there, gradually liberating the surrounding lands of Tao, Kola, Artaani and Shavsheti, along with a few other lesser lands, from the Arab dominance. He encouraged resettlement of Georgians in these lands, and patronized monastic life initiated by the prominent Georgian ecclesiastic figure Grigol Khandzteli (Gregory of Khandzta; 759–861) in Klarjeti. For a long time the region became a cultural safe-house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
and one of the most important religious
Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church
The Georgian Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church is an autocephalous part of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the 4th century AD, Georgian Orthodoxy has been the state religion of Georgia, and it remains the country's largest religious institution....
centers of Georgia.
Ashot’s successors continued fighting for the 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...
an lands, contested also by the Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
n dynasty of western Georgia (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...
), the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
emirs of Tbilisi
Emirate of Tbilisi
The Emirs of Tbilisi ruled over the parts of today’s eastern Georgia from their base in the city of Tbilisi, from 736 to 1080 . Established by the Arabs during their invasions of Georgian lands, the emirate was an important outpost of the Muslim rule in the Caucasus until recaptured by the...
and even by Kakheti
Kakheti
Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and...
an (kingdom in eastern Georgia) and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n rulers. However, internal feuds, not infrequent in the principality, were an important obstacle. A civil war following the assassination of David I
David I Kuropalates
David I was a Georgian Bagratid Prince and curopalates of Iberia/Kartli from 876 to 881.The eldest son and successor of Bagrat I, he was baptised by the influential Georgian monk Grigol Khandzteli. David shared the Bagratid hereditary lands in Tao-Klarjeti with his uncles and cousins, his fiefdom...
(876–881) brought the victory of Adarnase I (881–923) over his major rival, Nasra
Nasra
Nasra or Nasr was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti involved and eventually killed in a dynastic war with his relatives....
, David’s murderer, allowing him to be crowned as King of the Georgians in 888. During the reign of Adarnase’s son David II (923–937) the Georgians had also to defend against 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...
aggression, a problem they seem to have successfully managed. However, the Bagrationi dynasty failed to maintain the integrity of their kingdom which was actually divided between the three branches of the family with the main branch retaining Tao and the title of King of the Kartvelians (Georgians), and another controlling Klarjeti
Klarjeti
Klarjeti was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is currently part of the Artvin Province in northeastern Turkey. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known as...
and nominally recognizing the sovereignty of the king. The Kingdom of the Kartvelians (Kingdom of the Georgians) included also several other minor princedoms more or less dependent to the Tao crown.
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
to defeat the rebel Byzantine noble Bardas Scleros (976–979) and was rewarded with extensive lands that made him the most powerful ruler in the south Caucasus
Caucasus
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...
: his state included several Georgian and Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n provinces up to the Lake Van
Lake Van
Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey, located in the far east of the country in Van district. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. Lake Van is one of the world's largest endorheic lakes . The original outlet from...
. With the strong intention to unite all Georgian lands, he adopted Prince Bagrat (the future king 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...
), a grandchild of Bagrat Regueni, also being an Abkhazian heir apparent. David installed him as a residing prince in 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...
(975) and as king of Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
(978), and helped Bagrat’s natural father Gurgen to be crowned as King of Kings of the Kartvelians on the death of Bagrat the Simple (994), thus making Bagrat a ruler of the two and a heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
of another two Georgian states. The only setback was the 987–989 unsuccessful conflict with 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...
that forced David to agree to cede his dominion to Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
on his death. Despite this reverse, Bagrat was able to become the first ruler of the unified Georgian kingdom (officially called the Kingdom of the Georgians and Abkhazians) on his father’s death in 1008.
Later history
The area continued to remain a Georgian territory and was administered by the princes of Samtskhe-Saatabago until conquered by the OttomansOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in 1551. During their rule, a policy of Islamicization was implemented and many of the Christian churches were converted into mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s. Following the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, most of the former Tao-Klarjetian territory was ceded to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, but it was taken back by the Turks in the Brest-Litovsk Treaty with the Russian SFSR in 1918. The Ottoman defeat in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
allowed the newly created Democratic Republic of Georgia
Democratic Republic of Georgia
The Democratic Republic of Georgia , 1918–1921, was the first modern establishment of a Republic of Georgia.The DRG was created after the collapse of the Russian Empire that began with the Russian Revolution of 1917...
to regain control of the region. Olti
Oltu
Oltu is a town and district of Erzurum Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The mayor is İbrahim Ziyrek . The population is 19,969 .-History:...
district, which was heavily contested between Georgians and Armenians had stayed under Turkish control. However, the nation’s independence soon collapsed under the Soviet Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
attack in February 1921 and simultaneously the area was reoccupied by Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, a fact that was acknowledged by the Treaty of Moscow
Treaty of Moscow (1921)
The Treaty of Moscow or Treaty of Brotherhood was a friendship treaty between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and Bolshevist Russia under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, signed on 16 March 1921...
signed between the Turkish and Soviet governments on 16 March 1921.
