Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Archil the Martyr ( ka, არჩილი) was an 8th-century

Georgian Orthodox The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

Christian royal

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

of the eastern

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

region of Kakheti.

Life

Archilʼs biography is related in the medieval corpus of Georgian chronicles known as The Life of Kartli. One of its parts, the c. 800 history by Pseudo-Juansher, terminates with a brief account of Archilʼs tenure as prince, while another one – The Martyrdom of Archil, a brief text of uncertain age (between early 9th and late 11th centuries) inserted just after Ps.-Juansherʼs chronicle – narrowly focuses on Archilʼs martyrdom. Archil was a scion of the former royal dynasty of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

), the

Chosroid dynasty The Chosroid dynasty (a Latinization of ''Khosro anni'', ka, ხოსრო ��ანები), also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a dynasty of the kings and later the presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia from the 4 ...

and a son of Prince Stephen of Kakheti (r. 685-736). His rule coincided with the Arab conquests in Caucasia. The 735-737 expedition by Marwan ibn Muhammad forced Archil and his brother Mirian to flee to the west through Egrisi into

Abasgia Abasgia may refer to: *Region inhabited by ancient Abasgoi tribes *Kingdom of Abkhazia, 778–1008 *Kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, wa ...

where they joined the local dynast Leon I in the defense of

Anacopia New Athos or Akhali Atoni ( ka, ახალი ათონი, ''Akhali Atoni''; ab, Афон Ҿыц, ''Afon Ch'yts''; russian: Новый Афон; ''Novy Afon'', gr, Νέος Άθως, ''Neos Athos'') is a town in the Gudauta ''raion'' of ...

against the invading Arabs. Returning to Kakheti, Archil launched a program of reconstruction and

Christianization Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...

of his mountainous pagan subjects. The Georgian texts also relate the rise of the Georgian Bagratids, a future royal dynasty, during the time of Archil. Around 786, eastern Georgia was subjected to another Arab invasion, this time led by Khuzayma b. Khazim, who had been reconfirmed as viceroy of Arab-controlled Caucasia ( Armīniya) by the

caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

al-Hadi (r. 785-786). Archil, in an untenable situation, pleaded for peace. Khuzayma b. Khazim promised Archil gifts in return for his acceptance of Islam, but the prince refused and was condemned to prison. Then the viceroy was informed of Archil being a descendant of the Chosroid kings who allegedly knew the location of a treasure hidden by the

Byzantine emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

Heraclius while evacuating Caucasia in the 620s. Archil has been canonized by the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

which commemorates him on June 21 ( N.S. July 4).

Family

Archil was survived by two sons,

Juansher Juansher was the Mihranid prince of Caucasian Albania, ruling the principality from 637 to 669. He was the son and successor of Varaz Grigor (). During his reign, Juansher changed his allegiance thrice. He started out as a subject to the Sasan ...

and Iovane (John) and four daughters: Guarandukht, Mariam, Mirandukht and Shushan. Upon Archilʼs death, Iovane evacuated to Egrisi while Juansher remained in KakhetiRapp, pp. 474-5. and later married Princess Latavri of Tao-Klarjeti of the

Bagrationi dynasty The Bagrationi dynasty (; ) is a royal dynasty which reigned in Georgia from the Middle Ages until the early 19th century, being among the oldest extant Christian ruling dynasties in the world. In modern usage, the name of the dynasty is som ...

Notes

References

*Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'' *Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 394–95.

Washington DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

: Georgetown University Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Archil Of Kakheti 8th-century Christian saints 786 deaths Princes of Kakheti Saints of Georgia (country) 8th-century Christian martyrs 8th-century executions by the Umayyad Caliphate Executed people from Georgia (country) Year of birth unknown Chosroid dynasty People executed by decapitation Christians executed for refusing to convert to Islam