Georgia in the Roman era

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The area of

Iberia in the Caucasus region. These kingdoms roughly correspond to some of the western and eastern parts of modern Georgia.[1]

History

Main article:
Pompey's Georgian campaign
Pontus
.

Rome's conquests reached the Caucasus area at the end of the 2nd century BC, when the Roman Republic started to expand in Anatolia and the Black Sea.

In the area of what is now western Georgia there was the

was invaded
and became a vassal state of the empire.

From this point on Colchis became the Roman province of

Pontus in 63 AD, and successively in Cappadocia by Domitian 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 to Rome 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 of

Roman-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 under

Anicetus staged a major uprising against the Romans
which ended unsuccessfully.

Mithraic 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 at Mtskheta 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." Emperor Vespasian
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 King

Pharsman II Kveli (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 emperor Marcus Aurelius
to Rome and an equestrian statue of Iberian king has been erected on Mars square in his honor.

In the 3rd century

Sassanid empires, culminating in the Lazic War from 542 to 562.[4]

"Pompey's Bridge" was built in Georgia by the Roman legionaries of Pompey

Furthermore, in the early 3rd century, Rome had to acknowledge sovereignty of Caucasian Albania and Armenia to

Sassanid Persia, but all what is now Georgia was back under Roman control with Aurelian and Diocletian 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 the

Eastern Roman Empire, during Justinian I.[6]

Indeed, in 591 AD Byzantium and Persia agreed to divide Caucasian Iberia between them, with Tbilisi to be in Persian hands and Mtskheta 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 Emperor Heraclius's offensive in 628 AD brought victory over the Persians and ensured Roman predominance in western and eastern Georgia until the invasion and conquest of the Caucasus by the Arabs in the second half of the 7th century.

Indeed, the presence of Rome started to disappear from Georgia after the

Leontios.[7]

The Lazica province of Justinian in 565 AD

Sebastopolis (actual

sacked and destroyed by the Arab conqueror Marwan II
in 736 AD.

Roman Christianity

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

Indeed, Christianity, first preached by the

Caucasian 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 to

St. George, and Susanna, sister of the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[10]

Christianity was declared the state religion by King Mirian 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 the Cathedral of the Living Pillar in Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Georgia.

Petra in

bishopric in Georgia that is included in the Catholic Church's list of titular sees.[11]

Roman forts

The remnants of the eastern gate in Archaeopolis
Gonio
(previously called "Apsaros"): remains of a Roman bath house in the fortress.

Roman presence was huge in coastal Georgia, where some

Gonio
, 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 capital Mtskheta).

The main Roman Forts (and related cities) were:

  • Batumi. Under Hadrian it was converted into a fortified Roman port, later deserted for the nearby fortress of Petra 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 by Goths 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".
  • Euxine fleet in 65 BC.[13]
  • Sukhumi. Roman emperor Augustus 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]

Mithridates 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 modern Tbilisi, was presumably a preventive measure against the Alans
who frequently raided the Roman frontiers from across the Caucasus.

See also

References

  1. ^ W.E.D. Allen, A history of the Georgian people (1932), p. 123
  2. ^ Theodor Mommsen, William Purdie Dickson, Francis Haverfield. The provinces of the Roman Empire: from Caesar to Diocletian. Gorgias Press LLC, 2004: pg. 68
  3. ^ "Christianity and the Georgian Empire" (early history) Library of Congress, March 1994, webpage:LCweb2-ge0015.
  4. ^ "History of the later Roman Empire: The Lazic war".
  5. ^ "Ancient Georgia".
  6. ^ "Wars of Justinian I".
  7. ^ Haldon, John F. Byzantium in the seventh century p.72
  8. ^ The Church Triumphant: A History of Christianity Up to 1300, E. Glenn Hinson, p 223
  9. ^ Prayers from the East: Traditions of Eastern Christianity, Richard Marsh, p. 3
  10. ^ "stnina.ca/stnina_life.html". Archived from the original on 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  11. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), p. 952
  12. ^ "Photos of Gonio-Apsaros".
  13. ISBN 0-7099-4127-7
    .
  14. ^ "Archaeopolis".
  15. ^ Sherk, Robert K. (1988), The Roman Empire: Augustus to Hadrian, p. 128-9

Bibliography

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