Bagrat III (c. 960 – May 7, 1014), of the
GeorgianGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
Bagrationi dynasty, was
King of the AbkhaziansThe Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as Kingdom of Apkhazeti-Egrisi or the Kingdom of the Abkhazs refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians in 1008.- Historiographical...
from 978 on (as Bagrat II) and King of
Kings of the Georgians 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 generally known as a unified
Georgian monarchyThe history of Georgia began with the rise of the early Georgian states of Colchis and Iberia, which c. 1000 BC formed the Georgian civilization and achieved its renaissance and golden age in the twelfth through thirteenth centuries...
. Before Bagrat was crowned as the king, he had also reigned as a dynast in
KartliKartli 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...
from 976 to 978.
He is also known to have constructed a magnificent
cathedralThe Cathedral of the Dormition, or the Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral , is the 11th-century cathedral church in the city of Kutaisi, the region of Imereti, Georgia...
at
KutaisiKutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
, western Georgia, whose ruins is now a
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
.
Early life and rule in Kartli
Bagrat was born in about 960 to Gurgen, a
Bagrationi DynastyThe Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
prince from
KartliKartli 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...
, and his wife, Gurandukht, who was a daughter of the late king
George IIGeorge II was King of the Abkhazians from 916 A.D. until 960 A.D. His lengthy reign is regarded as a zenith of cultural flowering and political power of his realm....
of
AphkhazetiThe Kingdom of Abkhazia, also known as Kingdom of Apkhazeti-Egrisi or the Kingdom of the Abkhazs refers to an early medieval feudal state in the Caucasus which lasted from the 780s until being united, through dynastic succession, with the Kingdom of the Georgians in 1008.- Historiographical...
. Being still in his minority, Bagrat was adopted by his childless kinsman David III Kuropalates (990-1000), presiding prince of
TaoTao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...
/
TaykIn Armenian history writing, the term Tayk is often used as a pars pro toto for the historic northwest Armenian lands which are now located in north-eastern Turkey. In a narrower sense the term only refers to one province...
and the most powerful ruler in the
CaucasusThe Caucasus or Caucas is a geopolitical region between at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain ....
.
The Abkhazian Kingdom was then under the rule of
Theodosius III the BlindTheodosius III the Blind , was King of the Abkhazians from circa 975 to 978.He was a son of George II of Abkhazia, who sent Theodosius to be brought up at Constantinople. After his reigning brother Leon III died in 967, a rebel party of Meskhetian, Egrisian and Kartlian nobles put him as a rival...
, a weak and inauspicious king, who was Bagrat’s uncle by his mother’s side. The kingdom was engulfed into complete chaos and feudal warfare. Exploiting the situation, Prince Kwirike II of
KakhetiKakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabitant by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and mountain-range of Greater Caucasus to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the south, and the Georgian province of...
(939-976), which is now the easternmost region of
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
, raided Kartli, hitherto under the authority of the Abkhazian kings, and laid siege to its rock-hewn stronghold
UplistsikheUplistsikhe is an ancient rock-hewn town in eastern Georgia, some 10 kilometers east of the town of Gori, Shida Kartli....
. Ioane Marushis-dze, the energetic
eristaviEristavi was a Georgian feudal office, roughly equivalent to the Byzantine strategos and normally translated into English as "duke". In the Georgian aristocratic hierarchy, it was the title of the third rank of prince and governor of a large province...
(governor) of Kartli, urged, in 976,
David of TaoDavid III Kuropalates or David III the Great , also known as David II, was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid family of Tao/Tayk, a historic region in the Georgian–Armenian marchlands, from 966 until his murder in 1000...
to take control of the province or give it to Bagrat in hereditary possession. David responded vigorously and the Kakhetians had to withdraw to avoid the confrontation. David gave Kartli to Bagrat and installed
GurgenGurgen 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...
as his
regentA regent, from the Latin regens "reigning", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Thus, the common use is for an acting deputy governor....
