New Perspectives on The Land of

Heroes and Giants: The Georgian

Sources for Sasanian History1
e-Sasanika 13
2014
Stephen H. Rapp Jr.
Sam Houston State University

At the twilight of his illustrious reign, Vaxtang Gorgasali (r. 447-522) led his troops into battle
one last time. 2 His Kartvelians of eastern Georgia triumphed against the formidable Sasanian
adversary, but in the course of fighting the aging hero-king was mortally wounded. With
Roman and Sasanian soldiers locked in brutal combat on the edge of his realm, the injured
Vaxtang sought refuge within the Ujarma fortress, a favorite stronghold of the royal family.
With time running out, the king convened the notables of eastern Georgia and directed: You,
inhabitants of Kartli, 3 remember my good deeds because from my house you received eternal
light, and I honored you, my kin, with temporal glory. Do not despise our house, nor abandon
the friendship of the Greeks. 4

Vaxtang is one of the most cherished heroes in Georgia, a former Soviet republic nestled
between the Black and Caspian Seas. But Vaxtangs fame is not purely an outburst of modern
nostalgia. Already towards the end of Late Antiquity this Kartvelian king epitomized an
autonomous central authority suitably equipped to dissipate threats domestic and foreign. In
the ensuing medieval period, especially under the Byzantinizing monarchs of the Bagratid
dynasty, Vaxtangs reign represented the ideal of a unified and powerful Georgian kingdom
that was an active and equal participant in the Byzantine ecumene. 5

1
I am grateful for the opportunity to have presented this material at the Samuel Jordan Center for Persian
Studies at the University of CaliforniaIrvine in February 2013. I wish to thank the centers director Dr. Touraj
Daryaee as well as Julie Nelson for their assistance with this essay. For an expanded treatment, see my Sasanian
World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature, in press with
Ashgate (expected fall 2014). For Georgian transliteration, see the table below. Images are by the author unless
otherwise noted.
2
Vaxtangs name is popularly rendered Vakhtang Gorgasal.
3
Iberia in Graeco-Roman sources, though its meaning was not always equivalent to Kartli or even eastern
Georgia. Cf. the Byzantine Theme of Iberia.
4
The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955: 203), English translation by Robert W. Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History
(1996: 222-223).
5
The Bagratids seized the presiding principate in 813, restored kingship in 888, and dominated Georgian politics
for a thousand years.
Scholarly investigations of late antique and medieval Georgian history have long been
projected through the lens of the Byzantine experience. 6 Vaxtangs deathbed injunction to the
eastern Georgian lite seems to validate this approach. However, the episodes host textThe
Life of Vaxtang Gorgasaliactually depicts Christian Kartli and its neighbors as integral parts of
the expansive Iranian world, 7 a cohesive multi- and cross-cultural enterprise we might call the
Iranian Commonwealth. 8 The Iranian flavor and orientation of The Life of Vaxtang are not
anomalies: the entire corpus of early Georgian literature 9 is encoded with elements of the
Irano-Caucasian nexus. 10 Accordingly, Georgian literary monuments are a significant, albeit
underappreciated, source for Iranian history especially in its Sasanian phase. Other Georgian
evidence, including linguistic, artistic, and numismatic, confirms the complex and long-
standing socio-cultural bond.

What can we say about the historical context in which these Georgian sources were created?
Although Christianizations revolutionary aspects have been prone to exaggeration, 11 there
can be no question that Georgian literature was, to a large degree, enabled by the conversion
of southern Caucasias diverse peoples to Christianity. 12 Especially important in the long-term
Christianization was the baptism of the royal and aristocratic families of the regions three
kingdoms. 13 In particular, the monarchs of Armenia Major, Kartli, and Caucasian Albania 14
were all converted in the first half of the fourth century. 15 The Armenian Trdat was the first to
be baptized, probably in 314. The eastern Georgian Mirian followed as early as 326 and no later
than 337, the latter date prevailing in scholarship. 16 By the middle of the fourth century the
Albanian Unayr also embraced the Christian God.

Christianization ignited and worked in tandem with several socio-cultural transformations,

one of the most profound of which was the creation of scripts for the three principal languages
of southern Caucasia. While usually treated as ethnically confined inventions, the distinctive
but related Armenian, Georgian, and Albanian scripts resulted from a single yet multifaceted

6
For a more nuanced view, see Rapp (2006, 2009, 2012.a-b, and forthcoming). Morony (2010) and The Journal of
Persianate Studies 6/1-2 (2013) for the extension of the concept of Late Antiquity to Sasanian Iran.
7
In its received form the anonymous Life of Vaxtang took shape around the year 800. But for an earlier tradition
(akin to the Xwady-nmag) upon which The Life of Vaxtang is chiefly based, see below and especially Rapp
(forthcoming).
8
An idea inspired by studies of the Byzantine Commonwealth, especially Obolensky (1971) and Fowden (1993),
and by the cross-cultural phenomena emphasized in the publications of Richard Frye. For cross-commonwealth
interactions, see Canepa (2009).
9
And, significantly, the entire corpus of literature produced in late antique Caucasia.
10
For an accessible survey of Georgian literature, see Rayfield (1994). See also Abulae (1960) and Tarchnishvili
(1955). For Armenia and Iran, see the publications of Nina Garsoan (including articles assembled in Garsoan
[1985 and 1999]), James Russell (collected articles in Russell [2004]), and Tim Greenwood (e.g., Greenwood [2010]).
11
Successful instances of conversion are typically long-term syncretic processes.
12
On the coherence of Christian Caucasia and its dynamic long-term Christianization, see the essays collected in
Rapp and Crego (2012). For the various Georgian lands in Late Antiquity as seen primarily through Classical (i.e.,
Graeco-Roman) and archaeological sources, see Braund (1994). English-language overviews of Georgian history
are elaborated in Suny (1988) and Rayfield (2012). Still recommended is the somewhat dated Allen (1932).
13
In terms of direct evidence, we know surprisingly little about the aristocratic contribution to Caucasias
Christianization.
14
Caucasian Albania shares only a name with the later Albania in the Balkans.
15
There were earlier Caucasian converts to Christianity, a phenomenon I intend to explore in a future
publication.
16
Patarie (2000). Cf. the linkage of Mirians conversion to the solar eclipse of May 319 in Gigolavili et al. (2007).
 Figure 1. Caucasia and the area of principal Kartvelian activity in Late Antiquity.
Reprocessed MODIS image from NASAs Terra satellite, November 2008. Photograph courtesy of NASA.
project transcending linguistic, cultural, and political communities. 17 In most respects,
Caucasias Christianization was a pan-regional, cross-cultural phenomenon reflecting the
isthmus fundamental cohesiveness alongside its tremendous diversity. 18 It also showcases
Caucasias intimate connections with its neighbors as we observe with the Christianization of
acculturated Parthian families and with Cappadocias role in the conversions of Armenia Major
and possibly eastern Georgia. 19 Consequently, any study of Late Antiquity segregating the
Armenian, Kartvelian, or Albanian experience invariably paints a skewed and incomplete
picture.

