Taron ( hy, Տարօն;

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly base ...

pronunciation: ''Daron''; el, Ταρών, ''Tarōn''; la, Taraunitis) was a canton of the Turuberan province of

Greater Armenia Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք, translit=Mets Hayk) is the name given to the Armenian state that emerged on the Armenian Highlands during the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the 2nd century BC. The term was used to refer prin ...

, roughly corresponding to the Muş Province of modern Turkey.

Early Middle Ages

The main source on the principality's history during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

is the ''History of Taron'', a relatively short "historical" romance in five parts, purporting to describe significant events occurring in the district of Taron during the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars when the

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 History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

emperor was Khosrau II (590-628). During Khosrau's reign, Taron was frequently invaded by the Persians. The ''History'' describes the actions of five generations of Mamikonians (Taron's princely house), in defending and avenging the district. Each section or cycle of the story is devoted to the exploits of one of the defenders: Mushegh, Vahan, Smbat, his son Vahan Kamsarakan, and the latter's son Tiran. The heroes are at times superhumanly brave or duplicitous, wise or cunning, humble or bombastic, humane or brutally merciless as the situation requires. Above all, they are the holy warriors of St. Karapet (

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

, their patron saint), and they zealously defend the Saint Karapet Monastery (Glakavank) as well as all the churches and Christians in the district. Much of the narration describes battles fought and the cunning tactics used by the Taronites to defeat the invading Iranians.

Later history

With the death of

Mushegh VI Mamikonian Mushegh VI Mamikonian ( hy, Մուշեղ Զ Մամիկոնյան; died 25 April 775) was an Armenian noble of the Mamikonian family. He served as presiding prince of Arab-ruled Armenia in 748–753, and later participated in the Armenian rebellion ...

at the

Battle of Bagrevand The Battle of Bagrevand was fought on 25 April 775, in the plains of Bagrevand, between the forces of the Armenian princes who had rebelled against the Abbasid Caliphate and the caliphal army. The battle resulted in a crushing Abbasid victory, w ...

in April 775, and the eclipse of the Mamikonian from Armenian affairs, and following a conflict with the Jahhafids, Taron passed to

Ashot Msaker Ashot IV Bagratuni ( hy, Աշոտ Դ Բագրատունի), better known as Ashot Msaker ( hy, Աշոտ Մսակեր, "Ashot the Meat Eater / the Carnivorous"), reputedly for his refusal to refrain from eating meat during Lent, was an Armenian princ ...

of the Bagratuni family. His successors ruled Taron until 967: * Ashot I Msaker (died 826), ca. 813–826, presiding prince of Armenia (as Ashot IV) from 806 * Bagrat I (died after 851), 826–851, presiding prince of Armenia (as Bagrat II) after 830 *

Ashot II Ashot II the Iron ( hy, Աշոտ Բ; r. 914–929) was an Armenian king of the royal Bagratuni line. He was the son and successor of King Smbat I. His reign was filled with rebellions by vassals and pretenders to the throne, as well as foreign in ...

(ca. 835 – 878), after 851–878 *

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(ca. 840 – 895), 878–895 (brother of Ashot II) *

Gurgen Gurgen or Gourgen (Armenian: Գուրգեն, Georgian: გურგენ) is an Armenian and Georgian masculine name of Middle Persian origin (''Gurgēn''), itself ultimately deriving from Old Iranian ''Vṛkaina-''. It may refer to: Georgian m ...

(murdered 895/6), 895/6 (son of Ashot II) * Taron seized by

Ahmad ibn Isa al-Shaybani Ahmad ibn Isa al-Shaybani () (died 898), was an Arab leader of the Shayban tribe. In 882/3 he succeeded his father, Isa ibn al-Shaykh, as the virtually independent ruler of Diyar Bakr, and soon expanded his control over parts of southern Armenia ...

, 895/6–898 * Grigor I (died 923/36), 898–923/936 (cousin of Gurgen) * Bagrat II (died before 940) and

Ashot III Ashot III ( hy, Աշոտ Գ) was a king of Armenia, ruling the medieval kingdom of Armenia from 952/53–77. Known as Ashot III the Merciful (Աշոտ Գ Ողորմած) and acknowledged by foreign rulers as the ''Shahanshah'' (king of kings) o ...

(died 967), 898–967 Upon the death of Ashot III in 967, his two sons, Grigor II ( Gregory Taronites) and Bagrat III ( Pankratios Taronites), ceded the principality to the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

in exchange for lands and noble titles. In Byzantium, probably along with other branches of their family already established there in previous decades, they formed the Taronites family, which was one of the senior Byzantine noble families during the 11th–12th centuries. Under Byzantine rule, Taron was united with the district of Keltzene into a single province ( theme), whose governor (''

strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek to mean military general. In the Helleni ...

'' or '' doux'') usually bore the rank of '' protospatharios''. In the middle of the 11th century, it was united with the theme of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeast ...

under a single governor. Taron also became a

metropolitan see Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a t ...

with 21 suffragan sees. Following the Byzantine defeat in the Battle of Manzikert against the Seljuk Turks in 1071, an independent Armenian lord named Tornik seized power in Taron, with Muş as his capital. Tornik established a principality which held out as ruler of Taron until overrun by the Turks in 1189/90.

References

{{Coord missing, Turkey Early medieval Armenian regions History of Muş Province Former principalities Former monarchies of Asia