Vakhtang I Gorgasali (r. 447–522) as a Christian Monarch in Georgia: His Depiction in the Life of Kartli

In antiquity, the Caucasus was located between two empires with long-lasting conflicts of interest: Rome and Persia.1 In the view of some late Roman emperors, the Persians barred the path to the East and threatened the eastern part of the empire by their westward expansion.2 From a Persian perspective, the Romans blocked the path to expansion and resurgence of their old empire.3 This complicated and enduring conflict dragged on over the course of several centuries into late antiquity.4 It included military confrontation with alternating victories and defeats.5 As the Persians and Romans fiercely battled over hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus attained strategic importance as one of the frontiers between these two empires. The major powers of late antiquity both wanted to secure their own spheres of influence in the region, relying in part on expansive political power and partly on the persuasive force of their respective religious traditions.6