Georgian, Armenian, and as they exist, Albanian 20 written sources are much more than
monuments to particular ethno-linguistic groups and, more precisely, to certain social
constituencies within those groups: all belong to a regionally-integrated corpus of Christian
Caucasian evidence. 21 Narrative, epigraphic, and numismatic sources all attest the regions
deep integration into the Iranian Commonwealth, a union whose roots extend back to
Achaemenid times. Caucasias membership in the Iranian socio-cultural world stretched across
the Hellenistic, Parthian, and Sasanian epochs, and persisted in still-evolving forms under
Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Safavid, Ottoman, and Russian hegemony. Significantly, the
Christianization of the lands immediately south of the Caucasus Mountains did not unravel the
Irano-Caucasian bond.

The protracted Christianization of Caucasias three kingdoms commenced in the early

Sasanian period and continued through the end of the empire. In the fifth century, less than a
hundred years after the baptism of the Kartvelian King Mirian, the earliest specimens of
original Georgian writing were produced. These comprehend several ecclesiastical inscriptions
and at least one extant original narrative. Because the first Georgian scriptthe majuscule
asomtavruliwas created expressly for consolidating and expanding Christianity (translated
Gospels are among the oldest Georgian literary works), 22 it is not surprising that the initial
Georgian-language texts are religious in origin, content, and purpose. 23 Insofar as full-fledged
narratives are concerned, from the second half of the fifth century we possess one and
conceivably two martyrdom tales: The Passion of uanik by the priest Iakob Curtaveli (Jacob of
Tsurtavi); and the concise Passion of the Children of Kolay, whose date has proven elusive owing
to its generic quality. 24 Another passio devoted to the Christianized Iranian Gwrobandak-
Evstati belongs to the start of the seventh century although most specialists in Georgia

17
The Armenian Matoc (Mesrop) probably played a salient role in this pan-Caucasian project. For Koriwns vita
of Matoc, see Koriwn (1941), French translation by Jean-Pierre Mah in Koriwn (2005-2007). But existing
manuscripts of this vita post-date the Armenians Council of Duin III (at which time the leadership of the
Kartvelian Church was excommunicated) and therefore may have been manipulated to reflect later political and
theological positions.
18
On the fundamental unity of Christian Caucasia, see the works of Toumanoff, especially Toumanoff (1963).
19
Starting in the ninth/tenth century Georgian sources describe the illuminatrix Nino as a Cappadocian.
20
Gippert et al. (2008). Extant specimens of Albanian writing are exceptionally rare. For Albanians recent
decipherment, see Aleksie (2003).
21
For medieval Armenian and Georgian historiographical literature, see Thomson (1996). On the urgency of a
pan-Caucasian approach, see Garsoan and Martin-Hisard (2012) and Rapp (2006).
22
Childers (2013) for our current knowledge of the Georgian New Testament.
23
Gamqrelie (1989) for the Christian background of the Georgian script. Cf. ilavili (2004).
24
Reliable English translations of these Georgian vitae, including the vita of Gwrobandak-Evstati, are presented
in Lang (1976). For a recent overview of Georgian hagiography, see Martin-Hisard (2011).
advocate a date in the sixth century. 25 The son of a Zoroastrian mowbed, Gwrobandak seems to
have been initiated into a Manichaean congregation in the northwestern Iranian city of
Ganzak ahead of his migration to Kartli. In the capital Mcxeta (Mtskheta) he converted to
Christianity and took the name Evstati (Eustathius). Following complaints registered by
Mcxetas Iranian (and Zoroastrian) expatriate community, Gwrobandak-Evstati was executed
by local Sasanian officials and thus joined the ranks of the Iranian martyrs. 26

Figure 2. Georgian asomtavruli inscriptions at Kumurdo, Javaxeti.

For this churchs important early medieval inscriptions, see Silogava (1994b).

According to the conventional scholarly view, the earliest surviving Georgian

historiographical texts, histories if you will, were not composed until the seventh and eighth
centuriesand especially from the eleventh century. This contrasts with the neighboring
Armenians who produced historiographical literature as early as the fifth century. However, in
a forthcoming monograph I argue that a lost Georgian history was put into writing already
towards the end of the sixth century. Its narrative mimicked but did not translate or slavishly
adapt the pre-Islamic Iranian epic known as the Xwady-nmag. 27 This lost Georgian tradition, a
fusion of epic and history typical of the Iranian world, 28 served as a main source for at least two
anonymous Georgian histories that attained their received forms around the year 800: The Life
of Vaxtang Gorgasali and The Life of the Kartvelian Kings. The latter is a foundational tale
commemorating the pre-Christian Kartvelian experience from remote ethnogenesis down to
the Christianization of the monarchy in the fourth century. Both texts are remarkable for their
ubiquitous application of Iranian and Iranian-like imagery.

25
Rapp (forthcoming) for the seventh-century date.
26
Mgaloblishvili and Rapp (2011) explores Gwrobandak-Evstatis Manichaean connection.
27
Rapp (forthcoming).
28
On the interface of epic and history in the Iranian world, see now Shayegan (2012).
In order to better grasp the syncretic nature of Georgian literary sources and to illuminate the
wide range of connections drawing together Caucasia and Iran, let us consider a series of
Kartvelian coins minted in the late sixth and early seventh century. 29 Its visual program is
predicated upon the cross-cultural mechanism at the heart of contemporaneous Georgian
literature. The majority of extant Kartvelo-Sasanian (or Ibero-Sassanid) coins are drachms
bearing the simplified image of han h Hormizd IV (r. 579-590). 30 The specimen pictured
here, struck in the name of the Kartvelian presiding prince Stepanos I (var. Stepanoz; r. 590-
627), purposefully synthesizes a triad of legitimizing motifs: first, the expected late Sasanian
numismatic formula, including a (crude) depiction of the king of kings; second, a short
Georgian asomtavruli inscription identifying the Kartvelian ruler and strategically placed in
the field around the han hs likeness; and, third, the transformation of the standard
Sasanian image of a Zoroastrian altar and its attendants into an abstract design surmounted by
a Christian cross.

Figures 3 and 4. Kartvelo-Sasanian drachm with obverse Georgian inscription

stefanos, STEPANOS. At some point the object may have been used as a necklace; the
placement of holes suggest the obverse image of the han h would have been displayed.
Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, #33148. Photograph courtesy of the Georgian National Museum.

