{{Short description, Leader of tribe/clan
Azgapet is a leader of a
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
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 ' ...
, similar to
chieftain
A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom.
Tribe
The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia.
Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...
. The term originates from the words ''azg'' (Armenian: ազգ), which means
extended family
An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...
or clan, and ''pet'', which means chief. The term ''azgapet'' had been used in addition to other similar terms for tribal collectivities, such as ''tanuter'' (Armenian: տանուտեր) and ''nahapet'' (Armenian: նահապետ). Patriarch Hayk, the legendary and eponymous progenitor of the Armenian people, is sometimes referred to as ''azgapet''. One prominent medieval work which mentions Armenian azgapets is ''The History of the Province of Aghvank'' by
Movses Kaghankatvatsi Movses Kaghankatvatsi ( hy, Մովսէս Կաղանկատուացի ''Movses Kaġankatvac’i''), or Movses Daskhurantsi ( ''Movses Dasxuranc’i'') is the reputed author (or authors) of a tenth-century Classical Armenian historiographical work on C ...
, which mentions several dignitaries, including azgapets, who signed the ''Constitution of Aghven'', a 5th-century legal document commissioned by King Vachagan II the Pious of Aghvank. One family with origins in the village of Syghnakh in Artsakh claims descent from azgapet Marut, a chieftain from Varanda Valley and a consignee of the Constitution.Yerevan Magazine. Families of Medieval Armenia, Have They Been Lost? Oct. 2011 issue.
See also
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Culture of Artsakh
Culture of Artsakh includes artifacts of tangible and intangible culture that has been historically associated with Artsakh (historic province) in the Southern Caucasus, controlled by Azerbaijan and the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. These inclu ...