Sadun Artsruni,also Sadun of Mankaberd (Georgian :სადუნმანკაბერდელი;Armenian :ՍադունԲԱրծրունի) of the House of the Artsrunids,was an Armenian prince,Prince of Haghbat and Mankaberd. [1] He was a court official and became Atabeg (Governor General) and Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief of the army) of the Kingdom of Eastern Georgia,and later chamberlain of Avag's daughter Khoshak. [3] [4] He was concurrently "Prime Minister" of the Mongol Il-Khan Abaqa. [5]
Sadun was a great-grandson of Amir K'urd (Abulasan),governor of Tbilisi during Queen Tamar's reign in Georgia. [3] In 1258,Sadun won a wrestling match in front of the Mongol ruler Hulegu Khan,who gave him the title of Tarkhan . Sadun then accompanied Hulegu in his military campaigns in Syria in 1259,in the conquest of Sasun,and in the capture of the citadel of Aleppo. He was then awarded the district of Sasun from Hulegu. [3]
Throughout the 13th century,the high offices Atabeg (Governor General) and Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian army) had been held by the Zakarids,but following the Mongol invasions of Georgia the Mongol victors gave these offices to the "renegade" Sadun of Mankaberd in 1272. [6] When Abaqa became the new Mongol ruler,Sadun received from him the title of Atabeg Amirspasalar for the Georgian Bagratid Kingdom. [7] He was said to be close to the Mongols,and had been promoted by them:"Sadun Artsruni was appointed as atabeg of Georgia by Abaqa Khan". [7] [8] In his position,he especially controlled the policies of Eastern Georgia,which,while being ruled by Demetrius II,remained pro-Mongol throughout. [8] Sadun was also awarded control of the royal domains of Telavi,Belakani and Kars,and acquired Dmanisi from Demetrius II. [3] His estate in Georgian Armenia was next to that of the Zakarids. [9] [10]
The rise of Sadun examplifies the way the Mongol maintained control over the Georgian territory,by maintaining the original kingship within the original Bagratid family,through the offices of the atabegi and the amir-spasarali,given to those who were collaborating with them. [9] [4]
He was an acquaintance of Shams al-Din Juvayni,a vizier in the service of the Mongols,and organized his marriage with Khoshak,daughter of Avag Zakarian,whom he had had under his supervision. [11]
Sadun married the daughter of Xoja Aziz,a powerful Persian official active in the administration of Georgia. [12] Sadun died in 1282,and his title of Amirspasalar was transmitted to his son Khutlubuga. However,Demetrius II of Georgia blocked Sadun's son Khutlubuga from getting the office of atabeg,and instead promoted Tarsaich Orbelian of the Orbelians. [6] [9]
Ata-Malik Juvayni was was a bureaucrat and historian from the Juvayni family who served under the Mongol Empire. He is known for composing the Tarikh-i Jahangushay,an important account on the history of Central Asia and the 13th-century Mongol invasion of Iran.
David VII,also known as David Ulugh (1215–1270),from the Bagrationi dynasty,was king (mepe) of Georgia from 1246 to 1270. He first ruled Georgia jointly with his namesake cousin,David VI,from 1246 to 1259. From 1259,David VI,revolting from the Mongol hegemony,seceded in the western half of the kingdom and formed the Kingdom of Western Georgia,while David VII was left to rule a reduced Kingdom of Georgia (1256–1329) in the region of eastern Georgia under Mongol control.
Demetrius II the Self-Sacrificer or the Devoted of the Bagrationi dynasty,was king (mepe) of Eastern Georgia reigning from 1270 until his execution by the Mongol Ilkhans in 1289.
Vakhtang II,of the dynasty of Bagrationi,was king (mepe) of Georgia from 1289 to 1292.
The Orbelian Armenian lords of the province of Syunik were a noble family of Armenia,with a long history of political influence documented in inscriptions throughout the provinces of Vayots Dzor and Syunik,and recorded by the family historian Bishop Stepanos in his 1297 History of Syunik.
Haghpat Monastery,also known as Haghpatavank,is a medieval Armenian monastery complex in Haghpat,Armenia,built between the 10th and 13th century.
The Zakarid dynasty,also Zakarids or Zakarians were an Armenian noble dynasty,rulers of Zakarid Armenia (1201–1350) under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Georgia,and from 1256 under the control of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia. Their dynastic name was formed in honour of Zakare,the famous servant of the Georgian King Tamar. They were also known by their Georgian nickname Mkhargrdzeli. A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes II the "Longarmed". According to Cyril Toumanoff / Encyclopædia Iranica,they were an offshoot of the Armenian Pahlavuni family. The Zakarians considered themselves Armenians.
Shams al-Din Juvayni was a Persian statesman and member of the Juvayni family. He was an influential figure in early Ilkhanate politics,serving as sahib-i divan under four Mongol Ilkhans –Hulagu,Abaqa,Tekuder and Arghun Khan. In 1284,Arghun accused Shams al-Din of having poisoned the Ilkhan Abaqa,who may actually have died of the effects of alcoholism;Shams al-Din was duly executed and replaced as vizier by Buqa. A skillful political and military leader,Shams al-Din is also known to have patronized the arts. The musician Safi al-Din al-Urmawi was one of those he supported.
