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 Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchy, monarchical state or feudalism, feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "prin ...

. It roughly corresponded within the

Gazakh Qazax (; ) is a city in and the capital of the Gazakh District of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 20,900. Gazakh is a city and administrative district in the west of Azerbaijan, the "western gate" of Azerbaijan. History Early history I ...

Shamkir Shamkir may refer to: * Shamkir (city), a city in Azerbaijan *Shamkir District Shamkir District () is one of the 66 Administrative divisions of Azerbaijan, districts of Azerbaijan. It is located in the north-west of the country and belongs to t ...

Aghstafa Agstafa () is a town, municipality (assigned in 1941) and the capital of the Aghstafa District of Azerbaijan. Agstafa district was established in 1939, abolished in 1959 and merged with Gazakh district, and made into an independent district aga ...

, Dashkasan, Goygol, Tovuz, Gadabay districts of modern-day

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

and the original

Tavush Region Tavush (, ) is a administrative divisions of Armenia, province of Armenia located at the northeast of Armenia, bordered by Georgia (country), Georgia from the north and Azerbaijan from the east. Internally, Tavush borders the Gegharkunik Province ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

. Gardman was also the name of the central fortress of the canton.

History

In the view of historian Robert H. Hewsen, the name Gardman might be of Georgian origin. Many contemporary Armenian authors referred to Gardman as a part of the ('province, land') of Artsakh. During the reign of the

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

kings of Armenia (66–428 A.D.), Gardman was the seat of the of Utik'. For this reason, Utik' was sometimes called , or the principality of the Gardmanians. Gardman was acquired by

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 ...

in 387 following the partition of Armenia. In the seventh century, the local house of Gardman was replaced by the

Mihranid The Mihranids were an Iranian peoples, Iranian family which ruled several regions of Caucasus from 330 to 821. They claimed to be of Sasanian, Sasanian Persian descent but were of Parthian origin. History The dynasty was founded when a certain Mi ...

family (of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n or

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n origin), which later became the ruling dynasty in the region of Arran. During the rule of the Mihranids (7th-8th centuries), the region of Utik' came to be referred to as Gardman. The region was conquered by the

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

s in 855. Contemporary Armenian historians repeatedly noted the presence of two well known locations in Gardman: a fortress called Getabakk' (in the current-day Azerbaijani region of Gadabay) and a copper mine. In 982, Gardman and Parisos, the northern district of Artsakh, became the small Armenian kingdom of Parisos, which lasted until 1017 and thereafter became part of the

Kingdom of Lori The Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget ( ''Tashir-Dzorageti t'agavorut'yun''), alternatively known as the Kingdom of Lori or Kiurikian Kingdom by later historians, was a medieval Armenian kingdom formed in the year 979 by the Kiurikian dynasty, a branc ...

. In 1601, the princely family of Melik-Shahnazaryan established the ''

melik Мelik (, from ) was a hereditary Armenian noble title used in Eastern Armenia from the Late Middle Ages until the nineteenth century. The meliks represented some of the last remnants of the old Armenian nobility, as well as Persian nobility ...

dom'' of Gardman. The ruling family belonged to a branch of the House 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. Vladim ...

, and their residence was in the village of Voskanapat (and for this reason, the statelet was sometimes referred to as the Voskanapat melikdom). The territorial rights of the meliks were confirmed after the Russian Empire took control of the region in the early nineteenth century.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Historical regions of Caucasian Albania Former regions of Armenia Historical regions in Azerbaijan Caucasian Albania Ancient Armenia Ancient history of Azerbaijan