Gubazes I of Lazica
Encyclopedia
Gubazes I was a king of Lazica who flourished in the 450s and 460s. His relations with the Roman Empire
are recorded by Priscus
.
Around 456 Gubazes tried to negotiate an alliance with Sassanid Iran
in order to break free of the Roman hegemony. In response, in 456, the emperor Marcian
dispatched a military expedition against the Lazi, calling upon Gubazes to abdicate or to depose his son, who was a co-king with him, "as it was against tradition to have two joint rulers". Eventually Gubazes abdicated in favor of his son and, in 466, paid a visit to Constantinople
, where he had to take reprimands from the emperor Leo I, but was eventually treated with favor and sent off to his homeland, where he seems to have been able to resume reign. Gubazes's Roman journey is also mentioned in the Life of St. Daniel the Stylite, according to which, Gubazes accompanied Leo to see the renowned monk Daniel
, who greatly impressed the Lazic king and even mediated a treaty between the two monarchs.
This period of time coincides with the campaign in Lazica by the eastern neighbor, King Vakhtang I of Iberia, narrated in the Georgian Chronicles. Vakhtang was then an Iranian vassal and his activities in Lazica might have been an indirect aid by the Great King of Iran offered to Gubazes during his break with Rome.
Around 468 Gubazes aided by the Romans attacked the pro-Iranian mountainous country of Suania
, which had seceded from the Lazic overlordship, but failed to retake it, save for a couple of fortresses, probably due to the interference of the Iberians for the Georgian Chronicles alludes to yet another campaign – and a victorious one – of Vakhtang of Iberia in Lazica.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
are recorded by Priscus
Priscus
Priscus of Panium was a late Roman diplomat, sophist and historian from Rumelifeneri living in the Roman Empire during the 5th century. He accompanied Maximinus, the ambassador of Theodosius II, to the court of Attila in 448...
.
Around 456 Gubazes tried to negotiate an alliance with Sassanid Iran
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
in order to break free of the Roman hegemony. In response, in 456, the emperor Marcian
Marcian
Marcian was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially...
dispatched a military expedition against the Lazi, calling upon Gubazes to abdicate or to depose his son, who was a co-king with him, "as it was against tradition to have two joint rulers". Eventually Gubazes abdicated in favor of his son and, in 466, paid a visit to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he had to take reprimands from the emperor Leo I, but was eventually treated with favor and sent off to his homeland, where he seems to have been able to resume reign. Gubazes's Roman journey is also mentioned in the Life of St. Daniel the Stylite, according to which, Gubazes accompanied Leo to see the renowned monk Daniel
Daniel the Stylite
Saint Daniel the Stylite is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox, and Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. He was born in a village by the name of Maratha in upper Mesopotamia near Samosata, in today what is now a region of Turkey. He entered a monastery at the age of twelve and lived there...
, who greatly impressed the Lazic king and even mediated a treaty between the two monarchs.
This period of time coincides with the campaign in Lazica by the eastern neighbor, King Vakhtang I of Iberia, narrated in the Georgian Chronicles. Vakhtang was then an Iranian vassal and his activities in Lazica might have been an indirect aid by the Great King of Iran offered to Gubazes during his break with Rome.
Around 468 Gubazes aided by the Romans attacked the pro-Iranian mountainous country of Suania
Svaneti
Svaneti is a historic province in Georgia, in the northwestern part of the country. It is inhabited by the Svans, a geographic subgroup of the Georgians.- Geography :...
, which had seceded from the Lazic overlordship, but failed to retake it, save for a couple of fortresses, probably due to the interference of the Iberians for the Georgian Chronicles alludes to yet another campaign – and a victorious one – of Vakhtang of Iberia in Lazica.