Pitiakhshs in Iberia in Classical Epoch

Abstract

Artifacts found in Village Bori in 1902 are kept in the Hermitage in Sankt Petersburg. Among the finds particularly interesting is a silver cup with an Aramaic inscription:” Kind Pitiakhsh Buzmihr”. The inscription revealed that there existed an institution of pitiakhsh in the kingdom of Iberia in Roman epoch. Indeed, it is interesting whether the grave which yielded the mentioned object was the tomb of a pitiakhsh. The point is that in Bori no sarcophagi or crypts are encountered, there are only pit-burials there which, in my opinion, excludes presence of a pitiakhsh’s tomb in the area and the rich inventory recovered together with the bowl in question does not belong to a pitiakhsh. It is more likely that the bowl had been presented by Pitiakhsh Buzmihr. The Roman-period kingdom of Iberia knows a few similar cases. But where exactly is Pitiakhsh Buzmihr’s grave? The question has not been answered yet. Apart from other issues, the article deals with the chronological order of the pitiakhshs of Armaziskhevi cemetery and suggests that pitiakhs are buried only in graves NN 1, 2 and 3. Furtheremore, it discusses the problem of interrelationship between the pitiakhs’ graves and the structures found in Armaziskhevi and passes an opinion that the structures date to an earlier period than the graves. In the 70s (not later than 75 AD), the residence was destroyed by an earthquake and since then the area was used as a cemetery of pitiakhshs of Armaziskhevi and their family members.