David II ( ka, დავით II) (died 937) was a member of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty of

Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to: * Tao-Klarjeti, part of Georgian historical region of Upper Kartli * Kingdom of Tao-Klarjeti, AD 888 to 1008 {{set index article Kingdom of Iberia Historical regions of Georgia (country) ...

and titular king (''

mepe ''Mepe'' (Old Georgian: ႫႴ; ka, მეფე ; ) is a royal title used to designate the Georgian monarch, whether it is referring to a king or a queen regnant. The title was originally a male ruling title. Etymology The word is derived from ...

'') 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 ...

from 923 until his death. The eldest son and ultimate successor of

Adarnase IV of Iberia Adarnase IV ( ka, ადარნასე IV) (died 923), or Adarnase II, was a Georgia (country), Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi dynasty who reigned in the late 9th and early 10th centuries. The son of the ''Kouropalates'' David I of Iberia, ...

as king of Iberia, David's control was limited to the duchies of

Queli Q'ueli ( ka, ყუელი) or Q'uelis-tsikhe (ყუელისციხე, "fortress of Q'ueli") was a medieval Georgian fortress atop the homonymous mountain of the Arsiani Range (Yalnızçam Dağları), now within the boundaries of Turke ...

Javakheti Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk (, ''Javakhk'')' is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Turkey's Ardahan ...

, and Lower Tao as the core lands of Inner Iberia (

Shida Kartli Shida Kartli ( ka, შიდა ქართლი, , ; "Inner Kartli") is a landlocked administrative region (''Mkhare'') in eastern Georgia. It comprises a central part of the historical-geographic province of Shida Kartli. With an area of , S ...

) were under the Abkhazian control. In spite of his royal title and unlike his father, David did not bear the traditional high

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

title of ''

curopalates ''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' (, from " he one incharge of the palace"). and anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the time of Emperor Justinian I to the Komnenian peri ...

'' which was bestowed by the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

upon David's younger brother

Ashot II Ashot II the Iron (; died 929) was king of Bagratid Armenia from 914 to 929. He was the son and successor of King Smbat I. His reign was filled with rebellions by vassals and pretenders to the throne, as well as foreign invasions, which Ashot fo ...

. As a result, David's influence and prestige were overshadowed by those of his younger brother, Ashot II. As evidenced by

Constantine Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

's ''

De Administrando Imperio (; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...

'', David only had the title of ''

magistros The (Latin; ; ) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and the early centuries of the Byzantine Empire. In Byzantium, the office was eventually transformed into a senior honorary rank, simply called ''magist ...

'' which he shared with his relative Gurgen II of Tao. Both Gurgen and David resolutely opposed the Byzantine takeover of the Bagratid town of Artanuji, a fief of Gurgen's father-in-law, Ashot the Swift. During the dispute, David even arrested the Byzantine plenipotentiary, the ''

patrikios The patricians (from ) were originally a group of ruling class families in ancient Rome. The distinction was highly significant in the Roman Kingdom and the early Republic, but its relevance waned after the Conflict of the Orders (494 BC to 287 B ...

'' Constans, who was dispatched to create Gurgen ''

'' and bring David's brother Ashot for investiture as ''curopalates''. David died childless, being succeeded by his brother Sumbat I.

Toumanoff, Cyril Cyril Leo Toumanoff ( ka, კირილ თუმანოვი; ; 10 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Georgian-American historian, and academic genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armen ...

(1967). ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 490–493.

Georgetown University Press Georgetown University Press is a university press affiliated with Georgetown University that publishes about forty new books a year. The press's major subject areas include bioethics, international affairs, languages and linguistics, political s ...

References

937 deaths Kings of Bagratid Iberia Bagrationi dynasty of Iberia 10th-century monarchs in Asia 10th-century monarchs of Georgia (country) Year of birth unknown Magistroi {{georgia-royal-stub