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Fall of Zakarid Armenia
Armenia within the Kingdom of Georgia
- 1360
- Middle East
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Armenia within the Kingdom of Georgia
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Zakarid Armenia (Armenian: Զաքարեան 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. The city of Ani was the capital of the princedom. The Zakarids were vassals to the Bagrationi dynasty in Georgia, but frequently acted independently and at times titled themselves as kings. 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. The Zakarid dynasty continued to rule Ani until around 1350, when it was conquered and ravaged by the Chobanids.
Armenian historians of the 13th century Kirakos Gandzaketsi and Vardan the Great reported that Ivane's great-grandfather "broke away from the Kurdish tribe of Babir", and established himself in northern Armenia. He then became a vassal and a possible relative of the Kjurikid dynasty of Armenian kings in the Tashir-Dzoraget region. He received a fortress and became a Christian of the Armenian Miaphysite Church.
Following the collapse of the Bagratuni dynasty of Armenia in 1045, Armenia was successively occupied by Byzantines and, following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, by the Seljuks. Khosrov Zakarian, the first historically traceable member of the Zakarid family, moved from Armenia to southern Georgia during the Seljuk invasions in the early 11th century. Over the next hundred years, the Zakarids gradually gained prominence at the Georgian court, where they became known as Mkhargrdzeli (Long-shoulder) or in Armenian: Երկայնաբազուկ, (Yerkaynabazuk). A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes II the "Longarmed" (404–358 BC).
During the 12th century, the Bagratids of Georgia enjoyed a resurgence in power, and managed to expand into Seljuk-occupied Armenia. The former Armenian capital Ani would be captured five times between 1124 and 1209. Under King George III of Georgia, Sargis Zakarian was appointed as governor of Ani in 1161. In 1177, the Zakarids supported the monarchy against the insurgents during the rebellion of Prince Demna and the Orbeli family. The uprising was suppressed, and George III persecuted his opponents and elevated the Zakarids.
Despite some complications in the reign of George III, the successes continued in the reign of the Queen Tamar. This was chiefly due to the Armenian generals Zakare and Ivane. Around the year 1199, they retook the city of Ani. Zakare and Ivane commanded the Georgian-Armenian armies for almost three decades, achieving major victories at Shamkor in 1195 and Basian in 1203 and leading raids into northern Persia in 1210.
The two brothers, together with the Alanian David Soslan managed to put Georgia back on a winning track. Because of their successes, Zakare and Ivane reached the heights of the Georgian army and court. Queen Tamar gave them the status of nakharar feudal lords, who took the name "Zak'arians", in honor of Zak'are. She gave them control of almost all her Armenian territories, with Ani as capital. In an inscription in Zakare's church in Ani, the brothers are called "Kings of Armenia".
Still, Ivane and Zakare encountered animosity in some quarters because of their religious affiliation to Armenian Miaphysitism, rather than the Chalcedonian faith of the Georgians. The younger brother Ivane eventually converted, allowing the two brothers to adroitely bridge the religious spectrum in Georgia, Ivane commanding Georgian troops while Zakare commanded Armenian ones. Conflicts regarding devotional practices still erupted between the two armies, hampering coordinated operations, as in a military campaign 1204. A synod had to be convened at the highest level, and the Armenians agreed to harmonize some practices.
Around the year 1199, a Georgian army under Zakare's command took the city of Ani from Shadaddid control, and in 1201, Tamar gave it to him as a fief. Thereafter, Zakarids maintained high degree of autonomy and often acted independently. The volume of trade seems to have increased in the early 13th century, and under the Zakarid princes the city prospered, at least until the area was occupied by the Mongols in 1237. The Zakarians amassed a great fortune, governing all of northern Armenia. Zakare and his descendants ruled in northwestern Armenia with Ani as their capital, while Ivane and his offspring ruled eastern Armenia, including the city of Dvin. Eventually, their territories came to resemble those of Bagratid Armenia. They maintained a high level of local autonomy, acting as an Armenian state with the right to court and collect taxes, while under nominal Georgian suzerainty. While they were vassals of the Georgian king, the Zakarids often acted independently and established their own political and tax systems. Their allegiance to the Georgian kings was mostly confined to providing the kings with military assistance during times of war. In their capital city of Ani, they named themselves the “Kings of Ani” exemplifying their independent ambitions from the Kings of Georgia. The Zakarid had their own vassals, including the Orbelians and Vachutians, and also had the ability to establish their own nakharar feudal vassals, often selected from the ranks of their best general, as in the case of the Proshian clan. They adopted "the trappings of both Christian and Muslim royal power", as shown in their adoption of the title "Shahanshah" (king of kings) for their names and titles. In the dedicatory inscription of Tigran Honents, the Zakarians are referred to as the only "overlords", and the "powerful masters of the universe".
The reconquered regions of historical Armenia had mixed confessional identities, with Armenians being mainly Miaphysites, and Georgians and Greeks mainly Chalcedonian Christians, and relations were often conflictual. But the boundaries were moveable: Ivane I Zakarian had converted to Chalcedonism in the early 13th century, and a significant number of Armenians had followed him, voluntarily or not.
The Zakarids seem to have promoted a level of ambiguity between the two faiths, and voluntarily mixed elements from both, minimizing differences, possibly as a political expedient helping them better rule their realm. In the church St Gregory of Tigran Honents, dedicated in 1215 in Ani, the combination of scenes with the myths of the evangelists of Armenia and Georgia might suggest a conflation of Armenian Miaphysite and Georgian Chalcedonian rites. The Zakarids are also known for their efforts at church councils to bring together the Miaphysite and Chalcedonian faiths, especially in respect to their outward expression, such as rites and the usage of icones.
