Mirian III
| 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 Sasanian Iran |
| 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 (from 326) Zoroastrianism (before 326) |
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. Following the Christianization of Iberia, he is credited with having established Christianity as his kingdom's state religion and is regarded by the Georgian Orthodox Church as a saint and was canonized as Saint Equal to the Apostles King Mirian (Georgian: წმინდა მოციქულთასწორი მეფე მირიანი).
Traditional chronology, in line with Prince Vakhushti's Description of the Kingdom of Georgia, assigns to Mirian's reign—taken to have lasted for 77 years—the dates 268–345, which Professor Cyril Toumanoff changed to 284–361. He was also known to the contemporary Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus and the medieval Armenian chronicles.