The Kingdom of Hereti ( ka, ჰერეთის სამეფო, tr) was a medieval

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

which emerged in

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

on the Iberian-

frontier. Nowadays it roughly corresponds to the southeastern corner of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

region and a portion of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

's northwestern districts. According to traditional accounts, the name of the province originated from the legendary patriarch "Heros", the son of Thargamos, who founded the city of Hereti (later known as Khoranta) at the Alazani River.

Background

From the earliest times, Hereti came under the rule of the

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus, mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among ...

. With the decline of Caucasian Albania, the area was gradually incorporated into the Iberian kingdom forming one of its duchies (

saeristavo Saeristavo ( ka, საერისთავო), in historical and scientific literature with this term is defined a territorial unit in old Georgia (country), Georgia, which was ruled by Eristavi (duke). List of the Duchies of Kingdom of Georgi ...

) in the 5th century and its peoples were eventually assimilated into the

Georgians Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and Peoples of the Caucasus, Caucasian ethnic group native to present-day Georgia (country), Georgia and surrounding areas historically associated with the Ge ...

proper. It was when the name Hereti first appeared in the Georgian sources. Hereti was populated by Caucasian Albanians, Dagestani, Armenians, Persians and

. It had flourishing towns that traded with Persia and

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. As a reward for the contribution in the struggle against the Arab occupation, the Iberian ruler ('' erismtavari'') Archil gave Hereti to the noble family of Bagrationi in the 740s–750s. After the death of the last Iberian princes

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

and

Juansher Juansher was the Mihranids, Mihranid prince of Caucasian Albania, ruling the principality from 637 to 669. He was the son and successor of Varaz Grigor (). During his reign, Juansher changed his allegiance thrice. He started out as a subject to ...

, the Heretian lords extended their fiefdoms and, in 787, established an independent principality (''samtavro'') with the capital in Shaki.

History

Its first recorded ruler, Sahl Smbatean, slaughtered the

n ( Mihranids) royal family in 822 and declared himself "

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

of Arran", currying favour with the

Caliphate A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

by betraying the

Zoroastrian Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, Zoroaster ( ). Among the wo ...

Babak Khorramdin he was recognized as the ruler of Arran. Sahl later incurred Arab distrust, was arrested and sent to Baghdad; he was succeeded by his son Adarnase I and grandson, Grigol Hamam. The principality gained significant strength and prestige by 893, allowing Prince Grigol Hamam to be crowned as the king.Каганкатваци, кн. III, гл. XXII Alarmed by the increasing power of the Heretian kingdom, Kvirike I, the ruler of the neighbouring Kakhetian principality, allied himself with King Constantine III of Abkhazia and, in 915, campaigned against King Adarnase II Patrikios. The allies occupied and divided the country but for a short time as Adarnase Patrikios soon reconquered what had been lost. The kingdom survived Kakhetian attacks but lost Caucasian Albania to its

Sallarid The Sallarid dynasty (), (also known as the Musafirids or Langarids) was a Muslim dynasty of Daylami origin, which ruled in Tarom, Samiran, Daylam, Gilan and subsequently Azerbaijan, Arran, and some districts in Eastern Armenia in the 2nd half o ...

(

Iranian Azerbaijan Azerbaijan or Azarbaijan (, , ), also known as Iranian Azerbaijan, is a historical region in northwestern Iran that borders Iraq and Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Azerbaijani exclave of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republ ...

) neighbour. Adarnase married Queen Dinar, a daughter of Adarnase III of Tao, with whom he had a son Ishkhanik. Saint Queen Dinar

Ishkhanik was the son and successor of Adarnase Patrikios. Under Ishkhanik, Hereti was forced to recognize the supremacy of the stronger neighbour, Principality of Daylam, ruled by the Salarid dynasty. According to '' The Georgian Chronicles'', Queen Dinar, during the reign of her son Ishkhani, converted Hereti to the Eastern Orthodox confession and abandoned the Oriental Orthodox confession in the 10th century. In 950, Ishkhanik took advantage of the bitter power struggle in the Sallarid state, and ceased to pay tribute effectively restoring his independence. The next Heretian ruler,

(Ioane Senekerim, 951–959), during his reign kingdom of Hereti reached a climax of power and prestige, mainly after the annexation of the right bank of Caucasian Albania. Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi calls him "restorer of the Kingdom of Albania". Later he annexed parts of Kakheti and adopted the title of "King of the Tsanars". John had good relations towards the representatives of the Sallaried Dynasty and with David III Kuropalates of

Tao The Tao or Dao is the natural way of the universe, primarily as conceived in East Asian philosophy and religion. This seeing of life cannot be grasped as a concept. Rather, it is seen through actual living experience of one's everyday being. T ...

. Like his father and his grandmother Queen Dinar, he contributed a lot to the conversion of his kingdom. He died in 959 without an heir. The area then was contested between the ruler of Kakheti,

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

( 976–1010), and the Georgian king Bagrat III who sought to bring all Georgian lands into a single monarchy. The next Kakhetian ruler, already titled as the king, Kvirike III the Great (1010–1037) finally absorbed Hereti into his Kingdom of Kakheti-Hereti in the 1020s. When the Georgian king

David the Builder David IV, also known as David IV the Builder ( ka, დავით IV აღმაშენებელი, tr; 1073 – 24 January 1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1089 until his de ...

brought the kingdom under his control in 1104, Hereti became a ''saeristavo'' (i.e. a duchy) within the Georgian realm. Georgian rule of Hereti was interrupted by

Atabegs of Azerbaijan Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wi ...

, Khwarezmid Empire and

Ilkhanid The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

rule. After the final disintegration of the unified Georgian monarchy in 1466, Hereti came under the Kakhetian crown. Afterwards, the name of the province itself has gradually disappeared from the historic records and public usage due to successively

Kara Koyunlu The Qara Qoyunlu or Kara Koyunlu (, ; ), also known as the Black Sheep Turkomans, were a culturally Persianate, Muslim Turkoman "Kara Koyunlu, also spelled Qara Qoyunlu, Turkish Karakoyunlular, English Black Sheep, Turkmen tribal federation th ...

Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, Afsharid, and Ottoman rules.

Rulers of Hereti

References

Literature

* Papuashvili, T. ''Problems of Heretian history''. Tbilisi, 1970. * Papuashvili, T. ''Kingdom of the Rans and Kakhs''. Tbilisi, 1982.

External links