̏À la porte des mondes

An ancient kingdom established below the Darial Gorge exercised from the Hellenistic period until the 6th century CEa pivotal role in the history of SouthernCaucasia, at the hinge of the Roman Empire, Iran and the nomads of the northern steppes. This country, CaucasianIberia, amalgamated various peoples and communities around the middle course of the Kura River. Dealing with dynastic rivalries, ethnic fragmentation, plurality of languages and diversity of cultures, the kings and princes of Iberia demonstrated a remarkable capacity for adaptation to ensure their territorial influence, assert their legitimacy and find a place of choice in transnational alliance networks. The Iberian political system established a relationship of balance between the aristocracy and the court through a diarchy which associated the king and his pitiaxēs. Entering Rome's orbit after Pompey's invasion in 65 BCE, the Iberians forged a partnership with the Roman leaders until the late-ancientperiod which was, however, not free from ambivalence. The 260s CE marked a momentous turning point in the evolution of Iberian royal power, when the growing influence of the Sasanians instigated a dynastic change for the benefit of the Mihranids. In a context of spiritual ferment bringing various religions into competition, Iberian leaders gradually decided to reform the sacred bases of their power. At the beginning of the 5th centuryCE, the invention of a first official form of Georgian writing illustrated this new political and religious consensus around a kingship that had become Christian–a crucial step in the process of ethnogenesis. From the Hellenistic period to the arrival of Islam, ancient Iberian society, shaped on an Iranian model with a strong aristocratic component, highlighted certain charismatic women who occupied leading functions in religious and social life. The adaptability demonstrated by the Iberians to circumstances provides a remarkable example of a country of modest size evolving through the age of the great empires of Antiquity. Through epigraphy and Georgian chronicles, the Iberians have also left us their own vision of History over these thousand years of existence.