Bagrat I of Iberia

Who was Bagrat I of Iberia?

Bagrat I, of the Bagratid dynasty, was a presiding prince of Iberia from 830 until his death.

Bagrat inherited from his father Ashot I the office of presiding prince of Iberia and the Byzantine title of curopalates. The 10th-century Georgian writer Giorgi Merchule maintains that Bagrat was confirmed as curopalates, following his father, with the agreement of his brothers — Adarnase, and Guaram. Bagrat shared with his brothers the patrimonial holdings, but which lands he actually possessed is not directly indicated in the medieval sources. He probably ruled over a part of Tao and Kola.

Bagrat I found himself in a constant struggle with the Arabs, the Abasgians and the Kakhetians over the possession of central Iberia. In 842, he joined the Arab expedition led by Muhammad ibn Khalid, the Caliph’s viceroy in the Caucasus, against the rebel emir of Tbilisi, Sahak ibn Ismail, and his Kakhetian allies. In turn, the Caliph recognized Bagrat the prince of Iberia-Kartli. The expedition ended fruitlessly and Bagrat had to make peace with Sahak. In August 853, Bagrat joined the Caliph’s second expedition against Sahak, this time led by Bugha the Turk who took Tbilisi and had the emir executed. As a result Bagrat was able to regain Shida Kartli, but only for a brief time as the resurgent Abasgians forced him out of this region.