Part ofa series on the
History of Georgia
Prehistoric Georgia Shulaveri–Shomu culture Kura–Araxes culture Legend of Kartlos Trialeti culture Colchian culture Diauehi Mushki
Ancient history Colchis Aryan Kartli Kingdom of Iberia Pharnavazid dynasty Georgia in the Roman era Artaxiad dynasty of Iberia Campaign of Pompey Iberian–Armenian War Lazica Arsacid dynasty of Iberia Sasanian Iberia Chosroid dynasty Christianization of Iberia
Middle Ages Iberian War Lazic War Principality of Iberia Umayyad invasion of Georgia Arab rule in Georgia Emirate of Tbilisi Duchy of Tao Duchy of Klarjeti Bagrationi dynasty Kingdom of Hereti Kingdom of the Iberians Kingdom of Abkhazia Theme of Iberia Duchy of Kldekari Unification of the Georgian realm Kingdom of Georgia Duchy of Racha Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti Byzantine–Georgian wars Great Turkish Invasion Georgian–Seljuk wars Georgian Golden Age Mongol invasions of Georgia Kingdom of Eastern Georgia Kingdom of Western Georgia Armenia within the Kingdom of Georgia Timurid invasions of Georgia Turkoman invasions of Georgia Duchy of Aragvi Collapse of the Georgian realm
Early modern history Duchy of Ksani Samtskhe-Saatabago Kingdom of Kartli Kingdom of Kakheti Kingdom of Imereti Principality of Guria Principality of Svaneti Principality of Mingrelia Principality of Abkhazia Safavid Georgia Childir Eyalet Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti
Modern history Georgia within the Russian Empire 1832 Georgian plot Gurian Republic Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic Democratic Republic of Georgia Red Army invasion of Georgia Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic Georgia since 1991 Russo-Georgian War
History by topic Etymology Monarchs States Tbilisi Military history Wars Battles Chronology

The area ofGeorgia was underRoman control between the 1st century BC and the 7th century AD. This control varied by time and was intermittent over the kingdoms ofColchis andIberia in theCaucasus region. These kingdoms roughly correspond to some of the western and eastern parts of modern Georgia.^[1]

Rome's conquests reached the Caucasus area at the end of the 2nd century BC, when theRoman Republic started to expand inAnatolia and theBlack Sea.

In the area of what is now western Georgia there was theKingdom of Colchis that in those years had fallen under control of theKingdom of Pontus (an enemy of Rome), while further east there was the "Kingdom of Iberia". As a result of the Roman campaigns ofPompey andLucullus in 65 BC, the Kingdom of Pontus was completely destroyed by the Romans and all its territory, including Colchis, was incorporated into the Roman Empire as its province.Iberia, on the other handwas invaded and became a vassal state of the empire.

From this point on Colchis became the Roman province ofLazicum, with EmperorNero later incorporating it into the Province ofPontus in 63 AD, and successively inCappadocia byDomitian in 81 AD. At the same time, Iberia continued to be a vassal state because it enjoyed significant independence and with the lowlands frequently raided by fierce mountain tribes, paying a nominal homage toRome in exchange for protection was viewed as a worthwhile investment.^[2]

The following 600 years of South Caucasian history were marked by the struggle between Rome and Parthians and Sassanids ofPersia who fought long wars against the Romans, known as theRoman-Persian Wars.

Despite the fact that all major fortresses along the seacoast were occupied by the Romans, their rule was pretty loose. In 69 AD, the people of Pontus and Colchis underAnicetus staged a major uprising against theRomans which ended unsuccessfully.

Christianity began to spread in the early 1st century. Traditional accounts relate the event withSaint Andrew, SaintSimon the Zealot, and Saint Matata (but theHellenistic, localpagan andMithraic religious beliefs would remain widespread until the 4th century).^[3]

While the Laz people's kingdom of Colchis was administered as a Roman province,Caucasian Iberia freely accepted the Roman Imperial protection. A stone inscription discovered atMtskheta speaks of the 1st-century ruler Mihdrat I (AD 58-106) as "the friend of the Caesars" and the king "of the Roman-loving Iberians." EmperorVespasian fortified the ancient Mtskheta site of Arzami for the Iberian kings in 75 AD.

In the 2nd century AD, Iberia strengthened her position in the area, especially during the reign of KingPharsman IIKveli (The Prominent) who achieved full independence from Rome and reconquered some of the previously lost territories from declining Armenia. During his reign Iberia and Rome became allies. Pharsman II was even invited by emperorMarcus Aurelius to Rome and an equestrian statue of Iberian king has been erected on Mars square in his honor.

In the 3rd centuryAD, theLazi tribe came to dominate most of Colchis, establishing the kingdom ofLazica, locally known as Egrisi. Colchis was a scene of the protracted rivalry between theEastern Roman/Byzantine andSassanid empires, culminating in theLazic War from 542 to 562.^[4]

Furthermore, in the early 3rd century, Rome had to acknowledge sovereignty of Caucasian Albania and Armenia toSassanid Persia, but all what is now Georgia was back under Roman control withAurelian andDiocletian around 300 AD.^[5]

The province of Lazicum (or Lazica) was given a degree of autonomy that by the mid-3rd century developed into full independence with the formation of a new Kingdom of Lazica-Egrisi on the territories of smaller principalities of the Zans, Svans, Apsyls, and Sanyghs. This new South Western Caucasian state survived more than 250 years until 562 when it was absorbed by theEastern Roman Empire, duringJustinian I.^[6]

Indeed, in 591 ADByzantium and Persia agreed to divide Caucasian Iberia between them, withTbilisi to be in Persian hands andMtskheta to be under Roman/Byzantine control.