Architecture
Several monuments of medieval Georgian architecture – abandoned or converted churches, monasteries, bridges and castles – are scattered across the area. Best known are the Khakhuli MonasteryKhakhuli Monastery
Khakhuli Monastery was a Georgian Orthodox monastery in historical Medieval Georgian Kingdom of Tao , at the east bank of Kakhulistskali river, in one of the gorges of Tortumistskali river...
(Turk. Haho/Bağbaşi), the churches of Oshki
Oshki
Oshki is a Georgian monastery from the second half of the 10th century located in the historic province of Tao, now in North-eastern Turkey. The main church, dedicated to St John the Baptist, was built between 963 and 973....
(Turk. Öşk Vank/Çamlıyamaç), Ishkhani (Turk. Işhan), Bana
Bana cathedral
Bana or Banak , is a ruined medieval Christian cathedral in the Erzurum Province, northeastern Turkey, in what had formerly been a historical marchland known to Armenians as Tayk and to Georgians as Tao....
(Turk. Penek), Parkhali (Turk. Barhal/Altıparmak), Doliskana
Doliskana
Doliskana is a Georgian medieval Orthodox monastery in historical Medieval Georgian Kingdom of Klarjeti . Church construction was finished in mid 10th century, in times of Sumbat I of Iberia. It is located on the right bank of the Imerkhevi River.- External links :* - ....
(Turk. Dolişhane/ Hamamlıköy), Otkhta Eklesia (Turk. Dörtkilise), Opiza (Turk. Bağcılar), and Tbeti
Tbeti
Tbet is a settlement in the Tskhinvali district of South Ossetia, a region of Georgia whose sovereignty is disputed. It is located 2 kilometers west of Tskhinvali....
(Turk. Cevizli).
Kartli-line of the Iberian Bagratids
- Ashot I KuropalatesAshot I KuropalatesAshot I the Great was a presiding prince of Iberia , first of the Bagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought the Byzantine protectorate against the Arab encroachment until being murdered c. 830...
(end of the 8th cent. / 813-826)
- Bagrat I KuropalatesBagrat I KuropalatesBagrat I , of the Bagratid dynasty, was a presiding prince of Iberia from 830 until his death.Bagrat inherited from his father Ashot I the office of presiding prince of Iberia and the Byzantine title of curopalates...
(826-876), co-rulers: AdarnaseAdarnase of Tao-KlarjetiAdarnase II, sometimes known as Adarnase I, was a Georgian Bagratid prince and a co-ruler of Tao-Klarjeti with his brothers — Bagrat I Kuropalates and Guaram Mampali — with the title of eristavt-eristavi ....
(830-c.870) and Guaram MampaliGuaram MampaliGuaram, the mampali, was a Georgian Bagratid prince and the youngest son of Ashot I, the founder of the Bagratid dynasty of Iberia/Kartli....
(d. 882)
- David I KuropalatesDavid I KuropalatesDavid I was a Georgian Bagratid Prince and curopalates of Iberia/Kartli from 876 to 881.The eldest son and successor of Bagrat I, he was baptised by the influential Georgian monk Grigol Khandzteli. David shared the Bagratid hereditary lands in Tao-Klarjeti with his uncles and cousins, his fiefdom...
(876-881)
- Adarnase I Kuropalates (881-923), King of the Georgians (888-923)
- David II Magistros (923-937)
- Ashot II KuropalatesAshot II KuropalatesAshot II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti with the Byzantine title of curopalates.Ashot was the second son of Adarnase I, king of Iberia/Kartli and younger brother of David II . David succeeded Adarnase as titular king of Iberia, but not as curopalates, this honorific...
(937-954)
- Sumbat I Kuropalates (954-958)
- Bagrat II Regueni, "the Simple" (958-994)
- GurgenGurgen of GeorgiaGurgen also known as Gurgen Magistros, Gurgen II Magistros of the House of Bagrationi, was King of Kings of the Georgians from 994 until his death in 1008. Magistros was a title bestowed upon him by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II...
, King of Kings (994-1008)
- 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...
, King of Apkhazeti (AbkhaziaAbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
) since 978, King of united GeorgiaGeorgia (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...
(1008-1014)
Tao-line of the Iberian Bagratids
- Gurgen I MampaliGurgen I MampaliGurgen I was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti. He was a presiding prince of Iberia with the Byzantine title of curopalates from 881 until his death in a dynastic feud in 891....
(c. 870-891)
- Adarnase, Eristavt EristaviAdarnase, Eristavt EristaviAdarnase III of Tao was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Tao with the title of eristavt-eristavi, "duke of dukes"....
(891-896)
- Ashot Kukhi, Eristavt EristaviAshot Kukhi, Eristavt EristaviAshot I also known as Ashot Kukhi was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Tao with the title of eristavt-eristavi, "duke of dukes". He was nicknamed kukhi, meaning "the Immature"....
