Gurgen I Kyurike () was the king of Lori from approximately 970 to 989 and the founder of the Kingdom of Lori (Kyurikian Kingdom).
His name was also pronounced or referred to in the local dialect as Kyurike, from which the dynastic name Kyurikian was derived.
Biography The Kiurikians were dependent on the Bagratids of Ani and received confirmation of their rights from them. He was the younger son of Ashot III the Merciful. The King of Armenia appointed him ruler of Tashir-Dzoraget, encompassing the basins of the Debed and Aghstev rivers and the adjacent districts.
In 974, he participated in the military campaign led by Ashot III, organized in connection with the Asia Minor expedition of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes, when a threat had arisen along the southern borders of Armenia. During the reign of Gurgen Kyurike, the construction of the Holy Mother of God Church of Sanahin and the Holy Sign (Surb Nshan) Church of Haghpat was completed. Their construction had been initiated by his mother, Queen Khosrovanuysh.
Being a deeply devout and religious man, he later voluntarily abdicated the throne and spent eight years as a monk at Sanahin, where he died. He was buried in the Holy Mother of God Church of Sanahin.Большая_советская_энциклопедия. According to another account, in 989, the year of the death of his brother, Smbat II, King of Ani, Gurgen I, the founder and first king of the Kyurikian Kingdom of Lori, also died. His body was transferred to the royal mausoleum of the Holy Mother of God Church at Sanahin. “Outside, beneath the eastern wall of the Holy Mother of God Church, there is a plain triangular tombstone built of stone. Its beauty, shape, and the traces of arched carvings upon it suggest that an eminent person must be buried here. Approaching the tombstone and clearing away the grass growing around it, one can read the following inscription in one corner of the stone: ‘This is the resting place of Gurgen, son of Ashot the Merciful.’”
Gurgen I had two sons, David and Smbat I. The historian Aristakes Lastivertsi also mentions an unnamed daughter of Gurgen, who married the Emir of Dvin, Apusuarin. Gurgen I was succeeded by his elder son David Anhoghin,Սմբատ Սպարապետ, էջ 33 with his younger brother Smbat serving as co-ruler. The latter, in practice, took little part in governing the kingdom, leaving its administration entirely to his brother David, who became the most distinguished representative of the Kyurikian dynasty. Статья: Գուրգեն (Гурген) Ասողիկ, էջ 256
Foundation of the Kingdom As feudal relations deepened in Bagratid Armenia, the growing separatist ambitions of increasingly powerful local princes, combined with the negative influence of external powers, caused the state to embark on a gradual path of fragmentation and decline from the beginning of the 10th century. Political entities began to emerge that often only formally acknowledged the supremacy of the Bagratids of Ani, including local kingdoms and principalities. Among them was the Kyurikian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget. During the early period of the Bagratid Kingdom, Tashir was administered by appointed governors or overseers who did not belong to the royal dynasty. Later, however, in view of their increasingly open separatist aspirations and the necessity of maintaining reliable control over this strategically important region through a member of the royal family, Ashot III the Merciful (953–977) appointed his eldest son Smbat, who had been his co-ruler since at least 958, as governor of Tashir before 972. After Smbat inherited the Armenian throne as sole ruler, he appointed his younger brother Gurgen, who also bore the additional name Derenik, as governor of Tashir in his place.«Արարատ», 1897, -Գ, էջ 144, Մաշտոցի անվան Մատենադարան (այսուհետեւ` ՄՄ), ձեռ.−3031, էջ 38: It was Gurgen who, after his uncle Mushegh, founded a new kingdom belonging to the junior branch of the Bagratid dynasty and subordinate to the Bagratids of Ani. The designation Kyurikian, referring both to this local kingdom and its ruling dynasty, derives from the local pronunciation of Gurgen’s name as Kyurike. The establishment of the Kyurikian Kingdom was a gradual process, and the date of its proclamation remains disputed in historiography, with proposed dates ranging from 966 to 988. This is largely because, among the primary sources, only Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi records the year in which Gurgen became king. According to him, this occurred in 981. The other two authors who mention the event—the anonymous chronicler, presumed to have lived in the 12th century, and Vardan Vardapet—do not provide a date. According to the anonymous chronicler, after Ashot III’s death, his sons Smbat, Gagik, and Gurgen “amicably divided the kingdom among themselves, recognizing Smbat as the head of the family.” According to Vardan, Ashot III died “leaving three sons, Smbat, Gagik, and Gurgen; on that very day the eldest son Smbat received the crown… while the younger brother inherited Tashir together with the Sevordik and Dzoraget.”Մխիթարայ Այրիվանեցւոյ պատմութիւն Հայոց (այսուհետեւ` Մխիթար Այրիվանեցի), Մոսկվա, 1860, էջ 56:
