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Klarjeti (Georgian:კლარჯეთი[kʼlaɾd͡ʒetʰi]) was a province of ancient and medievalGeorgia, which is now part ofTurkey'sArtvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province ofTao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region with shared history and culture conventionally known asTao-Klarjeti.
Klarjeti, traversed by theChorokhi (Çoruh), stretched from theArsiani Range westwards, towards theBlack Sea, and was centred in the key fortified trading town of Artanuji (nowArdanuç). It was bordered byShavsheti andNigali on the north, and Tao on the south. The region roughly corresponds to Cholarzene (Ancient Greek:Χολαρζηνή, Καταρζηνή) ofClassical sources and probably to Kaţarza or Quturza of the earlierUrartian records.[1]
Klarjeti was one of the south-westernmost provinces of theKingdom of Iberia, which appeared on theCaucasian political map in the 3rd century BC and was ruled—according to the medieval Georgian chronicles—by thePharnavazid dynasty. From the 2nd century BC to the 3rd century AD, Klarjeti as well as some other neighboring lands were contested between the kingdoms of Iberia andArmenia (Armenians knew Klarjeti as Kļarjk'), and passed to and fro from one state to the other.[2] In the 370s division of Iberia between theRoman andSasanian empires, Klarjeti passed to the former, but it is unknown whether as a province or as a vassal. The marriage of theChosroid kingVakhtang I of Iberia to the Roman princess Helena seems to have enabled the Iberians to regain the province c. 485. Thereafter, Klarjeti remained in the possession of Vakhtang's younger sons and theirromanophile descendants who formed the house ofGuaramids and maintained themselves in Klarjeti andJavakheti until c. 786, when the Guaramid possessions passed to their resurgent cousins from theBagrationi family.[3]
Duchy of Klarjeti კლარჯეთის საერისთავო | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 870–1008 | |||||||||
| Status | Duchy | ||||||||
| Capital | Artanuji | ||||||||
| Common languages | Georgian | ||||||||
| Religion | Eastern Orthodox(Georgian Orthodox Church) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Sumbat I received the province of Klarjeti. | 870 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1008 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
The Bagrationi dynasty presided over a period of economic prosperity and cultural revival in the area. The taxes collected at Artanuji were a major factor in the rise of the Bagrationi power. Deserted in anArab invasion, Klarjeti was repopulated and developed into a major centre ofChristian culture aided by a large-scale monastic movement initiated by the Georgian monkGregory of Khandzta (759 – 861).[4]
Around 870, Klarjeti became a hereditaryfiefdom of one of the three principal branches of the Georgian Bagrationi rulers. This line—known in the medieval Georgian records as theSovereigns of Klarjeti (კლარჯნი ხელმწიფენი,klarjni khelmts'ip'eni)—was eventually dispossessed by their cousinBagrat III, the first king of a unified Georgia, in 1010. Bagrat III granted area to theAbuserisdze family.
Klarjeti never fully recovered from a series ofSeljuk attacks later in the 11th century and further declined in theMongol andTimur's invasions in the 13th and 14th century. After the partition of theKingdom of Georgia in the 15th century, Klarjeti passed to theprinces of Meskheti who lost the area to theOttoman conquest in 1551.
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| Prince | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sumbat I Mampali, the Great | 870–889 | |
| Bagrat I | 889–900 | |
| David I | 900–943 | |
| Sumbat II | 943–988 | |
| David II | 988–992/993 | |
| Sumbat III | 992/993–1011 | co ruler:Gurgen |
| John Abuser | 1011–1030 | |
| Abuser I Abuserisdze | 1046/1047 | |
| Grigol Abuserisdze | 1047–1070 | |
| Abuser II Abuserisdze | – |
Subregions ofTao-Klarjeti | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tao |  | |
| Klarjeti | ||
| Samtskhe | ||
| Other | ||
Duchies of theKingdom of Georgia | ||
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41°11′00″N41°49′05″E / 41.18333°N 41.81806°E /41.18333; 41.81806
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