Pharnavaz I (; ka, ფარნავაზ I ) was a king of Kartli, an ancient

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 ...

kingdom known as Iberia in classical antiquity. '' The Georgian Chronicles'' credits him with being the first monarch founding the kingship of Kartli and the

Pharnavazid dynasty The Pharnavazid ( ka, ფარნავაზიანი, tr) is the name of the first dynasty of Georgian kings of Kartli (Iberia) preserved by ''The Georgian Chronicles''. Their rule lasted, with intermissions, from the 3rd century BC to the ...

, while other independent chronicles, such as ''

The Conversion of Kartli The ''Conversion of Kartli'' ( ka, მოქცევაჲ ქართლისაჲ ''moktsevay kartlisay'', Asomtavruli: ႫႭႵႺႤႥႠჂ ႵႠႰႧႪႨႱႠჂ, ) is the earliest surviving medieval Georgian historical compendium ...

'' make him the second Georgian monarch. Based on the medieval evidence, most scholars locate Pharnavaz's rule in the 3rd century BC: 302–237 BC according to

Prince Vakhushti of Kartli Vakhushti ( ka, ვახუშტი, tr) (1696–1757) was a Georgian royal prince (''batonishvili''), geographer, historian and cartographer. His principal historical and geographic works, ''Description of the Kingdom of Georgia'' and the ''Geo ...

, 299–234 BC according to Cyril Toumanoff and 284–219 BC according to Pavle Ingoroqva. Pharnavaz's rise, advent and imperial expansion of the Iberian monarchy was directly tied to the victory of Alexander the Great over the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

. Pharnavaz ruled under the suzerainty of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

Life

According to the ''

Georgian royal annals ''The Georgian Chronicles'' is a conventional English name for the principal compendium of medieval Georgian historical texts, natively known as ''Kartlis Tskhovreba'' ( ka, ქართლის ცხოვრება), literally "Life of Kar ...

'', Pharnavaz descended from Uplos, son of Mtskhetos, son of Kartlos, who was one of the powerful and famous eight brothers, who from their part were descendants of Targamos, son of Tarsi, the grandson of

Japheth Japheth ( he, יֶפֶת ''Yép̄eṯ'', in pausa ''Yā́p̄eṯ''; el, Ἰάφεθ '; la, Iafeth, Iapheth, Iaphethus, Iapetus) is one of the three sons of Noah in the Book of Genesis, in which he plays a role in the story of Noah's drunk ...

, son of the Biblical

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

. He is not directly attested in non-Georgian sources and there is no definite contemporary indication that he was indeed the first of the Georgian kings. His story is saturated with legendary imagery and symbols, and it seems feasible that, as the memory of the historical facts faded, the real Pharnavaz "accumulated a legendary façade" and emerged as the model pre-

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

monarch in the Georgian annals.Rapp, p. 276. According to the chronicle ''The Life of Kings'', Pharnavaz had a distinguished genealogy, tracing back to Kartlos, the mythical ethnarch of Kartli. His paternal uncle, Samara, held the position of ''

mamasakhlisi :''Mamasakhlisi is also a Georgian surname'' Mamasakhlisi ( ka, მამასახლისი) was a title of the Georgian rulers. Mamasakhlisi literally means "Father of the House", მამა (mama) meaning "father" and სახლი (sak ...

'' ("father of the house") of the Georgian tribes around

Mtskheta Mtskheta ( ka, მცხეთა, tr ) is a city in Mtskheta-Mtianeti province of Georgia. It is one of the oldest cities in Georgia as well as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World. Itis located approximately north of T ...

. Pharnavaz's mother is claimed to have been a Persian woman from

Gabai Gabai is a surname. For people with the surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be p ...

, whom

Prince Teimuraz of Georgia Teimuraz Bagrationi ( ka, თეიმურაზ ბაგრატიონი) otherwise known as Tsarevich Teimuraz Georgievich (russian: царевич Теймураз Георгиевич) (April 23, 1782 – October 25, 1846) was a Georgi ...

and Patriarch

Anton I of Georgia Anton I ( ka, ანტონ I; – ), born as Teimuraz Bagrationi, was the Catholicos–Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church in the period 1744–1755 and again in 1764–1788. Biography Being one of the sons of Jesse of Kartli by his ...

identify with a daughter of King

Darius III Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dar ...

