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31-614: During the 13th century, the Zakarids held the highest offices in the Georgian government , as Atabegs (Governor General) and Amirspasalars (Commander-in-Chief of the Army) of the Kingdom of Georgia . The dynasty was of Armenian or Kurdish origin. The first historically traceable Zakarid was Khosrov Zakarian in the early 11th century. During the next hundred years the Zakarids became vassals of

62-580: A great fortune, governing all of northern Armenia; Zakare and his descendants ruled in northwestern Armenia with Ani as their capital, while Ivane and his offspring ruled eastern Armenia, including the city of Dvin. Both brothers left several bilingual inscriptions across the Armeno-Georgian border lands and built several churches and forts, such as the Harichavank Monastery and Akhtala Monastery in northern Armenia. The family went in decline with

93-416: A long period during which the Zakarids held some of the highest positions at the Georgian court, such as Atabeg (Governor General) and Amirspasalar (Commander-in-Chief of the Georgian army). The Zakarids were so successful and talentuous, with land holdings throughout Armenia and Georgia, that they were promoted to the highest posts in the Georgian government, despite their Kurdish-Armenian origins and

124-619: The Bagrationi kings, and gained prominence at the Georgian court. In the 1120s, David IV of Georgia liberated parts of Armenia ( Lori Province ) from the grip of the Seljuk Empire , starting a period of Georgian political domination of about a hundred years, while Armenians became prominent in trade and among the urban populations of Gori and Tbilisi . The Zakarids became vassals of the House of Orbeli . Under George III of Georgia , Sargis Zakarian

155-505: The Kingdom of Georgia by his nephew, King George V "the Brilliant". Court officials of the Kingdom of Georgia The court officials of the Kingdom of Georgia , were in charge of the royal court. The chronological lists below are not exhaustive, since there exist large gaps in the historical record. The majordomo (Georgian: msakhurtukhutsesi ) was the chief official of

186-639: The Kurds , and Vahram killed. In 1064, the Seljuks occupied the city. The Shaddadids continued to rule the city as Seljuk vassals until the Georgian King George III conquered the city in 1173. In 1201–1203, during the reign of Queen Tamar , the city was again under Georgian rule. It was captured by Jalal al-Din Mangburni in 1225. Rule of Khwarezmian Empire lasted till Battle of Yassıçemen in 1230. After

217-513: The capital of early medieval Armenia . It was situated north of the previous ancient capital of Armenia, the city of Artaxata , along the banks of the Metsamor River, 35 km to the south of modern Yerevan . It is claimed it was one of the largest cities east of Constantinople prior to its destruction by the Mongols in the 13th century, but with an overall area of approximately 1 km , it

248-541: The 1040s. In the 1045 attack ( Battle of Dvin ), Byzantine forces were under Constantine IX Monomachos . The Byzantines assembled a large force under the command of Michael Iasites and Constantine the Alan and allied with Armenians under the command of Vahram Pahlawuni and Liparit Orbelean. To defend the city, Abu'l-Aswar flooded the surrounding fields, limiting the attacking army's mobility and causing it to fall victim to defenders' arrows. The attackers were completely broken by

279-634: The Georgian army, thus creating a new unified office of Atabeg - Amirspasalar . This high office was inherited by his son Avag Zakarian in 1227, and by Zakare III Zakarian in 1250. They resisted the invasions of the Khwarizmians of Jalal al-Din as well as the Mongol invasions of Georgia in 1221-1235, but the Mongol victors gave the office to the renegade Sadun of Mankaberd in 1272. In 1281, Demetrius II of Georgia blocked Sadun's son Khutlubuga from getting

310-465: The Georgian society, around the same time, Ivane converted to Georgian Orthodox Christianity, while Zakare remained Armenian Apostolic in faith. The brothers commanded the Armenian-Georgian armies for almost three decades, achieving major victories at Shamkor in 1195 and Basen in 1203 and leading raids into northern Iran in 1210 and suppression of rebellions of mountaineers in 1212. They amassed

