Pharasmanes I

Pharasmanes I the Great
Depiction by Jean-Joseph Taillasson, 1806
King of Iberia
Reign1 – 58
PredecessorArtaxias II
SuccessorMihrdat I
Born1st-century BC
Mtskheta, Kingdom of Iberia
Died58 AD
SpouseDaughter of Tigranes IV
Issue
DynastyPharnavazid
FatherKartam of Colchis
MotherDaughter of Pharnavaz II
ReligionGeorgian paganism

Pharasmanes I the Great (died 58) was a king (mepe) of Iberia. He plays a prominent role in the historian Tacitus' account of policy and campaigns in the eastern lands of the Roman Empire under Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. According to Cyril Toumanoff, Pharasmanes was a member of the third Pharnavazid dynasty and reigned from 1 to 58. Pharasmanes is mentioned on the Stele of Vespasian. During his reign, Iberia was transformed into the Transcaucasian empire, that would dominate the kingdoms of Armenia and Albania.