Tashir or Taschir ( hy, Տաշիր) is an ancient Armenian historical region in the

South Caucasus The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, which is divided between modern

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 ' ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

since the 11th century , and still divided between the two countries, in the Armenian Lori Province and the Georgian region of

Kvemo Kartli Kvemo Kartli ( ka, ქვემო ქართლი, az, Aşağı Kartli) or "Lower Kartli", is a historic province and current administrative region ( mkhare) in southeastern Georgia. The city of Rustavi is the regional capital. Location K ...

(Somhetia). The name of ''Tashir'' of Armenian origin, (known as ''Tashiri'' in neighboring

) this word known since classical antiquity, referring to the plateau between the

Debed The Debed ( hy, Դեբեդ) or Debeda ( ka, დებედა) is a river in Armenia and Georgia. It also serves as a natural boundary between Armenia and Georgia at the village Sadakhlo, Georgia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of . The ...

and Pambak rivers. It was first mentioned by the Armenian historian

Movses Khorenatsi Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late a ...

in his 5th-century monumental work '' History of Armenia'', as one of the cantons of the lords of

Gugark Gugark ( hy, Գուգարք, lat, Gogarene, Greek: ''Γογαρινή'') was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia. Etymology Etymologically ...

, a former 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 princ ...

, which had become part of the Kingdom of

Caucasian Iberia In Greco-Roman geography, Iberia (Ancient Greek: ''Iberia''; la, Hiberia) was an exonym for the Georgian kingdom of Kartli ( ka, ქართლი), known after its core province, which during Classical Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages ...

in the 5th century and again part of

kingdom of Georgia The Kingdom of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამეფო, tr), also known as the Georgian Empire, was a medieval Eurasian monarchy that was founded in circa 1008 AD. It reached its Golden Age of political and economic ...

in 1118. Tashir was a part of Greater Armenia since 6th century BC to 5th century AD. After this, both Armenian and Iberian lords already had pretension over the land of Tashir, and it passed hands following the political fortunes of each. Tashir historically was a territory with Armenian majority. In the following centuries, the area was ruled mostly by Armenian lords. When the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia fell apart in the 10th century, the region was the basis of the

Kingdom of Lori The Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget ( hy, Տաշիր-Ձորագետի Թագավորություն ''Tashir-Dzorageti t'agavorut'yun''), alternatively known as the Kingdom of Lori or Kiurikian Kingdom by later historians, was a medieval Armenian king ...

, or Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget (978-1118). It was conquered at the beginning of the 12th century by

David IV of Georgia David IV, also known as David the Builder ( ka, დავით აღმაშენებელი, ') (1073–1125), of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the 5th king of United Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125. Popularly considered to be ...

. It was a part of Georgia until the

Mongol invasions The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206-1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastatio ...

devastated it and weakened the Georgian state. From then on, the region suffered many other invasions, lost much of its population and importance. It belonged to the domains of the noble Armenian Orbelian and was part of the Persian Empire until the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. The name of Tashir declined in use, and was replaced by that of Lori. Between 1918 and 1921, the region was again disputed between the newly independent states of

and

. The town of

Tashir Tashir ( hy, Տաշիր) is a town and urban municipal community located in Lori Province at the north of Armenia, near the border with Georgia. It is located 42 km north of the provincial centre Vanadzor and 154 north of the capital Ye ...

(Armenia) is named after the historical region.

References

Cyril Toumanoff Cyril Leo Toumanoff (russian: Кирилл Львович Туманов; 13 October 1913 – 4 February 1997) was a Russian-born Georgian historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, ...

, "The Armeno-Georgian Marchlands", in ''Studies in Christian Caucasian History'' (Georgetown, 1963), pp. 437–499. Accessible a

{{coord missing, Armenia Former regions of Armenia Former provinces of Georgia (country) Historical regions of Georgia (country)