Iberia, Principate of

Principality of Iberia and Principate of Iberia are conventional terms to describe an early medieval aristocratic regime in a core Georgian region of Kartli, i.e. Iberia per classical authors

It flourishes in the period of interregnum between the sixth and ninth centuries, when the leading political authority is exercised by a succession of princes.

The principate is established shortly after the Sassanid suppression of the local royal Chosroid Dynasty, around 580; it lasts until 888, when the kingship is restored by a member of the Bagrationi Dynasty.

Its borders fluctuate greatly as the presiding princes of Iberia confront the Persians, Byzantines, Khazars, Arabs, and the neighboring Caucasian rulers throughout this period.

The time of the principate is climacteric in the history of Georgia; the principate sees the final formation of the Georgian Christian church, the first flourishing of a literary tradition in the native language, the rise of the Georgian Bagratid family, and the beginning of cultural and political unification of various feudal enclaves, which will commingle in the Kingdom of Georgia by the early eleventh century.

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