Thus, according to all three primary sources mentioned above, Gurgen became king only after his father’s death—that is, after 977. This is clearly confirmed by a memorandum written in 979 by Simeon, secretary and scribe of Sanahin Monastery, in which Gurgen is referred to as “the prince of the land of Tashir.”Մանր ժամանակագրություններ, XII-XVIII դդ., հ. II, կազմեց Վ. Ա. Հակոբյան, Երեւան, 1956, էջ 501: In the inscription on a khachkar in the cemetery of Kurthan village, dated 986, Gurgen already appears under the name Kyurike with the royal title. It is true that Matthew of Edessa refers to Gurgen as the “King of Albania” in connection with the military campaign organized by Ashot III in 974 against the expedition of Emperor John I Tzimiskes, listing him among the participating rulers. However, this is an anachronism, since at that time the Kyurikians possessed no territories in Aghvank. Furthermore, among the rulers listed by Matthew, Abas became King of Kars only in 984, while Senekerim ascended the throne of Vaspurakan in 1003.ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, թ. 43: As for King Philip of Kapan, who is also mentioned in the same list, he was in fact one of the princes of Artsakh. Therefore, the Kyurikian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget must have been established after the death of Ashot III, between 979 and 985. Taking all the available evidence into account, the date proposed by Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi should be accepted, and Gurgen’s proclamation as king of Tashir-Dzoraget should be dated to 981. One might suppose that this event resulted from the weakening of the central Bagratid authority and associate it with the invasion of Armenia by the Sallarid Emir of Atropatene, Abu al-Hayja, in 982, thereby dating the proclamation to that year. However, although Abu al-Hayja—who invaded Armenia at the instigation of Mushegh, King of Kars-Vanand—captured Dvin, advanced into Shirak, and devastated Horomos Monastery, he was defeated and taken prisoner in battle against Abutlup, Emir of Goghtn, who had been sent against him by Smbat II. Moreover, Smbat II’s authority did not suffer any significant weakening. Consequently, the year 981, indicated by Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi, should be accepted as the year of the proclamation of the Kyurikian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget.Հաւաքումն պատմութեան Վարդանայ վարդապետի լուսաբանեալ (այսուհետեւ` Վարդան վարդապետ), Վենետիկ, 1862, էջ 90:
As is evident from the above-mentioned chronicle, Gurgen recognized the supremacy of his elder brother and received part of the paternal inheritance on the condition of his unconditional submission to him. The boundaries of the Kyurikian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget are known from the testimonies of the anonymous chronicler, presumed to have lived in the 12th century, Vardan Vardapet, and Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi, and especially from a decree of Smbat II (977–991), dated 979. According to the anonymous chronicler, Gurgen ruled over “the lands of Gugark, beginning from Gag, Kharra, as far as the Gates of Tiflis.” According to Vardan Vardapet, he received “Tashir together with the Sevordiks and Dzoraget; Kayen and Kaytson; Khorkhorunik, where Khora was built, namely Khozhorni and Khorakert; and Bazunik, that is Bazkert in the district of Tashir, together with other famous fortresses.”Մատթէոսի Ուռհայեցւոյ Ժամանակագրութիւն (այսուհետեւ` Մատթէոս Ուռհայեցի), Վաղարշապատ, 1898, էջ 17: Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi confines himself to the brief statement: “Gurgen ruled in Virk (Georgia), and his brother Smbat ruled in Armenia.” The future boundaries of the Kyurikian Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget are described in greater detail in the decree issued by Smbat II during his visit to Sanahin in 979. The kingdom extended from the valleys of the Pambak and Aghstev rivers to the vicinity of Tiflis, as well as to the Tsaghkunyats Mountain Range and the district of Nig. To the north it bordered the Bagratid Kingdom of Georgia and the Arab Emirate of Tiflis; to the south, the principality of the Pahlavunis; to the east, Armenian territories under the rule of the Shaddadids; and to the west, the core domains of the Bagratids of Ani.Ստեփանոսի Տարօնեցւոյ Ասողկան Պատմութիւն տիեզերական (այսուհետեւ` Ասողիկ), Սանկտ Պետերբուրգ, 1885, էջ 188-189:
The region entrusted by Smbat II to Gurgen as governor and overseer constituted a separate administrative and political unit and therefore required a corresponding ecclesiastical organization—a diocesan jurisdiction encompassing its entire territory.Մանր ժամանակագրություններ, XIII–XVIII դդ., հ. II, էջ 501: By the mid-960s, after the construction of the Church of the Holy Savior (Amenaprkich) at Sanahin Monastery, Ashot III and Queen Khosrovanuysh had granted estates to the monastery, which became the center of the ecclesiastical diocese of Tashir, with the Church of the Holy Savior serving as its cathedral. By 970, the head of this diocese was Bishop Grigor, as confirmed by the above-mentioned testimony of Simeon, dated 972: “During the episcopate in our province of Tashir of the worthy shepherd Bishop Grigor, who had already held this office for two years.”ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 37: However, the newly established administrative unit entrusted to Gurgen covered a considerably larger territory than that previously administered by Smbat, while the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Tashir did not extend over all its districts.Մխիթար Այրիվանեցի, էջ 56: 11 ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 37: According to established practice, the boundaries of secular and ecclesiastical authority within any administrative unit were expected to coincide. The need to eliminate this discrepancy, together with Smbat II’s desire to make the Holy Mother of God Church, the burial place of his ancestors, rather than the Church of the Holy Savior, the cathedral of the newly established diocese, explains his visit to Sanahin in 979 and the issuance of the corresponding decree.Վարդան վարդապետ, էջ 90:
By this decree, through Catholicos Khachik I, Smbat II elevated the Holy Mother of God Church of Sanahin to the status of cathedral of the ecclesiastical organization encompassing the territories entrusted to Gurgen and established a new diocese under the leadership of Bishop Isaiah. It included: “The whole land of Tashir, Upper and Lower, from Mount Bazum on both sides to the borders of Gugark, to the frontiers of Tiflis and Georgia, to the borders of the district of Nig, to the boundaries of Kayen, to the borders of Tsaghkots, and as far as the borders of the house of Shirak.”ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 47-48։