The Issue of Dating the Reign of King Vakhtang Gorgasali

Abstract

In historiography, we encounter several different versions regarding the dating of the death of Vakhtang Gorgasali: 502-505, 490/491, 523, 532 (which is not shared and long-forgotten) and ours - 531. All the versions of Vakhtang Gorgasali’s death mentioned above, except for 531, fail to establish a chronological order and provide a proper explanation for the main developments described in The Life of Vakhtang. One of the milestones of the king’s life is his participation, alongside a large Persian coalition force, in the war against Byzantines. This war took place when Vakhtang was still a young man. Which Persian-Byzantine war could it have been, considering the complete absence of military conflict between Persia and Byzantium from 442 to 502? As for the Persian-Byzantine war of 502-507, it is worth noting that its commencement, progress, and the truce negotiations strangely coincide with the events that are narrated in The Life of Vakhtang. An explanation for this and many other important issues can be found if we accept the chronology of Vakhtang's life and reign offered by us.