These locally-minted coins are reminders that the Sasanians were the imperial power
possessing the greatest capability to intervene in eastern Georgian affairs. Sasanians and not
the Romans suppressed an already debilitated Kartvelian royal authority towards the end of
the sixth century. The Kartvelo-Sasanian coinage issued under presiding principatethe
political institution that rose to prominence shortly after the start of the interregnum ca. 580
also signals the endurance of the Irano-Caucasian nexus despite 250 years of open
Christianization. But Christianitys triumph in Caucasia injected a new strain of diversity into
29
Other aspects of Sasanian history are revealed by abundant remnants of Georgian material culture, including
sumptuous silver bowls, for which see Harper and Meyers (1981), 24-25 et sqq., and Henning (1961).
30
See now Akopian (2011).
the Iranian Commonwealth and in a sector of that enterprise dominated by non-Iranian
peoples, though ones living side-by-side with significant colonies of acculturated lite
Parthians.

The extent and pattern of Sasanian coinage found in Georgia are also worth emphasizing.
Hundreds of Sasanian coins minted by the imperial authority have been found in Kartli and
adjacent Georgian districts. The oldest derive from the third century; examples from the fifth
and sixth centuries are especially common. Although Late Roman coinage is represented from
the start of the fifth century, numismatist Medea Tsotselia surmises that they were likely of
minor importance and Sasanian silver drachms dominated 31 Like their Parthian
counterparts, Sasanian coins are concentrated primarily along the Kura River (Mtkuari, mod.
Mtkvari), Kartlis defining geographical feature and its chief communications and
transportation corridor. Along the Kura and its tributaries were located many of eastern
Georgias most important cities and settlements, including the capitals Mcxetawith its
citadel Armazis-cixe (i.e., the fortress of Armazi/Ahura Mazd) 32and, from the sixth century,
Tpilisi (modern Tbilisi). 33

Sasanian coins discovered on Georgian territory overwhelmingly belong to hoards. For

example, in 1970 a small cache of Sasanian drachms was unearthed at Bolnisi in southern
Kartli, one of the centers of Somxiti-Gugark, the bicultural Armeno-Georgian marchlands.
The Bolnisi hoard consists of twenty-eight Sasanian drachms struck under Prz (r. 459-484);
dated specimens derive from the period 464-466. 34 These coins were minted and circulated
while Vaxtang Gorgasali occupied the Kartvelian throne. Considerably larger is the Citeli-
cqaro (Tsiteli-tskaro) hoard from southeastern Georgia. Its 1268 Sasanian coins are dispersed
among the reigns of Xusr I (531-579, 96 specimens), Hormizd IV (579-590, 743 specimens), and
Xusr II (590 and 591-628, 429 specimens). A testament to the balance of imperial power, the
Citeli-cqaro hoard contains only ten Romano-Byzantine coins, all of which bear the name
Heraclius (r. 610-641). 35 Of no small importance is the fact that Heraclius himself would pass
through eastern Georgia during the Byzantine campaign against the Sasanians in the 620s, an
episode magnifying Constantinoples influence and hardening the Kartvelian Churchs
nascent Chalcedonian affiliation. 36

Georgias Sasanian coins display a variety of mint marks, including Frs, Media, Kermn, and
Xwarsn (Khursn). Although no mint mark has been definitely identified with eastern
Georgia, Stefan Heidemann has recently associated WLC with Kartli. 37 This would seem to be
the correct identification because wlwcn and wyrn (i.e., Wiruzn, Wrun, Wirn, Wirn,
Wrwan, etc.), the Middle Iranian terms for Iberia/Kartli, are encountered in several Sasanian
epigraphical monuments including the Great Inscription of pr I carved on the Kaba-ye

31
Tsotselia (2003: 23). See also Tsotselia (1981).
32
On Mcxeta, see Tsetskhladze (2006/2007). The Kartvelian deity Armazi is a syncretic manifestation of Ahura
Mazd.
33
Tradition credits Vaxtang Gorgasali with Tpilisis foundation. The remains of a Zoroastrian temple in this city
are described in Daryaee (2008b).
34
Abramishvili and Tsotselia (1977). The Bolnisi coins comprehend a variety of mint marks, for which see
further.
35
Dzhalagania (1980: 5-6 and 35) and Dzhalagania (1982: 129 and 132). See also Tsotselia (2002).
36
Rapp (2003) and Kaegi (2003: 141-147).
37
Heidemann (2013: 415-418). I wish to thank Dr. Daryaee for this reference.
Zardot at Naq-e Rostam in the mid-third century. 38 Thus, both standard and modified
Sasanian coinage was probably produced in eastern Georgia.

Figure 5. Fifth-century basilica of Bolnisi Sioni.

The smaller Bolnisi hoard was discovered not far from one of the most ancient Georgian
churches: the fifth-century Bolnisi Sioni (Zion). The interior and exterior decorations of this
basilica typify a visual culture shared with the Iranian world to which the whole of late antique
Caucasia belonged. The carved head of a sacred bull still adorns the interior wall of the
churchs baptistry. Abstract exterior carving likewise evinces an Iranian connection. But the
most dramatic evidence of the enduring Irano-Caucasian web 39 is an exterior inscription that is
also the oldest dated specimen of Georgian writing.

38
E.g., KZ, 2 (1999: 22-23). See also KZ (1984: 371).
39
McNeill and McNeill (2003) for large-scale interactive webs.
 Figure 6. Sculpture of a sacred bull, baptistry of Bolnisi Sioni.

The damaged asomtavruli inscription commemorates the basilicas foundation:

[With the help of the H]oly Trinity, the foundation of this holy
church was laid in the twentieth [y]ear of [the reign of] King
Pero[z] and was completed fifteen years [later, i.e., ca. 493 AD]. 40
God will have mercy on whoever worships here. And God will also
have me[r]cy on whoever will pray for Bishop Davit, the builder
of this holy church. [Amen.] 41

King Peroz is han h Prz, in whose name were struck the coins of the aforementioned
Bolnisi hoard. 42

40
Alternately, fifteen years into the reign of Kavd.
41
Silogava (1994a: 36), including the alternate reading supplied in the preceding footnote. See also Kartuli
carcerebis korpusi (1980: 64-66).
42
Chronology rules out that the inscriptions Peroz is the similarly named bidax of the Armeno-Kartvelian
marchlands, a contemporary of King Mirian.
Figure 7. Exterior sculpture, Bolnisi Sioni.

Figure 8. Exterior sculpture, Bolnisi Sioni.