(896/908-918)
- Gurgen II the Great (918-941)
Second House of Tao
- Bagrat Magistros (d. 945)
- Adarnase II Kuropalates (945-961)
- Bagrat, Eristavt EristaviBagrat II of TaoBagrat II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Upper Tao, with the title of eristavt-eristavi, "duke of dukes", from 961 to 966....
(961-966)
- David III Kuropalates (966-1000)
Klarjeti-line of the Iberian Bagratids
- Sumbat I MampaliSumbat I MampaliSumbat I was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Klarjeti from c. 870 until his death....
, the Great (c. 870-889)
- Bagrat IBagrat MampaliBagrat I was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and the ruler of Klarjeti from 889 until his death. There is some confusion in dating Bagrat's death. According to the 11th-century chronicler Sumbat Davitis-Dze, Bagrat died on April 20, Easter Sunday of the year 129 of the...
(889-900)
- David I (900-943)
- Sumbat IISumbat II of KlarjetiSumbat II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and ruler of Klarjeti from 943 until his death.Sumbat was the only son of David I, whom he succeeded as prince of Klarjeti. Little is known of his life...
(943-988)
- David IIDavid II of KlarjetiDavid II was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and ruler of Klarjeti from 988 until his death.David II was a son of Sumbat II, whom he succeeded as prince of Klarjeti. Virtually nothing is known about his life. He died without issue, being succeeded by his nephew Sumbat III....
(988-992/993)
- Sumbat IIISumbat III of KlarjetiSumbat III was a Georgian prince of the Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and the last sovereign of Klarjeti from 993 until being dispossessed by King Bagrat III of Georgia in 1011....
(992/993-1011)
- Gurgen (d. 1012)
Sources
- Stephen of Taron: Histoire Universelle par Étienne Asolik de Taron, transl. F. Macler, 2e partie, livre III (888-1004), Paris 1917
- Constantine Porphyrogenitus: De Administrando Imperio, ed. G. Moravcsik and R.J.H. Jenkins, Dumbarton Oaks 1967
- Aristakes Lastivert: Récit des malheurs de la nation arménienne, transl. M. Canard and H. Berberian, Brussels 1973
- John Scylitzes: Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum, ed. I. Thurn, Berlin – New York 1973
- ElisheElisheYeghishe Vardapet was a prominent Armenian historian. He was the author of a history documenting the successful revolt of the Armenians in the 5th century against the rule and religion of the Sassanid Persians.-Life:...
: History of Vardan and the Armenian War, transl. R.W. Thomson, Cambridge, Mass. 1982 - The Life of Kartli: Das Leben Kartlis. Eine Chronik aus Georgien. 300-1200, ed. G. Pätsch, Leipzig 1985
- Life of John and Euthymius: B. Martin-Hisard, “La Vie de Jean et Euthyme: le statut du monastère des Ibères sur l'Athos”, Revue des Études Byzantines 49 (1991), 67-142
- Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd al-Antākī: “Histoire de Yahya-Ibn-Sa‘ïd d’Antioche”, ed. and transl. I. Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, Patrologia Orientalis 18 (1924), 700-833
- “Histoire de Yahya-Ibn-Sa‘ïd d’Antioche”, ed. and transl. I. Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, Patrologia Orientalis 23 (1932), 347-520
- “Histoire de Yahyā ibn Sa‘īd d’Antioche”, ed. I. Kratchkovsky, transl. F. Micheau and G. Troupeau, Patrologia Orientalis 47 (1997), 373-559
- Giorgi Merchule: Georgi Mertschule. Das Leben des Grigol von Chandsta, transl. S. Sardshweladse and H. Fähnrich, Jena 2000
- Yovhannes Drasxanakertci: Histoire d'Arménie, transl. P. Boisson-Chenorhokian, Leuven 2004
- Bruno Baumgartner, Studien zur historischen Geographie von Tao-Klarjeti, PhD-Dissertation, 2 Volumes, Vienna 1996 ("Studies on the historical Geography of Tao-Klarjeti", in German)
See also
- History of GeorgiaGeorgia (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...
- Caucasian IberiaCaucasian IberiaIberia , 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...
- History of ArmeniaHistory of ArmeniaArmenia lies in the highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat. The original Armenian name for the country was Hayk, later Hayastan , translated as the land of Haik, and consisting of the name Haik and the suffix '-stan' ....
- KartliKartliKartli 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...
- MamikonianMamikonianMamikonian, Mamikoneans, or Mamigonian was a noble family which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th century. They ruled the Armenian regions of Taron, Sasun, Bagrevand and others...
- TaykTaykTayk was a historical province of the Greater Armenia, one of its 15 ashkars . Tayk consisted of 8 cantons:* Kogh* Berdats por* Partizats por* Tchakatk* Bokha* Vokaghe* Azordats por* Arsiats por....
- Theme of IberiaTheme of IberiaThe theme of Iberia was an administrative and military unit – theme – within the Byzantine Empire carved by the Byzantine Emperors out of several Armenian and Georgian lands in the 11th century...