. The Kakhetians quickly returned to the offensive and seized Bagrat and his parents. However, David promptly interfered and restored his stepson in Kartli.
King of the Abkhazians
In 978, Ioane Marushis-dze, aided by David, forced Theodosius of Abkhazia to abdicate the throne in favour of his nephew Bagrat. The latter left his mother, Gurandukht, to govern Kartli and proceeded to
KutaisiKutaisi is Georgia's second largest city and the capital of the western region of Imereti. It is 221 km to the west of Tbilisi.-Geography:...
to be crowned King of the Abkhazians. Disorder was still rampant in the kingdom, but Bagrat’s descend from both Bagratid and Abkhazian dynasties made him an acceptable choice for the nobles of the realm who were growing weary of internecine quarrels.
Within two years, Bagrat assumed full ruling powers. He proved an able ruler and succeeded in restoring law and order in his kingdom. While he was in Kutaisi, the aristocratic opposition of Kartli led by Kavtar Tbeli disregarded Gurandukht’s authority and ran their fiefdoms as semi-independent rulers. When Bagrat returned to Kartli to deal with this situation, the nobles offered him an armed resistance, but the king won the battle at Moghrisi, and forced the rebels into submission. Finally he directed his attention towards
KldekariKldekari was a duchy in the medieval Georgia. Ruled by a powerful dynasty of Baghvashi, the duchy existed from 876 to 1103 in the southern Kvemo Kartli province, and, despite its small size, created particular problems to the Bagrationi kings who sought to bring all Georgian lands into a single...
in Lower Kartli, whose duke
RatiThe Liparitids , also known as Baghuashi , were a noble house in medieval Georgia, with notable members from the 9th to 12th centuries and famed for their powerful resistance to the consolidation of the Bagratid royal authority in the Kingdom of Georgia...
continued to ignore the royal authority and ruled rather independently.
The preparations for this expedition, in 989, produced much confusion as David of Tao was misinformed about the true intentions of his stepson. Persuaded that the latter intended to remove and kill him, David launched a surprise attack and dispersed the forces led by Bagrat’s natural father, Gurgen, before the Abkhazian king himself could arrive. According to Georgian chronicles,
- "Bagrat then went [to David] alone, fell at his feet and swore that he was going against Rati. [David] believed that too and released him in peace".
After the reconciliation with his stepfather, Bagrat was finally able to receive fealty from Rati who abandoned his duchy at swordpoint and retired to his minor patrimony in Argveti, western Georgia. David was murdered by his nobles in 1000, and his possessions, according to the previous agreement, passed to the Byzantine Emperor
Basil IIBasil II, later surnamed the Bulgar-slayer , 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...
. Bagrat and Gurgen, this latter now reigning as
King of Kings of the Georgians in parts of the southwestern Kartlian lands (994-1008), met with Basil but, unable to prevent the annexation of David’s realm, were forced to recognize the new borders. On this occasion, Bagrat was bestowed with the
Byzantine titleThe Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. At the apex of the pyramid stood the Emperor, sole ruler and divinely ordained, but beneath him a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the administrative machinery...
of
kouropalates, and Gurgen with that of
magistros, actually the competing titles since the dignity conferred upon the son was more esteemed than that granted to the father. This was done by the emperor, as the Georgian chronicles relate, to turn Gurgen against Bagrat, but he seriously miscalculated:
- "as Gurgen was honest and veracious, and [Basil] could not incite the envy in his heart and [Gurgen] did not succumb to his [Basil’s] ploy."
Later the same year, Gurgen attempted to take David Kuropalates’ succession by force, but he had to retreat in the face of the Byzantine commander
Nikephoros OuranosNikephoros Ouranos was a high-ranking Byzantine official and general during the reign of Emperor Basil II. One of the emperor's closest associates, he was active in Europe in the wars against the Bulgarians, scoring a major victory at Spercheios, and against the Arabs in Syria, where he held...
