The Dangerous World of Vakhtang Gorgasali

Geopolitics And Georgian Identity In Late Antiquity 29

Geopolitics And Georgian Identity In Late Antiquity: The Dangerous World Of Vakhtang Gorgasali

Christopher Haas

Some 15 miles northwest of Tbilisi stands the ancient Georgian city of Mtskheta, the first capital of the east Georgian kingdom of Iberia.1 Situated at the confluence of the Mtkvari and Aragvi rivers, Mtskheta contains the late antique palace and cemetery complex of Samtavro, while nearby the earlier fortress and acropolis of Armazistsikhe overlooks the city. However, Mtskheta’s enduring importance for Georgians may be attributed to the presence of Svetiskhoveli cathedral, long regarded as the holiest place in all Georgia. According to Georgian tradition, a pious Jew of the first century named Elias brought back Christ’s robe to Mtskheta from Jerusalem. Elias’s sister, Sidonia, was so overcome with joy when she grasped the robe that she died instantly, and the robe had to be buried with her since no one could loosen her grip even in death. From Sidonia’s grave a huge tree grew up, and when, in the fourth century, St. Nino encouraged the newly-con- verted king Mirian III to build a church, columns for the new structure were made out of timber from the tree. One of the pillars could only be put in place through St. Nino’s prayers, and this column exuded miraculous power for healing, thereby giving the church its name, Svetiskhoveli, or “the life-giving pillar.”2

1 This article arose from a paper that was presented as “Shifting Religious Adherence & Geo-Political Competition in Late Antiquity: Vakhtang Gorgasali of Iberia and Yūsuf As’ar Yathʼar of Himyar,” Group and Religion in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages: A Work- shop Organized by the Group for the Study of Late Antiquity, Princeton University, April 17, 2009. I am grateful to all those who generously shared with me their suggestions and assistance: Glen Bowersock, Peter Brown, Niko Chocheli, Christina Maranci, Hagith Sivan, Mark Humphries, and Basil Lourié. 2 The fullest Georgian version of the introduction of Christianity to the Iberian kingdom may be found in the corpus of texts known collectively as The Conversion of K’art’li (mok’c’evay k’art’lisay), embedded within the History of the Kings of K’art’li; text in ი. აბულაძე, ძველი ქართული აგიოგრაფიული ლიტერატურის ძეგლები [i. abulaje, jveli k’art’uli agiograp’iuli literaturis jeglebi (I. Abuladze, Monuments of Ancient Georgian Hagiographical Literature)] Vol. 1 (Tbilisi: Metsniereba, 1963), 81-163; trans. by R. W. Thom- son in Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 84-145. Both the Conversion of K’art’li and the History of the Kings of K’art’li probably date from the seventh-ninth centuries (though 30 Christopher Haas

Drawing near to the altar area, one notices very prominently in the floor a cenotaph frequently adorned with fresh flowers. This cenotaph marks the traditional gravesite of Vakhtang Gorgasali, the late-fifth-century sainted king of Iberia.3 He acquired his sobriquet of Gorgasali because of the distinctive helmet he wore bearing the face of a wolf. “Gorgasali” was thought to derive from a Persian term for “wolf’s head.” Tales of Vakhtang’s martial prowess, his Christian piety, his sense of duty, and his justice as a ruler abounded during the medieval period, so much so that the success of medieval Georgian rulers was often measured against the high standard set by Vakhtang Gorgasali. By the twelfth century, Georgian historical writ- ers had coined an adjective which was invoked whenever they wanted to pay the supreme compliment to their monarch—gorgasalian. This term

some scholars argue for a date as early as the fifth century) and were included as integral parts in the much larger K’art’lis C’xovreba, i.e., the History/Life of K’art’li. The Georgian text and the Armenian adaptation are now edited by S. H. Rapp, K’art’lis c’xovreba: The Georgian Royal Annals and Their Medieval Armenian Adaptation, 2 vols. (Delmar, NY: Caravan Books, 1998). See also, D. Rayfield, The Literature of Georgia: A History (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994), 49–57; C. B. Horn, “St. Nino and the Christianization of Pagan Georgia,” Medieval Encounters 4.3 (1998): 242–264; Z. Alexidze, “Four Recensions of the ‘Conversion of Georgia,’” in Die Christianisierung des Kaukasus, Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Byzantinistik, Bd. 9, ed. W. Seibt (Vienna: Ö sterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2002), 9–16; S. H. Rapp, Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts and Eurasian Contexts, CSCO 601, Subsidia 113 (Leuven: Peeters, 2003); ლ. პატარიძე, “ქართველთა გაქრისტიანება ქართლის ცხოვრების მიხედვით” [l. patarije, “k’art’velt’a gak’ristianeba k’art’lis c’xovrebis mixedvit’” (L. Pataridze, “The Conversion of Georgia according to Kartlis Tskhovreba)”], in ქრისტიანობა საქართველოში: ისტორიულ– ეთნოლოგიური გამოკვლევები. რედ. ნ. აბაკელია და მ. ჩხარტიშვილი [k’ristianoba sak’art’veloši: istoriul-et’nologiuri gamokvlevebi. red. n. abakelia da m. č’xartišvili (Christianity in Georgia: Historical and Ethnological Investigations. Ed. N. Abakelia and M. Chkhartishvili)] (Tbilisi: Mematiane, 2000), 8–16 (in Georgian, with English summary at p. 126); and C. Haas, “Mountain Constantines: The Christianization of Aksum and Iberia,” JLA 1.1 (2008): 101–126. 3 The most important modern studies are: ვ. გოილაძე, ვახტანგ გორგასალი და მისი ისტორიკოსი [v. goilaje, vaxtang gorgasali da misi istorikosi (V. Goiladze, Vaxtang Gorgasali and His Historian)] (Tbilisi: Mecniereba, 1991); კ. კეკელიძე, “ვახტანგ გორგასლის ისტორიკოსი და მისი ისტორია,” [k. kekelije, “vaxtang gorgaslis istorikosi da misi istoria” (K. Kekelidze, “Vaxtang Gorgasali’s historian and his history”) (first published in 1923)] in კ. კეკელიძე, ეტიუდები ძველი ქართული ლიტერატურის ისტორიიდან [k. kekelije, etiudebi jveli k’art’uli literaturis istoriidan (K. Kekelidze, Studies in the History of Ancient Georgian Literature)], vol. 4 (Tbilisi: Publishing House of the Acad- emy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR, 1957), 187–201; ს. კაკაბაძე, ვახტანგ გორგასალი და მისი ხანა [s. kakabaje, vaxtang gorgasali da misi xana (S. Kakabadze, Vaxtang Gorgasali and His Times)] (Tbilisi: Nekeri, 1994); and M. van Esbroeck, “La Vision de Vakhtang Gor- gasali et sa signification,” in Proceedings of the First International Symposium in Kartvelian Studies, ed. E. Khintibidze (Tbilisi: Tbilisi State University Press, 1988), 221–228.