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Ghulams [the Arabic designation for slave-soldiers, among whom there were many Turks, as well as Zikhs] first appeared in Egypt under Caliph al-Aziz. For example, the ghulam of Zikh origin Nazuk was the police chief of Baghdad under the Abbasid dynasty.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

Regent during those years during the minority of her son, King Bagrat II of Abkhazia. Daughter of George II, sister of the Abkhazian kings — Leon III, Demetrius III and Theodosius III (the Blind). It is evident that as early as 963–964, when her son Bagrat was born to the king of Tao, Gurgen, Gurandukht was concerned about his future accession to the Abkhazian throne. Her crowned but childless brothers undoubtedly placed their hopes on her son as successor. The impending dynastic crisis was obvious long before it became acute. But the crisis broke out before the claimant reached adulthood.

During the reign of her brother Leon III, Gurandukht rendered her brother a service in the subjugation of Javakheti, contributing to the appointment of Zviad Marushidze as governor of this region, whose son or close relative Ivane Marushiani would later work for the introduction of her son Bagrat to power. It is significant that in the Kumurdo church, built almost in honor of Leon III's establishment in Javakheti and the birth of Bagrat, are carved images of King Leon of Abkhazia, his sister — the Taoian queen Gurandukht, the governor of the Abkhazian king in Kartli, and her son — the infant Bagrat, the future successor of the Abkhazian kings. Here too is mentioned the trusted governor of the newly acquired region — Zviad.

Gurandukht was co-ruler with her underage son. This is indicated, in particular, by their joint inscription on the golden chalice donated to the Bedia Cathedral, built in honor of Bagrat's accession in Abkhazia. The church was consecrated in honor of the Queen of Heaven — Mary, in gratitude to the mother, the earthly queen — Gurandukht. In the inscription on the chalice, to the Heavenly Mother and the Heavenly Son, the earthly, though crowned, mother and son address a prayer: "Holy Mother of God, be an intercessor before Your Son for the Abkhazian king Bagrat and his mother Queen Gurandukht, who donated this chalice, adorned this altar, and built this holy church."

The younger brother of George II. He received his education and upbringing in Constantinople. After the death of Leon III, during the reign of his brother Demetrius, he decided to remove his brother from power, but was captured and blinded. Some time later, Demetrius III died, and Theodosius's supporters finally placed him on the Abkhazian throne. However, a crowned blind man, especially one who was not distinguished by outstanding abilities, could not accomplish anything remarkable during his reign. All the sons of George II had no heirs. During the time of Theodosius the Blind, the country was torn by strife and chaos reigned. The impotence of the blind king forced the courtiers to seek a new claimant to the throne amid the dynastic crisis in the Abkhazian state.

Nephew of King George II of Abkhazia, son of his sister Gurandukht. Bagrat was the son of Gurgen, ruler of the northern part of Tao-Klarjeti, from the Kyurikid dynasty, a junior branch of the Armenian royal dynasty of the Bagratids. In addition, he was the protégé and heir of the influential king of Tao-Klarjeti, David. In 975, he was proclaimed king of the Abkhazians. However, due to his minority, the state was ruled by his mother, Queen Gurandukht, daughter of King George II of Abkhazia.

In 978, Bagrat II ascended the Abkhazian throne. Later, through his father's line, he inherited Tao, and through his relative and tutor, King David III Kuropalates of Tao-Klarjeti, he inherited a third throne as well. Thus, Bagrat lawfully inherited the Abkhazian Kingdom, the East Georgian regions of Kartli, and Tao-Klarjeti. In the first, properly Abkhazian period of his reign, when Bagrat held only the Abkhazian crown, he was called the King of Abkhazia, as is minted on his coin: Bagrat, king of the Abkhazians. Subsequently, as he inherited other lands, his title became more complex and "king of the Abkhazians" was often referred to as "king of the Abkhazians, Kartlians, and Kakhetians." In 993, one of the peripheral chronicles indicates an attack by the Rus' on the borders of Abkhazia. This is evidently an unknown campaign of the Tmutarakan Rus' on the western borders of the Abkhazian Kingdom, closer to the mouth of the Kuban.

