The Principality of Khachen ( hy, Խաչենի իշխանություն, Khacheni ishkhanutyun) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

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 across the ...

principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is mos ...

). The provinces of Artsakh and

Utik Utik ( hy, Ուտիք, also known as Uti, Utiq, or Outi) was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was ceded to Caucasian Albania following the partition of Armenia between Sassanid Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire in 387 AD. Mo ...

were attached to the Kingdom of Armenia in antiquity. In the early medieval period, these provinces were under

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 last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Name ...

Arab The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...

until the establishment of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia in the 9th century. From the 12th century the Armenian Principality of Khachen dominated the region. The Byzantine emperor

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zo ...

addressed his letters to the prince of Khachen with the inscription "To Prince of Khachen, Armenia." According to Abū Dulaf, an Arab traveller of the time, Khachen was an Armenian principality immediately south of Barda'a (modern-day

Barda, Azerbaijan Barda ( az, Bərdə ) is a city and the capital of the Barda District in Azerbaijan, located south of Yevlax and on the left bank of the Tartar river. It served as the capital of Caucasian Albania by the end of the 5th-century. Barda became the c ...

).Abū-Dulaf Misʻar Ibn Muhalhil's Travels in Iran (circa A.D. 950) / Ed. and trans. by

V. Minorsky Vladimir Fyodorovich Minorsky (russian: Владимир Фёдорович Минорский; – March 25, 1966) was a Russian Orientalist best known for his contributions to the study of Persian, Lurish and Kurdish history, geography, ...

. — Cairo University Press, 1955. — p. 74:"''Khajin (Armenian Khachen) was an Armenian principality immediately south of Barda'a.''" The Armenian princely family of

Hasan Jalalyan The House of Hasan-Jalalyan ( hy, Հասան-Ջալալյաններ) was an Armenian dynasty that ruled the region of Khachen (Greater Artsakh) from 1214 onwards in what are now the regions of lower Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh and small part o ...

began ruling much of Khachen and Artsakh in 1214. In 1216, the Jalalyans founded the Gandzasar monastery which became the seat of the

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancien ...

of Albania, forced to Khachen from Partav (Barda) by the steady

Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occurre ...

of the city. The

Khamsa Khamsa (Arabic, lit. "five") may refer to: * Hamsa, a popular amulet in the Middle East and North Africa, also romanized as ''khamsa'' * Al Khamsa, a bloodline for Arabian horses that traces back to five mares * Al Khamsa (organization), a nonpr ...

(The Five) principalities maintained Armenian autonomy in the region throughout the Persian-Ottoman Wars. In 1603 the Persians established a protectorate over the Khamsa and sponsored the establishment of a

Karabakh Khanate The Karabakh Khanate was a semi-independent Turkic Caucasian khanate on the territories of modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan established in about 1748 under Iranian suzerainty in Karabakh and adjacent areas. The Karabakh Khanate came under ...

in 1750. The name ''Khamsa'', which was used by Arabs for the state, refers to the five Armenian Melikdoms who ruled the state.

References

External links

Gandzasar.com: Gandzasar Monastery, Nagorno Karabakh Republic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Principality Of Khachen

See also

References

External links