Key Facts
- Duration
- c. 298 BC – 580 AD
- Region
- Eastern Georgia (Caucasus)
- State religion adopted
- Christianity, 4th century AD (reign of Mirian III)
- End of monarchy
- 580 AD, abolished by Sassanid king Hormizd IV
- Ruling dynasties
- Pharnavazid, Artaxiad, Arsacid, Chosroid
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The Kingdom of Kartli, known to Greco-Roman geographers as Iberia, emerged around the late 4th century BC in eastern Georgia under the Pharnavazid dynasty. Situated between the Black Sea and Caspian regions, it controlled vital Caucasian trade and military routes. Over successive centuries it expanded its influence, navigating the competing pressures of Hellenistic kingdoms, Rome, Parthia, and Armenia while maintaining a distinct Kartvelian cultural identity.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, Iberia held sway over eastern Georgia and commanded strategic passes through the Caucasus. In the 4th century AD, under King Mirian III, Christianity became the state religion, a defining cultural transformation attributed to the missionary work of Saint Nino. This conversion aligned Iberia more closely with the Roman world and set the foundations for a distinctive Georgian Christian literary and ecclesiastical tradition.
Phase III: Decline
From the early 6th century AD, Iberia's status shifted from Sassanid vassal to direct Persian provincial rule. In 580 AD, following the death of King Bakur III, the Sassanid ruler Hormizd IV abolished the Iberian monarchy and placed the territory under a Persian governor (marzpan). Despite this political collapse, the Kartvelian population and Christian institutions endured, eventually contributing to the formation of the unified medieval Kingdom of Georgia under the Bagrationi dynasty.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory