Ashot II Kuropalates
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Ashot II Kuropalates (937-954), son of Adarnase I and the younger brother of David II Magistros, was a Georgian prince of the Kartli-line of the Iberian Bagratids.
Since David II did not have a male heir, Ashot succeeded him as king of the Kartvelians in 937. In contrast to David, who only had the title of a magistros, Ashot was bestowed with -then highest for non-members of the imperial dynasty- Byzantine court title of kuropalatès.
During his reign, the Vita of Saint Grigol Khandzteli was composed by Giorgi Merchule. Ashot actively supported the development of monasticism in Tao-Klarjeti and rebuilt the main church of the monastery at Opiza.
According to the art historian W. Djobadze, the bas-relief from Opiza which was brought to Georgia at the end of World War I and which is now on display at the State Museum of Fine Arts in Tbilisi, does not render Ashot I Kuropalates (end of the 8th cent. - 830) and the Biblical King David, but the 10th century re-builders of the monastery, Ashot II and David II.
