Azo (Georgian history)

Azo, Azoy or Azon (Georgian: აზო; აზოჲ; აზონი) was a ruler of Georgians of ancient Kartli (Iberia of the Classical authors) claimed by medieval Georgian annals to have been installed by Alexander the Great, king of Macedon (r. 336–323 BC).

His name and origin are differently given by the medieval Georgian chronicles. While The Conversion of Kartli calls him Azo(y) and makes him the scion of a preexisting dynasty in Arian-Kartli, The Life of Kartli knows him as Azon and brands him a Macedonian outsider. Azo and Azon unquestionably represent the same figure and both sources credit his position to Alexander’s mythic expedition into inner Georgia.

According to The Conversion of Kartli, Azo was the son of an unnamed king of Arian-Kartli, who was brought, together with followers, to Kartli proper by Alexander and installed as the first king (mep'e, მეფე) at Mtskheta after the conquest of this city. He also transplated the cults of Gatsi and Gaim to Kartli. The Life of Kartli enshrines no such tradition. Rather, it maintains that Azon, son of Iaredos (unattested in The Conversion of Kartli), was neither a king nor even a Georgian. He is reported to have conquered Mtskheta with 100,000 Macedonians ("Romans"). In addition, Alexander commanded Azon to worship seven celestial bodies (the Sun, the Moon, and five "stars", i.e., planets) and to serve the "invisible God, the creator of the universe". This version has Azon, depicted as a tyrant, subsequently deposed and killed by Pharnavaz, the member of the local ruling clan (P’arnavaziani), whose father and uncle were killed by Azon.

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