. The entire story of Pharnavaz, although written by a Christian chronicler, abounds in ancient Iranian-like imagery and mystic allusions, a reflection of the archaeologically confirmed cultural and presumably political ties between Iran and Kartli of that time. The name "Pharnavaz" is also an illustrative example with its root ''par''- being based upon the Persian ''farnah'', the divine radiance believed by the ancient Iranians to mark a legitimate dynast ( cf. ''

khvarenah Khvarenah (also spelled khwarenah or xwarra(h): ae, 𐬓𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀𐬵 ') is an Avestan word for a Zoroastrian concept literally denoting "glory" or "splendour" but understood as a divine mystical force or power projected upon and aidi ...

''). The dynastic tag Parnavaziani ("of/from/named for Pharnavaz") is also preserved in the early Armenian histories as P'arnawazean ('' Faustus of Byzantium'' 5.15; fifth century) and P'arazean (''

History of Armenia The history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Armenia, Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenians, Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions historically and Armenian Highlands, geographically consid ...

'' 14; probably the early fifth century), an acknowledgment that a king named Pharnavaz was understood to have been the founder of a Georgian dynasty. Pharnavaz is also mentioned in the

Stele of Serapit The Stele of Serapeitis ( ka, სერაფიტას სტელა) is a funerary stele with bilingual inscriptions written in Ancient Greek and Armazic, a local idiom of Aramaic, found in 1940, at Armazi, near Mtskheta, in the ancient cap ...

. Perhaps the most artistically rounded section of the Georgian annals, the narrative follows Pharnavaz's life from birth to burial. Aged 3, small Pharnavaz's family is destroyed, and his heritage is usurped by

Azon AZON (or Azon), from "azimuth only", was one of the world's first guided weapons, deployed by the Allies and contemporary with the German Fritz X. Officially designated VB-1 ("Vertical Bomb 1"), it was invented by Major Henry J. Rand and Thoma ...

installed by Alexander the Great during his campaign in Kartli. Alexander's invasion of Iberia, remembered not only by the Georgian historical tradition, but also by Pliny the Elder (4.10.39) and Gaius Julius Solinus (9.19), appears to be memory of some

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

interference in Iberia, which must have taken place in connection with the expedition mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

(11.14.9) sent by Alexander in 323 BC to the confines of Iberia, in search of gold mines. Pharnavaz is brought up fatherless, but a magic dream, in which he anoints himself with the essence of the Sun, heralds the peripeteia. He is persuaded by this vision to "devote imselfto noble deeds". He then sets off and goes hunting. In a pursuit of a deer, he encounters a mass of treasure stored in a hidden cave. Pharnavaz retrieves the treasure and exploits it to mount a loyal army against the tyrannical Azon. He is aided by

Kuji of Colchis Kuji ( ka, ქუჯი, tr) ('' fl.'' 4th century BC) was a ruler and eristavi of Colchis. During his reign his castle of Nokalakevi was built. Kuji aided Pharnavaz I of Iberia against the tyrannical ruler Azo. Pharnavaz subsequently deposed and k ...

, who eventually marries Pharnavaz's sister. The rebels are also joined by 1,000 soldiers from Azon's camp; they are anachronistically referred to by the author as Romans, and claimed to have been entitled by the victorious Pharnavaz as '' aznauri'' (i.e., nobles) after Azon (this etymology is false, however). The main threads of Pharnavaz's story - a fatherless boy hidden and raised in a remote mountains, a forgotten lineage, his dreams, sacral kingship, solar imagery, the hunt, discovery of cave-concealed treasure etc. are reminiscent of legends about Iran's founding kings, like

Cyrus the Great Cyrus II of Persia (; peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ), commonly known as Cyrus the Great, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Schmitt Achaemenid dynasty (i. The clan and dynasty) Under his rule, the empire embraced ...

and

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...

. Pharnavaz's self-anointment may have been a later Sasanian inspiration, as some early '' Shahanshahs'' crowned themselves.