In 1001, Bagrat II received the title of kuropalates from the Byzantine emperor Basil II. In 1002, he is first mentioned as "king of the Kartvelians." He waged a successful struggle to unite all inherited territories under his rule, suppressed opposition revolts, and removed the disloyal. He built a grandiose church in Kutaisi — the capital of the Abkhazian Kingdom.
Bagrat II's reign was marked by a political, economic and cultural upsurge of the new Abkhazian Kingdom. Bagrat II became the founder of the Kartlian (Georgian) dynasty on the throne of the Abkhazian state. Confirming his lawful accession to power, Bagrat II issued a manifesto, known as the "Divan of the Abkhazian Kings," in which he listed his predecessors on the Abkhazian throne: "The first king of Abkhazia was Anos; the second — his son Gozar; the third — his son Istvine; the fourth — his son Phiniktios; the fifth — his son Barnuk; the sixth — his son Demetrius; the seventh — his son Theodosius; the eighth — his son Constantine; the ninth — his son Theodore; the tenth — his son Constantine; the eleventh — his brother Leon, who reigned forty-five years; the twelfth — (his son) Theodosius, who reigned twenty-seven years; the thirteenth — his brother Demetrius; he reigned thirty-six years; the fourteenth — reigned their brother George, to whom was given the appanage of Agtsepi, therefore he was called George of Agtsepi; he reigned seven years; the fifteenth — son of Demetrius — Bagrat, reigned twelve years; the sixteenth — son (of him) Constantine, reigned thirty-nine years; the seventeenth — his son George, reigned forty-five years; the eighteenth — his son Leon, reigned ten years; the nineteenth — his brother Demetrius, reigned eight years; the twentieth — his brother Theodosius the Blind, reigned three years. And after these, by God's will, I, Bagration Bagrationi, son of the blessed Gurgen, son of the daughter of the king of the Abkhazians George, took possession of the country of Abkhazia, my maternal inheritance, and how long I shall reign, God knows!"

Bagrat II died in 1012 in Tao, on his father's homeland. However, his body was transported to Abkhazia and buried in the Bedia church built by him, in the land of his mother, Queen Gurandukht. The golden chalice he donated to the Bedia Monastery (~ 999 AD) is now kept in the State Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi. The inscription on it is made in the ancient Georgian script Asomtavruli: "Holy Mother of God, be an intercessor before your son for the Abkhazian king Bagrat and his mother Queen Gurandukht, who donated this chalice, adorned this altar, and built this holy church." More about the Bedia Chalice.

During the entire existence of the Abkhazian Kingdom, for the first time a legitimate but foreign heir ascended its throne in the person of Bagrat II. This was fraught with the replacement of Abkhazian national hegemony in governing the country with Georgian. If Bagrat had been a representative of a distant country, it would have changed nothing. But since with Bagrat II's accession a Georgian dynasty came to power in the country, and Georgians represented a significant part of the population in the Abkhazian Kingdom, this could lead to the transformation of the Abkhazian Kingdom into a Georgian kingdom, where Georgians would receive a predominant position in political life. This is indeed what happened later. But at the transitional stage, influential political forces in the country from among former courtiers and large Abkhazian feudal lords could not help but resist such a turn of events. The most influential aristocratic clan of Abkhazian origin, nicknamed Abazas-dze (or Sons of Abaza, Abkhaz), at the beginning of the 11th century would lead the opposition and launch an energetic offensive against King Bagrat IV with the aim of seizing power. In these actions, a serious attempt can be seen to regain the throne and revive the Abkhazian national dynasty. However, this did not happen, and the Abkhazian Kingdom continued to be ruled by representatives of the newly emerged Georgian dynasty. Meanwhile, the name of the country was preserved both in internal usage and on the international arena, for the Abkhazian Kingdom, as an institution of power, as an administrative structure, was not abolished or destroyed, but only received a new national content. This situation was also conditioned by the fact that the political status of Abkhazia was higher than the statuses of those formations that were later inherited by Bagrat II.

