Rev I the Just ( ka, რევ I მართალი, tr) was a 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 ...

(natively known as

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 ...

, i.e., 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 189 to 216. His reign inaugurated the local Arsacid dynasty. The name "Rev" derives from

Middle Iranian The Iranian languages, also called the Iranic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian language ...

''Rēw'', itself from the

Avestan Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...

adjective ''raēva'', meaning "rich, splendid, opulent". He is known exclusively from the medieval Georgian annals which make him a son of the

king of Armenia This is a list of the monarchs of Armenia, rulers of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia (336 BC – AD 428), the medieval Bagratid Armenia, Kingdom of Armenia (884–1045), various lesser Armenian kingdoms (908–1170) ...

, whom the historians

Cyril Toumanoff 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 ...

and Stephen H. Rapp identifies with the Arsacid, Vologases II (). Rev was enthroned by the rebellious Iberian nobles who deposed his maternal uncle, Amazasp II, last of the Pharnabazids. Rev is reported to have married a "Greek" princess Sephelia who is said to have brought an idol of

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

to Iberia, but there is no indication of a local cult of this Greek goddess having ever existing. The Georgian chronicle ''Life of the Kings'' says that Rev, albeit pagan, was sympathetic to the doctrines of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and came to be known as ''martali'', or "the Just" for his patronage of a local embryonic Christian community. Toumanoff illustrated that this sobriquet is a direct translation of ''

dikaios Dikaios ( Greek: δίκαιος, lit. 'righteous, just'; sometimes romanised as ''Dicaeus'') is a title first used by Hellenistic Greek rulers, and later also given to holy men and women of the Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the f ...

'', an epithet frequently used in the titulature of the Arsacid kings of

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

References

Sources

* * * * 216 deaths Arsacid dynasty of Iberia 3rd-century monarchs in Asia 2nd-century monarchs in Asia 2nd-century Iranian people 3rd-century Iranian people Year of birth unknown {{Georgia-royal-stub