The term
mepe was utilized since pre-Christian beginnings with
Azo, but the role would get more structured during the reign of
Pharnavaz I in the
3rd century BC. His successors, the
Pharnavazid mepes would be titled
goliath who would possess the
pharnah (), the divinely endowed glory believed by ancient
Persians to mark only a legitimate ruler, accompanied with დიდებაჲ (
didebay; ) and სუე (
sue; ). Georgian monarch's reign was known as მეფობაჲ (
mepobay; ). Loss of
pharnah and
sue led to imminent death or overthrow of
mepe. In the late 6th century, the
Sasanian Empire would abolish the kingship of the
Kingdom of Iberia, resulting in the interregnum stretching from 580 to 888 as a demoted
principality. Despite the monarchy was in abeyance, and that royal governing disintegrated, the principality rulers would still continue to claim to be referred to as
mepes and ჴელმწიფე (''helmts'ipe
; ). After 888 (or 889) restoration under next successive dynasty of mepe''
Adarnase IV, the
new kingdom would emerge as the fusion of many lands and territories, that would lead towards a total
Georgian unification, culminating in 1008. In the 12th century, the
Bagrationi mepe David IV, who had established himself as the region's superlative political and military force, with his ambitious and sophisticated push for his kingdom's royal imagery promotion, the official style of a king would become imperial თჳთმპყრობელი (''tuitmp'q'robeli
; i.e. autokratōr) and მეფეთ[ა]მეფე (mepet[a]mepe
; ), similar to the Byzantine (basileus basileōn'') and . David IV's royal projection of his grandiose title was partly aimed at a non-Georgian audience. The title King of Kings was later totally usurped and consistently used by Georgian monarchs, denoting sovereignty over several Persianate subjects such as
Shirvanshahs, the
Shaddadids and the
Eldiguzids. The royal cult of a monarch would reach its zenith with a female ruler, Tamar, whose execution of power would inaugurate the
Georgian Golden Age, her being styled as
Tamar, the mepe. Tamar was given the longest and more elaborate titles on the
royal charters, listing all the peoples and lands that she ruled as a semi-saint
mepetamepe. The Bagrationi
mepe, with its royal legitimacy and ideological pillar, would rule Georgia for a millennium, from its medieval elevation down to the
Russian conquest in the early 19th century. == See also ==