| Գուգարք | |
|---|---|
| Province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia | |
| 189 BC–13th century | |
 | |
| Capital | Ardahan |
| History | |
• Artaxias I declaring himself independent | 189 BC |
• Disestablished | 13th century |
| Today part of |  Armenia Turkey Georgia (country) |
Gugark (Armenian: Գուգարք, Latin: Gogarene, Ancient Greek: Γογαρινή) was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia.[1] It formed one of the four border marches (bdeshkhut’iwn-k’ or vitaxates) created to defend Armenia's borders from invasion. The march of Gugark (also known as the Iberian March) consisted of the core principality of that name along with several districts placed under the authority of the prince of Gugark in his role as the bdeashkh/vitaxa. The region was disputed between Armenia and neighboring Iberia, having been conquered from by Artaxias I in the 2nd century BC. In the second half of the 4th century AD, Armenia lost the territory to Iberia.[2]
Name
editEtymologically, Gugark in Armenian language denotes land of Gugars. word "Gugar" being a root and suffix -k meaning "land of".
History
editIn the beginning of the 4th century BC, the territory was under Caucasian Iberia, but during Artaxias I's reign it was conquered.[3] During the reign of the Artaxiad and Arshakuni kings of Armenia, Gugark was ruled by one of the kingdom's four bdeashkhs. The bdeashkh of Gugark was responsible for protecting the state's northern border. During the 4th century, the region was ruled by members of a branch of the House of Mihran.[4] In 387, Armenia was partitioned between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires and Gugark, with the exception of the canton of Tashir, was annexed to Caucasian Iberia. The ruler of the region around 425 was Arshusha. In 652, the Armenian prince Theodore Rshtuni was allowed by the Arabs to unite Gugark with his realms.
In the following centuries, Gugark and its cantons fell under the sway of several rulers. In the 8th century, it became a part of Emirate of Tbilisi. In the middle of the 9th century, it was taken by the Georgian Bagrationis, while the Armenian Bagratunis took over its eastern cantons.[1]
Inhabitants
editArmenian catholicos and historian Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi says in his history that the majority of this region was Armenian people with minority of Iberian people. Also an Armenian historian Ghazar Parpetsi mentions Arshusha V, bdeashkh of the Iberians.
Cantons
edit- Dzoropor
- Tsobopor
- Treghk
- Artahan
- Javakhk
- Upper Javakhk
- Tashir
- Kangark
- Kagharjk
- Nigal
- Mrugh
- Mrit
- Shavshet
- Koghbopor
- Kvishapor
- Boghnopor
- Tashran
- Manglyats
- Ashotsk
List of bdeashkhs
editBased on available sources, Cyril Toumanoff deduced an incomplete list of the ruling Mihranid bdeashkhs of Gugark.[5]
| Name | Reign |
|---|---|
| Peroz | 330–361? |
| Bakur I | after 394–430 |
| Arshusha I | after 430–? |
| Bakur II | mid 5th-century |
| Arshusha II | ?–470 |
| Varsken | 470–482 |
| Arshusha III | 482–after 540/1 |
| Arshusha IV | ca. first decade of the 7th-century |
| Vahram-Arshusha V | late 620s |
| Arshusha VI | mid 8th-century |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Գուգարք". Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Yerevan. 1975. pp. 240–241.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Hewsen, Robert H. (1992). The Geography of Ananias of Širak (Ašxarhac῾oyc῾): The Long and the Short Recensions. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag. pp. 200–201, 292. ISBN 3-88226-485-3.
- ^ "Geography of Strabo, Book XI, Chapter 14, P325".
- ^ Toumanoff, Cyril (1961). "Introduction to Christian Caucasian History, II: States and Dynasties of the Formative Period". Traditio. 17: 38.
- ^ Rapp, Stephen H. (2014). The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature. Ashgate Publishing. p. 389. ISBN 978-1472425522.