Zakare Zakarian ( hy, Զաքարե Զաքարյան or Զաքարե Երկայնաբազուկ, ) or Zakaria II Mkhargrdzeli (, ), was an Armenian general of Queen

Tamar of Georgia Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr, lit. "King Tamar") ( 1160 – 18 January 1213) reigned as the Queen of Georgia from 1184 to 1213, presiding over the apex of the Georgian Golden Age. A member of the Bagrationi dyna ...

army during the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He was the ruler of feudal lands in the

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 ...

Biography

Zakaria along with his father Sargis supported the rebellion of Prince

Demna Demna (, a hypocorism for Demetrius, ) (born before 1155 - died c. 1178) was a Georgian royal prince and pretender to the throne proclaimed as king during the failed nobles’ revolt of 1177/8. He was the only son and heir of King David V, who had ...

and the

Orbeli family The Orbeli family is an Armenian family, whose members have included notable scientists for over 12 centuries. The president of Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Osipov and the president of Armenian National Academy of Sciences Faddey Sarkisyan, r ...

in 1177, however they soon sided with

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

and fought for the monarchy against the insurgents. The

uprising Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

was suppressed, and King George III elevated the Zakarid–Mkhargrdzeli family. Following the death of George III, Queen Tamar elevated Sargis Mkhargrdzeli — a well-born valorous man, well-trained in battle — to the office of ''

Amirspasalar ''Amirspasalar'' or ''amirspasalari'' ( ka, ამირსპასალარი, from fa, امیر سپه سالار, ) was the commander-in-chief of the medieval Georgian army and one of the highest officials of the Kingdom of Georgia, comm ...

'' ( Lord High Constable) and granted him possessions over Lori (which was deprived of from Kubasar). She gave presents to his elder son, Zakaria, and his younger son, Ivane, and she made him a member of the

Darbazi Darbazi ( ka, დარბაზი; from fa, italic=yes, darvāze, "gate") is a term used in Georgia to describe a chamber with a distinctive "swallow dome"-type roof structure found in the traditional domestic architecture of Asia Minor and th ...

. During a revolt of Queen Tamar's disgraced husband, George the Rus', around 1191, Zakaria Mkhargrdzeli was one of the few nobles who remained loyal to the queen. Tamar gradually expanded her own power-base and elevated her loyal nobles to high positions at the court, most notably the Mkhargrdzeli. In the ninth year of Tamar's reign, the '' Mandaturtukhutsesi'' and ''

'' Zakaria (Zakare) Mkhargrdzeli and his brother Ivane the ''

atabeg 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 wit ...

'' took Dvin in 1193. They also took Gelakun,

Bjni Bjni ( hy, Բջնի), is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is situated in a valley between canyon walls and a small river. The village is one of the prominent centers of education and culture of ancient and medieval Armenia. It is ...

Amberd Amberd ( hy, Ամբերդ) is a 10th-century fortress located above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn, Armenia. The name translates to "fortress in the clo ...

, and Bargushat, and all the towns along Araxes basin, up to the Khodaafarin bridge. Around the year 1199, a Georgian army under Zakare's command took the city of Ani from Shadaddid control, and in 1201, Tamar gave it to him as a

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form ...

. Zakare commanded the Georgian army for almost three decades, achieving major victories at Shamkor in 1195 and BasianAlexander Mikaberidze, ''Historical Dictionary of Georgia'', (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), 184. in 1203 and leading raids into northern Iran in 1210. Zakare left several bilingual inscriptions across the Armeno-Georgian borderlands and built several churches and forts, such as the Harichavank Monastery and Akhtala Monastery in northern Armenia. After Zakaria's death, his holdings were inherited by the aging Ivane, who had given Ani to his nephew Shanshe, son of Zakare.

References

Nobility of Georgia (country) 12th-century people from Georgia (country) House of Mkhargrdzeli 13th-century people from Georgia (country) 1212 deaths {{Georgia-hist-stub