Pharnavaz I of Iberia
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Pharnavaz I | |
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Self-deification ) |
Pharnavaz I
Life
According to the
According to the c. 800 chronicle The Life of Kings, Pharnavaz had a distinguished genealogy, tracing back to
Perhaps the most artistically rounded section of the Georgian annals, the narrative follows Pharnavaz's life from birth to burial.
Pharnavaz is brought up fatherless, but a magic dream, in which he anoints himself with the essence of the Sun, heralds the peripeteia. He is persuaded by this vision to "devote [himself] to noble deeds". He then sets off and goes hunting. In a pursuit of a deer, he encounters a mass of treasure stored in a hidden cave.[21] Pharnavaz retrieves the treasure and exploits it to mount a loyal army against the tyrannical Azon. He is aided by Kuji of Colchis, who eventually marries Pharnavaz's sister.[22] The rebels are also joined by 1,000 soldiers from Azon's camp; they are anachronistically referred to by the author as Romans, and claimed to have been entitled by the victorious Pharnavaz as aznauri (i.e., nobles) after Azon (this etymology is false, however).[9]
The main threads of Pharnavaz's story - a fatherless boy hidden and raised in a remote mountains, a forgotten lineage, his dreams, sacral kingship, solar imagery, the hunt, discovery of cave-concealed treasure etc. are reminiscent of legends about
Reign
In the ensuing battle, Azon is defeated and killed, and Pharnavaz becomes the king of Kartli at the age of 27.
ფარნავაზ წარავლინნა მოციქულნი წინაშე მეფისა ანტიოქოს ასურასტანისა, და წარსცა ძღუენი დიდ-ძალი. და აღუთქუა მას მსახურება, და ითხოვა მისგან შეწევნა ბერძენთა ზედა. ხოლო ანტიოქოს შეიწყნარა ძღუენი მისი, და უწოდა შვილად თჳსად, და წარმოსცა გჳრგჳნი.
Pharnavaz sent his apostles towards the King Antiochus ofcrown.[25]
Pharnavaz is also said to have patterned his administration upon an "Iranian" model.[26]
ესრეთ განაწესა ესე ყოველი ფარნავაზ მიმსგავსებულად სამეფოსა სპარსთასა.
And here Pharnavaz made all and everything alike the Kingdom of the
Pharnavaz had introduced a military-administrative organization based on a network of regional governors or
The hierarchic structure created by Pharnavaz was the following: king; commander-in-chief (spaspet) of the royal army; eristavis; middle commanders (atasistavis tsikhistavis) of the garrisons stationed in the royal strongholds; junior commanders (asistavis) who were the younger sons of the aristocratic families; mercenary professional warriors from the neighboring countries and all the soldiers organized around the entire kingdom.[40]
It is evident that the division of Iberia by Pharnavaz into saeristavos served first and foremost a military aim, namely the organization of people for the purpose of defence. This organization was not so much directed against other countries. Back then the total population of the kingdom would have been, including foreign captives and the population of the tributary areas, about 600,000, which could raise a fairly big army not less than 100,000. According to Strabo the Iberian army numbered 70–80,000 so it appears that each saeristavo had 10,000 soldiers.[41]
While Georgian and Classical evidence makes the contemporaneous Kartlian links with the Seleucids plausible (Toumanoff has even implied that the kings of Kartli might have aided the Seleucids in holding the resurgent
Pharnavaz is then reported to have embarked on social and cultural projects; he supervised two building projects: the raising of the idol Armazi – reputedly named after him – on a mountain ledge and the construction of a similarly named fortress.[43]
Pharnavaz made alliances with various North Caucasian peoples during his reign, to whom he called upon for help against both Macedonia and internal foes. He took a
According to the
და ესე ფარნავაზ იყო პირველი მეფე ქართლსა შინა ქართლოსისა ნათესავთაგანი. ამან განავრცო ენა ქართული, და არ-ღა-რა იზრახებოდა სხუა ენა ქართლსა შინა თჳნიერ ქართულისა. და ამან შექმნა მწიგნობრობა ქართული. და მოკუდა ფარნავაზ, და დაფლეს წინაშე არმაზისა კერპისა.
And here Pharnavaz was first king of Kartli from race of
The chronicles report Pharnavaz's lengthy reign of 65 years.[9][47][2]
ამან ფარნავაზ მოზღუდა ქალაქი მცხეთა მტკიცედ, და ყოველნი ქალაქნი და ციხენი ქართლისანი, მოოჴრებულნი ალექსანდრესგან, ამან აღაშენნა. და ვერ-ღა-რა იძიეს შური ბერძენთა მის ზედა, რამეთუ უცალო იყვნეს ბერძენნი ბრძოლისაგან ჰრომთასა.