,
duxDux is Latin for leader and later for Duke.During the Roman Republic, dux could refer to anyone who commanded troops, including foreign leaders, but was not a formal military rank...
of
AntiochAntioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River...
.
The unification
In 1008, Gurgen died, and Bagrat succeeded him as King of Kings of the Georgians, becoming thus the first king of a unified realm of Abkhazia and Kartli (in their broadest sense these two included
AbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. Since its declaration of independence from Georgia in 1991 during the Georgian–Abkhaz conflict, it is governed as the partially-recognized Republic of Abkhazia.Georgia considers Abkhazia part of its territory and has designated...
proper/Abasgia,
EgrisiEgrisi is a medieval Georgian name for the region and kingdom in the western part of modern-day Georgia, known to the Byzantine authors as Lazica and to Persians as Lazistan after the Laz tribe, which at some time dominated the local ruling élite.The kingdom flourished between the 6th century BC...
/
SamegreloMegrelia, Mingrelia or Samegrelo/Samargalo is a historic province in the western part of Georgia, formerly also known as Odishi.It is inhabited by the Mingrelians, an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians....
,
ImeretiImereti Province is a province in Georgia situated along the middle and upper reaches of the Rioni river...
,
SvanetiSvaneti or Svanetia is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, an ethnic subgroup of the Georgians.- Geography :...
,
RachaRacha is a highland area in western Georgia, located in the upper Rioni river valley and hemmed in by the Greater Caucasus mountains...
-
LechkhumiLechkhumi is a historic province in northwestern Georgia which comprises the area along the middle basin of the Rioni and Tskhenistskali and also the Lajanuri river valley. Now part of the Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti region, it corresponds roughly to the present day Tsageri district as well...
,
GuriaGuria is a region in Georgia, in the western part of the country, bordered by the eastern end of the Black Sea. The region has a population of 143,357 and Ozurgeti is a regional capital.- Geography :...
, Ajaria, Kartli proper, Hither Tao,
KlarjetiKlarjeti 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...
, Shavsheti,
MeskhetiMeskheti is in a mountainous area of Moschia and is a former province in southwestern Georgia. The ancient Georgian tribes of Meskhi and Mosiniks were the indigenous population of this region, identified by some authors with the Mushki known from 12th century BC Assyrian sources...
, and
JavakhetiJavakheti is a historical region of Georgia in the southeastern part of the country's Samtskhe-Javakheti province. Armenians form the ethnic majority in the region....
) what was to be henceforth known as
Sakartvelo – "all-Georgia".
After he had secured his patrimony, Bagrat proceeded to press a claim to the easternmost Georgian principality of
KakhetiKakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabitant by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and mountain-range of Greater Caucasus to the north, Azerbaijan to the east and the south, and the Georgian province of...
and annexed it in or around 1010, after two years of fighting and aggressive diplomacy. This formidable acquisition brought Bagrat’s realm to the neighbourhood of the
ShaddadidThe Shaddadids were a Kurdish dynasty who ruled in various parts of Armenia and Arran from 951-1199 A.D. They were established in Dvin. Through their long tenure in Armenia, they often intermarried with the Bagratuni royal family of Armenia....
emirateAn emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim Monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir .-As monarchies:The United Arab Emirates is a federal state that comprises seven federal...
of
ArranArran , also known as Aran, Ardhan , Al-Ran , Aghvank and Alvank , Ran-i or Caucasian Albania , was a geographical name used in ancient and medieval times to signify the territory which lies within the triangle of land, lowland in the east and mountainous in the west, formed by the...
in what is now
AzerbaijanAzerbaijan , formally the Republic of Azerbaijan , is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south...
, whose ruler al-Fadl I b. Muhammad (986-1031) raided Kakheti following its incorporation into Georgia. Bagrat drove back this incursion and, in alliance with the
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n king
Gagik IGagik I was king of the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia. He succeeded his brother Smbat II the Conqueror . Armenia reached its zenith during the reign of Gagik.-Rule:...
