Nakharar

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Zakarids in historical Armenia during the 13th-14th centuries.[2] Astvatsatsin Spitakavor Monastery, Vayots Dzor, Hermitage Museum, inv. No. AR-619.[3][4]

Nakharar (Armenian: նախարար naxarar, from Parthian naxvadār "holder of the primacy"[5][6]) was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility.

Nakharar system

Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of nahapet "chief of the family" or tanuter "master of the house" was given. Other members of a nakharar family in their turn ruled over smaller portions of the family estate. Nakharars with greater authority were recognized as ishkhans (princes).

This system has often been labelled as

Armenian paganism
favoured marriages between relatives very highly.

Each nakharar had his own army, depending on his domain. The national force or "royal cavalry" was under the

Armenian clergy
.

In 4th-century Armenia, as in

Bagratunis was the cavalry chief (aspet
) and king crowner (tagadir), and so on.

History of the nakharars

The nakharar system appears to have originated near or before the beginning of the Common Era, probably emerging under the Artaxiad dynasty and existing during the entire Arsacid period in Armenia and for centuries after its end.[7]

The nakharars survived the fall of the

Nvarsak Treaty.[8]

In

Justinian
's reforms removed the martial role of the nakharars, as well as attempting to annex estates from Armenian nobles. The nakharars, angered at their restriction in power, began a full-scale insurrection that had to be quelled through swift military intervention, eventually sparking war with the Sassanids.

Though weakened by numerous invasions and the legal reforms of Kings, the nakharar structure remained virtually unchanged for many centuries and was finally eliminated during the

Mongol invasions in the thirteenth century. Certain aspects of the nakharar system remained intact in Armenia until the early 20th century, when the noble class was altogether abolished by the Bolsheviks
.

References

  1. ^ Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages - MetPublications - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2018. p. 104.
  2. Proshian clan, who were particularly important for the history of the Gladzor
    Gospels.
  3. ^ Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages - MetPublications - The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2018. pp. 104–105.
  4. ^ "Hermitage hall 63".
  5. ^ Chaumont 1986.
  6. ^ Ačaṙyan 1977.
  7. ^ Garsoian 2005.
  8. ^ "History of Armenia by Vahan Kurkjian • Chapter 20".

Bibliography