Pharnavaz took the city of Mtskheta firmly, and all the cities and castles of Kartli, destroyed by Alexander, he rebuilt them. And the Greeks could not avenge upon him, as the Greeks had warriors no more, because they fought in Rome.[48]
Upon his death, he was buried in front of the idol Armazi and worshipped. His son
Pharnavaz's grave is undisclosed so far. One of the last monarchs who visited his grave to adorn it and pay his respects was King Mirian III.[52] Pharnavaz's very burial in front of idol Armazi suggests a Hellenistic deification of the early monarchs of Iberia.[39]
Several modern scholars have been tempted to make identification between the Pharnavaz of the medieval Georgian tradition and the Pharasmanes of the
At this time also came Pharasmanes, king of the Chorasmians, to
Artabazos II of Phrygia, to whom he had intrusted the government of the Bactrians, and to all the other viceroys who were his neighbours, he sent him back to his own abode. He told Pharasmanes that his mind at that time was engrossed by the desire of conquering India; for when he had subdued them, he should possess the whole of Asia. He added that when Asia was in his power he would return to Greece, and thence make an expedition with all his naval and military forces to the eastern part of the Black Seathrough the Hellespont and Propontis. And he desired Pharasmanes to reserve the fulfilment of his present promises until then.
Legacy
The
In Tbilisi there is a King Pharnavaz Street, Avenue, and also a statue of Pharnavaz. Also, there are streets named after Pharnavaz in Batumi, Kutaisi, Khashuri, Gori, Gurjaani, Sachkhere, Zestaponi and others. Some buildings, including schools and hotels, also bear his name, as well as about five hundred Georgians.[58]
See also
Notes
- ^ Also transliterated as Parnavaz, Farnavaz, Pharnabaz, Pharnabaze, Pharnabazo, Pharnabazus or Pharnaoz
- Prince Vakhushti of Kartli
References
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 6–7
- ^ a b c d Toumanoff, p. 9
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 20, line of edition 17
- ^ a b Georgian royal annals, page of edition 20, line of edition 18
- ^ Rapp, p. 274.
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 203
- ^ Rayfield (2013), p. 23
- ^ Rayfield (2013), pp. 22-23
- ^ a b c d e Rapp, p. 276.
- ^ Rayfield (2013), p. 15
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 20, line of edition 17-18-19
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 205-239
- ^ Prince Royal Teimuraz, History of Iberia or Georgia, that is All of Sakartvelo, 1832, pp. 111-112
- ^ Rapp, pp. 275-276.
- ^ Rayfield (2013), p. 22
- ^ Gamkrelidze, p. 122
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 216
- ^ Rayfield, p. 60.
- ^ Toumanoff, p. 8
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 205
- ^ Rayfield, p. 61; Rapp, p. 276.
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 3
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 208
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 209
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 23, line of edition 12-13-14-15
- ^ Rapp, p. 275.
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 25, line of edition 4
- ^ Rapp (2014), p. 211
- ^ Rapp, p. 277; Suny, p. 12.
- ^ Gamkrelidze, p. 134
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 9–11
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 12–13
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 14–15
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 16–17
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 18–19
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 20–21
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 22–23
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 24–25; page of edition 25, line of edition 2–3
- ^ a b Rapp (2014), p. 212
- ^ Gamkrelidze, p. 135
- ^ Henri J. M. Claessen, Peter Skalnik, The Early State, p. 263
- ^ Toumanoff, p. 185.
- ^ a b Rapp, p. 277.
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 25, line of edition 5
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 24, line of edition 2
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 26, line of edition 8-9-10
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 25, line of edition 14
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 25, line of edition 6-7-8-9
- ^ a b Rapp, p. 280.
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 26, line of edition 13
- ^ Rayfield (2013), p. 24
- ^ Georgian royal annals, page of edition 65, line of edition 19
- ^ Rapp, p. 279.
- ^ Giorgi L. Kavtaradze. The Interrelationship between the Transcaucasian and Anatolian Populations by the Data of the Greek and Latin Literary Sources. The Thracian World at the Crossroads of Civilisations. Reports and Summaries. The 7th International Congress of Thracology. P. Roman (ed.). Bucharest: the Romanian Institute of Thracology, 1996.
- ^ Arrian, Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica, p. 118 4-5-6
- ^ Salia, p. 129
- ^ Salia, pp. 130-133
- ^ Statistics Public Service Hall
Bibliography
- ISBN 90-429-1318-5.
- Rapp, Stephen H. (2014) The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature Ashgate Publishing
- Georgian royal annals, Life of Pharnavaz: The first Georgian king of Kartli, Part IV. TITUS(Online Version).
- ISBN 0-7007-1163-5.
- Rayfield, Donald (2013), Edge of Empires: A History of Georgia, Reaktion Books
- ISBN 0-253-20915-3.
- Toumanoff, Cyril (1963) Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Georgetown University Press.
- Salia, Kalistrat (1980) Histoire de la nation géorgienne
- Gamkrelidze, Gela (2012) Researches in Iberia-Colchology, David Braund ed.
Further reading
- ISBN 0-521-24693-8.
- «Обращение Грузии», перевод с древнегрузинского Е. С. Такаишвили. Редакционная обработка, исследование и комментарии М. И. Чхартишвили. Тбилиси — 1989
- Lordkipanidze, Otar (1983) "La Géorgie à l'époque hellénistique", dans Dialogues d'histoire ancienne, vol. 9, pp. 197–216.
- Brosset, Marie-Félicité (1849) Histoire de la Géorgie, Saint-Pétersbourg
- Toumanoff, Cyrill (1969) Chronology of the early Kings of Iberia Traditio, Vol. 25, pp. 1–33