(989-1020), successfully campaigned against the Shaddadid city of
ShamkirShamkir is district in Azerbaijan. It settles is located in the north-west of the Azerbaijan Republic. The Shamkir district have been organized in 1930.-General information:-City and names of the big settlements:...
, levying a tribute upon it. Yet Bagrat’s foreign policy was generally peaceful and the king successfully manoeuvred to avoid the conflicts with both the Byzantine and Muslim neighbours even though Thither Tao remained in the Byzantine and
TbilisiThe 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...
in
the Arab handsThe 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...
.
Bagrat’s reign, a period of uttermost importance in the history of Georgia, brought about the final victory of the Georgian Bagratids in the centuries-long power struggles. Anxious to create more stable and centralized monarchy, Bagrat eliminated or at least diminished the autonomy of the dynastic princes. In his eyes, the most possible internal danger came from the
KlarjetiKlarjeti 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...
line of the Bagrationi, represented by the king’s cousins, Sumbat and Gurgen. Although seem to have acknowledged Bagrat’s authority, they continued to be styled as Kings, and Sovereigns of Klarjeti. To secure the succession to his son,
GiorgiGiorgi I , of the House of Bagrationi, was the king of Georgia from 1014 until his death in 1027. He spent most of his seven-year-long reign waging a bloody and fruitless territorial war with the Byzantine Empire.-Early reign:...
, Bagrat lured his cousins, on pretext of a reconciliatory meeting, to the Panaskerti Castle, and threw them in prison in 1010. Their children managed to escape to
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
, but Sumbat and Gurgen died in custody by 1012.
Bagrat was also known as a great promoter of Georgian Orthodox culture. Not only did he encourage learning and patronize the fine arts, but he built several churches and monasteries throughout his kingdom with the "
Bagrati CathedralThe Cathedral of the Dormition, or the Kutaisi Cathedral, more commonly known as Bagrati Cathedral , is the 11th-century cathedral church in the city of Kutaisi, the region of Imereti, Georgia...
" at Kutaisi,
Bedia CathedralBedia Cathedral is a medieval Georgian Orthodox cathedral located in Agubedia, in the Tkvarcheli district of Abkhazia.Bedia Cathedral was originally built at the close of the 10th century and consecrated in 999 on the behest of King Bagrat II of Abkhazia, who would go on to become King of the...
in Abkhazia, and
Nikortsminda CathedralNikortsminda Cathedral is a Georgian Orthodox Church, located in Nikortsminda, Racha region of Georgia.Nikortsminda was built in 1010-1014 during the reign of Bagrat III of Georgia and was repaired in 1634 by the King Bagrat III of Imereti. Three-storied bell-tower next to the Cathedral was built...
in Racha being the most important.
Bagrat III died in 1014 in the Panaskerti Castle in Tao. He was entombed in the previously mentioned Bedia Cathedral in today’s Abkhazia.
See also
- Byzantine-Georgian wars
The Byzantine-Georgian wars were a series conflicts fought during the 11th century and were mainly focused on several strategic districts in the Byzantine-Georgian-Armenian marchlands. Most of these lands were granted by Emperor Basil II to the Georgian courapalates David III of Tao in reward for...
- Divan of the Abkhazian Kings
The Divan of the Abkhazian Kings is a short medieval document composed in Georgian in the late 10th or early 11th century. It has come down to us in a 15th-century version. The text was first studied and published by the Georgian scholar Ekvtime Takaishvili...
- History of Georgia
The history of Georgia began with the rise of the early Georgian states of Colchis and Iberia, which c. 1000 BC formed the Georgian civilization and achieved its renaissance and golden age in the twelfth through thirteenth centuries...
- Tao-Klarjeti
Tao-Klarjeti is the term conventionally used in modern history writing to describe the historic south-western Georgian principalities, now forming part of north-eastern Turkey and divided among the provinces of Erzurum, Artvin, Ardahan and Kars...