| Ashot I აშოტ I | |
|---|---|
| Kouropalatēs | |
_%25D9%2585%25D9%2588%25D8%25B2%25D9%2587_%25D9%2585%25D9%2584%25DB%258C_%25DA%25AF%25D8%25B1%25D8%25AC%25D8%25B3%25D8%25AA%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586%25D8%258C_%25D8%25AA%25D9%2581%25D9%2584%25DB%258C%25D8%25B3.jpg) Relief of Ashot I atSimon Janashia Museum of Georgia | |
| Presiding prince ofIberia | |
| Reign | 813–826/830 |
| Predecessor | Stephen III |
| Successor | Bagrat I of Iberia Adarnase II of Tao-Klarjeti Guaram Mampali |
| Died | c. 826/830 Nigali valley |
| Issue | Bagrat I of Iberia Adarnase II of Tao-Klarjeti Guaram Mampali Bagrationi, Queen of Abkhazia |
| Dynasty | Bagrationi dynasty |
| Father | Adarnase I of Tao-Klarjeti |
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church |
Ashot I the Great (Georgian:აშოტ I დიდიashot I didi) (died 826/830) was apresiding prince ofIberia (modernGeorgia), first of theBagratid family to have attained to this office c. 813. From his base inTao-Klarjeti, he fought to enlarge the Bagratid territories and sought theByzantine protectorate against the Arab Muslim encroachment until being murdered c. 826. Ashot is also known asAshot I Kouropalates for the Byzantine title ofkouropalates that he bore. A patron ofChristian culture and a friend of the church, he has beencanonized by theGeorgian Orthodox Church.[1]
Ashot was the son of the Iberian noblemanAdarnase who had founded the Bagratoni hereditary fiefdom in Tao-Klarjeti (now northeastTurkey) and bequeathed to his son extensive possessions acquired upon the extinction of hisGuaramid andChosroid cousins. Ashot initially failed to gain a foothold in central Iberia (Shida Kartli), his efforts being dashed by the Arabcontrol of Tiflis. Ashot established himself in his patrimonial duchy ofKlarjeti, where he restored the castle ofArtanuji said to have been built by the Iberian kingVakhtang I Gorgasali in the 5th century, and received the Byzantine protection, being recognized as the presiding prince andkouropalates of Iberia. To revive the country devastated by the Arabs and cholera epidemics, he patronized the local monastic communities established byGrigol Khandzteli, and encouraged the settlement of the Georgians in the region. As a result, the political and religious center of Iberia was effectively transferred from central Iberia to the south-west, in Tao-Klarjeti.[2][3]
From his base in Tao-Klarjeti, Ashot fought to recover more Georgian lands from the Arab hold and, though not always successful, succeeded in taking much of the adjoining lands fromTao in the southwest to Shida Kartli in the northeast, includingKola,Artani,Javakheti,Samtskhe, andTrialeti.[4] Of the former Chosroid possessions, onlyKakheti to the east eluded him.[4] With local Arab emirs in theCaucasus growing ever more independent, theCaliph recognized Ashot as the prince of Iberia in order to counter the rebellious emir of Tiflis Isma’il ibn Shu’aib c. 818. The emir had enlisted support of Ashot's foe—the Kakhetian princeGrigol—and the Georgian highland tribes ofMtiulians andTsanars. Ashot, joined by the Byzantine vassal king of Abkhazia,Theodosius II, met the emir on theKsani, winning a victory and pushing the Kakhetians from central Iberian lands.[3]
The Bagrationi's fortunes reversed whenKhalid ibn Yazid, the Caliph's viceroy ofArminiya, moved in to reinforce the central Arab authority in the Caucasian polities in 827/828 through theEmirate of Tbilisi. Ashot I must have been still alive at that time, and the information provided by the 11th-century Georgian chroniclerSumbat, according to which Ashot was murdered in 826, is doubtful. It is more likely that the event took place four years later, on January 29, 830. Driven by the Arabs from central Iberia, Ashot fell back to theNigali valley where he was assassinated by renegades at the altar of a local church.[5][6]
Upon Ashot's death, his holdings were allotted to his three sons:Bagrat I,Adarnase II, andGuaram.[3] His daughter was married toTheodosius II of Abkhazia.
| Preceded by Stephen III/Interregnum | Prince of Iberia c. 813–826/830 | Succeeded by |