Author's Note: While this piece is based on and provides a similar function to "The Long Death of Bagrat Bagratuni", it is significantly rewritten to reflect the different events in this time line.
The Bagratuniad:
The Long Death of Agsartan Bagratuni:
Agsartan I, King of Kakhet-Heretia, was one of Bagrat IV's vassal under-kings. When Agsartan received Bull of Seti he was among the first, and most enthusiastic of its supporters (rather understandably given his youth - he had not yet reached his 17th spring, and like many youths of his age, eager to prove his battle-prowess). Such was his dedication, that he personally rode out with his guardsmen to call up the levies of Kakheti. Which is why, on Christmas day of 1066, Agsartan and his guard found themselves caught in the teeth of a Caucasian winter blizzard that turned the land around them into nothing but white snow and grey rock. With the weather only worsening and evening drawing near, the King and his party, by this time tired, grumpy, and with no better idea of their location than it simply being somewhere "north", decided to make camp in a small valley, sheltered from the winds by a stark granite ridge. But sleep would meet with no greater success than their attempts to find direction, for:
"...half-way through the second watch of the night, there was a great flash, such that it seemed as if we were illuminated by a bright summer's sun, the clouds seemed to boil, and as they parted, my skin prickled as if sun-burned. For a moment, I could see my own bones, glowing redly within my skin. A great roar, like the trumpets of judgment day, overtook us, and in fear I prostrated myself on the ground, lest the army of God take offense at my sinful life. Then the whole Earth seemed to buck, smashing by body as hard as the kick of a horse, and like many of the men, I was insensate for a time. My next clear recollection, is the light of dawn coming at us over the mountain, for a moment, I did not realise what had happened, then I saw: like a loaf of bread met with a great mallet, the entire East flank of the mountain was stove in. By that time, the King was already long gone." -excerpt of the testament of Smbat the large-nosed, headman of the King's Guard
By the time the guardsmen found the King, many were already starting to feel somewhat ill, though the King was filled with an expansive energy, excited by what he had found in the crater, claiming that an Angelic messenger had told him that the ruined mountain was that which the Ossetians called Dzhimara, and that if they took the path down the southern valley for a thousand diameters of Agsartan's head (the first known use of the metric keph), then took the first right after the second rapid, travelled a further five thousand diameters of Agsartan's head, and scrambled over the low bluff they found there, they would find a village that Agsartan would know, whence they could continue in whatsoever direction the pleased.
All this turned out as Agsartan said it would be, and the party found the way exceedingly easy, as it seemed most of the snow had been melted away the previous night. This the guardsmen found to be something of a miracle, and many began to wonder if their King truly had met an Angelic being that night.
The King and his men would rest in that village for a day, after which he gathered his party together, informing them that he would die soon, as, in all likelihood, would those who had been in his camp that night. For they had all had a brush with the divine, and their bodies, stained in sin, were doomed thereby. But God was not unmerciful, and he had been given a mission, not only for himself, but for all of Georgia, by which heaven might be attained.
Now there were many who were dismayed, and they pressed Agsartan to return home to Telavi, where he and they could die in the company of friends and family. And to this Agsartan would say:
"I will not have the High King in Kutaisi say of me 'thus died Agsartan, who let fear of death stay him from doing his part', but I will not stop any man of mine from choosing where he dies." And thus many left their King, and travelled to Telavi, and though all of them died, they did not fall before they had lain eyes on their family and friends one last time. But there were also many who stayed with their King, and to this day, no Godly man would say that any of that number feared death.
Driven by the King's feverish energy, the levy of Kakheti was raised in record time, but this seemed to take undue toll on the King, who took on a gaunt and sickly look. And some of his companions could barely stay on their horses, and many were afflicted by the same strange burn on some portion of their skin.
But regardless, Agsartan marched them to war, where the army of Kakheti joined those of Guria and Tao before the walls of Tbilisi, and it is before those walls that a legend would be forged.
Like most sieges of the age, it dragged on for weeks and months, and in that time all of the guardsmen would indeed die, carried away by the same strange malady. Agsartan himself grew gradually worse, yet somehow, despite the terrible sickness, he would write three books: "
The Will and Testament", in which he gave guidance to his successors, particularly his son Kvirike; "
The Conversation on Dzhimara", recording his purported conversation with an Angelic being; and "
Christian Morals", a commentary on morality and the meaning of being a Christian.
During this time, Agsartan would befriend Gabriel Sefareli, steward of the High King, and commander of the army of Guria. It was Gabriel who would write the first hagiography of the young saint. His description of Agsartan was thus:
"...that one so young should speak words of such wisdom, or have such skill at writing, or have such drive and purpose, would itself be considered miraculous. Yet I had met the young King only two seasons prior, and I knew that the young man then had no great skill with words, nor great wisdom, nor any unusual purpose, and I knew that even one of these skills most men took a lifetime to nurse to the levels which King Agsartan now played with as if they were infant's toys. But perhaps most surprising to me, was the King's complete transformation in his views on war. As he put it himself: 'Before I held war in boyish reverence, now it is a distraction, useful only as a means to make people pay attention to God's purpose.' Surely, this is a man who has been touched by the Angels!"
When Agsartan finally died in the early months of 1067, only a few moons beyond his 17th year, but their were few that were made sad by it, as Gabriel would put it:
"At last, God was satisfied with his work, and released him from his suffering." The 13th century chronicler Basil of Theodesos, quoting a now lost work, reported Agsartan's last words were:
"You're seventeen years early."
Agsartan would be buried just outside the walls of Tbilisi, and that place became a place where many pilgrims gathered, and whose holy influence was such that the defeated emir, rather than being filled with hate for his conquerors, saw the light of God's love, and soon demanded that he and his eldest son be baptised into God's true faith.
Immediately after his death, Agsartan was acclaimed as a servant of God, paving the way to his eventual confirmation as a saint in the mid 13th century, though the cult of Saint Agsartan was established well before patriarchal confirmation of his status as such.
A Glossary of Terms:
Bull of Seti - Bagrat IV's exhortation calling the Kingdom to war, as well as a declaration of Bagrat's legal reforms, the date for all the armies to march out was the morning of the Christmas of 1066 - hence it's informal nickname "the Christmas Bull".
Keph - From the Greek Kephale (head), a Georgian measurement 40.6% the length of a Roman foot (NB: that's 120.31 mm in modern metric), by legend, this measurement was obtained from the skull of St. Agsartan. The first "metric" measurement system, the keph was only used by the educated classes (and even then, mostly just theologians) until the industrial revolution caused a widespread need for a scientific unit of measure. There is some confusion amongst modern historians as to how exactly this measurement came about, as even if you believe the story of Agsartan's Angel, one would expect an Angel to pick a more practical unit of measure. It is also the reason why there are so many brain-damaged Georgian craftsmen jokes.
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