The Georgian Chronicle (Kartlis Ckhovreba), Vol. I

Leonti Mroveli [Part One: The Life of the Kings of the Georgians] I begin the narration of the life of the kings of the Georgians and of the first fathers and ancestors [Chapter One] [Tale of the Eight Brothers] First let us mention this, that the Armenians and the Georgians, the Rans and the Movakans, the Heretians and the Lekians, the Megrelians and the Caucasians — these had one father, by name Thargamos. This Thargamos was the son of Tharshish, the grandson of Japheth, the son of Noah. And this Thargamos was a heroic man. / And after the division of the tongues, when they built the tower at Babylon, and there the tongues were divided and they scattered from there over the whole earth. And this Thargamos came forth with his entire lineage, and settled between those two impassable mountains, Ararat and Masis. And his lineage was great and countless, for he had many wives, sons and daughters, and children and grandchildren of his sons and daughters, for he lived six hundred years. And the land of Ararat and Masis could no longer contain them. And that land which fell to his lot, this is the boundary of that land: to the east the sea of Gurgen, to the west the sea of Pontus, to the south the sea of Oretis, and to the north the mountain Caucasus.

Among his sons appeared eight men, mighty heroes and renowned, whose names are these: the first was called Haos, the second Kartlos, the third Bardos, the fourth Movakan, the fifth Lek, the sixth Heros, the seventh Kavkas, the eighth Egros. These eight were heroes. And Haos was the greatest hero of all, for such a one had never existed before, neither before the flood nor after, in body, strength, and valor. But the land of Ararat and Masis could no longer contain them; Targamos divided the land and his own kin among these eight heroes: half of his kin and the better half of his land he gave to Haos, while to these seven he gave their portion according to their worth. He led those seven northward and allotted them lands according to their merit. He gave to Kartlos and designated the boundary: to the east, Hereti and the river Berduji; to the west, the Pontic Sea; to the south, the mountain that follows the source of the river Berduji, and the mountain that extends westward, whose water flows northward and joins the Mtkvari, which mountain follows between Klarjeti and Tao as far as the sea; and to the north, the boundary of Gado, a small mountain that branches off from the Caucasus and extends its peak to the end of Gado, which is now called Likhi.

And within these borders he gave all of Kartli to Kartlos. But to Bardos he gave the land south of the Mtkvari, from the Berduji River to where the Mtkvari and the Rakhsi meet. This Bardos built the city of Bardavi and settled there. But to Movakan he gave the land north of the Mtkvari, from the confluence of the Lesser Alazani to the sea. And he built the city of Movakneti and established himself there. But to Heros he gave the land north of the Mtkvari, from the confluence of the Lesser Alazani to the forest, which is now called Gulgula. And this Heros first built a city among the meeting-places of both Alazanis. And he called it by his own name, Hereti. And because of him, Hereti is called Hereti. And now that place is called Khoranta. But to Egros he gave the land of the sea gulf, and he defined the border: to the east the small mountain, which is now called Likhi; to the west the sea; to the north the river of Lesser Khazaria, where the peak of the Caucasus descends. And this Egros built a city and called it by his own name, Egrisi. Now that place is called Bedia. But to the north of the Caucasus there was no descendant of Targamos, nor was there any man north of the Caucasus; and that land was uninhabited from the Caucasus to the great river which flows into the sea of Daruband. For this reason, from among the many heroes he brought forth two heroes, Lekan and Kavkasi.

And he gave to Lekan from the sea of Daruband to the river Lomekis, to the north to the river of great Khazaret. And he gave to Kavkas from the river Lomekis to the end of Kavkas, to the west. But Haos settled in the dwelling-places of his father Targamos, and he ruled the land to the north, as I have written: to the south from Mount Oretis, to the east to the sea of Gurgan, and to the west to the sea of Pontos. And over these seven heroes Haos was ruler and lord. And all these were obedient to Haos. And these eight together served the hero Nebrot, who was the first king of the whole earth. After this, after a few years, Haos summoned those seven heroes, gathered them together and said to them: "The high God has given us strength and multitude of our race. Now with the help of the Creator let us be no one's slave, and let us serve no one except God the Creator." Those seven heroes swore, and they confirmed that intention; and they withdrew from Nebrot and no longer gave him tribute. And they consulted with other races, and other races also became rebellious. Then Nebrot became angry, and he gathered his heroes and all his armies that obeyed him, and he marched against the Targamosians.

Then Haos summoned all seven heroes and the entire lineage of Targamos. And some other peoples of the west also joined him. Haos gathered all these and encamped at the foot of Mount Masis. And when Nebroth approached the land of Adarbadagn, he encamped there and sent forth the sixty heroes and with them strong troops to destroy the Targamosians. And when those troops of Nebroth arrived, then the seven hero brothers of Haos met them with a strong army. But Haos, with a yet stronger army, stood behind them, at their back. A fierce battle ensued between them, which resembled the violence of the air. For the dust of their feet was like a thick cloud; the lightning of their armor was like lightning in the sky; the sound of their voices was like the sound of thunder; the multitude of their arrows and the hurling of their stones was like a dense hailstorm, and the shedding of their blood was like a torrent of hail. The battle between them intensified, and countless fell on both sides. But Haos stood behind his heroes, encouraging them and consoling them with a terrifying voice, which was like the crash of thunder. Then the Targamosians prevailed and destroyed those sixty heroes of Nebroth and their troops.

Now these seven heroes, the Targamosians—Kartlos, Bardos, Movakan, Heros, Lekan, Kavkasan, Egros—remained alive without wounds, and, victorious, they gave thanks to God. But when Nebroth heard of it, he grew angry and advanced against them with all his might. However, Haos did not have as many troops as Nebroth’s forces: he fortified himself in the crags of Masis. Nebroth approached from below; and he was clad in iron and bronze from his feet to his crown. And he ascended a hill to observe Haos and spoke of his submission, so that it might please him to turn back. But Haos said to his heroes: “Strengthen my side with a shield, and I will approach Nebroth.” And he went and came face to face near Nebroth, and shot an arrow and struck Nebroth’s chest, upon the bronze plate, and it passed through his back. Then Nebroth fell, and his camp was thrown into confusion. And the descendants of Targamos were liberated. And then Haos made himself king over his brothers and over the other peoples of the neighboring borders. And these seven brothers each went to their own lands, and they remained obedient to Haos. And up to this point we have written the account of these eight brothers.