Bagrat I Kuropalates

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Bagrat I Kuropalates (830-876) was the second son of Ashot I. He succeeded his father as presiding prince of Iberia and kuropalates, but it is unclear which lands he actually possessed; most likely he ruled over a part of Tao and Kola.

Bagrat I found himself in a constant struggle with the Arabs, the Abkhazians and the Kakhetians over the possession of Shida Kartli ("Inner Kartli"). In 840, he joined the Arab expedition led by Muhammad b. Khalid against the rebel emir of Tbilisi, Ishak b. Ismail and his Kakhetian allies. The Battle of Rekhi was a failure, however, and Bagrat made peace with Ishak. In August 853, he allied himself with Bugha the Turk to defeat Ishak and the Abkhazians. Eventually he regained the region around Tbilisi and he was recognised as the supreme ruler of Kartli by both the Arab Caliph and the Byzantine Emperor. As the presiding prince of Iberia he strongly supported the development of monasticism in Klarjeti by granting the zealous monk-father Grigol Khandzteli material help to build the monastery church at Khandzta.

Bagrat I had three sons: His oldest son David who succeeded him on the throne, his second oldest son Adarnase who already died during the lifetime of his father, and his youngest son Ashot who died in 885.