Zakarid dynasty

Zakarids
Զաքարյաններ
მხარგრძელი
Nobility
Zakaryan's coat of arms[citation needed] with the iconography of a lion and a bull, at Geghard.
Parent housePahlavuni[1]
CountryZakarid Armenia
FounderKhosrov
Cadet branchesTmogveli
Gageli
Argutinsky-Dolgorukov

The Zakarid dynasty, also Zakarids or Zakarians[2][3] (Armenian: Զաքարյաններ, romanized: Zak'aryanner) were a noble dynasty, rulers of Zakarid Armenia (1201–1350) under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Georgia, and from 1256 under the control of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia.[4] Their dynastic name was formed in honour of Zakare, the famous servant of the Georgian King Tamar.[5] They were also known by their Georgian nickname Mkhargrdzeli (მხარგრძელი, "Long-armed", in Armenian: Երկայնաբազուկ, Yerkaynbazuk). A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes II the "Longarmed" (404–358 BC).[6][7] According to Cyril Toumanoff / Encyclopædia Iranica, they were an offshoot of the Armenian Pahlavuni family.[1] The Zakarians considered themselves Armenians.[8]

During the 13th century, the Zakarids held the highest offices in the Georgian government, as Atabegs (Governor General) and Amirspasalars (Commander-in-Chief of the Army) of the Kingdom of Georgia.[9]

  1. ^ a b Toumanoff 2010, pp. 453–455.
  2. ^ Bournoutian, George A. (2003). A concise history of the Armenian people : (from ancient times to the present) (2. ed.). Costa Mesa, Calif.: Mazda Publishers. p. 108. ISBN 1568591411.
  3. ^ Sacred Precincts: The Religious Architecture of Non-Muslim Communities Across the Islamic World. BRILL. 2014. p. 465. ISBN 978-9004280229.
  4. ^ Stopka, Krzysztof; Bałuk-Ulewiczowa, Teresa (2017). Armenia Christiana: Armenian religious identity and the Churches of Constantinople and Rome (4th-15th century) (PDF) (First ed.). Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 978-83-233-4190-1. In 1256 a fifth Mongol ulus was created, with the ilkhan Hulagu, the Great Khan's brother, as its governor. His task was to develop the Mongol Empire in the Near East. The historical territories of Armenia became part of the Ilkhanate of Persia.
  5. ^ Mathews, Thomas F .; Taylor, Alice (2001). THE ARMENIAN GOSPEL S OF GLADZOR THE LIFE OF CHRIST ILLUMINATED (PDF). The J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles. p. 22. ISBN 0892366265. The Armenian brothers Ivane and Zak'are served the Georgian Queen Tamar (reigned 1184-1213). Rising to the heights of the Georgian army and court, they achieved for themselves the status of a nakharar family, called the Zak'arians, in honor of Zak'are. Queen T'amar gave the Zak'arians control of almost all her Armenian territories, including the former Armenian capital Ani. The Zak'arians established their own vassals, comprising both surviving nakharars and new men — from among their own Armenian generals — raised to nakharar status, each with smaller territories as their own fiefs. Among the new nakharars was the Proshian clan, who were particularly important for the history of the Gladzor Gospels.
  6. ^ Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, 3th[clarification needed] volume
  7. ^ Paul Adalian, Rouben (2010). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. p. 83.
  8. ^ Strayer, Joseph (1982). Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol. 1. p. 485. The degree of Armenian dependence on Georgia during this period is still the subject of considerable controversy. The numerous Zak'arid inscriptions leave no doubt that they considered themselves Armenians, and they often acted independently.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference AM150 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).