Zakarid Armenia alternatively known as the Zakarid Period,describes a historical period in the Middle Ages during which the Armenian vassals of the Kingdom of Georgia were ruled by the Zakarid-Mkhargrzeli dynasty. The city of Ani was the capital of the princedom. The Zakarids were vassals to the Bagrationi dynasty in Georgia,but frequently acted independently and at times titled themselves as kings. In 1236,they fell under the rule of the Mongol Empire as a vassal state with local autonomy.
The family of Demetrius II of Georgia was part of the Bagrationi dynasty of the Kingdom of Georgia. Demetrius II was a king of Georgia,reigning from 1270 until his execution by the Mongol Ilkhans in 1289. He was a son of David VII of Georgia by his third wife Gvantsa Kakhaberidze. Demetrius,although a Christian,was polygamous,with three wives,and was survived by nine children,of whom three subsequently ruled as kings of Georgia.
Chormaqan was one of the most famous generals of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He was also a member of the keshik.
Avag Zakarian was an Armenian noble of the Zakarid line,and a Court official of the Kingdom of Georgia,as atabeg and amirspasalar of Georgia from 1227 to 1250.
Lori is a historical geographical region of Armenia. In ancient times and the Middle Ages,it was also known as Tashir or Tashirk. After the construction of Lori Fortress by King David I Anhoghin in the 11th century,the region was also referred to as Lori.
Prosh Khaghbakian,also known as Hasan Prosh,was an Armenian prince who was a vassal of the Zakarid princes of Armenia. He was a member of the Khaghbakian dynasty,which is also known as the Proshian dynasty after him. He was the supreme commander (sparapet) of the Zakarid army from 1223 to 1284,succeeding his father Vasak. He was one of the main Greater Armenian lords to execute the alliance between his suzerain the Georgian king David Ulu and the Mongol Prince Hulagu,during the Mongol conquest of Middle East (1258–1260).
Shahnshah Zakarian was a member of the Armenian Zakarid dynasty,and a Court official of the Kingdom of Georgia,holding the office of amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Georgian army. He was the son of Zakare II Zakarian,and the father of Zakare III Zakarian,who participated to the Siege of Baghdad in 1258.
Khutlubuga,also Khutlu Buga or Qutlugh Buqa,was an Armenian prince of the House of the Artsrunids,and a court official of the Kingdom of Eastern Georgia in the second half of the 13th century,the son of Atabeg-Amirspasalar Sadun Mankaberdeli. He himself became Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief) of the Georgian army,and for a short time towards the end of his life Atabeg. He also received the title of Paron from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Khutlubuga and his father Sadun were attached the name of Artsruni in Armenian texts,and Mankaberdeli in Georgian ones.
The Proshyan dynasty,also Khaghbakians or Xaghbakian-Proshians,was a family of the Armenian nobility,named after its founder Prince Prosh Khaghbakian. The dynasty was a vassal of Zakarid Armenia during the 13th–14th century CE,established as nakharar feudal lords as a reward for their military successes. Zakarid Armenia was itself vassal of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1201,effectively falling under Mongol control after 1236,while Georgian rule only remained nominal. The Proshyans were princes of Bjni,Garni,Geghard and Noravank. The family prospered as an ally of the Mongols,following the Mongol invasions of Armenia and Georgia,as did the Zakarians and Orbelians. Despite heavy Mongol taxes,they benefited from trade routes to China under the control of the Mongols,and built many magnificent churches and monasteries.
Amir Hasan II was a ruler of the Armenian Proshyan dynasty. He was the son of Eachi Proshian (1268/73-1318),himself a grandson of Prosh Khaghbakian,13th century founder of the Proshyan dynasty. He was active in the region of Vayots Dzor and northern Siwnik.
The Kingdom of Eastern Georgia was the official prolongation of the Kingdom of Georgia from 1256 to 1329. Its rule was limited to the geographical areas of central and eastern Georgia,while the western part of the country temporarily seceded to form the Kingdom of Western Georgia under its own line of kings. The secession followed a transitional period when the rule of the Kingdom of Georgia was jointly assumed by the cousins David VI and David VII from 1246 to 1256. The entity split into two parts when David VI,revolting from the Mongol hegemony,seceded in the western half of the kingdom and formed the Kingdom of Western Georgia in 1256. David VII was relegated to the rule of Eastern Georgia. During his reign,Eastern Georgia went into further decline under the Mongol overlordship.
Khoshak Zakarian,also Khuashak,Khvashak or Xvashak,was a female member of the Zakarid dynasty of Armenia in the 14th century CE. She was the daughter of Avag Zakarian,an important prince,Lord High Constable of Georgia,and Gvantsa,a noblewoman who went on to become queen of Georgia. She was the granddaughter of Ivane I Zakarian.