Reign

In the ensuing battle, Azon is defeated and killed, and Pharnavaz becomes the king of Kartli at the age of 27. He is reported to have acknowledged the suzerainty of the Seleucids, the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

successors of Alexander in the Middle East, who are afforded by the Georgian chronicles the generic name of

Antiochus Antiochus is a Greek male first name, which was a dynastic name for rulers of the Seleucid Empire and the Kingdom of Commagene. In Jewish historical memory, connected with the Maccabean Revolt and the holiday of Hanukkah, "Antiochus" refers spec ...

. Pharnavaz is also said to have patterned his administration upon an "Iranian" model. Pharnavaz had introduced a military-administrative organization based on a network of regional governors or '' eristavi''. The insignia of the eristavi, received from the king, constituted a sceptre, a special signet

ring Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...

belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...

and armament. Iberia had in total seven eristavis, in Colchis,

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...

, Khunani (modern-day northern Azerbaijan), Samshvilde ( Kvemo Kartli), Tsunda (included Javakheti,

Kola KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Redlands, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio form ...

and

Artaani Ardahan Province ( tr, , ku, Parêzgeha Erdêxanê, ) is a province in the north-east of Turkey, bordering Georgia and Armenia. The provincial capital is the city of Ardahan. Demographics With 94,932 inhabitants in 2021, Ardahan was the third ...

Odzrkhe Odzrkhe or Odzrakhe ( ka, ოძრხე or ) was a historic fortified town and the surrounding area in what is now Abastumani, Adigeni Municipality in Samtskhe-Javakheti region, southern Georgia. History According to medieval Georgian histo ...

and Klarjeti. The kingdom had one spaspet who was under the direct control of the royal power based in Inner Kartli. Eristavates mimicked aspects of Achaemenid ''

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

ies'' and Seleucid '' strategoi''. The major motive of later historian of the chronicles was to convince posterity that the basic political structure of Kartli was created by the very first Georgian monarch in the wake of Wars of Alexander the Great; was of Achaemenid administrative system and had remained stable throughout

Parthian Parthian may be: Historical * A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran * Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD) * Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language * Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...

and Sasanian times. In this way, the long-term viability and stability of the Georgian realm are established.Rapp (2014), p. 212 The hierarchic structure created by Pharnavaz was the following: king; commander-in-chief ( spaspet) of the royal army; eristavis; middle commanders (''atasistavis tsikhistavis'') of the garrisons stationed in the royal strongholds; junior commanders (''asistavis'') who were the younger sons of the aristocratic families; mercenary professional warriors from the neighboring countries and all the soldiers organized around the entire kingdom. It is evident that the division of Iberia by Pharnavaz into saeristavos served first and foremost a military aim, namely the organization of people for the purpose of defence. This organization was not so much directed against other countries. Back then the total population of the kingdom would have been, including foreign captives and the population of the tributary areas, about 600,000, which could raise a fairly big army not less than 100,000. According to

the Iberian army numbered 70–80,000 so it appears that each saeristavo had 10,000 soldiers. While Georgian and Classical evidence makes the contemporaneous Kartlian links with the Seleucids plausible (Toumanoff has even implied that the kings of Kartli might have aided the Seleucids in holding the resurgent

Orontids The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or satraps of the Achaemenid Empire and after th ...

of Armenia in check), Pharnavaz's alleged reform of the eristavi fiefdoms is most likely a back-projection of the medieval pattern of subdivision to the remote past.Rapp, p. 277. Pharnavaz is then reported to have embarked on social and cultural projects; he supervised two building projects: the raising of the idol Armazi – reputedly named after him – on a mountain ledge and the construction of a similarly named fortress. Pharnavaz made alliances with various North Caucasian peoples during his reign, to whom he called upon for help against both Macedonia and internal foes. He took a Durdzuk woman in marriage, in order to consolidate the alliance of Iberia with the Durdzuks, who helped him consolidate his reign against his unruly vassals. Similarly he married his sister to a Sarmatian chief. According to the ''

'' he also created the Georgian script and made the

Georgian language Georgian (, , ) is the most widely-spoken Kartvelian language, and serves as the literary language or lingua franca for speakers of related languages. It is the official language of Georgia and the native or primary language of 87.6% of its p ...

an official language of the kingdom: The chronicles report Pharnavaz's lengthy reign of 65 years. Upon his death, he was buried in front of the idol Armazi and worshipped. His son Saurmag succeeded him to the throne.Rapp, p. 280. Pharnavaz's grave is undisclosed so far. One of the last monarchs who visited his grave to adorn it and pay his respects was King Mirian III. Pharnavaz's very burial in front of idol Armazi suggests a Hellenistic deification of the early monarchs of Iberia.

