The Principality of Khachen ( hy, Խաչենի իշխանություն, Khacheni ishkhanutyun) was a
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
principality on the territory of historical
Artsakh (present-day
Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked country, landlocked region in the Transcaucasia, South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik, and covering the southeastern range o ...
).
The provinces of Artsakh and
Utik
Utik ( hy, Ուտիք, also known as Uti, Utiq, or Outi) was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was ceded to Caucasian Albania following the partition of Armenia between Sassanid Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire in 387 AD. Most ...
were attached to the
Kingdom of Armenia in
antiquity. In the early medieval period, these provinces were under
Sassanid
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 ...
or
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
until the establishment of the
Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia in the 9th century.
From the 12th century the Armenian Principality of Khachen dominated the region.
The Byzantine emperor
Constantine VII addressed his letters to the prince of Khachen with the inscription "To Prince of Khachen, Armenia."
According to Abū Dulaf, an Arab traveller of the time, Khachen was an Armenian principality immediately south of
Barda'a (modern-day
Barda, Azerbaijan).
[Abū-Dulaf Misʻar Ibn Muhalhil's Travels in Iran (circa A.D. 950) / Ed. and trans. by V. Minorsky. — Cairo University Press, 1955. — p. 74:"''Khajin (Armenian Khachen) was an Armenian principality immediately south of Barda'a.''"] The Armenian princely family of
Hasan Jalalyan
The House of Hasan-Jalalyan ( hy, Հասան-Ջալալյաններ) was an Armenian dynasty that ruled the region of Khachen (Greater Artsakh) from 1214 onwards in what are now the regions of lower Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh and small part o ...
began ruling much of Khachen and Artsakh in 1214.
In 1216, the Jalalyans founded the
Gandzasar monastery which became the seat of the
Armenian Apostolic Catholicos
Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...
of Albania, forced to Khachen from Partav (Barda) by the steady
Islamization
Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...
of the city.
The
Khamsa Khamsa (Arabic, lit. "five") may refer to:
* Hamsa, a popular amulet in the Middle East and North Africa, also romanized as ''khamsa''
* Al Khamsa, a bloodline for Arabian horses that traces back to five mares
* Al Khamsa (organization), a nonpro ...
(The Five) principalities maintained Armenian autonomy in the region throughout the
Persian-Ottoman Wars. In 1603 the Persians established a protectorate over the Khamsa and sponsored the establishment of a
Karabakh Khanate
The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic peoples, Turkic Khanates of the Caucasus, Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Safavid dynasty, Iranian suzerainty in Karaba ...
in 1750.
The name ''Khamsa'', which was used by Arabs for the state, refers to the
five Armenian Melikdoms who ruled the state.
See also
*
House of Hasan-Jalalyan
The House of Hasan-Jalalyan ( hy, Հասան-Ջալալյաններ) was an Armenian dynasty that ruled the region of Khachen (Greater Artsakh) from 1214 onwards in what are now the regions of lower Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh and small part o ...
*
History of Nagorno-Karabakh
Nagorno-Karabakh is located in the southern part of the Lesser Caucasus range, at the eastern edge of the Armenian Highlands, encompassing the highland part of the wider geographical region known as Karabakh. Under Russian and Soviet rule, th ...
*
Artsakh (disambiguation)
*
Karabakh
Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and ...
*
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 ...
*
Republic of Artsakh
Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a list of states with limited recognition, breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan ...
References
External links
Gandzasar.com: Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
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