The Zakarids, under Georgian overlordship since 1199–1200, were active builders of religious monuments, such as the church of St Gregory of Tigran Honents, built in 1215 in Ani, or the Church of Kizkale. The donators of St Gregory of Tigran Honents were identified as Armenian Miaphysites in their inscriptions, but on the other hand the artistic program rather reflected the Chalcedonian faith, suggesting that the church may have belonged to a Chalcedonian community of Armenians, who had chosen to adopt Georgian styles and practices. Alternatively, this church may have served a larger community of both Armenians and Georgians, or may have served as an example of the unification of Miaphysite and Chalcedonian faiths, at least in their outward expression, as often desired by Zakarid rulers.
Armenia relatively lacked a tradition of monumental painting before the 13th century. Wall paintings were not banned in Armenia, but were rare, and sources show suspicion towards a practice that was considered "Georgian" or "Byzantine", and bordering on the heretical.
The development of monumental religious painting in Armenia in the 13th century was probably related to the efforts made by the Zakarids in bridging differences between "Armenian" Miaphysitism and "Georgian" Chalcedonism, possibly as a political expedient helping them better rule their realm. Zakare II Zakarian convened a synod at the highest level, with Levon (r.1187-1219) King of Cilician Armenia and his Catholicos, so that Miaphysites would converge with Chalcedonians in the rites and expression of their faith. In particular, the synod acknowledged that "icons of the Savior and all the saints should be accepted, and not despised as though they were pagan images", opening the way for the creation of monumental religious paintings such as those seen at Ani.
The Zakarids then sponsored a large program of monumental pictorial art, blending Byzantine, Armenian and Georgian traditions. The beautiful murals of Akhtala Monastery, commissioned by Ivane I Zakarian in 1205–1216, are an example of Armenian-Chalcedonian art, blending Byzantine, Armenian and Georgian styles, and inscribed in Georgian, Greek and Armenian.
Few paintings are found in the remains of the Zakarid capital of Ani, and the earliest known ones are those of St Gregory of Tigran Honents, dating to c. 1215. These paintings, exclusively labelled in Georgian and Greek, may have belonged to a Georgian artistic tradition, as suggested by style, technique (intense blue backgrounds), and iconographical details. The paintings are focused on the main feasts of the Chalcedonian Church. Still, various characteristics and iconographical details are decidedly Armenian and relate to Miaphysitism. There is a possibility that Georgian artists were hired in order to accomplish such pictorial programs, although Byzantines and Armenians are also known to have been involved. The signatures of the artists found beneath the paintings of some of the main figures at Akhtala Monastery have been found to be in Armenian and Greek.
In 1220, according to the 13th century Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi, started the first Mongol incursions under Subutai, part of the Mongol invasions of Georgia. This first wave was only composed of 3 tümen (30,000 men), and was actually on a search for the fugitive Khwarizmian ruler Muhammad II of Khwarazm. The Zakarids served under the Georgian king George IV of Georgia to repulse them, with Ivane I Zakarian acting as atabeg (Governor General) and Amirspasalar (Commander-in-chief), their army only half the size of the Mongol one. The Georgians and Armenians were defeated, but the Mongol retreated with heavy losses. The Mongols came back the following year, but were blocked on the road to Tbilissi by an army of 70,000. The Mongols again won, but retreated to Tabriz. A third encounter the same year virtually annihilated the Georgian army, and the Mongols continued north to confront the Kipchaks at far as Soldaia, and the Rus' Principalities at the Battle of the Kalka River. Before dying, George IV made an alliance with the Sultanate of Rum, by marrying his sister Rusudan to Ghias ad-Din, son of the emir of Erzurum.
In 1222, the Kipchaks, fleeing from Mongol devastation, came to the Armenian city of Gandzak, where they encountered the troops of the atabeg Ivane Zakarian, who were again defeated. Although the Georgians ultimately prevailed in 1223, the Zakarian Prince Grigor Khaghbakian was captured and tortured to death by the Kipchak Turks.
When the Khwarazmians under Jalal al-Din Mangburni invaded the region in 1226–1230, Dvin was ruled by the aging Ivane, who had given Ani to his nephew Shahnshah, son of Zakare. Dvin was lost, but Kars and Ani did not surrender.
The Mongols led a major offensive in 1238–39, and took Ani in 1239. They obtained the submission of the Zakarids and left them in place in their regions. They confirmed Shanshe in his fief, and even added to it the fief of Avag, son of Ivane. Further, in 1243, they gave Akhlat to the princess Tamta, daughter of Ivane.
The Mongols under General Chormaqan conquered the whole of historical Armenia and Georgia in 1238–39, leading to the submission of the Kingdom of Georgia in the 1239 treaty. Three Mongols campaigns took place altogether from 1239 to 1244: capture of Ani and Kars in 1239, Karin in 1242, and defeat of the Seljuk Sultan in 1243–44 with the major Battle of Köse Dağ. After the Mongols captured Ani, the Zakarids ruled not as vassals of the Bagratids, but rather as vassals of the Mongols, under the governorships of Arghun Aqa. Still, while under Mongol control, the Zakarids maintained nominal suzerainty to the Georgian, who were themselves tributaries of the Mongols.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Zakarid Armenia”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.