Saurmag II ( ka, საურმაგ II, Latinized as ''Sauromaces''), of the Chosroid Dynasty, was a 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 ...

(

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 ...

, 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 361 to 363 and diarch from 370 to 378. He is ignored by the Georgian historic tradition, but mentioned by the 4th-century historian of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

Ammianus Marcellinus Ammianus Marcellinus, occasionally anglicized as Ammian ( Greek: Αμμιανός Μαρκελλίνος; born , died 400), was a Greek and Roman soldier and historian who wrote the penultimate major historical account surviving from antiquit ...

. He was the first son of Rev II to

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

and brother of Trdat of Iberia. Saurmag seems to have succeeded on the death of his paternal grandfather,

Mirian III Mirian III ( ka, მირიან III) was a king ('' mepe'') of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great ( r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty. According to the earl ...

, the first

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

king of Iberia, in 361 and pursued pro-Roman policy. In 363, he was ousted by the Sassanid king

Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...

who installed Aspacures II (Varaz-Bakur) in his place. Aspacures II was Saurmag's paternal uncle. The Sassanid intervention in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

eventually drew a Roman response and, later in 370, Roman Emperor

Valens Valens (; ; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the Byzantine Empire, eastern half of the Roman Em ...

sent in the twelfth legions—about 12,000 men—under Terentius who restored Saurmag in the western provinces of Iberia adjoining

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Lazica The Kingdom of Lazica (; ; ), sometimes called Lazian Empire, was a state in the territory of west Georgia in the Roman era, Georgia in the Roman period, from about the 1st century BC. Created as a result of the collapse of the kingdom of Colc ...

, while Aspacures' successor Mihrdat III was permitted to retain control of the northeastern part of the kingdom. The deal was not recognized by Shapur, who regarded it as grounds for war, and resumed hostilities against Rome early in 371. By 378, however, the Gothic War had constrained Rome to abandon Sauromaces; his realm must have ceased to exist as Iberia passed, whole or nearly so, under the Sassanid suzerainty.

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 ...

(1963), ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'', pp. 460-461.

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauromaces 02 Of Iberia Chosroid kings of Iberia 4th-century monarchs in Asia