Kamsarakan ( hy, Կամսարական) was an
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n noble family that was an offshoot of the
House of Karen
House of Karen (Middle Persian: ''Kārēn'', Parthian: ''𐭊𐭓𐭍𐭉 Kārēn,'' fa, کارن ''Kārin'' or ''Kāren''), also known as Karen-Pahlav (''Kārēn-Pahlaw'') was one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran during the rule of Parthian an ...
, also known as the Karen-Pahlav. The Karens were one of the
Seven Great Houses of Iran
The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians.
The seven Great ...
and were of
Parthian Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
origin.
In the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
-
Sasanian
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
era, the Kamsarakan were mostly known for following a pro-Byzantine policy. In the late 8th century, they met their downfall as a result of participating in an uprising against
Arab rule.
After the 8th century, a branch of the Kamsarakan, the
Pahlavuni
Pahlavuni ( hy, Պահլավունի; classical orthography: Պահլաւունի) was an Armenian noble family, a branch of the Kamsarakan, that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy.
Orig ...
, rose to prominence. According to
Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...
the Pahlavunis in turn had two branches: the
Mkhargrdzeli, associated with the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
; and the
Hethumids
The Hethumids ( hy, Հեթումյաններ Hethumian) (also spelled Hetoumids or Het'umids), also known as the House of Lampron (after Lampron castle), were an Armenian dynasty and the rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1341 ...
, associated with the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Middle Armenian: , '), also known as Cilician Armenia ( hy, Կիլիկեան Հայաստան, '), Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia ( hy, ...
.
Background and history
The Kamsarakan family
A branch of the House of Karen (Karen-Pahlav), one of the
Seven Great Houses of Iran
The Seven Great Houses of Iran, also known as the seven Parthian clans, were seven feudal aristocracies of Parthian origin, who were allied with the Sasanian court. The Parthian clans all claimed ancestry from Achaemenid Persians.
The seven Great ...
, the name of Kamsarakan is derived from Prince Kamsar, who died in 325. The Kamsarakans had their base in the "two princely states", which were both located in the historic region of
Ayrarat
Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat ...
-
Arsharunik
Arsharunik was a historical district in Armenia, part of the province of Ayrarat
Ayrarat () was the central province of the kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras (river), Aras River. Most ...
. The city of
Yervandashat, in present-day eastern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, was their capital. The fortresses of
Bagaran, Artagers, Shirak and
Ani
Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia.
Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...
(which later became a city) were also associated with the Kamsarakan.
From their establishment the Kamsarakans enjoyed prestige in Armenia due to being the cousins of the royal
Arsacids
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...
. Following the demise of the Arsacids in Armenia in 428 the Kamsarakan acquired a large amount of political power due to their position as important border lords; or, as Toumanoff puts it "to their quasi-
margravial position on the northern frontier of the realm". The Kamsarakans had a high rank in the order of precedence of the Armenian princes; they supposedly ranked second "of the four broad classes". As such they had a
feudal
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...
obligation to supply 600 horses to their suzerain, the King of Armenia.
According to
Cyril Toumanoff
Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...
/ ''
Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
'', due to the geographical location of their principalities, the Kamsarakan were not involved "in any special way in Armino-Iranian relations". However, according to
Parvaneh Pourshariati
Parvaneh Pourshariati is an Iranian-born American historian of Middle Eastern studies, scholar, and educator. She is an Associate Professor of History at New York City College of Technology (CUNY), and former president of the Association for the ...
/ ''Encyclopædia Iranica'', the Kamsarakan "were directly involved in the history of the
Byzantines and the
Sasanians
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
". When the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
annexed the
western part of historic Armenia, GazavonII Kamsarak and other family members moved to
Sasanian Armenia
Sasanian Armenia, also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia ( hy, Պարսկահայաստան – ''Parskahayastan''), may either refer to the periods in which Armenia ( pal, 𐭠𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 – ''Armin'') was under the suzerainty of ...
