| Mirian III | |
|---|---|
 Sarcophagus of Mirian III at Samtavro Monastery | |
| King of Iberia | |
| Reign | 284–361 |
| Predecessor | Aspacures I |
| Successor | Sauromaces II |
| Born | c. 277 or 258[1] Sasanian Iran[2] |
| Died | 361 (aged 83–84) Mtskheta, Iberia |
| Burial | Samtavro Monastery, Mtskheta |
| Spouse | Abeshura Nana |
| Issue | Rev II Aspacures II Anonymous daughter |
| Dynasty | Chosroid dynasty |
| Religion | Georgian Orthodox Church (after 326) Zoroastrianism (before 326)[2] |
Mirian III (Georgian: მირიან III) was a king (mepe) of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337). He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty.
According to the early medieval Georgian annals and hagiography, Mirian was the first Christian king of Iberia, converted through the ministry of Nino, a Cappadocian female missionary. After Christianization of Iberia he is credited with establishment of Christianity as his kingdom's state religion and is regarded by the Georgian Orthodox Church as saint and is canonized as Saint Equal to the Apostles King Mirian (Georgian: წმინდა მოციქულთასწორი მეფე მირიანი).[3][4]
Traditional chronology after Prince Vakhushti assigns to Mirian's reign—taken to have lasted for 77 years—the dates 268–345, which Professor Cyril Toumanoff corrects to 284–361. He is also known to the contemporary Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus and the medieval Armenian chronicles.[5][6]
- ^ მ. გ. ჯანაშვილი „საქართველოს ისტორია უძველეს დროითგან 985 წლ. ქრ. შ.“. ტომი I. საქართველოს ისტორია. I. უუძველესი ხანა. განყოფილება I. თავდაპირვანდელი ცნობები. თავი I. ქართველთა წინაპრები და სამშობლო. ტფილისი, ელექტრონითმბეჭდავი ამხ. „შრომა“, მიხეილის პრ. № 65. 1906. 139-ე გვერდის შენიშვნა.
- ^ a b Rapp 2014, p. 355.
- ^ Lang, David Marshall (1956), Lives and legends of the Georgian saints, pp. 13-39. London: Allen & Unwin
- ^ Machitadze, Archpriest Zakaria (2006), "The Feast of the Robe of our Lord, the Myrrh-streaming and Life-giving Pillar, Equals-to-the-Apostles King Mirian and Queen Nana, and Saints Sidonia and Abiatar (4th century)" Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, in The Lives of the Georgian Saints Archived 2008-06-14 at the Wayback Machine. Pravoslavie.Ru. Retrieved on April 15, 2009.
- ^ Rapp 2003, pp. 293–295.
- ^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1967). Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Georgetown University Press. pp. 83–84, 377.