Bolnisi Sionis foundational inscription and other Georgian epigraphical sources open a
valuable contemporaneous window onto Kartvelo-Iranian relations in the Sasanian period.
Yet appreciably more information is transmitted in the Georgian hagiographical and historical
texts composed between the fifth and the turn of the eighth/ninth century. The differences of
the two genres are significant. Late antique hagiographies, especially passions, are textual
advocates of Christianity and sometimes portray specific local representatives of the Sasanians
as menaces. Often, however, they treat the Sasanian Empire and its agents with copious
indifference. In contrast, the oldest historiographies, with their royal and political interests,
openly admire Sasanian Iran and sometimes envision Zoroastrianism as an upright faith. Such
admiration is poignantly articulated in The Life of Vaxtang. During a purported Kartvelo-
Sasanian campaign in exotic far-away lands, 43 Vaxtang prepared to engage the king of the
Sinds in single combat. In a prefatory verbal spar, Vaxtang is made to proclaim:

I came here in person to succor the Iranians. This was indeed

right, first because of [our shared] kinship, and then for this
purpose, that although the Iranians are not in the true religion
yet they know God the Creator and believe in the spiritual life.
But you [Sinds] are completely ignorant of God and do not
understand, like horses and mules. 44

Vaxtangs justification of Kartlis close association with Iran resonates biologically and
religiously. First, the Christian monarch acknowledges the genetic bond of the Sasanians and
his dynasty, the Xuasroianni (Chosroids), whose original core members were actually
acculturating Parthian Mihrnids. Second, Vaxtang stresses the sharing of a single Creator
deity by Christians and Zoroastrians. Elsewhere Vaxtang confidently extols Iran as
(kueqanay gmirta da goliatta), the land of heroes and giants. 45 In
Georgian literature such words are never proffered on behalf of the Roman and Byzantine
empires. The full impact of this declaration is discernable only when it is juxtaposed with the
Iranian-like models of heroism and kingship featured in the earliest (pre-Bagratid) Georgian
historiographical works. 46

43
This alleged episode took place before Vaxtangs final battle against the Sasanians.
44
The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955: 1936-10), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 209).
45
The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955: 1709).
46
Rapp (2001) and infra.
 Figure 9. Post-Soviet fresco of Vaxtang Gorgasali, Martqopi monastery.

A holistic evaluation of the Georgian narrative sources for the Sasanian world requires a two-
tiered approach. 47 First and perhaps less obvious is how the texts have been written. Literary
sources are textual monuments and must be treated as such. Put another way: literature is
produced under particular circumstances for specific audiences and by specific constituencies.
Identifying the author, intended and actual audiences, textual architecture, and contextand
a texts transmission across time in manuscript recensions and individual redactionsare at
least as important as what a narrative source literally says. Accordingly, Georgian literature
has its own history and this history says something important about the people who produced,
promoted, and exploited it.

Regardless of genre, early Georgian narratives ranging from biblical translations to original
historiographies deploy a vocabulary studded with terms adapted from and shared with
Iranian languages. 48 Parthian and Middle Persian are the most prominent, but other Iranian
languages are represented, including East Iranian. 49 From Hellenistic through medieval times,
the brightest indication of the intimate linguistic bond is the lite onomasticon. Proper names
are a clear gauge of the active membership of eastern Georgia and the whole of Caucasia in the
Iranian Commonwealth. Simultaneously, they are a reminder of the sharp socio-cultural
differences between Caucasia and the Mediterranean world dominated by the Romano-
Byzantine Empire. In the Sasanian epoch the following monarchs sat upon the eastern
Georgian throne:
47
Deeper analysis in Rapp (2003, 2009, and 1997).
48
Extensively cataloged in Andronikavili (1966).
49
East Iranian influences reflect, at least in part, the encounter of sedentary and highland pastoralist
communities in Caucasia. Thus, Iranian linguistic influence upon eastern Georgia did not always radiate directly
from the Iranian imperial center.
 216-234 VAE () *Waak (?) 50

234-249 BAKUR I () Pakur < MIr. bagpuhr, son of a god; 51 Arm.

Bakur; see also below

249-265 MIRDAT II () Mehrdd, created by Mehr/Mihr; Arm.

Mihrdat

265-284 ASPAGUR I () possibly < OIr. *asparauka-, having bright

horses 52

284-361 MIRIAN III () var. Mirean; Mihrn; cf. Mirdat; 53Arm.

Mihran 54

363-380 BAKAR I () Bahkar; Arm. Bakur; 55 see also above

365-380 MIRDAT III () see above

380-394 VARAZ- BAKAR II Varz-Pakur < MPers. varz, wild boar;

(-) Arm. Varaz

394-406 TRDAT () Trdd, created by Tr; Arm. Trdat 56

406-409 PARSMAN IV Farsamana, but the Iranian background is

() unclearpar- is probably related to
xwarrah via an older Iranian farnah; Arm.
Parsman

409-411 MIRDAT IV () see above

411-435 ARIL () probably an indigenous Iranic name, but

the etymology is indeterminate 57

435-447 MIRDAT V () Miradta, given by Mira [Mithra];

Arm. Mihrdat

50
Andronikavili (1966: 466-467). I wish to thank Dr. Roland Bielmeier for his assistance with these etymologies.
51
The Epic Histories (1989: 363-364).
52
Abaev (1949: 157 and 177). See also Schmitt (1985: 13-38, especially 20-23).
53
The Life of Vaxtang obliquely equates Mirdat with Mirian through the name of Vaxtangs sister Mirianduxt,
literally daughter of Mirian. Their father was Mirdat V.
54
Movss Xorenaci (1913: 230-234), II.85-86.
55
Movss Xorenaci (1913: 32817), III.54.
56
See Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 416-417) and xeidze (1987: 95-105, 98).
57
Arjil in Movss Xorenaci (1913: 3413), III.60.
 447-522 VAXTANG I () cf. Vrrana, Vahrm; var. MPers.
Vrangi; Arm. Vahram

522-534 DAI () Drhr

534-547 BAKUR II () see above

547-561 PARSMAN V () see above

561-? PARSMAN VI () see above

?-580 BAKUR III () see above

Early Kartvelian historians occasionally link Georgian and Iranian royal names. About the
first monarch of Kartli to embrace Christianity, The Life of the Kings conveys:

[he] was called Mihran in Persian, but Mirian in Georgian. 58

Mirian/Mihran (sometimes called Mirean) was a recently-arrived Parthian Mihrnid prince

who assumed the Kartvelian throne. The hybrid dynasty he established is known locally as
the Chosroids. But the received tradition obfuscates this background. Thus, the same text
endows Mirian with an exaggerated lineage, portraying him as the first-born son of an
unspecified han ah so as to adorn Kartlis royalty with Sasanian xwarrah. 59 To strengthen
their claim upon legitimizing xwarrah kayn, Kartvelian Chosroids insisted that the blood of
Sasanian han ahs flowed through their veins. For its part, The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali
explains both the name and sobriquet of its hero:

Four years later Sagduxt [the daughter of the Sasanian viceroy of

neighboring Albania] conceived and bore a son, who was called
Varan-Xuasro-Tang in Persian, but he was called Vaxtang in
Georgian. 60

58
The Life of the Kings (1955: 648), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 75).
59
There is no reason to doubt the inferred/reported intermarriages of Caucasian Parthians (especially Arsacids
and Mihrnids) and Sasanians. But Mirians identification as the first-born son of a han ah must not be accepted
uncritically.
60
The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955: 1435-7), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 157-
158).
Embedded in a subsequent account of a battle pitting Kartvelians against Iranians is an
explanation of Gorgasali:

