Artaxias I of Iberia

Artaxias I, of the Artaxiad dynasty

Artaxiad dynasty of Iberia

The Artaxiads , a branch of the eponymous dynasty of Armenia, ruled Iberia from c. 90 BC to 30 AD. According to the medieval Georgian chronicles, they acquired the crown of Iberia after the Iberian nobles revolted against their king P’arnajom, of the Pharnabazid dynasty, and petitioned the king of...

, was a king of Iberia

Caucasian Iberia

Iberia , also known as Iveria , was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli , corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia...

 (modern-day Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

) from 90 to 78 BC. He is known exclusively from the medieval Georgian chronicles which gives his name as Arshak .

A son of the king of Armenia, purportedly of Artavasdes I

Artavasdes I of Armenia

Artavasdes I of Armenia was the son of Artaxias I and Queen Satenik....

 (r. c. 161-post 123 BC), he is reported to have been installed following the nobles’ revolt against the Iberian king P’arnajom of the Pharnabazid dynasty

Pharnabazid Dynasty

The Pharnabazid or P’arnavaziani is the name of the first dynasty of Georgian kings of Kartli preserved by the Georgian historical tradition. Their rule lasted, with intermissions, from the 3rd century BC to the 2nd century AD. The main male line is reported to have become extinct early on and...

. The rebels justified their choice by emphasizing that he was married to a Pharnabazid princess, probably a sister of P’arnajom. The account of his reign is remarkably short, stating only that his reign was without any major trouble and that he further fortified the city of Tsunda in 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,...

.