The Nicene Age · AD 313–400
Queen Nana of Iberia
d. mid-4th c. · Queen of Iberia (Georgia) · First royal convert of the Caucasus · Mtskheta, Iberia
The Nicene Age
Who Queen Nana of Iberia was
Queen of Iberia, healed of a grave illness by the prayers of the captive woman Nino when the court physicians had failed — and converted by her before the king, becoming the first Christian of the Georgian royal house. Her persistence, the historians note, prepared the way for Mirian’s own conversion. The queen through whose sickroom a nation’s faith entered.
Also listed in women.
Common questions
When did Queen Nana die?
Queen Nana of Iberia is dated d. mid-4th c. in the archive, which places Queen Nana in the Nicene Age (AD 313–400). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Queen Nana?
Queen Nana of Iberia is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Rufinus of Aquileia and Socrates Scholasticus (from Rufinus). Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Queen Nana from?
The archive associates Queen Nana of Iberia with Mtskheta, Iberia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Queen Nana’s contemporaries?
The archive links Queen Nana of Iberia to 2 other figures, including Nino of Georgia and King Mirian III of Iberia. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Church History X.11 (the queen healed and converted)
c. AD 402Ecclesiastical History I.20 (Rufinus/Socrates)
c. AD 439The queen, being restored to health by the captive’s prayers to Christ, believed, and honoured the woman; and the miracle prepared the king also for the faith.Socrates Scholasticus (from Rufinus) · I.20 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 301 · Hripsime and her company, AD 301
- AD 303 · The Great Persecution begins, AD 303
- AD 303 · The search of the church at Cirta, AD 303
- AD 306 · The Council of Elvira, AD 306
- AD 311 · Galerius’ edict of Serdica, AD 311
- AD 313 · The Edict of Milan, AD 313
- AD 314 · The Council of Arles, AD 314
- AD 320 · Silvanus tried before Zenophilus, AD 320
- AD 325 · The Council of Nicaea, AD 325
- AD 339 · The persecution of Shapur II, AD 339
- AD 343 · The Council of Serdica, AD 343
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Queen Nana.
- 1Iberiaprovince only