The son and successor of Guaram I of Iberia, Stephen reversed his father’s pro-Byzantine politics to pro-Iranian and, through loyalty to his Sassanid suzerains, succeeded in reuniting Iberia under his sway. He made Tbilisi his capital and defended it with a Georgian-Iranian force when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius, in alliance with the Khazars, attacked Iberia in 626 (see Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628). Stephen was taken captive in the fighting and Heraclius had him flayed alive. His office was given to Adarnase I, his relative of the old Chosroid house.[1][2]
The period of Stephen's rule coincided with another crucial moment in the history of Georgia. When Stephen switched from a pro-Byzantine position to cooperation with Iran, his religious sympathies shifted toward anti-Chalcedonism, leading to its official adoption by the catholicos of Iberia in 598 or 599. By 608, however, the Georgian Orthodox Church returned to a Chalcedonic position, prompting the sister church of Armenia to break communion with the Georgian church and excommunicate its catholicos Kirion I. It was Heraclius’s campaign, however, that brought about the final victory of Chalcedonian faith in Iberia.[3]
Stephen I was the first among the Georgian rulers who inscribed on the obverse of the "Ibero-Sassanid" drachmas minted by himself the initials of his name, symmetrically placed on the border in Georgian stylized letters. On the reverse of his coins, instead of the sacred flame (Atar), the principal emblem of Zoroastrianism, he placed the Cross – symbol of the victory of Christianity. This was a significant political act pointing not to Stephen’s mere Iranophilia, but rather to his efforts to reestablish the political autonomy of eastern Georgia and strengthen the Christian church.[4][5]
The exterior stone plaque of the church of the Holy Cross at Mtskheta, Georgia, mentions the principal builders of this church: Stephanos the patricius, Demetrius the hypatos, and Adarnase the hypatos who have traditionally been equated by the Georgian scholars with Stephen I, son of Guaram; Demetre, brother of Stephen I and Adarnase I. However, an opinion expressed by Professor Cyril Toumanoff disagrees with this view by identifying these individuals with Stephen II, Demetre (brother of Stephen I), and Adarnase II (son of Stephen II), respectively.[6]
stephen, iberia, stephen, georgian, სტეფანოზ, step, anoz, stephanoz, died, guaramid, dynasty, presiding, prince, iberia, kartli, central, eastern, georgia, from, killed, during, battle, with, invading, byzantine, army, stephen, iruler, iberiareign590, 627prede. Stephen I Georgian სტეფანოზ I Step anoz I or Stephanoz I died 627 of the Guaramid Dynasty was a presiding prince of Iberia Kartli central and eastern Georgia from c 590 to 627 He was killed during the battle with the invading Byzantine army Stephen IRuler of IberiaReign590 627PredecessorGuaram ISuccessorAdarnase IDynastyGuaramid dynasty Ibero Sassanid coin of Stephen IThe son and successor of Guaram I of Iberia Stephen reversed his father s pro Byzantine politics to pro Iranian and through loyalty to his Sassanid suzerains succeeded in reuniting Iberia under his sway He made Tbilisi his capital and defended it with a Georgian Iranian force when the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in alliance with the Khazars attacked Iberia in 626 see Byzantine Sassanid War of 602 628 Stephen was taken captive in the fighting and Heraclius had him flayed alive His office was given to Adarnase I his relative of the old Chosroid house 1 2 The period of Stephen s rule coincided with another crucial moment in the history of Georgia When Stephen switched from a pro Byzantine position to cooperation with Iran his religious sympathies shifted toward anti Chalcedonism leading to its official adoption by the catholicos of Iberia in 598 or 599 By 608 however the Georgian Orthodox Church returned to a Chalcedonic position prompting the sister church of Armenia to break communion with the Georgian church and excommunicate its catholicos Kirion I It was Heraclius s campaign however that brought about the final victory of Chalcedonian faith in Iberia 3 Stephen I was the first among the Georgian rulers who inscribed on the obverse of the Ibero Sassanid drachmas minted by himself the initials of his name symmetrically placed on the border in Georgian stylized letters On the reverse of his coins instead of the sacred flame Atar the principal emblem of Zoroastrianism he placed the Cross symbol of the victory of Christianity This was a significant political act pointing not to Stephen s mere Iranophilia but rather to his efforts to reestablish the political autonomy of eastern Georgia and strengthen the Christian church 4 5 The exterior stone plaque of the church of the Holy Cross at Mtskheta Georgia mentions the principal builders of this church Stephanos the patricius Demetrius the hypatos and Adarnase the hypatos who have traditionally been equated by the Georgian scholars with Stephen I son of Guaram Demetre brother of Stephen I and Adarnase I However an opinion expressed by Professor Cyril Toumanoff disagrees with this view by identifying these individuals with Stephen II Demetre brother of Stephen I and Adarnase II son of Stephen II respectively 6 See also EditSasanian IberiaReferences Edit Suny Ronald Grigor 1994 The Making of the Georgian Nation 2nd edition p 26 Indiana University Press ISBN 0 253 20915 3 Martindale John Robert 1992 The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire pp 1195 1196 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 07233 6 Suny 1994 p 27 Djobadze Wachtang 1960 The Sculptures on the Eastern Facade of the Holy Cross of Mtzkheta Oriens Christianus 44 p 118 Lang David Marshall 1966 The Georgians pp 100 101 Praeger Publishers Rapp Stephen H 2003 Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts p 344 Peeters Bvba ISBN 90 429 1318 5 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stephen I of Iberia Georgian Sassanian coinage obverse and reverse of Stephanos I s drachma Money Museum at the National Bank of Georgia Preceded byGuaram I Prince of Iberia590 627 Succeeded byAdarnase I Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Stephen I of Iberia amp oldid 1157949687, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