341-672: The battle, Georgians regained it. In 1236, the city was completely destroyed by Mongols . Dvin was the birthplace of Najm ad-Din Ayyub and Asad ad-Din Shirkuh bin Shadhi , Kurdish generals in the service of the Seljuks ; Najm ad-Din Ayyub's son, Saladin , was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty . Saladin was born in Tikrit , Modern Iraq, but his family had originated from the ancient city of Dvin. Situated in

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372-459: The beginning of the 10th century. During a major earthquake in 893 , the city was destroyed, along with most of its 70,000 inhabitants. Following a devastating Buyid raid in 1021, which sacked the city, Dvin was captured by the Kurdish Shaddadids of Ganja , and ruled by Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl , who successfully defended it against three Byzantine attacks in the latter half of

403-555: The branch of the Zakarids–Mkhargrdzeli ;entered the ranks of the Russian Empire nobility and became known as Argutinsky-Dolgorukov . The Zakarids held some of the highest offices in the Georgian government . Ivane I Zakarian was the first Atabeg of the Georgian kingdom under King Tamar from 1207 and remaining in office until his death in 1227. From 1217, he also became Amirspasalar , Commander-in-Chief of

434-489: The bridge of Khodaafarin bridge . Around the year 1199, they took the city of Ani, and in 1201, Tamar gave Ani to them as a principality . Eventually, their territories came to resemble those of Bagratid Armenia. Their achievements under King Tamar also facilitated the first large-scale migration of Kurdish tribes to the Caucasus. However, most of the migrants eventually converted to Christianity and became fully assimilated into

465-454: The central square of the ancient city was the Cathedral of Saint Grigor . It was originally constructed in the 3rd century as a triple- nave pagan temple with seven pairs of interior structural supports. The temple was rebuilt in the 4th century as a Christian church, with a pentahedral apse that protruded sharply on its eastern side. In the middle of the 5th century, an exterior arched gallery

496-436: The court. The Chancellor (Georgian: mtsignobartukhutsesi ) was the head of the government. The treasurer (Georgian: mechurchletukhutsesi ) was the official responsible for running the treasury . The master of ceremonies (Georgian: Mandaturtukhutsesi ) was responsible for conducting ceremonies such as coronations and receptions of foreign ambassadors. The marshal (Georgian: amirspasalar ) had charge of

527-462: The establishment of Mongol power in the Caucasus. When the Khwarazmian Empire invaded the region, Dvin was ruled by the aging Ivane, who had given Ani to his nephew Shahnshah , son of Zakare. Dvin was lost, but Kars and Ani did not surrender. However, when Mongols took Ani in 1236, they had a friendly attitude towards the Zakarids. They confirmed Shanshe in his fief, and even added to it

558-535: The fact that they followed the Monophysite Christian faith rather than Diophysite faith of the Georgians. The brothers, Zakare and Ivane Zakarian, who were sons of Sargis, were the most successful representatives of the family, who were military commanders under King Tamar. Zakare and Ivane took Dvin in 1193. They also took Sevan, Bjni, Amberd and Bargushat, and all the towns above the city of Ani , up to

589-490: The fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, Dvin became the residence of Sassanid appointed marzpans (governors), Byzantine kouropalates and later Umayyad - and Abbasid -appointed ostikans (governors). Under Arsacid rule, Dvin prospered as one of the most populous and wealthiest cities east of Constantinople . Its prosperity continued even after the partition of Armenia between Romans and Sasanids, when it became

620-579: The fief of Avag , son of Ivane. Further, in 1243, they gave Akhlat to the princess Tamta , daughter of Ivane. After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, the Zakarids ruled not as vassals of the Bagratids, but rather the Mongols . The later kings of Zakarids continued their control over Ani until the 1360, when they lost to the Kara Koyunlu Turkoman tribes, who made Ani their capital. In the 18th century