Now King Vaxtang had had made a helmet of gold; on the front it
had a wolf, and on the back a lion. On whichever side the
Kartvelians were being defeated, there he would advance and
destroy the Iranian troops, like a lion [slaying] onagers. Therefore
the Iranians were quite unable to fight him because they
recognized him, on whom the wolf and lion were inscribed. And
when they saw Vaxtang they would say: Dur az Gorgasal, which
means: Flee the head of the wolf. Hence King Vaxtang was
named Gorgasali. 61

The robust linguistic connection is by no means confined to proper names. Consider these
representative nouns and adjectives from the hagiographical celebrations of uanik,
Gwrobandak-Evstati, and the nine children of Kolay. These words typify the extensive
assemblage of Iranian loans and terms of a shared origin commonly used in the oldest
specimens of Georgian literature:

AMBORI () kiss < Parth. *hamb; Geo. via Arm. hamboyr 62

AMBOXI () mob < Parth. hambh; Arm. ambox 63

ATROANI () corrupted artoani, [Zoroastrian] fire temple;

Arm. atruan; both probably < Parth. tur-, fire
(cf. MPers. tax) 64

AXOVANI () heroic < MIr. axw axwn, being, existence,

world; Arm. axoyan 65

61
The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955: 1809-14), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 197). I
wish to thank Dr. Roland Bielmeier for his assistance with these etymologies.
62
Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 4125), cap. 6. See also Andronikavili (1966: 222-223), Schmitt (1986: 450), and Bielmeier
(1994: 34).
63
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 2021 and 213), cap. 9. See also Schmitt (1986: 451 and 454) and
Andronikavili (1966: 223-224).
64
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 1226), cap. 2, a Georgian hapax. The Armenian witness uses the
expected atruan: Armenian Vita uanik, cap. 2 = Hakob Curtaweci (1938: 512). See also Andronikavili (1966: 225),
Russell (1987: 482-483), and Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 511), Atruan.
65
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 2725), cap. 17. See also Andronikavili (1966: 288-289), MacKenzie
(1986: 14), and Bedrossian (1875-1879, repr. 1985: 5).
 BAGINI () temple, sanctuary < Parth. ba, MPers. bay, god,
lord; Arm. bagin 66

DIASPANI () messenger, envoy < MIr. bayaspn, [royal]

messenger, envoy; cf. Parth. biaspn; Arm. despan 67

EMAKI () devil, Satan < MPers. xm, anger, Wrath 68

KERPI () idol < MIr. kirb, body, form; Arm. kerp 69

MARZAPANI () marzbn, MPers. marz[o]bn < marz, frontier,

border, district, march + suffix -bn, keeper,
guard; Arm. marzpan 70

MOGWI () mowbed, magus, Mazdean/Zoroastrian priest,

and the derivative < MPers. mag, an uncertain
form; Arm. mog 71

NETARI () blessed < MPers. nttar, better, best 72

PITIAXI () toparch, marcher-lord, viceroy; MPers. bidax;

Arm. bdeax 73

SPASPETI () general, commander < Parth. sppat, MPers.

sphbed; Arm. sparapet 74

66
Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 3532 and 361), cap. 4. For the term, see Andronikavili (1966: 225-226), MacKenzie (1986:
17), and Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 513-514), Bagin. According to Garsoan, the Armenian renders a
[p]agan altar or shrine bearing a cult image, as opposed to a fire altar or atruan or the Christian altar
67
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 1213), cap. 2. See also Bielmeier (2011), MacKenzie (1986: 17), and
Andronikavili (1966: 231).
68
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 1918), cap. 8, and Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 3315 and 409,12,14-15), caps. 3
and 6. See also Andronikavili (1966: 315-317), MacKenzie (1986: 94), and Bielmeier (1985: 34-35).
69
Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 386), cap. 5, and Vita Children of Kolay (1963/1964: 1855), a vague allusion to local idols.
See also MacKenzie (1986: 51), Andronikavili (1966: 334-335), Schmitt (1986: 452), and Bielmeier (1990: 39-40).
70
E.g., Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 301-2, 329,23,27, 3313,19-20,21,25,33, and 341), caps. 1, 2, and 3. See also MacKenzie (1986: 54),
Andronikavili (1966: 340-341), Schmitt (1986: 451), and Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 544), Marzpan.
71
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 231), cap. 11; and Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 303, 3125, and 3525), caps. 1, 2,
and 4. For mogobay/moguebay, see Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 233), cap. 11, Vita Evstati (1963/1964:
3126, and 3526,29), caps. 2 and 4. See also Gignoux (1972: 57), Bielmeier (1990: 34), Schmitt (1986: 448), and
Andronikavili (1966: 341-342).
72
See, e.g. Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964), caps. 2, 3, 4, et sqq., and Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 3014,15,
318,19,21, 326,13, 334,17,22, and 3412), caps. 2 and 3. See also Andronikavili (1966: 355-358).
73
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964), caps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 16, and Vita Evstati (1963/1964: 343),
cap. 3. See also MacKenzie (1986: 18), Andronikavili (1966: 362-364), Schmitt (1986: 450), and Garsoan in The Epic
Histories (1989: 516-517), Bdea.
74
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 118), cap. 1. See also MacKenzie (1986: 75), Bielmeier (1990: 433),
Andronikavili (1966: 371-372), Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 560-561), Sparapet/Sparapetutiwn, and
Schmitt (1986: 449).
 TOMI () family, tribe, people < MPers. thm, seed,
family, Parth. txm > Arm. tohm 75

Hundreds of such words occur in Caucasian languages, especially Georgian and Armenian. 76
With respect to Georgian, almost all pre-Islamic examples involve Parthian, Middle Persian,
and more broadly, Middle Iranian languages. At present we have no direct proof of earlier
linguistic ties. But I have no doubt that associations with Old Persian and the like will someday
be exposed, especially as Caucasians entertained close relations with Iran already in the
Achaemenid period. 77 For example, Bruno Jacobs has verified the incorporation of southern
Caucasia into the system of Achaemenid satrapies. 78 Striking Achaemenid-like halls, perhaps
palaces/residences, have been found in all three Caucasian republics, including an impressive
building at Gumbati in Kaxeti. Remarkably, the architectural scheme of Gumbatis hall
resembles structures in Persepolis itself. 79 Given its similarity to official buildings in the core of
the empire, we must wonder whether Gumbatis hall was associated with an Achaemenid
satrap. Or might Gumbati have been the residence of Achaemenid exiles following Alexanders
conquest? Such explanations may help account for the enigmatic Aryan Kartli (Arian Kartli),
Iranian Kartli, attested in the medieval ecclesiastical corpus Mokcevay kartlisay. 80 For the
time being, however, the linkage of Achaemenid expatriates to Aryan Kartli remains
speculative. At the very least Gumbati helps to establish the antiquity of Irano-Caucasian
interplay.

