Zakarid Armenia
Encyclopedia
The Zakarids or Zakarid Armenia ( Zakarhan Hahastan), is used to describe territories of Armenia
given to the Zakarid-Mxargrzeli
princes as a fief by Tamar
, the queen of the Kingdom of Georgia
.
of Armenia, Armenia was successively occupied by Byzantines
, Seljuqs and other Muslim
states.
During the 12th century the Bagratids of Georgia enjoyed a resurgence in power, and managed to expand into Moslem occupied Armenia.
Despite some complications in the reign of Giorgi III, the successes continued in the reign of the Queen Tamar. This was chiefly due to the Zakarid generals Zakarē and Ivanē. Around the year 1199, they took the city of Ani, and in 1201, the grateful Tamar gave Ani to them as a fief. Eventually, their territories came to resemble those of Bagratid Armenia.
When the Khwarezm
s invaded region, Dvin
was ruled by the aging Ivanē, who had given Ani to his nephew Shanshe(Shahanshah), son of Zakarē. Dvin was lost, but Kars
and Ani
did not surrender.
However, when Mongols took Ani in 1236, they had a friendly attitude towards the Zakarids. They confirmed Shanshe in his fief, and even added to it the fief of Avag, son of Ivanē. Further, in 1243, they gave Akhlat
to the princess T’amt’a, daughter of Ivanē.
After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, the Zakarids ruled not as vassals of the Georgians, but rather the Mongols
. Their descendants continued to hold Ani until the 1330s, when they lost it to a succession of Turkish
dynasties, including the Kara Koyunlu
, who made Ani their capital.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
given to the Zakarid-Mxargrzeli
Zakarid-Mxargrzeli
The Zakarid , also known by their Georgian language moniker as Mkhargrdzeli , were a noble family prominent in medieval Armenia and Georgia. Their name in Georgian, Mkhargrdzeli, or in , meant long-armed. A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes...
princes as a fief by Tamar
Tamar of Georgia
Tamar , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was Queen Regnant of Georgia from 1184 to 1213. Tamar presided over the "Golden age" of the medieval Georgian monarchy...
, the queen of the Kingdom of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
History
Following the collapse of the Bagratuni DynastyBagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
The medieval Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia , was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni in 885 following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule...
of Armenia, Armenia was successively occupied by Byzantines
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, Seljuqs and other Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
states.
During the 12th century the Bagratids of Georgia enjoyed a resurgence in power, and managed to expand into Moslem occupied Armenia.
Despite some complications in the reign of Giorgi III, the successes continued in the reign of the Queen Tamar. This was chiefly due to the Zakarid generals Zakarē and Ivanē. Around the year 1199, they took the city of Ani, and in 1201, the grateful Tamar gave Ani to them as a fief. Eventually, their territories came to resemble those of Bagratid Armenia.
When the Khwarezm
Khwarezm
Khwarezm, or Chorasmia, is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, which borders to the north the Aral Sea, to the east the Kyzylkum desert, to the south the Karakum desert and to the west the Ustyurt Plateau...
s invaded region, Dvin
Dvin
Dvin was a large commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata, along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan...
was ruled by the aging Ivanē, who had given Ani to his nephew Shanshe(Shahanshah), son of Zakarē. Dvin was lost, but Kars
Kars
Kars is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. The population of the city is 73,826 as of 2010.-Etymology:As Chorzene, the town appears in Roman historiography as part of ancient Armenia...
and Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...
did not surrender.
However, when Mongols took Ani in 1236, they had a friendly attitude towards the Zakarids. They confirmed Shanshe in his fief, and even added to it the fief of Avag, son of Ivanē. Further, in 1243, they gave Akhlat
Ahlat
Ahlat is a historic town and a district in Turkey's Bitlis Province in Eastern Anatolia Region. The center town of Ahlat is situated on the northwestern coast of the Lake Van. She was the district in Van Province between 1929-1936...
to the princess T’amt’a, daughter of Ivanē.
After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, the Zakarids ruled not as vassals of the Georgians, but rather the Mongols
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
. Their descendants continued to hold Ani until the 1330s, when they lost it to a succession of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
dynasties, including the Kara Koyunlu
Kara Koyunlu
The Kara Koyunlu or Qara Qoyunlu, also called the Black Sheep Turkomans , were a Shi'ite Oghuz Turkic tribal federation that ruled over the territory comprising the present-day Armenia, Azerbaijan, north-western Iran, eastern Turkey and Iraq from about 1375 to 1468.The Kara Koyunlu Turkomans at one...
, who made Ani their capital.