Nacharar
Nacharar ( Armenian նախարար naxarar , Middle Persian : naxvadār " holder of priority", English: Nakharar ) was a hereditary title of the high nobility in Armenia in the late Middle Ages .
hierarchy
Since the 4th century, medieval Armenia was divided into large districts, which were considered the property of certain noble families and were ruled by a member of this family. This "Gaugraf" was entitled nahapet "Leader of the Family" or Tanuter "Lord of the House". Other members of the nacharar family ruled on behalf of smaller areas of the family property. Nacharars with greater authority were addressed as " Ishchan " (իշխան, prince). The system was comparable to that in the Parthian Empire . The entire clan was subject to the ancestor worship of their common ancestors, lived in small, fast-paced settlements and formed their identity through joint hunts and banquets. Each nacharar clan also took on special social tasks: the members of the Arshakuni were usually elected as kings, in a function as primus inter pares ; the Mamikonian provided the sparapet , and of the Bagratuni the cavalry leader aspet and the royal crown tagadir , and so on.
history
This system was formerly known (in historical materialism ) as the feudal system . There are, however, decisive differences between the Armenian nobility system and feudalism, which in Western Europe became the model for this presentation of history: the area was ruled as a whole by an individual, but treated as the property of the entire family clan, so that the ruler, if he had no heir should have been replaced by another member of the family. In addition, it was not allowed to give any part of the property outside of the family unless the whole family had consented. This explains why the aristocratic Armenian families were generally endogamous , if only in order not to divide the property, which would have been the case if part of the property had been given to another family as a bridal gift . The endogamous marriage, however, also had religious reasons, especially before the introduction of Christianity, because kinship relationships were highly valued in Armenian paganism .
Each nacharar also had his own army, which he set up on his territory. The national army or "Royal Cavalry" was subordinate to the sparapet , a supreme warlord who was responsible for the entire nation. After Christianization , schools and courts of law were run by the Armenian Orthodox clergy .
The origin of the nacharars seems to date back to pre-Christian times when pagan Armenia coexisted with the Roman and Parthian empires , and it is reported that these nobles plundered many pagan temples after Armenia fell under Tiridates III. converted to Christianity.
The nacharar survived the fall of the Arshakuni and the subsequent governorship of the Marzban (Մարզպանական Հայաստան - Marzpanakan Hayastan) under the Sassanids . The structure even ensured extensive autonomy for the vassal state , until the attempt to convert the Armenians to Zoroastrianism . Vartan Mamikonian (Վարդան Մամիկոնյան) led an uprising against Yazdegerd II , as a result of which the Battle of Avarayr convinced the Persians that a forced conversion would cost too much. Ultimately, the Treaty of Nvarsak (Նվարսակի պայմանագիր) guaranteed the Armenians freedom of religion.
In Roman Armenia under Byzantine rule, the Justinian reforms dissolved the warlike significance of the nacharar and there, too, an attempt was made to confiscate the lands of the Armenian nobles. The nacharars were so upset that they began a nationwide uprising, which could only be stopped by military intervention, which at the same time began war with the Sassanids.
Even if the aristocracy was weakened again and again by the many invasions and legal reforms, the structure of the post- aristocracy persisted for many centuries and was ultimately largely abolished by the Mongol storm in the thirteenth century. However, certain aspects of the system persisted in Armenia until the beginning of the 20th century, when nobility was abolished altogether by the Bolsheviks .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Armenia and Iran ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Encyclopædia Iranica
- ↑ "նախարար" in H. Ačaṙean (1926-35), Hayerēn Armatakan Baṙaran (Yerevan: Yerevan State University), 2nd ed. 1971-79.
- ↑ a b Vahan M. Kurkjian : A History of Armenia .
literature
- Vahan M. Kurkjian: A History of Armenia. Indo-European Publishing 2008. ISBN 978-1-60444-012-6