This is a list of rulers who converted to Christianity. The conversion of monarchs was often an important step in the process of Christianization.
Gregory the Illuminator was the founder and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He converted Armenia from Zoroastrianism to Christianity in the early fourth century, making Armenia the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church and in some other churches.
Mieszko I was Duke of Poland from 960 until his death in 992 and the founder of the first unified Polish state, the Civitas Schinesghe. A member of the Piast dynasty, he was the first Christian ruler of Poland and continued the policies of both his father Siemomysł and his grandfather Lestek, who initiated a process of unification among the Polish tribes and the creation of statehood.
Year 826 (DCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar, the 826th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 826th year of the 1st millennium, the 26th year of the 9th century, and the 7th year of the 820s decade.
The 290s decade ran from January 1, 290, to December 31, 299.
Year 299 (CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian. The denomination 299 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
Mirian III was a king (mepe) of Iberia or Kartli (Georgia), contemporaneous to the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. He was the founder of the royal Chosroid dynasty.
Saint Nino was a woman who preached Christianity in the territory of the Kingdom of Iberia, in what is modern-day Georgia. Her preaching resulted in the Christianization of Iberia.
Tiridates III, also known as Tiridates the Great or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from c. 298 to c. 330. In the early 4th century, Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to officially embrace Christianity.
Mirian I was a king (mepe) of Iberia who reigned in the 2nd century BC. An adopted son of his father-in-law King Sauromaces I, he was a Persian-born prince but governed over Iberia as a member of the Pharnavazid dynasty.
Equal-to-apostles or equal-to-the-apostles is a special title given to some saints in Eastern Orthodoxy and in Byzantine Catholicism. The title is bestowed as a recognition of these saints' outstanding service in the spreading and assertion of Christianity, comparable to that of the original apostles.
The Chosroid dynasty, also known as the Iberian Mihranids, were a dynasty of kings and later presiding princes of the early Georgian state of Iberia from the 4th to the 9th centuries. The family, of Iranian Mihranid origin, accepted Christianity as their official religion c. 337, and maneuvered between the Byzantine Empire and Sassanid Iran to retain a degree of independence. After the abolition of the Iberian kingship by the Sassanids c. 580, the dynasty survived in its two closely related, but sometimes competing princely branches—the elder Chosroid and the younger Guaramid—down to the early ninth century when they were succeeded by the Georgian Bagratids on the throne of Iberia.
Rev II was a prince of Iberia of the Chosroid Dynasty who functioned as a co-king to his father Mirian III, the first Christian Georgian ruler and his mother was Nana of Iberia. Professor Cyril Toumanoff suggests the years 345–361 as the period of their joint reign.
Ashkhen was the Queen of Armenia and a member of the Arsacid dynasty by marriage to King Tiridates III of Armenia.
Salome was an Armenian princess from the Arsacid dynasty who was married into the Chosroid Dynasty of Iberia. She was a daughter of King Tiridates III of Armenia and Queen Ashkhen. She is known from the early medieval Georgian chronicle Life of Kings. In Georgian tradition, she is referred to as Salome of Ujarma after a castle where she is credited to have erected a cross. She has been canonized by the Armenian and Georgian churches. Local canonisations are recognised throughout the Orthodox Church.
This is a timeline showing the dates when countries or polities made Christianity the official state religion, generally accompanying the baptism of the governing monarch.
The Christianization of Iberia refers to the spread of Christianity in the early 4th century as a result of the preaching of Saint Nino in the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli, known as Iberia in classical antiquity. The then-pagan king of Iberia Mirian III declared Christianity to be the kingdom's state religion. According to Roman historian Sozomen, this led the king's "large and warlike barbarian nation to confess Christ and renounce the religion of their fathers", as the polytheistic Georgians had long-established anthropomorphic idols, known as the "Gods of Kartli". The king would become the main sponsor, architect, initiator and an organizing power of all building processes.