? – 580 AD: The Abolition of the Throne and the Persian Decree

King Bakur III has the melancholy distinction of being the last King of Ancient Iberia. When he ascended the throne (date uncertain, died 580 AD), the institution of the monarchy was a hollow shell. The Sassanid Shah Hormizd IV was tired of the pretense of Iberian autonomy. He watched Bakur III like a vulture waits for a dying animal.

Bakur III tried to be a good Christian ruler, maintaining the churches and the nobility, but he had no army and no treasury. He was king in title only.

The Decree of Abolition

When Bakur III died in 580 AD, Shah Hormizd IV did not allow a successor to be crowned. He issued a decree abolishing the Iberian Monarchy. He famously told the Georgian nobles: “You need no King. From now on, let each Eristavi (Duke) be a King in his own province, subservient only to the Great Shah of Iran.”

This was a masterstroke of divide and conquer. The Georgian nobles, greedy for power and tired of royal oversight, accepted the Persian offer. They betrayed the memory of Pharnavaz and Vakhtang Gorgasali for personal autonomy. The Crown was removed to Ctesiphon. Georgia became a Persian province ruled by a Marzban.

The End of an Era

The death of Bakur III marked the end of the Chosroid Dynasty as a ruling power (though the bloodline survived in the Guaramid princes). It ended a continuous tradition of kingship that had lasted for nearly 900 years since Pharnavaz I.

The monarchy would remain dead for 300 years until the rise of the Bagrationi dynasty. Bakur III’s legacy is silence—the silence of a throne room left empty by the might of an empire and the treachery of his own nobles.

Tourism Guide: The Empty Throne

To feel the weight of this loss, visit:

  1. Sioni Cathedral (Tbilisi): The construction of the original Sioni began shortly after the monarchy fell, led by the presiding princes (Eristavis). It stands as a symbol that while the King died, the faith survived.
  2. Ateshgah of Tbilisi: Located in the Old Town near the Narikala fortress, this is an ancient Zoroastrian fire temple. It was likely active and powerful during the time of Bakur III’s fall, a physical reminder of the Persian dominance that erased the Georgian crown.