Now that we have explored how received texts were written, with their mimicking of Iranian
traditions and incorporation of Iranian vocabulary, we should turn to the second technique of
assessing Georgian narratives: an interrogation of what they literally say. There is, as we have
seen, a pronounced divergence in the contents and interests of early Georgian saints lives, on
the one hand, and those of historiographical works, on the other. The former tend to treat Iran
and all things Iranian with ambivalence, though particular Sasanian officials headquartered in
Caucasia might be censured for actions against specific Christians. Foremost among these
imperial administrators are marzbns and commandants of major fortresses (cixistavis in
Georgian). 81 Significantly, surviving Georgian hagiographies deriving from the Sasanian age do
not convey any systematized Zoroastrian persecutions against Caucasias Christians. 82 The
deaths of early Georgian holy men, women, and children are never blamed on Zoroastrian
priests.

75
Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964: 1714), cap. 6. See also MacKenzie (1986: 83), Andronikavili (1966: 379-
380), Schmitt (1986: 452), and Garsoan in The Epic Histories (1989: 565), Tohm.
76
See Gippert (1993).
77
For an overview, see Tsetskhladze (2003).
78
E.g., Jacobs (1994) and Jacobs (2000).
79
Knau (2000) and Knauss (2001).
80
Rapp (2003: 250-252), including a translation of the relevant sources (pp. 258-259). Here Georgian Arian
transcribes Aryan and should not be misread as a reference to the Arian heresy.
81
On marzbns, see Gignoux (1984).
82
Cf. occasional allusions to religious persecution in historiographical texts, e.g., at the start of The Life of
Vaxtang.
The oldest surviving Georgian historiographies, three narratives that attained their received
conditions at the turn of the eighth/ninth century, project a rather different picture or, rather,
they fill a different space of the canvas. 83 The Life of the Kings, The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali, and its
continuation credited to Juaner Juaneriani (there is good reason to reject this authorship) 84
were written just ahead of the Bagratid revival of the Kartvelian monarchy at the end of the
ninth century. These pre-Bagratid literary monuments situate the history of Caucasia within
that of Iran and not Rome/Byzantium. This is not simply an issue of imperial hegemony.
Rather, the three compositions describe the structure of Kartvelian society as fundamentally
Iranian or, more precisely, Iranic (Iranian-like and syncretic, cf. Hellenistic). Even more
conspicuous is the portrayal of Kartvelian kingship in Iranic terms over an extended period,
from its Hellenistic-era establishment to the Christianization of the crown beginning in the
early fourth century and for at least half a millennium more. Whereas these descriptions are
infused with historical data, realities, and values stretching back to Hellenistic if not late
Achaemenid times, the images reaching us show signs of having been shaped in the late
Sasanian era.

Early Georgian historiographical literature corroborates the close structural parallel of

Kartvelian and Iranian society under the Parthian Arsacids and Sasanians. It often implies
that the whole of southern Caucasiaespecially the kingdoms of Kartli, Armenia Major, and
Albaniashared an Iranic social pattern. Like Iran itself, Caucasias social landscape was
dominated by dynastic aristocratic families commanding great estates. 85 The most powerful
houses marshaled considerable human and material resources. Over these families stood three
dynastic monarchs whose power could be quite variable across space and time. In Late
Antiquity, the eastern Georgian king, mepe, was headquartered at the city of Mcxeta and then
at Tpilisi, just upriver on the Kura (Mtkuari, modern Mtkvari). In Armenia Major prominent
court positions were held hereditarily by powerful naxarar (nakharar) houses; 86 the same
situation must have prevailed among eastern Georgian eristavis and other high nobles,
although received Georgian sourceswith their narrow royalist perspectivetend to be
disappointingly vague on this point. Beyond doubt is the porosity of Caucasias borders. As a
rule, kingly and noble families were not neatly confined to the jurisdiction of a particular
realm. Acculturated Parthians played an important role in this regard, with assimilated
Arsacids and Mihrnids thriving in all three kingdoms. And we must stress the case of the
dynastic border lords of the bicultural Armeno-Georgian marchlands. Brandishing the title
pitiaxi in Georgian and bdeax in Armenian (both mimicking Middle Persian bidax), these
figures were of mixed Armenian, Kartvelian, and Parthian ancestry. Some wielded a great
deal of autonomy and a few boldly adorned themselves with royal status. Starting in the fourth
century, a dynasty of pitiaxis nominally owing its allegiance to Mcxeta was derived from the
Parthian Mihrnids. 87

83
Though it has some important historiographical features, the short seventh-century Conversion of Kartli is
fundamentally a religious composition in structure and purpose. For the text, see Rapp and Crego (2006).
84
Rapp (2003: 197-242).
85
See especially the publications of Cyril Toumanoff (e.g., 1963 and 1990).
86
See, e.g., Adontz (1970), Toumanoff (1963), and the collected essays in Garsoan (1985 and 1999).
87
There were also imperialSasanian, probably also Parthian Arsacidbidaxes stationed in Caucasia: Rapp
(forthcoming).
 Figure 10. Mcxeta (right), the ancient and late antique capital of Kartli, at the confluence
of the Kura and Aragvi Rivers. The citadel, Armazis-cixe (the fortress of Armazi), was situated
half way up the hill to the left where archaeological activity continues. View from Juari.

Figure 11. Six-columned hall, Armazis-cixe.

Numerous Caucasian families had a Parthian pedigree. The migrations of some Parthians,
including the branch of the Mihrnids represented by the future king Mirian, are explicitly
attested in the historical record. In Caucasia such Parthian migrs acculturated to the local
environment while strengthening and adding to its Iranian and syncretic Iranic dimensions. In
Late Antiquity acculturated branches of the Arsacids and Mihrnids occupied the thrones of all
three Caucasian realms. Frequently intermarrying with one another, these Partho-Caucasians
maintained political power for centuries after the consolidation of the Sasanians in Iran. This
circumstance along with their Christianization aggravated tensions between Ctseiphon and
the Caucasian kingdoms. But the experiences of acculturated Parthians (both individuals and
families) could differ drastically. Whereas the ruling Arsacids of Armenia Major were stripped
of royal status by the Sasanians in 428, eastern Georgias Chosroids retained power until their
suppression by the Sasanians around the year 580. As noted, the Chosroids were ruling
acculturated Mihrnids who had Christianized and married into the previous Parnavaziani
royal dynasty, which itself was biologically linked to a Caucasian branch of the Parthian
Arsacids.

The Parthian presence in Caucasia injected new potency into the Irano-Caucasian interface.
But, as we have seen, this connection can be legitimately traced back to Achaemenid times. It
would therefore be incorrect to brand all Iranian and Iranic features of Caucasian society as
introductions by Parthian newcomers. 88 This having been said, the cultural interplay of
Iranians and Caucasians grew dramatically as a result of the waves of Parthians taking up
residence in the isthmus.