At the beginning of the 7th century the temporary truce between the Romans and Persia collapsed again. The Iberian Prince Stephanoz I (ca. 590-627), decided in 607 AD to join forces with Persia in order to reunite all the territories of Caucasian Iberia, a goal he seems to have accomplished.

But EmperorHeraclius's offensive in 628 AD brought victory over the Persians and ensured Roman predominance in western and easternGeorgia until the invasion and conquest of the Caucasus by theArabs in the second half of the 7th century.

Indeed, the presence of Rome started to disappear from Georgia after theBattle of Sebastopolis, fought near the eastern shores of the Black Sea in 692 AD between theUmayyads and the Eastern Roman Empire troops led byLeontios.^[7]

Sebastopolis (actualSukhumi) continued to remain the last Roman/Byzantine stronghold in western Georgia, until being finallysacked and destroyed by the Arab conquerorMarwan II in 736 AD.

One of the main legacies of Rome to Georgia is the Christian faith.

Indeed, Christianity, first preached by theApostles Simon and Andrew in the 1st century, became the state religion ofCaucasian Iberia in 327, making Georgia one of the earliest Christian countries in the world.^[8][9]

The final conversion of all Georgia to Christianity in 327 is credited toSt. Nina ofCappadocia. She was the only daughter of pious and noble parents, the Roman general Zabulon, a relative of the great martyrSt. George, and Susanna, sister of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.^[10]

Christianity was declared the state religion by KingMirian III of Iberia as early as 327 AD, which gave a great stimulus to the development of literature, arts and the unification of the country. In 334 AD, Mirian III commissioned the building of the first Christian church in Iberia which was finally completed in 379 AD on the spot where now stands theCathedral of the Living Pillar inMtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia.

Petra inLazica is an ancientbishopric in Georgia that is included in theCatholic Church's list oftitular sees.^[11]

Roman presence was huge in coastal Georgia, where someRoman forts were defended for centuries by legionaries (and had even some Roman colonists living in the related cities). The fortress ofGonio, in the ancient Colchis city of "Apsaros", is considered by some scholars (like Theodore Mommsen) to have been the center of Roman power in western Georgia since the 2nd century AD.

Indeed, Roman culture -according to archeological findings- was widespread in western Lazicum, diminished in eastern Colchis but was minimal in Caucasian Iberia (with the exception of the capitalMtskheta).

The main Roman Forts (and related cities) were:

• Batumi. UnderHadrian it was converted into a fortified Roman port, later deserted for the nearby fortress ofPetra founded in the times of Justinian I (around 535 AD).
• Gagra. Romans renamed the town as "Nitica". Its position led the Romans to fortify the town, which was repeatedly attacked byGoths and other invaders in the 5th century.
• Gonio. In the 2nd century AD it was a well-fortified Roman city, with nearly 2000 legionaries.^[12] The town was also known for its theatre and hippodrome. There was even a Genoese trade factory at the site in the 13th century.
• Pitsunda. Around the Fort flourished a commercial town. In the late 13th century, the area housed a short-lived Genoese trade colony called "Pezonda".
• Phasis. During theThird Mithridatic War, Phasis (actualPoti) came under the Roman control. It was wherePompey met Servilius, the admiral of hisEuxine fleet in 65 BC.^[13]
• Sukhumi. Roman emperorAugustus named the city "Sebastopolis". The remains of towers and Roman walls of Sebastopolis have been found underwater. It was the last Roman stronghold in Georgia until 736 AD, when was destroyed by the Arabs.

Archaeopolis (actual Nokalakevi) was ruled by the Romans from Augustus times, but only the Eastern Roman Empire developed in a huge way this fortification in central Lazicum after the 4th century AD. Actually it is a renowned archeological site of Georgia.^[14]

Armazi, in eastern Georgia, was another fortified city related to Rome. This fortress near Mtskheta was captured by the Roman generalPompey during his 65 BC campaign against the Iberian kingArtag. A ruined structure over the nearby Mtkvari River dates from that time and is still called "Pompey's bridge". Armazi's heyday came when Iberia was allied with the Roman emperors. A stonestele unearthed at Armazi in 1867 reports that theRoman EmperorVespasian fortified Armazi for the Iberian kingMithridates I in 75 AD.^[15] This defense wall constructed in a unique position, to block the southern exit of the Daryal Pass before it widens into the plain of modernTbilisi, was presumably a preventive measure against theAlans who frequently raided the Roman frontiers from across the Caucasus.

• Roman Empire
• Colchis
• Caucasian Iberia
• Sasanian Iberia
• History of Georgia
• Christianity in Georgia
• Lazic War

• Braund, David.Georgia in Antiquity: A History of Colchis and Transcaucasian Iberia, 550 BC-AD 562. Oxford University Press. New York, 1994ISBN 0-19-814473-3
• Haldon, John F.Byzantium in the seventh century. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 1997
• Lang, David Marshall.The Georgians. Thames & Hudson. London, 1966
• Mommsen, Theodore.The Provinces of the Roman Empire. Barnes & Noble Books. New York, 1996.ISBN 0-7607-0145-8
• Rosen, Roger.Georgia: A Sovereign Country of the Caucasus. Odyssey Publications. Hong Kong, 1999.ISBN 962-217-748-4
• Sherk, Robert.The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, 1988.ISBN 0-521-33887-5.
• Toumanoff, Cyril.Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Georgetown University Press. Washington, 1963

• Georgia in the Roman era
• 1st-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic
• 8th-century disestablishments in the Byzantine Empire

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