Atrnerseh () (d. 870's) was an Armenian ruler of the
Principality of Khachen
The Principality of Khachen ( Modern Armenian: ) was a medieval Armenian principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day Karabakh).''Abū-Dulaf Misʻar Ibn Muhalhil's Travels in Iran (circa A.D. 950)'', ed. and trans. Vladi ...
. He was the son and successor of
Sahl Smbatean.
According to the 10th century Armenian historian
Movses Kaghankatvatsi, Atrnerseh's family was descended from the
Arranshahiks, the ancient ruling dynasty of
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 ...
, although the historian
Robert H. Hewsen considers Atrnerseh and his father as members of a branch of the Armenian
House of Syunik.
[Hewsen, Robert H., ''Armenia: A Historical Atlas''. The University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 119, 163.] In 822, Atrnerseh married the last heir of
Mihranid dynasty (which previously ruled
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 ...
), princess Spram. Subsequently, the princedom of Atrnerseh's father Sahl expanded to the east and included the territories of
Artsakh and
Gardman
Gardman (), also known as Gardmank' or Gardmanadzor, was one of the eight cantons of the ancient province of Utik' in the Kingdom of Armenia and simultaneously, together with the canton of Tuch'katak, an Armenian principality. It roughly corres ...
.
Atrnerseh's possessions mainly covered the region of Upper Khachen, also known as Tsar. His residence was at
Handaberd, a fortress he built in the second quarter of the 9th century.
Together with his father and brother John, he participated in the anti-Arab uprising of 854, as a result of which he was arrested by the Arab commander
Bugha al-Turki and sent to exile in
Samarra.
Иованнес Драсханакертци. История Армении, гл. XXVI
/ref> However, he was freed from exile, unlike his brother, whose estates were inherited by Atrnerseh. Atrnerseh ruled over an area approximately corresponding to the historical Armenian province of Artsakh.
References
{{authority control
Year of birth unknown
House of Aranshahik
9th-century Armenian people
Princes of Khachen