Azo of Iberia

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For other uses, see Azo.

Azo, Azoy or Azon (

king of Macedon (r.
336–323 BC).

Medieval tradition

His name and origin are differently given by the medieval Georgian chronicles. While

The Life of Kartli knows him as Azon and brands him a Macedonian outsider. Azo and Azon unquestionably represent the same figure and both sources credit his position to Alexander’s mythic expedition into inner Georgia.[1]

According to The Conversion of Kartli, Azo was the son of an unnamed king of Arian Kartli, who was brought, together with followers, to Kartli proper by Alexander and installed as the first king (

P’arnavaziani), whose father and uncle were killed by Azon.[2][1]

Modern interpretation

The identification of Azo/Azon is one of the most complex and contentious enigmas of early Georgian history. His rule is conventionally dated by the Georgian scholar Sergi Gorgadze to 330–272 BC, though this chronology lacks precision.[3]

Despite their differences, the two medieval traditions concur that kingship was established in Mtskheta in the early

Darius" (identifiable with Mithridates II of Cius) installed by Alexander to rule over the Georgians. Professor Giorgi Melikishvili has drawn several parallels between the stories of the Azon of the Georgian chronicles and the Mithridates of the Armenian tradition.[4]

Several modern scholars believe Azo’s story indirectly suggests the migration of the early Georgian tribes to the northwest and blending of Anatolian elements with the tribes living in Kartli proper.[5] On the other hand, the version of The Life of Kartli, which anachronistically refers to Azon's entourage as "Romans", might well have reflected the Roman activities in Iberia, presumably those of the Flavian period (AD 69–96), which have surprisingly been ignored by the Georgian annals.[4][6]

Some modern historians have also attempted to equate Azon (note that the name terminates in the

Thessalian origin, dating from the time when Jason, after leaving with Medea and their children, returned to the empty palace of Aeëtes and the kingless Colchians".[8]

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rapp, p. 270.
  2. ^ Rapp, p. 269.
  3. ^ a b Rapp, p. 273.
  4. ^ a b Kavtaradze, Giorgi L. Georgian Chronicles and the raison d'étre of the Iberian Kingdom (Caucasica II)., pp. 177-237. Orbis Terrarum, Journal of Historical Geography of the Ancient World 6, 2000.
  5. ^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1963), Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p. 89. Georgetown University Press.
  6. ^ Lerner, Constantine B. (2001) The 'River of Paradaise' and the Legend about the City of Tbilisi: A Literary Source of the Legend, p. 76. Folklore Vol. 16.
  7. ^ Rapp, pp. 269-270.
  8. ISBN 0-14-044060-7

References
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