651-503: The first raids. On January 6, 642 the Arabs stormed and took the city, with many deaths. Dvin became the center of the Muslim province of Arminiya , the Arabs called the city Dabil. Although Armenia was a battleground between Arabs and Byzantine forces for the next two centuries, in the 9th century it still flourished. Frequent earthquakes and continued warfare led to the decline of the city from

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682-410: The name of the city as Duin ( Դուին ), while later authors such as Samuel of Ani spell it Dvin ( Դվին ), which is the form commonly used in scholarly literature. The early medieval Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi explains the name of Dvin as coming from a (Middle) Persian word ( *duwīn ) meaning 'hill'. In the 5th-century Armenian history attributed to Faustus of Byzantium ,

713-451: The office of atabeg , and instead promoted Tarsaich Orbelian of the Orbelians . Khutlubuga then conspired to have Demetrius II excecuted by the Mongols in 1289, and finally obtained the atabegate . The Zakarids recovered the office of atabeg in the early 14th century. From 1306, the office definitively went away from the Zakarids, as Sargis II Jaqeli was made Amirspasalar and Atabeg of

744-622: The provincial capital of Persian Armenia , and eventually it became a target during the height of the Early Muslim conquests . The palace at Dvin contained a Zoroastrian fire-temple. According to Sebeos and Catholicos John V the Historian , Dvin was captured by the Arabs in 640 during the reign of Constans II and Catholicos Ezra. During the Arab conquest of Armenia , Dvin was captured and pillaged in 640, in

775-408: The royal stables , i.e. "Commander-in-Chief" of the army. The tutor (Georgian: a tabeg ) came to be denominated as Samtskhe-Saatabago , the latter element meaning "of the atabags". Dvin (ancient city) Dvin ( Classical Armenian : Դուին Duin or Դվին Dvin ; Greek : Δούβιος , Doύbios or Τίβιον, Tίbion ; Arabic : دبيل , Dabīl or Doubil) was a large commercial city and

806-506: The site is called "the hill [ blur ] in the plain of the Mecamōr called Duin" without reference to the meaning of the name. According to Erich Kettenhofen, Khorenatsi's explanation of the name resulted from an incorrect interpretation of the aforementioned passage in Faustus's history. Marie-Louise Chaumont writes that Khorenatsi's etymology became more accepted after Vladimir Minorsky pointed out

837-610: The use of the word dovīn to mean 'hill' in Persian place names. The ancient city of Dvin was built by Khosrov III Kotak in 335 on a site of an ancient settlement and fortress from the 3rd millennium BC. Since then, the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian Kings of the Arsacid dynasty . Dvin boasted a population of about 100,000 citizens in various professions, including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, etc. After

868-454: Was added to the existing structure. At the time that the cathedral was built, it was the largest in Armenia and measured 30.41 meters by 58.17 meters. Ornate decorations adorned the interior and the exterior of the building. The capitals of the columns were decorated with fern-like relief, while the cornices were carved in the design of three interlaced strands. The interior floor of the structure

899-631: Was appointed as governor of the Armenian city of Ani in 1161, however it was soon recaptured by the Shaddadids . In 1177, the Zakarids supported the monarchy against the insurgents during the rebellion of Prince Demna and the Orbeli family . The uprising was suppressed, and George III persecuted his opponents and elevated the Zakarids. Sargis was granted Lori during the reign of the Tamar of Georgia in 1186, starting

930-536: Was far smaller than many of the great cities of Asia. The site of the ancient city is currently not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd (just off the main road through Hnaberd) and Verin Dvin , Armenia. Excavations at Dvin since 1937 have produced an abundance of materials, which have shed light on the Armenian culture of the 5th to the 13th centuries. The earliest Armenian authors almost always give

961-481: Was made up of mosaic multi-colored soft-toned slabs in a geometric pattern, while the floor of the apse was decorated in the 7th century with a mosaic of smaller stone tiles representing the Holy Virgin. It is the most ancient mosaic depiction of her in Armenia. By the middle of the 7th century, the cathedral was rebuilt into a cruciform domed church with apses that protruded off of its lateral facades. All that remains of

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