The Kingdom of Artsakh () was a medieval dependent
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 ...
kingdom on the territory of
Syunik and
Artsakh provinces,
Gardman canton of
Utik
Utik (), also known as Uti, was a historical province and principality within 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. Most o ...
province,
Mazaz and
Varazhnunik canton of
Ayrarat province.
Contemporary sources referred to it as the
Khachen. However, because the domain of Khachen during the reign of Prince Hasan Jalal included the entire territory of the modern
Nagorno Karabakh Republic plus many contiguous lands to its west, south and north, his principality was often called the Kingdom of Artsakh. The royal
house of Khachen was a
cadet branch of the ancient
Syunid dynasty and was named Khachen, after its main stronghold. Hasan-Jalal traced his descent to the Armenian Aranshahik dynasty, a family that predated the establishment of the
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 Arsacids in the region.
Artsakh maintained its sovereign rulers, though in the early 13th century they accepted
Georgian, then
Mongol suzerainty
A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
.
[Hewsen, Robert H. "The Meliks of Eastern Armenia: A Preliminary Study." '' Revue des Études Arméniennes''. NS: IX, 1972, pp. 255-329.] They lost the royal title after the assassination of Hasan-Jalal (1214–1261) by the Ilkhanid ruler Arghun, but continued to rule Syunik as a principality, which from the 16th century comprised
five Armenian melikdoms of Artsakh and
Kashatagh melikdom of Syunik which lasted until the early 19th century.
References
Further reading
*
*
Robert H. Hewsen. "The Kingdom of Arc'ax" in ''Medieval Armenian Culture (University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies)''. Thomas J. Samuelian and Michael E. Stone (eds.) Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1984. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Artsakh, Kingdom of
1261 disestablishments in Asia
States and territories established in 1000
Bagratid Armenia
Former kingdoms
History of Nagorno-Karabakh