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Gurgen II of Tao

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Gurgen II
გურგენ II
Prince of Tao
Reign918 – 941
PredecessorAshot
SuccessorBagrat I
DynastyBagrationi
ReligionEastern Orthodox Church

Gurgen II "the Great" (Georgian: გურგენ II დიდი, Gurgen Didi) (died February 14, 941) was a Georgian prince of the Bagratid dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti and hereditary ruler of Tao with the title of eristavt-eristavi, "duke of dukes". He also bore the Byzantine title of magistros.

The son of Adarnase III of Tao, Gurgen succeeded on the death of his paternal uncle Ashot Kukhi in 918. He features prominently in the medieval Georgian sources, being nicknamed as "the Great". A patron of local monastic communities, Gurgen presided over the construction of a new cathedral at Khandzta.

Gurgen was an energetic ruler and accumulated in his hands much power, ruling over Tao, parts of Klarjeti and Javakheti, and also Adjara and Nigali. The expansion of his territories was at the expense of his cousins and neighbours. Thus, sometime between 923 and 941, he wrested Klarjeti from his father-in-law Ashot "the Prompt", son of Bagrat I, giving him two other domains — western part of Javakheti and Adjara — in exchange. He further made a thrust at Armenian-held Samshvilde, as well.[1]

Gurgen was married to a daughter of Ashot the Swift, member of the Bagratid line of Klarjeti. They had the only daughter who married the Abasgian prince Bagrat, son of King Constantine III. With Gurgen’s death in 941, the Bagratid line of Tao became extinct and his state was divided among other branches of the dynasty.[1][2]

Genealogy

Georgian monarchs family tree of Bagrationi dynasty of Tao-Klarjeti[3][4]
Ancient
MONARCHS
of Iberia
Adarnase I
founder of the dynasty;
Prince of Tao
r. ~780 (775/786)
d. 807		daughter of
Nerse
Ashot I
Prince of Iberia
r.813–826		Latavri
Princess of Iberia
Adarnase II
co-ruler
r.830–867		Bagrat I
Prince of Iberia
r.826–876		Guaram Mampali
co-ruler
r.830–881
Gurgen I
Grand Duke of Tao
r.881–891		Ashot the Beautiful
d. 867		Sumbat I
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.870–889		AdarnaseDavid I
Prince of Iberia
r.876–881		AshotNasra
Grand Duke of Samtskhe,
Shavsheti and Artaani
r.881–888
Ashot the Immature
Grand Duke of Tao
r.908–918		Adarnase III
Grand Duke of Tao
r.891–896		Bagrat I
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.889–900		David I
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.889–943		Adarnase IV[a]
Prince of Iberia
r.881–888
King of the Iberians
r.888–923
David
Grand Duke of Tao
r.896–908		Gurgen
Grand Duke of Tao
r.918–941		Dinar
Queen of Hereti		Adarnase IIAshot the SwiftDavid
d. 908		Gurgen ISumbat II
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.961–966		David II
King of the Iberians
r.923–937		Bagrat I
Grand Duke of Tao
r.941–945		Sumbat I
King of the Iberians
r.954–958		Ashot II
Grand Duke of Tao
r.937–954
Bagrat
d. 922		Gurgen
d. 968		David II
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.988–993		Bagrat II
d. 988		Adarnase V
Grand Duke of Tao
r. 945–961		Adarnase IV
d. 983		Bagrat II
King of the Iberians
r.958–994
Gurgen[c]Sumbat III[c]
Grand Duke of Klarjeti
r.993–1011		David III[b]
Grand Duke of Tao
r. 966–1001		Bagrat II
Grand Duke of Tao
r. 961–966		Gurgen
King of the Iberians
r.994–1008
Demetrius
d. 1028		Bagrat III of Klarjeti
King of Klarjeti
r.1027–1028		Bagrat III
King of Georgia
r.1008–1014
BAGRATIONI
of united Georgia

Notes

  1. ^
    Adarnase IV restored Georgian kingship in 888[5] as the Kingdom of the Iberians and this would go on to dominate the political life of Georgia for a thousand years.[6]
  2. ^
    David III, being childless, took advice from the Georgian aristocracy and adopted his kin, prince Bagrat in 975.[7] This will lead and pave the way for the unification of Georgia.[8]
  3. ^
    King Bagrat III, the first monarch of unified Georgia was ruthless in his state administration. While visiting Castle of Panaskerti in Tao, king summoned his two cousins, Sumbat III and Gurgen. They were arrested and executed. Sumbat’s son Bagrat, and Gurgen’s son Demetrius, escaped to the Byzantine Empire. The Bagrationi line of Tao was already extinct since 941;[9] now with purging his own cousins the line of Klarjeti was also gone and no rival could ever claim the Georgian throne.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). Studies in Christian Caucasian History, pp. 494-6. Georgetown University Press
  2. ^ Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts, p. 391. Peeters Publishers, ISBN 90-429-1318-5
  3. ^ Settipani, p. 540
  4. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 9218
  5. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 1337
  6. ^ Rapp (2016) location: 5454
  7. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 1379
  8. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 1338-1384
  9. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 1323
  10. ^ Rayfield (2013) location: 1502

Bibliography

References

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