Among other things, Parthian expatriates influenced regional models of royal authority and
conceptions of history. According to The Life of the Kings, a ca. 800 text built upon traditions
emanating from the end of Late Antiquity, the eastern Georgian monarchy was inaugurated by
a young Kartvelian aristocrat named Parnavaz following Alexanders destruction of
Achaemenid Persia. 89 Parnavazs received description is saturated with legend, to be sure, but
the manner in which the first king is depicted is of enormous historical importance. The name
Parnavazwhich is a very old one in the Kartvelian onomasticondemonstrates the early
Kartvelian monarchys claim upon xwarrah, the divine radiance and glory emblazoning
legitimate kings in the Iranian world. Early Georgian historiographies preserve several names
predicated upon the anlaut par- (-), including Parnavaz, Parsman, and Parnajob. These
sources report a kings possession or loss of didebay, greatness, glory, the Old Georgian
equivalent of xwarrah. The Georgian term sue (modern sve), fortune, destiny, is also used in
this context.

Given their association with the inception of Kartvelian political life, it is hardly surprising
that The Life of the Kings affords special attention to the pillars of Parnavazs royal legitimacy.
In a divinely-inspired dream Parnavaz is supposed to have anointed himself with the essence
of the Sun. 90 When his account is scrutinized from Iranian and Iranic perspectives, it is clear

88
Cf. Burney and Lang (1972: 204).
89
See especially The Life of the Kings (1955: 20-26), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996:
28-38).
90
The Life of the Kings (1955: 21), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 29-30). Cf. the self-
crowning of early Iranian kings, including Fardn, in Ferdowss hnma (2006: 28).
that Parnavaz is presented as a foundational king in the style of the Iranian epic. He is
credited, for example, with the creation of the Georgian script (an assertion lacking historical
basis) and with establishing a social organization predicated upon noble eristavi houses. 91 The
anonymous historian openly acknowledges:

In this fashion did Parnavaz order everything, imitating the

kingdom of the Iranians [i.e., Achaemenids]. 92

The portrayal of Parnavaz sets the historiographical tone for subsequent pre-Bagratid kings
even after the Christianization of the monarchy.

By the time the young Vaxtang Gorgasali ascended the throne in the mid-fifth century, the
eastern Georgian crown had been Christian for some twelve decades. Vaxtangs depiction
demonstrates, however, that Christianization did not displace the entrenched Iranic model of
Kartvelian kingship. Of all the Kartvelian monarchs since Parnavaz, Vaxtang is clothed in
the boldest Iranic colors. As presented, Vaxtangs devotion to Christianity is wholly compatible
with the Iranic dimensions of his political authority. Whats more, the two were combined in
creative ways. For instance, Vaxtang is made to be the direct descendant of the biblical Nimrod
(Nebroti) who early Georgian writers imagined to be the first king upon the Earth and an
Iranian. 93 Since the early fourth century, eastern Georgian kingship had been a Christian one.
And yet early Christian conceptions of Kartvelian royal authority had little to do with the
fourth-century model of Christian monarchy articulated by the Roman bishop Eusebius. The
Eusebian Theory had broad appeal and formed the basis of kingship not only in the Later
Roman and then Byzantine empires but throughout medieval Europe. However, ruling lites of
Christian eastern Georgialike Armenia Major and, it is worth noting, Axum in the Horn of
Africablazed their own (syncretic) political and ideological paths. Thus, pre-modern
Christian kings, especially those governing on the eastern and southern edges of the Romano-
Byzantine ecumene, did not always conceive of their authority in a Eusebian mold.

A pervasive element of late antique Kartvelian kingship (and the Georgian historiographical
works celebrating it) is the Iranic notion of the royal hero. As had been the case with his
predecessors, Vaxtang was sustained by a corps of heroic champions. Bumberazis, as they are
called in Old Georgian, were the most distinguished warriors in the kings service. First and
foremost, bumberazis engaged in hand-to-hand combat with rival champions ahead of all-out
conflict on the battlefield. Vaxtang not only commanded valiant bumberazis but he is
represented as a sort of super bumberazi. Several of Vaxtangs contests with enemy bumberazis
are afforded special treatment in his royal biography. The received literary image of the
bumberazis is reminiscent of the aswrn under Xusr I (r. 531-579). 94 Significantly, among the
honorifics accumulated by the aswrn was precisely mumbriz, a word mimicked by the

91
Cf. demons revealing the secret of writing to King Tahmures in Ferdowss hnma (2006: 5).
92
The Life of the Kings (1955: 25), English trans. by Thomson in Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 35).
93
For Nimrod in late antique and early medieval Georgian literature, see Rapp (2014). The subsequent Bagratids,
who selectively appropriated aspects of Byzantine society and in many ways undermined obvious Iranian/Iranian
trappings of the local royal image, adopted the biblical King-Prophet David as their ancestor. Cf. the Solomonids
of medieval Ethiopia.
94
Zakeri (1993: 68-87, 113-114, et sqq). See also Zakeri (1995).
earliest attested Georgian form: mumbarezi. 95 The received image of the Kartvelian hero-king
therefore assumed its received shape in the late Sasanian epoch.

This brings us back to Vaxtangs deathbed scene. It will be recalled that the dying king
reportedly decreed to his nobles: You, inhabitants of Kartli, remember my good deeds
because from my house you received eternal light, and I honored you, my kin, with temporal
glory [ , qorcielebrita didebita]... (emphasis added). As a
monarch who entertained a complicatedand not always a congenialrelationship with the
Christian Roman emperor, it was appropriate for Vaxtang to make a distinction, in certain
cases, between his inherent glory as an Iranic king and the glory imparted by his Christian
God. The qualification temporal is an unmistakable signal of the de-Zoroastrianized Iranic
xwarrah deemed to enshroud Christian Kartvelian monarchs.

Bolstered by the legitimacy of two great Eurasian traditions, the late antique Kartvelian king
was in an extraordinary position to shower his nobility with a hybrid glory that was both
Iranic and Christian. It would be incorrect, however, to say that Vaxtang was caught in an
interstitial chasm between two rival worlds or that he merely had a foot in each. Rather, the
cross-cultural Vaxtang actively and simultaneously engaged both worlds in a dynamic space
where these worlds mingled and were mediated: the cosmopolitan crossroads of Caucasia. 96
The Iranic threads of Kartvelian identity ultimately proved far more abundant and durable.
Centuries of Roman intervention and Christianization were not enough to thrust Caucasia
decisively and exclusively into the Romano-Byzantine sphere. Thus, for hundreds of years
after its royal conversion, and for the duration of Late Antiquity, eastern Georgias
membership in the Iranian Commonwealth was maintained and continued to evolve. 97

