Vakhtang I Gorgasali was king of Iberia. He left the Hosroid dynasty. His father was Tsar Mithridates VI, and his mother was Tsarina Sandukhta. He is counted among the saints. Vakhtang was one of the founders of statehood in Georgia in the 2nd half of the 5th century.
The beginning of the reign
After the death of his father, Mithridates VI, Vakhtang took the throne at the age of seven. Before he came of age, his mother, Sandukhta, remained with him as regent.
By the beginning of the reign of Vakhtang, from the middle of the 5th century, the kingdom of Kartli was subordinate to the Sasanian Iran. Mazdeism, the religion of pre-Islamic Iran, was practiced here as a legitimate religion. His wife was Princess Balenduhta - the daughter of Ormidza, king of Persia.
"Wolf's head"
That is how the nickname "Gorgasal" is translated from the Persian language. What is a hint of the shape of the helmet that he wore. The literal translation of the nickname sounds like a "Wolf-headed". It was given to the king by the Persians. According to legend, the king’s helmet had an image of a wolf’s head on the front and a lion’s head on the back. When the Persians saw a helmet with such images, they warned each other with a cry: “Dur for gorgasar”, which meant “beware of the wolf’s head”.
Association of Georgian lands
Vakhtang Gorgasali’s biography is notable for the fact that the basis of his activity was the desire to unite Georgia and reduce its dependence on Iranian authorities. The king used the confrontation of Byzantium and Iran in the interests of Kartli. He managed to return the Georgian province of Klargeti, captured by Byzantium; to join Hereti, which was in the sphere of influence of Iran; extend the influence of Kartli to Egrisi, a West Georgian state.
In the 460s, Vakhtang opposed the nomadic Alans, occupying the Darial fortress. The latter was the stronghold of Kartli on the northern borders. After that, he made a campaign in Western Georgia, which he freed from the Byzantines.
King Vakhtang Gorgasali strengthened and restored many fortresses and created a powerful system of fortifications.
Victory Over Fire Admirers
In the 470s, Vakhtang did not participate in military operations against Byzantium. Binkaran, the main minister of the cult of fire, he threw into prison, and his followers were expelled from the Kartli kingdom.
In response, the Iranians sent an army of punishers. As a result of the negotiations, Vakhtang was forced to again recognize his kingdom as a vassal of Iran. However, fire worship here has already lost its former status.
Having received the consent of the deliberative body (darbazi) operating under him, Vakhtang Gorgasali introduced the posts of eristavs in the provinces directly reporting to his authority.
The beginning of church reform
Vakhtang decided to seek recognition of the independence of the Georgian Orthodox Church. To this end, he began carrying out church reform and asked the Eastern Roman emperor to send the priest Peter, with whom he was familiar, and 12 bishops to Kartli. He wanted to put Peter at the head of the church as a Catholicos.
Michael I, Archbishop of Kartli, was greatly enraged by this. Before that, he and the king already had disagreements. The archbishop declared Vakhtang an apostate and cursed him with the army. To prevent the development of the conflict, the king went to Michael, knelt before him, touching his robe. But he kicked Vakhtang, knocking out his tooth. After that, the archbishop was expelled from the country to the patriarch, by whom he was identified as a monk to a monastery near Constantinople.
Outpost of Christianity in the Caucasus
At that time, the Georgian church was subordinate to Antioch, so Peter and 12 bishops who came from Constantinople went to the Patriarch of Antioch. With his blessing, they returned to the capital of Byzantium.
Emperor Leo I the Great presented them with gifts intended for the Georgian king. In addition, he sent his daughter Helen to Mtskheta, who was supposed to be the wife of Vakhtang Gorgasali.
Arriving in Kartli, part of the bishops became the head of the newly formed dioceses, and part replaced the supporters of Michael I. At the end of the 5th century, there were 24 dioceses in the country, and it turned into an outpost of Christianity in the Caucasus.
Mortal wound
After the country's position strengthened, the struggle with Iran continued. In 484, Vakhtang stood at the head of a major uprising of Georgians and Armenians. Although the uprising was crushed, the Sassanid regime was weakened.
In 502, in a battle with Persians on the banks of the Iori River, the king was mortally wounded. Before his death, Vakhtang Gorgasali called to his family, the clergy and the royal court. He bequeathed to them to observe the firmness of faith and, in order to receive eternal glory, to seek destruction for the name of Jesus Christ. The king was buried in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, where there was a fresco with his image.
Memory
Vakhtang's plans were to relocate the capital to Tbilisi; for this, he carried out a number of construction works. The implementation of this plan, he bequeathed to his successor. He built the temples of Ninotsminda and Nikozi, the fortified city of Cheremi. The heir to the king was his son Dachi.
And also the name of Vakhtang is associated with participation in the construction of a monastery in Jerusalem, bearing the name of the Holy Cross. There until the 19th century on one of the walls was his image. In storage at the British Museum is a gem, which depicts a man in the royal crown. He is identified with Vakhtang Gorgasali.
In Georgia, he is revered and loved by the people, being an example of wisdom and courage. Many poems, folk verses, and traditions are devoted to him. By the Georgian Church, he was counted among the saints, the day of his commemoration is November 30.
Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II gave a blessing, and a chapel dedicated to Vakhtang Gorgasali was added to the Zion Patriarchal Church. And in the city of Rustavi, a cathedral was erected in his honor.