' () was a military title and office in ancient and medieval
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 ...
. Under the
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia
The Arsacid dynasty, called the Arshakuni () in Armenian, ruled the Kingdom of Armenia (with some interruptions) from 12 to 428 AD. The dynasty was a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia. Arsacid kings reigned intermittently throughout the ...
, the ' was the supreme commander of the kingdom's armed forces. During the Arsacid period and for some time afterwards, the office was held hereditarily by the senior member of the House of
Mamikonian
Mamikonian or Mamikonean () was an Armenian aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenia between the 4th and 8th centuries—through the late antique kingdom, Sasanian, Byzantine, and Arab dominations. They were the most notable noble house in ...
. Later in history, the title was held by members of other noble houses, such as the
Bagratuni and
Pahlavuni dynasties. The title was used in the medieval
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...
, where the bearer of the title was also called ' (), from the Byzantine and Western title of
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
.
Etymology
The word is of Iranian origin, ultimately deriving from
Proto-Iranian
Proto-Iranian or Proto-Iranic is the reconstructed proto-language of the Iranian languages branch of Indo-European language family and thus the ancestor of the Iranian languages such as Persian, Pashto, Sogdian, Zazaki, Ossetian, Mazandara ...
''*spādapati-'' (“commander of the army”), which is composed of ''*cwáHdaH'' (“army”) and ''*pati-'' (“lord”).
[ Perikhanyan, A. G. (1993). ''Материалы к этимологическому словарю древнеармянского языка: часть 1'' aterials for the Etymological Dictionary of the Old Armenian Language. Part 1(in Russian), Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, p. 18.] The word was borrowed into Armenian several times from different Iranian languages, yielding the alternative forms ', ', and '; the most common form, ', was borrowed from
Parthian.
It is cognates with
Middle Persian
Middle Persian, also known by its endonym Pārsīk or Pārsīg ( Inscriptional Pahlavi script: , Manichaean script: , Avestan script: ) in its later form, is a Western Middle Iranian language which became the literary language of the Sasania ...
' (whence modern ) and
Georgian ''.''
has been translated into English as "grand marshal," "commander-in-chief," and "high constable."
History
The exact period in which the office of emerged in Armenia is not known for certain. Historian
Suren Yeremian believed it to have been instituted in the 2nd century BCE during the reign of
Artaxias I
Artaxias I (from ) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling dynasty of Armenia. He expanded his ...
, although according to another historian, it was established under the Arsacids, along with the other major hereditary state offices of Armenia.
In Arsacid Armenia, the was at all times in control of the royal cavalry units called the , and during times of war was the supreme commander of all military units of the Kingdom of Armenia. It is not clear to what extent the functions of the office coincided with those of the Sasanian '. The title of came with considerable prestige and power, which gave its hereditary holders, the Mamikonians, a degree of influence rivalling that of the ruling Arsacids. Historian
Nicholas Adontz
Nicholas Adontz (; ; January 10, 1871 – January 27, 1942) was an Armenians, Armenian historian, specialising in Byzantine studies, Byzantine and Armenian studies, and a philologist. Karen Yuzbashyan, Yuzbashyan, Karen. s.v. Adonts', Nikoghayos ...
writes:
In the late 4th century, the Arsacid king
Varazdat ordered the murder of '
Mushegh Mamikonian and appointed a non-Mamikonian, Bat Saharuni, to the office. This was short-lived, however, as Mushegh's kinsman
Manuel Mamikonian soon returned to Armenia and drove Varazdat out of the country. After the dethroning of the last Arsacid king of Armenia in 428, the Mamikonians continued to hold the title of ''sparapet'' under
Sasanian
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
rule. In the first half of the 8th century, during the period of
Arab rule in Armenia, the office of ''sparapet'' was usurped by the
Bagratunis, the traditional rivals of the Mamikonians. Later on, the title was borne by members of the
Pahlavuni family.
In the medieval
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...
, the title of ''sparapet'' or ''gundstabl'' was no longer the hereditary privilege of one house. It was held by members of the
Rubenid and
Hethumid dynasties, as well as representatives of other noble houses.
Modern usage
The 18th century commander
Mkhitar Sparapet led the Armenian efforts for independence in the
Syunik province of Armenia.
The title "Sparapet of
Syunik" (Սյունյաց սպարապետ) was held by the
Garegin Nzhdeh, as supreme commander of the
Republic of Mountainous Armenia, in 1920–21.
The title is also used for the Grand Commander of the
Knights of Vartan
The Knights of Vartan Inc. (Վարդանանց Ասպետներ) is a non-political, non-sectarian, non-denominational fraternal organization established in 1916 in the USA that encourages its members to take leadership roles in cultural, educati ...
, an
Armenian-American fraternal order. The title was held by
Alex Manoogian during his leadership of that organization.
Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenia's Defense Minister in 1991-92 and 1995–99, is often informally referred to as Sparapet in recognition of his leadership during the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nag ...
.
References
Sources
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See also
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Sempad the Constable
Sempad the Constable (also Smpad and Smbat; or , ; 1208–1276) was a noble from Cilician Armenia. He was an older brother of King Hetoum I. He was an important figure in Cilicia, acting as a diplomat, judge, and military officer, holding the ti ...
{{Highest Military Ranks
Sparapets
Military history of Armenia
Armenian words and phrases
Armenian noble titles
Armenian military ranks of Parthian origin