95
Anaseuli (Queen Anne = A) redaction of Kartlis cxovreba: Georgian National Centre of Manuscripts Q-795,
Tbilisi, pp. 10, 149, et sqq. Diplomatic edition: Kartlis cxovrebaAnaseuli (1942).
96
For Vaxtang as the mediator between Iran and Rome/Byzantium, see Rapp (1997: 421-423).
97
Rapp (2012.a-b). This observation may be extended to the whole of Caucasia.
GEORGIAN TRANSLITERATION

a s

b t

g w

d u

e p

v k

z (gh, )

t (sh)

i (ch)

k c (ts)

l (dz)

m c (ts)

n (ch)

y x (kh)

o q

p j (dzh)

(zh) h

r
BASIC TABLE OF LATE ANTIQUE GEORGIAN NARRATIVE SOURCES FOR
SASANIAN HISTORY*

Fifth century

Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik = The Passion of uanik

Fifth/sixth century

Vita Children Kolay = The Passion of the Nine Children of Kolay

Seventh century

Vita Evstati = The Martyrdom of Evstati

The Conversion of Kartli**
The Primary History of Kartli** (date uncertain)

Eighth/ninth century (especially ca. 790-813)

The Life of the Kartvelian Kings***

The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali***
Continuation by Pseudo-Juaner Juaneriani***

Ninth/tenth century

Vita Nino**/*** = The Life of Nino

Royal Lists I-III** (dates uncertain)

Eleventh century(?)

The Life of the Successors of Mirian***

* Hagiographies comprehensively revised/rewritten in the Bagratid era are excluded, e.g., the
vitae of Peter the Iberian, Raden, and the Thirteen Syrian Fathers.

** Texts incorporated into the medieval ecclesiastical corpus Mokcevay kartlisay. For an
overview and translation, see Lerner (2004); cf. Rapp (2003).

*** Texts incorporated into the medieval historiographical corpus Kartlis cxovreba.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Contemporary Textual Sources

Abulae, Ilia (1963/1964) veli kartuli agiograpiuli literaturis eglebi [Monuments of Old Georgian
hagiographical literature], vol. 1. Tbilisi.

The Epic Histories (1989) = The Epic Histories Attributed to Pawstos Buzand (Buzandaran
Patmutiwnk), trans. and comm. Nina G. Garsoan. Cambridge, MA.

Hakob Curtaweci (1938) Vkayabanutiwn uankay [Martyrdom of uanik], ed. Ilia Abulae.
Tpilisi. See also Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik.

Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (1963/1964) = Camebay cmidisa uanikisi dedoplisay [Passion of the
holy queen uanik], in Abulae (1963/1964: 11-29). Tbilisi. English translation: Lang (1976: 44-
56).

Kartlis cxovreba (1955) ed. S. Qauxivili, vol. 1. Tbilisi. English translation in Rewriting
Caucasian History (1996). Cf. Kartlis cxovreba (2008) general ed. R. Metreveli. Tbilisi. This new
edition has recently been translated into English: Kartlis Tskhovreba: A History of Georgia (Tbilisi,
2014). The 1955 and 2008 critical editions and supersede M.-F. Brosset, Histoire de la Gorgie
depuis lantiquit jusquau XIXe sicle, vol. 1 (St. Petersburg, 1849), based on the early modern
Vaxtangiseuli recension.

Kartlis cxovrebaAnaseuli (1942) = Kartlis cxovreba: ana dedopliseuli nusxa [Kartlis cxovreba:
the Queen Anne variant], ed. Simon Qauxivili. Tbilisi.

Kartuli carcerebis korpusi [Corpus of Georgian inscriptions] (1980) ed. N. oiavili, vol. 1.
Tbilisi.

Koriwn (1941) Vark Matoci [Life of Matoc], ed. M. Abeean. Erevan.

Koriwn (2005-2007) La Vie de Matoc, traduction annote, trans. Jean-Pierre Mah, Revue des
tudes armniennes n.s. 30, 59-97.

Lang, David Marshall (1976) Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints, rev. ed. Crestwood, NY.

The Life of the Kings (1955) = the first component of Cxorebay kartvelta mepeta in Kartlis
cxovreba (1955: 3-71). English translation by Thomson: Rewriting Caucasian History (1996: 2-84).

The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali (1955) = the first component of Cxorebay vaxtang gorgaslisa in
Kartlis cxovreba (1955: 139-20415). English translation by Thomson: Rewriting Caucasian History
(1996: 153-223).
Movss Xorenaci (1913) Patmutiwn Hayoc [History of the Armenians], eds. M. Abeean and S.
Yarutiwnean. Tiflis. English translation: Moses Khorenatsi (1978), History of the Armenians,
trans. and comm. Robert W. Thomson. Cambridge, MA.

Ps.-Juaner (1955) = Ps.-Juaner Juaneriani, the Continuation of The Life of Vaxtang Gorgasali, in
Kartlis cxovreba (1955: 20416-244). English translation by Thomson: Rewriting Caucasian History
(1996: 223-250).

Rewriting Caucasian History (1996) = English translation of Kartlis cxovrebas pre-Bagratid and
select Bagratid components by Robert W. Thomson, Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval
Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles, the original Georgian texts and the Armenian
adaptation. Oxford. Cf. the alternate English translation published in 2014: History of Georgia:
Kartlis Tskhovreba, general ed. R. Metreveli. Tbilisi.

Ferdows, hnma (2006) = Abolqasem Ferdowsi, Shahnameh: The Persian Book of Kings, trans.
Dick Davis. New York.

Silogava, Valeri (1994a) Bolnisis uvelesi kartuli carcerebi [Oldest Georgian inscriptions of
Bolnisi]. Tbilisi. With English summary.

Silogava, Valeri (1994b) Kumurdo taris epigrapika [Inscriptions of the Kumurdo Cathedral].
Tbilisi. With English summary.

KZ (1984) The Inscription of Shapur I at Naqsh-e Rustam in Fars, in Richard N. Frye, The
History of Ancient Iran, 371-373. Mnchen.

KZ (1999) Philip Huyse, Die dreisprachige Inschrift buhrs I. an der Kaba-i Zardut (KZ), 2 vols.,
Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum, pt. 3, vol. 1. London.

Vita Children of Kolay (1963/1964) = Camebay qrmata cmidatay ricxwt cxratay = Martwlobay
qrmata kolaeltay [Passion/martyrdom of the nine children of Kolay] in Abulae (1963/1964:
18328-185). English translation: Lang (1976: 40-43).

Vita Evstati (1963/1964) = Martwlobay da motminebay cmidisa evstati mcxetelisay [Martyrdom

and suffering of Evstati Mcxeteli] in Abulae (1963/1964: 30-45). English translation: Lang
(1976: 94-114).

Vita uaniksee Iakob Curtaveli, Vita uanik (Georgian version) and Hakob Curtaweci
(Armenian version).
Modern Studies

Abaev, V.I. (1949) Osetinskii iazyk i folklor [Ossetian language and folklore]. MoskvaLeningrad.

Abramishvili, T. and M.V. Tsotselia (1977) Klad sasanidskikh drakhm iz Bolnisi [Hoard of
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