Adarnase II of Iberia

Adarnase II was the eldest son of Ashot I the Great and one of the three brothers among whom the founder's lands in Tao-Klarjeti were divided after his death. He ruled with the rank of eristavt-eristavi alongside Bagrat I of Tao-Klarjeti, who held the Byzantine title of kouropalates and the office of presiding prince, and Guaram Mampali. His share is described as the lands west of the Arsiani range, excluding Shavsheti and Lower Tao.

The record of his life is thin. No deeds are attributed to him, and the numbering of the early Bagratids is confused: he is sometimes counted as Adarnase I of Tao-Klarjeti and should not be mistaken for his grandnephew Adarnase IV, the first king of the Iberians. Modern accounts place his rule from about 830 until his death around 870; his son Gurgen is said to have taken over Upper Tao in 867, so the exact year is uncertain.

His marriage carried the family's tie to the Abkhazian royal house a generation further: his wife, called Bevreli or Anastasia, came from the Abkhazian ruling family, though the sources differ on her parentage. Their children were Gurgen I of Tao, who inherited Tao and later held the title of kouropalates before falling to Adarnase IV in 891; Sumbat I of Klarjeti, who received Klarjeti; and a daughter who married the Armenian sparapet Abbas. Through them he became the ancestor of the first house of Tao and of the princes of Klarjeti, cousin lines that rivaled the royal branch until Bagrat III eliminated the last of them.