Vakhtang I Gorgasali
Vakhtang I Gorgasali was the king of Kartli in the second half of the 5th century. His epithet, Gorgasali (“wolf-headed”), comes from the wolf depicted on his helmet; in Persian, gorg-asar means “wolf-head.” Information about him remains in Georgian historical works (Moktsevai Kartlisai [The Conversion of Kartli], Juansher’s, Arsen Beri [Arsen the Monk]) and in Armenian sources (Ghazar Parpetsi, 5th century). Juansher’s work The Life of Vakhtang Gorgasali, included in The Georgian Chronicles, is devoted specifically to his reign.
These texts show that Vakhtang I’s main political course was the consolidation of the country and the restoration of its independence. At the beginning of his reign, the Kingdom of Kartli was in a difficult position: it had become a vassal state of Iran; its southwestern provinces and much of northwestern Egrisi up to Tsikhe-Goji had been annexed by Byzantium; and Kartli had been invaded and devastated by the Ossetians and the Huns. Vakhtang campaigned in the North Caucasus, regained control of Darial and other fortresses, and “subdued the Ossetians and the Kipchaks” (Huns). Then, crossing the Caucasus via the Klukhori Pass, he entered Egrisi, liberated the territories annexed by the Byzantines, and reunited all of Egrisi with Kartli. He also restored Kartli’s southwestern provinces seized by Byzantium. Vakhtang incorporated the province of Hereti, which had previously been in a vassal relationship with Kartli, established a separate duchy there, and extended his influence into the mountainous districts of southeastern Dagestan—Tsuketi (the headwaters of the Samur River).
Thus Vakhtang I unified western and eastern Georgia into a single state, organized the administration of this entire territory, and, one could say, was the first Georgian king to bring the entire Caucasus into his political vision. He not only secured political authority over the highlands of eastern Georgia but also worked to regulate trade and economic relations between the mountains and the plains, as evidenced by numismatic material of that time. All this contributed to the intensification of commercial ties among different regions of the country and, ultimately, to Georgia’s consolidation.
At his initiative, the country’s capital was moved from Mtskheta to Tbilisi, laying the foundation for Tbilisi’s rise as the principal economic and political center of Transcaucasia. Vakhtang I’s national and cultural activity also served the task of unifying the country. He subordinated the Georgian Church to this goal: he expelled Bishop Michael, “the pillar of Dyophysitism” from Kartli, based on the conciliatory ecclesiastical policy of Emperor Zeno’s Henotikon, he secured the church’s autocephaly, appointed a catholicos of his own choosing, and divided the country into dioceses subordinated to the catholicos. The Georgian language began to spread even more actively, both in the North Caucasus (Dvaleti, Ossetia, Durdzuketi, Didoeti, Tsuketi) and in the east (Hereti, Kambechani) and west (Egrisi, where the Greek church still exercised considerable influence).
Vakhtang I cultural activities resulted in construction of numerous churches and monasteries (the basilica of Svetitskhoveli, the basilica of Bolnisi, the churches of Artanuji, Akhizi, Ujarma, Cheleti). It was also during his time that Georgian hagiography produced its first great monument: The Martyrdom of Saint Shushanik.
In foreign policy, Vakhtang I’s main goal was to secure full independence for his kingdom. To this end, he attempted to exploit the rivalry between the Byzantine and Iranian empires and sought to form an anti-Iranian military coalition with neighboring states such as Albania and Armenia. In 482, under his leadership, an uprising broke out against Iran; however, due to the betrayal of Georgian and Armenian nobles, it ended in defeat.
Vakhtang I, was a statesman of great stature. Given the historical circumstances of the time, internal social and political factors were tightly intertwined with external pressures, making the realization of his progressive national aims impossible. His death was symbolic in this regard: he became a victim of the combined forces of internal opposition and external political power.
The Georgian Orthodox Church has canonized Vakhtang I as a saint. The feast day of Saint Vakhtang Gorgasali, the Great King, is celebrated on November 30 (December 13).
Sources: ჯუანშერი, ცხოვრება ვახტანგ გორგასლისა, წგ.: ქართლის ცხოვრება, ს. ყაუხჩიშვილის გამოც., ტ. 1, თბ., 1955.
Literature: ა ნ ჩ ა ბ ა ძ ე გ., ჯუანშერი და მისი „ცხოვრება ვახტანგ გორგასლისა”, «მაცნე», 1987, №4; გ ო ი ლ ა ძ ე ვ., ვახტანგ გორგასალი და მისი ისტორიკოსი, თბ., 1991; კ ა კ ა ბ ა ძ ე ს., ვახტანგ გორგასალი, თბ., 1959; ლ ო მ ო უ რ ი ნ., საქართველოსა და ბიზანტიის ურთიერთობა V საუკუნეში, თბ., 1989; ლ ო რ თ ქ ი ფ ა ნ ი ძ ე მ., ქართლი V ს. მეორე ნახევარში, თბ., 1979; მუსხელიშვილი დ., საქართველოს ისტორიული გეოგრაფიის ძირითადი საკითხები, ნაწ. 1, თბ., 1977; საქართველოს ისტორიის ნარკვევები, ტ. 2, თბ., 1973; ჯ ა ვ ა ხ ი შ ვ ი ლ ი ივ., ქართველი ერის ისტორია, წგ. 1, თბ., 1979 (თხზ. თორმეტ ტომად, ტ. 1); Очерки истории Грузии, II, Тб., 1988.
D. Muskhelishvili