Thus, subsequently the Abkhazian Kingdom, with the eastern and southeastern lands of Kartli, Tao-Klarjeti and others added to it, was ruled by kings of the Georgian (Kartlian) dynasty. The new kings were still called "kings of the Abkhazians" or in more detailed variations — kings of "Abkhazians and Kartvelians," kings of "Abkhazians, Kartlians, Kakhetians, and Rans." And invariably in their titulature "Abkhazians" came first, as the founders of the state. Courtiers from among the Abkhazian aristocracy continued to hold important positions in the ruling house for a long time, but their share gradually decreased, and the representatives of noble Abkhazian families themselves were assimilated into the predominant Georgian milieu, undergoing the same changes as the state itself.

The new Abkhazian (or already Georgian) state inherited the political, economic and cultural achievements of former Abkhazia, multiplied and enriched them, edited and adapted them to its own ideas and interests. This especially affected the written heritage of the Abkhazian Kingdom, which in its culture was Greekophile and kept chronicles, business correspondence and other chancellery, mainly in Greek.

Materials:

All rulers of Abkhazia

Abkhazian Kingdom. 786 CE
Anthroponymic repertoire of the "Divan of the Abkhazian kings". G. A. Amichba
Chronicle of the Abkhazian kings. F. Jordania 1902
Bgazhba O. Kh., Lakoba S. Z. History of Abkhazia from ancient times to the present day. 2007
Culture and ideology of early medieval Abkhazia (5th–10th centuries). Amichba 1999
"History of Abkhazia in dates". T. A. Achugba 2011
Circumnavigation of the Euxine Sea. Flavius Arrian
Naturalis Historia. Pliny the Elder 77–79. Latin-English 1969
Reports of ancient Greek and Latin writers about Scythia and the Caucasus. Latyshev 1947
Constantine Porphyrogenitus. On the Administration of the Empire: Text, translation, commentary. Litavrin 1991

Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich secured Tmutarakan for Rus', capturing the remnants of Khazar fortresses in Taman and Kerch. He gave the Tmutarakan principality to his young son Mstislav, who was then no more than 6 years old.


Materials:

History of Adygea. Gubzhokov 2009

The golden chalice from the Bedia Monastery (~ 999 AD) is now kept in the State Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi. The inscription is made in the Asomtavruli script.

Text of the inscription:

"Holy Mother of God, be an intercessor before your son for the Abkhazian king Bagrat and his mother Queen Gurandukht, who donated this chalice, adorned this altar, and built this holy church."

Bagrat II (978–1015 AD) – nephew of King George II of Abkhazia, son of his sister Gurandukht. Bagrat's father Gurgen was ruler of the northern part of Tao. In addition, he was the protégé and heir of the influential king of Tao-Klarjeti David III (son of the kuropalates Adarnase, a representative of the Bagratid dynasty; in an anonymous Syrian chronicle of 1234, information is given about the activities of David the Armenian, under whom, obviously, David III Kuropalates is meant).

In 975, Bagrat II was proclaimed king of the Abkhazians. However, due to his minority, the state was ruled by his mother, Queen Gurandukht, daughter of King George II of Abkhazia. Another inscription on a processional cross in Tsaishi (Zugdidi district) is also associated with the name of Bagrat II: "Life-giving cross, glorify the king of the Abkhazians, Kuropalates Bagrat." Lapidary inscriptions (in Kutaisi) are dedicated to him: "O Lord, ruler of all kings, glorify more mightily the powerful Bagrat Kuropalates of kings of the Abkhazians and Kartvelians, with his father and mother, the queen, and their son, amen."

The Abkhazian Language and the Languages of the Western Caucasus