Georgia and Sasanian Iran

Abstract This article examines the impact of Sasanian hegemony in Georgia (Kartli/Iberia) on the monuments of early Christian Georgia’s material culture. It explores how Sasanian political power and influence were conveyed through visual imagery, depicting Kartli as an adaptive yet creatively distinct realm that incorporated many elements of Sasanian art and culture into early Christian iconography. The article focuses on some iconographic motifs representing the Sasanian concept of royalty and their adaptation to Georgian culture, analyzed through both Iranian and Georgian visual sources, as well as Georgian textual data.