The Atabekians are an Armenian Princely (Meliqly) house of Lords of the Jraberd principality (Meliqdom) in Artsakh, which ruled in the 19th century.[1][2][3] The most renowned representative of the family was Prince Hovhannes (Vani) Atabekian, Prince of Jraberd, who took an active part in the 1804–1813 Russo-Persian War.[4]
The Atabekians are descendants of Prince Ivane-Atabek I Hasan-Jalalian, son of Prince Hasan-Jalalian, the Lord of Khachen.[5] His offspring, Prince Atabek III, settled in the north-eastern part of the paternal domain, along the banks of the Tartar and Kusapat rivers and there created a new dynasty. The Atabekians consider themselves to be a dynastic branch of the House of Hasan-Jalalian, and through them trace their ancestry to the noble houses of the Vakhtangian, Aranshahik, Syuni, and the Haykazuni. DNA studies in 2009 also revealed kinship between the Atabekians and princes Argutian of Lori, Meliq-Yeganians of Dizak and Meliq-Dadians of Goris; all mentioned families belong to R1b1b2a haplogroup.[citation needed]