Mirian III of Iberia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mirian III (Georgian: მირიან III) in 4th century AD, (also known as Saint King Mirian), was King of eastern Georgian Kingdom of Iberia (Kartli). In 327 A.D., King Mirian became the first Christian monarch of Georgia and established Christianity as the official state religion. He founded the church in Mtskheta on the site of which the cathedral of Svetitskhoveli was eventually erected.
Contents |
[edit] Early Life
Mirian was born in 265 A.D into the royal family of the Ibrerian Kings. His father Shapour I was from the Sassanian dynasty and passed his reign to Mirian in 318 A.D. As the Persian Empire dominated as the regional power, its influence was spreading throughout Caucasus. As the struggle between the Roman Empire and Persia intensified over the region, Mirian was confronted with the choice of political orientation of his kingdom. Mirian was inclined to lead his kingdom into the alliance with Constantinople and break away from the growing Persian influence and military expansion. However, the Iberian religion which derived from Persian gods significantly influenced the political situation in Iberia. Mirian pressured by the influential pagan priests was unable to make contacts with the Roman Empire. However, in the eastern Georgian Kingdom of Colchis and in the Southern Kingdom of Armenia, Christianity became the official state religion which gave them opportunity to come under the protection and influence of the Roman/Byzantine Empire.
[edit] Mirian and Christianity
King Mirian's reign was marked by the emergence of a new religion which spread all over Armenia, Asian Minor, Colchis (Pityus), Trabizond and reached his kingdom by 314 A.D. After witnessing his own wife, Queen Nana baptized by the young nun named Nino from Cappadocia, and growing Christian community in his kingdom, Mirian exploited this opportunity to break away from the Persian influence and wealthy pegan priesthood. According to the legend, when hunting in the woods near his capital Mtskheta, the darkness fell upon the land and the King was totally blinded. Confused and in desperate, the King prayed to "Nino’s God" for aid. After uttering the prayer, the light resumed and Mirian was able to find his way back to Mtskheta. Upon his arrival he requested the audience with Nino and converted to Christianity soon after.
In about 327 A.D, King Mirian proclaimed Christianity as the religion of Iberia, and outlawed the pagan gods. After the conversion of Iberia to Christianity, Mirian advised by St Nino sent an ambassador to Emperor Constantine I and asked him for bishops, priests and clergy to be sent to Iberia from Constantinople. As Roman historian Tyrannius Rufinus writes, Constantine overwhelmed by the news of Iberian conversion, sent the delegation of bishops and clergyman to the court of the Iberian King. [1] Constantine also allocated the space for the Iberian church in Jerusalem called Lotasa (where the Convent of the Holy Cross was built). [2]
According to some sources, King Mirian visited Constantinople and met with Constantine I in Byzantine capital Constantinople. Before his death, Mirian travelled to Jerusalem where he oversaw the building of the Georgian Monastery. Mirian was buried in Mtskheta beside his wife Nana and their tomb can be seen today in the Samtavro church.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Tyrannius Rufinus, Historia Ecclesiastica
- ^ Theodore Dowling, The Sketches of Georgian Church History, Adamant Media Corporation, 2003 p 52
