An azgapet was a leader of a tribe or clan in ancient and medieval Armenia, similar to a chieftain. The term originates from the words (), which means "extended family" or "clan", and , which means "chief".Western Armenian Dictionary & Phrasebook: Armenian-English/English-Armenian. Hippocrene Books; Bilingual edition (May 2006), p. 34. The term had been used in addition to other similar terms for roles in tribal collectivities, such as () and (). Patriarch Hayk, the legendary and eponymous progenitor of the Armenian people, is sometimes referred to as .Bishop Makar Barkhudarian, Artsakh. Baku, 1885, p. 215 One prominent medieval work which mentions Armenian azgapets is the 10th-century History of the Province of Aghvank by Movses Kaghankatvatsi,Movses Kaghankatvatsi (1983). History of Aghuank in original Old-Armenian (Մովսէս Կաղանկատուացի.Պատմութիւն Աղուանից աշխարհի), critical text and introduction by Varag Arrakelian. Yerevan: "Matenadaran" Institute of old manuscripts after Mesrob Mashtots. Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences, 1987 which mentions several dignitaries, including azgapets, who signed the Constitution of Aghven, a 5th-century legal document commissioned by King Vachagan II the Pious of Aghvank (). One family with origins in the village of Syghnakh in Artsakh claims descent from Marut, a chieftain from the Varanda Valley and a consignee of the Constitution.Yerevan Magazine. "Families of Medieval Armenia, Have They Been Lost?". Oct. 2011 issue.
See also Culture of Artsakh
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