Pharnavaz and Arrian's Pharasmanes

Several modern scholars have been tempted to make identification between the Pharnavaz of the medieval Georgian tradition and the Pharasmanes of the

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

historian

Arrian Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; la, Lucius Flavius Arrianus; ) was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander and philosopher of the Roman period. ''The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best ...

, a 2nd-century AD author of '' The Anabasis of Alexander''. Arrian recounts that "Pharasmanes (Фαρασμάνης), king of the Chorasmians", visited Alexander the Great with 1500 horseman, and pledged his support should Alexander desire to campaign to the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

lands and subdue Colchians, whom Pharasmanes names as his neighbors. Apart from the similarity of the names of Pharasmanes and Pharnavaz (both names are apparently based on the same root, the Iranian ''farnah''), the king of Chorasmia in Central Asia reports Colchis (today's western Georgia, i.e., the western neighbor of ancient Kartli/Iberia) to be a neighboring country. Some Georgian scholars have suggested that the Greek copyists of Arrian might have confused Chorasmia with Cholarzene (Chorzene), a Classical rendering of the southwest Georgian marchlands (the medieval

Tao-Klarjeti Tao-Klarjeti may refer to: *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 Ge ...

), which indeed bordered with Colchis and Pontus. According to

Legacy

The Bagrationi dynasty claimed descent directly from Pharnavaz. During the continuity of monarchy in Georgia, the Georgian kings presented themselves as heirs to the

Kingdom of Iberia In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgians, Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its Kartli, core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the E ...

founded by King Pharnavaz. In Tbilisi there is a King Pharnavaz Street, Avenue, and also a statue of Pharnavaz. Also, there are streets named after Pharnavaz in Batumi,

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbilis ...

Khashuri Khashuri ( ka, ხაშური ) is a town in the central part of Georgia and is the 9th largest settlement in Georgia. It is the administrative centre of Khashuri Municipality. It is located on the Shida Kartli plain, on the Suramula riversi ...

, Gori,

Gurjaani Gurjaani ( ka, გურჯაანი) is a town in Kakheti, a region in eastern Georgia, and the seat of the Gurjaani Municipality. It is located in the Alazani River Plain, at an elevation of 415 m above sea level. Gurjaani is first recorded ...

, Sachkhere, Zestaponi and others. Some buildings, including schools and hotels, also bear his name, as well as about five hundred Georgians.Statistics

Public Service Hall Public Service Hall ( ka, იუსტიციის სახლი, tr) is an agency of the Georgia (country), Georgian government which provides a variety of public services, including the services of the Civil Registry Agency, the National Ag ...

Notes

References

Bibliography

Rapp, Stephen H. Stephen H. Rapp Jr is an American professor and scholar of history, with a focus and primary research investigating the Roman Empire, ancient Iran, Armenia and Georgia. He is a professor of history at Sam Houston State University. Education and c ...

(2003) ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts''. Peeters Bvba . *Rapp, Stephen H. (2014) ''The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature''

Ashgate Publishing Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham ( Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office i ...

, ''Life of Pharnavaz: The first Georgian king of Kartli'', Part IV. TITUS (Online Version). *

Rayfield, Donald Patrick Donald Rayfield OBE (born 12 February 1942, Oxford) is an English academic and Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian at Queen Mary University of London. He is an author of books about Russian and Georgian literature, and about Josep ...

(2000) '' The Literature of Georgia: A History''. Routledge, . *Rayfield, Donald (2013), Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia, Reaktion Books * Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994) ''The Making of the Georgian Nation'' (2nd edition).

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, . * Toumanoff, Cyril (1963) ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History''.

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 sc ...

. * Salia, Kalistrat (1980) ''Histoire de la nation géorgienne'' *Gamkrelidze, Gela (2012) ''Researches in Iberia-Colchology'', David Braund ed.