He ruled at a time of tense geopolitical crises: at his southern border, Artaxiad Armenia at an increasing ambition that threatened the southern territories of Iberia, while Hellen Seleucids and Parthian Arsacids were at war over the control of the Near East. The largest conflict came, however, at the north of Iberia, where several mountainous tribes maintained an unstable relationship with Iberia. At an unknown date, the Dzurdzuk tribe, historical allies of Iberia, invaded the provinces of Kakheti and Bazaleti, in the north of the kingdom. Along with several other North Caucasian tribes and the Chartaletian clan, which had been settled in Iberia by King Sauromaces I, the Dzurdzuks ravaged the country and captured many Iberians as hostages. King Mirian I summoned the governors of the eight royal provinces of the kingdom, as well as the pro-Iberian Dzurdzuk contingent in Svaneti to repel the invasion. Mirian and his troops managed to first free to lands occupied by the North Caucasians, before chasing down the Dzurdzuks. The decisive battle took place in the Dariali Gorge, where Iberian forces afoot, led by the king himself, won a bloody victory over the invaders. Continuing his campaign, King Mirian pursued the North Caucasians and ravaged the Dzurdzuk and Chartaletian lands. Following this invasion, Mirian I had a series of fortifications built in the gorge, known as the Dariali Pass. Till the 19th century, these fortifications would be used as the first line of defense against North Caucasian raids. Shift in foreign policy Unlike his predecessors, King Mirian became a vassal of Parthia, while seeking to keep close ties with the Seleucid Empire, notably my marrying his daughter to wed the Armenian Prince Artaxias, son of the pro-Seleucid king Artavasdes I. These alliances, however, could not prevent the rise of the Kingdom of Pontus, whose ruler King Mithridates VI Eupator acceded the throne in 120 BC and began a progressive annexation of Colchis. The Persian origins of Mirian I may be behind the fact that he has been depicted as a Zoroastrian. He dispatched several religious representatives across Iberia, but had to face a large opposition and several bloody revolts. In 112 BC (or 109 BC), King Mirian I died and left his throne to his son Pharnajom. Family King Mirian I had at least two children from an unknown wife: Pharnajom, King of Iberia a daughter, wife of King Artaxias I. References Bibliography Pharnavazid