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The Chosroid dynasty (a Latinization of Khosrovianni, ხოსროვიანები), also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a dynasty of kings and later presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia from the 4th to the 9th centuries. The family, of Iranian peoples Mihranid origin, accepted Christianity as their official religion (or 319/326), and maneuvered between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Dynasty Iran to retain a degree of independence. After the Sasanian Iberia by the Sassanids c. 580, the dynasty survived in its two closely related, but sometimes competing princely branches—the elder Chosroid and the younger Guaramid Dynasty—down to the early ninth century when they were succeeded by the Georgian Bagratids on the throne of Iberia.
According to the Georgian Chronicles, the first Chosroid king Mirian III (Mihran) (ruled 284–361 AD) was installed, through his marriage to an Iberian princess Abeshura (daughter of the last Georgian Arsacid king Aspacures I), on the throne of Iberia by his father whom the Georgian chronicles refer to as "Chosroes", Great King of Iran.Thomson, Robert W. (1996), Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles: The Original Georgian Texts and the Armenian Adaptation, pp. 74–5. . Another medieval Georgian chronicle, Conversion of Kartli, is at odds with the tradition of Life of the Kings of the Georgian Chronicles and identifies Mirian as the son of King Lev, successor of King Aspacures I. Lev is unattested elsewhere.Rapp, pp. 293–295
As an Iranian vassal king, Mirian III (ruled 284–361), the founder of the Chosroid dynasty, participated in the Sassanid war against the Roman Empire. However, in the Peace of Nisibis of 298, Rome was acknowledged its suzerainty over eastern Georgia, but recognized Mirian as the king of Iberia. Mirian quickly adapted to the change in the political fabric of Caucasia, and established close ties with Rome.Suny, Ronald Grigor (1994), The Making of the Georgian Nation, p. 15. Indiana University Press, . This association was further enhanced after the female Christian missionary, Saint Nino, converted Mirian, his wife Nana and household into Christianity in or around 337. However, the Sassanids continued to vie with Rome for influence over Iberia, and succeeded in temporarily deposing Mirian's Romanophile successor, Sauromaces II,Sauromaces is surprisingly ignored by local written tradition, but mentioned by the contemporary Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae. Rapp (2003), p. 488. in favor of the pro-Iranian Aspacures II in 361. The Roman emperor Valens intervened and restored Sauromaces to the throne in 370, although Aspacures’ son and successor, Mihrdat III (r. 365–380), was permitted to retain control of the eastern part of the kingdom.Greatrex, Geoffrey B. (Dalhousie University). The Background and Aftermath of the Partition of Armenia in A.D. 387. The Ancient History Bulletin 14.1–2 (2000): 35–48. However, by 380, the Sassanids had successfully reasserted their claims by reuniting Iberia under the authority of Aspacures III of Iberia (r. 380–394) and began to extract tribute from the country. The Romans evidently admitted the loss of Iberia in the aftermath of the 387 Treaty of Acilisene with Iran. The growth of Iranian influence in eastern Georgia, including the promotion of Zoroastrianism, was resisted by the Christian church and a part of the nobility, the invention of the Georgian alphabet, a crucial instrument in the propagation of Christian learning, being the most important cultural legacy of this struggle.Suny (1994), p. 22. The Chosroid kings of Iberia, albeit Christian, remained generally loyal to their Iranian suzerains until Vakhang I Gorgasali (r. 447–522), perhaps the most popular Chosroid king of Iberia traditionally credited also with the foundation of Georgia’s modern-day capital Tbilisi, reversed his political orientation in 482, bringing his state and church more into line with current Byzantine policy. He then led, in alliance with the Armenian prince Vahan Mamikonian, an open revolt against the Sassanids and continued a desperate, but eventually unsuccessful, struggle until the end of his life.Suny (1994), p. 24.
Reinstated by Heraclius, the Chosroid dynasty were persistent in their pro-Byzantine line, but Stephanus II (637/642–c. 650) was forced to recognize himself a tributary to the Arab Caliphate which would eventually become a dominant regional power. Following the death of Adarnase II (r. c. 650–684), the rival Guaramid branch, with Guaram II (684–c. 693), regained power, and the elder Chosroid branch again withdrew into their appanages in Kakheti, where it produced a notable member, Archil, a saint of the Georgian Orthodox Church, martyred at the hands of the Arabs in 786. Upon Archil’s death, his elder son Iovane (died c. 799) evacuated to the Byzantine-dominated region of Egrisi (Lazica) in western Georgia, while his younger son Juansher (r. 786–c. 807) remained in Kakheti and married Latavri, daughter of Prince Adarnase of Erusheti-Ardahan Province, the forefather of the Georgian Bagratid dynasty.Rapp (2003), p. 475
The main Chosroid branch outlived its younger Guaramid line, extinct since 786, by two decades. With Juansher’s death in c. 807, it too died out. The Chosroid possessions in Kakheti were taken over by the local noble families who formed a succession of chorepiscopi down to the 11th century, while the Guaramid estates passed to their relatives from the Bagratid dynasty.Suny (1994), p. 29.
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