, at the time ruled by an Armenian vassal. Prior to this GazavonII had been the leader of the pro-Roman Armenian princes. Later another Kamsarakan family member,
ArshavirII, is recorded as having participated in the anti-Sasanian revolt led by
Vardan Mamikonian
Vardan Mamikonian ( hy, Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of , ...
. ArshavirII also took part in the insurrection of 482–484, together with his son and successor Nerses.
The Kamsarakans were known for following a broadly pro-Byzantine policy, and they were actively involved in the political life of the empire as well. For example, three brothers from the Kamsarakan family served as generals for
Justinian I
Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565.
His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...
(r. 527–565);
Narses
, image=Narses.jpg
, image_size=250
, caption=Man traditionally identified as Narses, from the mosaic depicting Justinian and his entourage in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna
, birth_date=478 or 480
, death_date=566 or 573 (aged 86/95)
, allegi ...
,
Isaac the Armenian
Isaac the Armenian ( la, Isachius Armenus; grc-gre, Ισαάκ, Isaák) was an exarch of Ravenna hailing from the Kamsarakan clan. The chronology of the Exarchate in this period is uncertain: either he succeeded Euselnus and served c. 625 – 6 ...
(Sahak), and another Isaac (Sahak), who was executed by the king of the
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
,
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...
, in 546. A later Kamsarakan,
NarsesII Kamsarakan, served as presiding prince of Armenia for the Byzantine emperor in the late 7th century, and also held the high-ranking Byzantine office of ''
curopalates
''Kouropalatēs'', Latinized as ''curopalates'' or ''curopalata'' ( el, κουροπαλάτης, from lat, cura palatii " he one incharge of the palace"). and Anglicized as curopalate, was a Byzantine court title, one of the highest from the ti ...
''. Another individual, presumably a Kamsarak, was the patrician Arsaber (Arshavir), noted for revolting against the Byzantine emperor in 808.
The Kamsarakans took part in the revolt against
Arab rule in Armenia in 771–772. When the insurrection failed, the Kamsarakan were amongst the "victims of the disaster", and they had no choice but to sell their "double princedom" to the
Bagratids.
The Pahlavuni family
In the Bagratid era, the Kamsarakan rose to prominence once again, now represented by its cadet branch the
Pahlavuni
Pahlavuni ( hy, Պահլավունի; classical orthography: Պահլաւունի) was an Armenian noble family, a branch of the Kamsarakan, that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy.
Orig ...
s, led by the princes Bdjni and Nig. Cyril Toumanoff notes:
When the Bagratids were destroyed and Prince Gregory II abdicated in 1045–1046 to allow the Byzantine emperor to assume control over his lands, the Pahlavunis moved to
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
, where they were known as the
Hethumids
The Hethumids ( hy, Հեթումյաններ Hethumian) (also spelled Hetoumids or Het'umids), also known as the House of Lampron (after Lampron castle), were an Armenian dynasty and the rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia from 1226 to 1341 ...
. They dominated this "last phase of Armenia’s political history", first as princes of Lambrun, and after 1226, as kings of Armenia. When the Hethumids died out in the 14th century the Armenian crown passed, through inheritance, to the
Lusignan dynasty
The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries dur ...
of Cyprus, and afterwards to the
House of Savoy
The House of Savoy ( it, Casa Savoia) was a royal dynasty that was established in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, the family grew in power from ruling a small Alpine county north-west of Italy to absolute rule of ...
. The
Mkhargrdzeli, another branch of the Pahlavunis, were a dominant force in the
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...
in the 12th14th centuries, and "has survived to this day".
Patrons of architecture
The Kamsarakans and their Pahlavuni branch, and in turn the Mkhargrdzelis, were known for being patrons of
Armenian architecture
Armenian architecture comprises architectural works with an aesthetic or historical connection to the Armenian people. It is difficult to situate this architectural style within precise geographical or chronological limits, but many of its monumen ...
. Notable examples of structures built by the family include castles and palaces, as well as "splendid churches", such as the Church of St. Gregory (commissioned by AbughamrI Pahlavuni).
References
Sources
*
*
{{coord missing, Armenia
Kamsarakan family