Principate of Iberia

Principality of Iberia and Principate of Iberia are conventional terms to describe an early medieval aristocratic regime in Caucasian Georgia. It flourished in the period of interregnum between the sixth and ninth centuries, when the leading political authority was exercised by a succession of princes. The principate was established shortly after the Sassanid suppression of the local royal Chosroid Dynasty, around 580; it lasted until 888, when the kingship was restored by a member of the Bagrationi Dynasty. This polity was centered on the core region in what is now central and eastern Georgia known as Kartli to the natives and as Iberia to Classical and Byzantine authors. Its borders fluctuated greatly as the presiding princes of Iberia confronted the Persians, Byzantines, Khazars, Arabs, and the neighboring Caucasian rulers throughout this period.