Aspacures II (or Varaz-Bakur I, ka, ვარაზ-ბაკურ I), of the Chosroid Dynasty, was the king ('' mepe'') of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

( Kartli, eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

) from c. 363 to 365. He was the second son of Mirian III of Iberia and Nana of Iberia. His name, recorded by the contemporaneous historian Ammianus Marcellinus (XXVII 12. 16), is evidently a Latinized rendition of Varaz-Bakur or Varaz-Bakar of the later, early medieval, Georgian chronicles. According to Ammianus, Aspacures was made king of Iberia by the

Sassanid The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...

King Shapur II after the overthrow of his nephew Sauromaces. His being described as "an impious man and a hater of the faith" by the Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroveli is significant in this regard: the term implied at that time

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

religious sympathies; and connote also his pro-Iranian political orientation. Leonti, indeed, then goes on to tell us of his becoming a Sassanid vassal. Cyril Toumanoff (1963), ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 460-461. Georgetown University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspacures 02 Of Iberia Chosroid kings of Iberia 4th-century monarchs in Asia 4th-century monarchs in Europe Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire Georgians from the Sasanian Empire