Azo (Georgian History) - Modern Interpretation

Modern Interpretation

The identification of Azo/Azon is one of the most complex and contentious enigmas of early Georgian history. His rule is conventionally dated by the Georgian scholar Sergi Gorgadze to 330–272 BC, though this chronology lacks precision.

Despite their differences, the two medieval traditions concur that kingship was established in Mtskheta in the early Hellenistic period and this is verified in non-Georgian sources. The legend of Alexander's Iberian campaign has also been preserved in Armenian historical tradition, particularly in The History of the Armenians by Moses of Chorene (probably the 5th century). Moses speaks of "Mithridates, satrap of Darius" (identifiable with Mithridates I of Pontus) installed by Alexander to rule over the Georgians. Professor Giorgi Melikishvili has drawn several parallels between the stories of the Azon of the Georgian chronicles and the Mithridates of the Armenian tradition.

Several modern scholars believe Azo’s story indirectly suggests the migration of the early Georgian tribes to the northwest and blending of Anatolian elements with the tribes living in Kartli proper. On the other hand, the version of The Life of Kartli, which anachronistically refers to Azon's entourage as "Romans", might well have reflected the Roman activities in Iberia, presumably those of the Flavian period (AD 69–96), which have surprisingly been ignored by the Georgian annals.

Some modern historians have also attempted to equate Azon (note that the name terminates in the Greek suffix –ου) with the Jason of the Argonautic cycle. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, the Iberians "claimed Thessalian origin, dating from the time when Jason, after leaving with Medea and their children, returned to the empty palace of Aeëtes and the kingless Colchians".