Zakarid Armenia Զաքարյան Հայաստան | |||||||||||
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1201–1350 | |||||||||||
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Capital | Ani | ||||||||||
Common languages | Armenian | ||||||||||
Religion | Armenian Apostolic, Georgian Orthodox Church[3] | ||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||
Zakarids | |||||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | 1201 | ||||||||||
• Conquered by Chobanids | 1350 | ||||||||||
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Zakarid Armenia[4][5] (Armenian: Զաքարյան Հայաստան, romanized: Zakaryan Hayastan) alternatively known as the Zakarid Period, describes a historical period in the Middle Ages during which the Armenian vassals of the Kingdom of Georgia were ruled by the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli dynasty.[6] The city of Ani was the capital of the princedom. The Zakarids were vassals to the Bagrationi dynasty in Georgia, but frequently acted independently[7] and at times titled themselves as kings.[8][9] In 1236, they fell under the rule of the Mongol Empire as a vassal state with local autonomy.
During the reign of George V and Bagrat V, the Zakarid territories once again reverted to the Kingdom of Georgia.[10][11] The Zakarid dynasty continued to rule Ani until around 1350, when it was conquered and ravaged by the Chobanids.[12]
The mixed confessional identities of the population of Ani and its surrounding region led to rising tensions. There are numerous references to disputes arising between the two communities on matters including taxation and liturgical/worship practice. The division was matched by a split within the Zakarid family itself. Zakare and Ivane were brought up to adhere to Armenian, Miaphysite Orthodoxy, but in the first years of the thirteenth century Ivane converted to Georgian, Chalcedonian Orthodoxy. According to the Georgian sources many Armenians joined him in converting. Ivane also forcibly converted some Armenian Miaphysite churches to Chalcedonianism, notably the monastery of Akhtala, where he built his mausoleum church. Ivane's conversion is, unsurprisingly, celebrated in Georgian texts and condemned in Armenian chronicles, which ascribed it to political or religious causes (or to Ivane's infatuation with Queen Tamar).
The most influential lords of north-eastern Armenia were members of the Zakarian family. Hence, the first half of the thirteenth century is known as the Zakarid Period...Although of Armenian foundation, members of that family held eminent positions among the Georgian lords.
…the political power of the Zakarids was formed and strengthened, heading the restored Armenian statehood in indigenous Armenia. The territory subject to the Zakarids was an Armenian state, vassal to the then reigning house of the Georgian Bagratids; The Zakharid government had the right to court and collect taxes. The main responsibility of the Armenian government to the Georgian government was to provide it with military militia during the war.
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.
In one inscription on the palace church on the citadel of Ani, the brothers' principal city and the former capital of Armenia, they refer to themselves as 'the kings of Ani', suggesting loftier ambitions, independent of Georgia, and in the inscription at Haghartsin quoted in the first chapter, they claimed descent from the Bagratunis, the Armenian kings of the region until the eleventh century.