Guaram I (Georgian: გუარამ I) was a Georgian prince, who attained to the hereditary rulership of Iberia and the East Roman (Byzantine) title of curopalates from 588 to c. 590. He is commonly identified with the Gurgenes (Γουργένης, Hellenized form of Middle Persian Gurgēn) of the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes.
Guaram was born to Leo, the younger son of king Vakhtang I Gorgasali and his Roman consort Helene, thus being a member of the younger, non-royal branch of the Chosroid dynasty, which was in possession of the southwestern Iberian duchies of Klarjeti and Javakheti. He is reported by the medieval Georgian author Sumbat Davitis-Dze to be the first Bagrationi ruler, a claim that has not been accepted as credible.[1]
When the war between the Roman and Sasanian empires resumed under Justin II (r. 565–578), Guaram/Gurgenes allied himself with the Armenian prince Vardan III Mamikonian and the Romans in a desperate attempt to break free of Sasanian control in 572 (Theoph. Byz. Fr. 3). He apparently fled to Constantinople when the uprising failed and remained there until he reappeared on political scene in 588, when the Iberians are reported by the Georgian chronicler Juansher to have revolted from the Sasanid rule again. The Iberian nobles asked the emperor Maurice (r. 582–602) for a ruler from the Iberian royal house; Maurice sent Guaram, conferring on him the dignity of curopalates and sending him to Mtskheta. Thus, the presiding principate of Iberia replaced the Chosroid kingship dormant since its suppression by the Sasanids c. 580. He has traditionally been credited with the foundation of the Jvari Monastery at Mtskheta. Guaram was succeeded by his son, Stephen I.[2][3]
Guaram I was the first Georgian ruler to take the unusual step of issuing coins modeled on the silver drachms of the Sasanids. These coins, referred to as the "Iberian-Sasanid", feature the initials GN, i.e., Gurgen. Thus, "Guaram" (recorded by the Georgian chronicles) seems to have been the name destined for the domestic usage; while "Gurgen" was the official name of this ruler used for foreign relations, and found in the coinage and in foreign sources.[4]
^Rapp, Stephen H., Sumbat Davitis-dze and the Vocabulary of Political Authority in the Era of Georgian Unification. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 120, No. 4 (Oct.-Dec., 2000), pp. 570-576.
^Martindale, John Robert (1992), The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, p. 558. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
^Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation: 2nd edition, pp. 23-25. Indiana University Press, ISBN 0-253-20915-3
^Toumanoff, Cyril (1963), Studies in Christian Caucasian History, p. 434. Georgetown University Press.
and 27 Related for: Guaram I of Iberia information
GuaramI (Georgian: გუარამ I) was a Georgian prince, who attained to the hereditary rulership ofIberia and the East Roman (Byzantine) title of curopalates...
627. He was killed after Siege of Tbilisi by the invading Byzantine army. The son and successor ofGuaramIofIberia, Stephen reversed his father’s pro-Byzantine...
Guaram III (Georgian: გუარამ III), of the Guaramid dynasty, was a presiding prince ofIberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from before 693 to c. 748. Guaram...
Bagrat I, Adarnase II, and Guaram. His daughter was married to Theodosius II of Abkhazia. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashot IofIberia. "† orthodoxy...
Bagrat I (Georgian: ბაგრატ I) (died 876), of the Bagratid dynasty, was a presiding prince ofIberia (modern Georgia) from 830 until his death. Bagrat inherited...
respond, and, in 588, sent his protégé, GuaramIof the Guaramids, as a new ruler to Iberia. However, Guaram was not crowned as king, but recognized as...
placed himself under suzerainty ofGuaram's nephew David I (son of Bagrat I) soon after 876. These rearrangements left Guaram's son Nasra essentially with...
respond, and, in 588, sent his protégé, GuaramIof the Guaramids, as a new ruler to Iberia. However, Guaram was not crowned as king, but recognized as...
continues the line of presiding princes of Iberia, now as kings ofIberia. Usually counted as I, but he was the second Ashot ruling in Tao, after Ashot the...
Bagratid dynasty ofIberia/Kartli. Guaram shared the control over the patrimonial holdings of Tao-Klarjeti with his two brothers — Bagrat I the Curopalate...
Princes of Klarjeti and Javakheti. Beginning with Leo's son GuaramI (r. 588–c. 590), members of this house were Presiding Princes ofIberia in the years...
by Iran in the peace of 591, which divided Iberia between Byzantium and Iran at Tbilisi. Guaram's son and successor, Stephanus I (r. 590–627), transferred...
Martyropolis (modern Turkey). Summer – GuaramIofIberia, Georgian prince in exile, is sent by Emperor Maurice to the city of Mtskheta (Georgia). He restores...
brother, Guaram Mampali. Together, Ashot and Bagrat defeated Guaram. In 881, Ashot formed an alliance with David IofIberia and Adarnase IV ofIberia, Bagrat's...
killed, and the Arabs installed Guaram II of the rival Guaramid Dynasty in Iberia. The exterior stone plaque of the church of the Holy Cross at Mtskheta,...
a hereditary duke (eristavi) of Inner Iberia, he seems to have succeeded the Guaramid ruler Guaram III, whose son, Guaram IV was married to Adarnase's...
Leo was father ofGuaramIofIberia. The accuracy of the descent is unknown. Hugh Elton, "Flavius Basiliscus (AD 475-476)" The Life of Daniel The Stylite...
Martyropolis (modern Turkey). Summer – GuaramIofIberia, Georgian prince in exile, is sent by Emperor Maurice to the city of Mtskheta (Georgia). He restores...
III), of the Guaramid dynasty, was a presiding prince ofIberia (Kartli, eastern Georgia) from 779/780 to 786. He was the son ofGuaram IV ofIberia. Stephen...
with one of the four brothers, Guaram (died in 532), founding a line subsequently called Bagrationi after his son Bagrat. A successor, Guaram, was installed...
buffer states of the Caucasus had not been able to prevent that invasion. Furthermore, local Christian rulers, such as Guaram III ofIberia still kept contact...
king of the Lombards Blane, Scottish bishop and saint Eormenric, king of Kent (England) Gisulf I, duke of Friuli (Italy) GuaramI, king ofIberia (Georgia)...
History of Georgia. See also the List of Georgian Kings and Queens. Timeline of Tbilisi William Henry Overall, ed. (1870). "Georgia, Asia". Dictionary of Chronology...
equated by the Georgian scholars with Stephen I, son ofGuaram; Demetre, brother of Stephen I and Adarnase I. However, an opinion expressed by Professor...
most of the damage in the Eastern part of the country was actually the result of the previous Khazar raids, and that the local Georgian prince, Guaram III...
type coin of prince GuaramI, with obverse bust of Hormizd IV and asomtavruli inscription GRG, i.e. Gurgen Sasanian type coin of prince Stephen I, with obverse...