Sumbat I ( ka, სუმბატ I) (died 899) was a Georgian prince of the 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 hereditary ruler of

Klarjeti Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region ...

from c. 870 until his death. A son of

Adarnase II of Tao-Klarjeti Adarnase II, sometimes known as Adarnase I, ( ka, ადარნასე) was a Georgia (country), Georgian Bagrationi, Bagratid prince and a co-ruler of Tao-Klarjeti with his brothers — Bagrat I Kuropalates and Guaram Mampali — with the title ...

, Sumbat received the province of Klarjeti as an appanage where he ruled with the title of '' mampali'', which seems to have passed on to Sumbat and his progeny after the extinction of the line of

Guaram Mampali Guaram, the '' mampali'', ( ka, გუარამ მამფალი) (died 882) was a Georgian Bagratid prince and the youngest son of Ashot I, the founder of the Bagratid dynasty of Iberia/Kartli. Guaram shared the control over the patrim ...

. He also bore the

Byzantine title Throughout the fifth century, Hellenistic-Eastern political systems, philosophies, and theocratic Christian concepts had gained power in the Greek-speaking Eastern Mediterranean due to the intervention of important religious figures there such ...

of patrician (, ανθύπατος πατρίκιος). Sumbat had a residence at Artanuji (modern

Ardanuç Ardanuç ( ka, italic=yes, არტანუჯი, Artanuji; ) is a town in Artvin Province in Turkey's Black Sea region of Turkey, 32 km east of Artvin. The name Ardanuç derives from Lazuri language and Armenian (; lit. "edge of Ardahan� ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

), which towards the end of the 9th century began to develop into a thriving trading centre. Hence comes his territorial epithet Artanujeli (არტანუჯელი), i.e., "of Artanuji". Sumbat is referred to as "the Great" 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 ...

, author of ''

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 ...

'', where his name is rendered as Symbatius. Apart from Klarjeti, Sumbat must also have possessed

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a ...

and Nigali, since the latter two appear among the possessions of his son

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

(died 943). Sumbat also had a younger son

Bagrat Bagrat (, in Western Armenian pronounced as Pakrad, ka, wikt:ბაგრატ, ბაგრატ) is a male name popular in Armenia. It is derived from the Old Persian ''Bagadāta'', "gift of God". The names of the Armenian Bagratuni dynasty, ...

(died 900). The

Art Museum of Georgia The Art Museum of Georgia (AMG) ( ka, საქართველოს ხელოვნების მუზეუმი, ''sak'art'velos khelovnebis muzeumi''), alternatively known as Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts, is one of the l ...

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

possesses a late 9th-century reliquary cross whose donation inscription refers to Khosrovanush, wife of Sumbat, and her sons Bagrat and David. Khosrovanush is unattested elsewhere.Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', p. 387. Peeters Publishers,

References

Grand dukes of Klarjeti 899 deaths 9th-century monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown Bagrationi dynasty of Klarjeti {{Georgia-royal-stub