The Five Melikdoms of Karabakh, also known as Khamsa Melikdoms (), were ArmenianBritannica:"In mountainous Karabakh a group of five Armenian maliks (princes) succeeded in conserving their autonomy and maintained a short period of independence (1722–30) during the struggle between Persia and Turkey at the beginning of the 18th century; despite the heroic resistance of the Armenian leader David Beg, the Turks occupied the region but were driven out by the Persians under the general Nādr Qolī Beg (from 1736-47, Nādir Shah) in 1735."Encyclopaedia of Islam. — Leiden: BRILL, 1986. — vol. 1. — p. 639-640:"The wars between the Ottomans and the Safawids were still to be fought on Armenian soil, and part of the Armenians of Adharbaydjan were later deported as a military security measure to Isfahan and elsewhere. Semi-autonomous seigniories survived, with varying fortunes, in the mountains of Karabagh, to the north of Adharbaydjan, but came to an end in the 18th century." feudal entities on the territory of modern Nagorno-Karabakh and neighboring lands, from the dissolution of the Principality of Khachen in the 15th century to the abolition of ethnic feudal entities by the Russian Empire in 1822.
Etymology Khamsa, also spelled Khamse or simply Khams means 'five' in Arabic. The principalities were ruled by meliks. The term () , from malik ('king'), designates an Armenian noble title in various Eastern Armenian lands. The principalities ruled by meliks became known in English academic literature as melikdoms or melikates.
History
Background There were several Armenian melikates (dominions ruled by meliks) in various parts of historical Armenia: in Yerevan, Kars, Nakhichevan, Gegharkunik, Lori, Artsakh, Utik, Iranian Azerbaijan and Syunik.
The Five Melikdoms were ruled by dynasties that represented branches of the earlier Hasan-Jalalyan dynasty and were descendants of the medieval kings of Artsakh.
After the erosion of united Armenian statehood under pressure from the Seljuk Empire and Mongols, the Five Melikdoms were the most independent of all analogous Armenian principalities and saw themselves as holding onto the last bastion of Armenian independence.Hewsen, Robert H. "The Kingdom of Arc'ax" in Medieval Armenian Culture (University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies). Thomas J. Samuelian and Michael E. Stone (eds.) Chico, California: Scholars Press, 1984, pp. 52-53.
Autonomy The realm of the meliks in Karabakh was almost always semi-independent and often fully independent. The meliks had their recruit armies headed by centurions, their own castles and fortresses. The military complexes that contained recruiting organizations, fortification systems, signal beacons, and logistical support were known as sghnakhs (). There were two large sghnakhs shared by all meliks of Karabakh - the Major Sghnakh and the Lesser Sghnakh. The Major Sghnakh was located in the melikdoms of Gulistan (Vardut), Jraberd and Khachen and was supported by the fortresses of Gulistan, Jraberd, Havkakhaghats, Ishkhanaberd, Kachaghakaberd and Levonaberd. The Lesser Sghnakh was located in the melikdoms of Varanda and Dizak, and was supported by the fortresses Shushi, Togh, and Goroz. Both the Lesser and Major Sghnakhs were parts of a legacy defense system that remained from the times of the Kingdom of Artsakh.Րաֆֆի (Հակոբ Մելիք-Հակոբյան). Խամսայի մելիքութիւնները: Ղարաբաղի աստղագէտը: Գաղտնիքն Ղարաբաղի, Վիեննա, 1906. [Raffi (Hakob Melik-Hakobyan). The History of Karabagh's Meliks, Vienna, 1906, in Armenian. Another edition is «Խամսայի մելիքությունները», Երկերի ժողովածու, Երևան, 1964. Collection of Yerkrapah, Yerevan, 1964.]
The relationship between meliks and their subordinates was that of a military commanding officer and junior officer, and not of feudal lord and a serf. Peasants were often allowed to own land, were free and owned property.
The five Armenian principalities (melikdoms) in Karabakh were as follows:
- under the leadership of the Melik Beglarian family - under the leadership of the Melik Israelian family, followed by the Alaverdians family in the 18th century and finally ruled by the princely house of Atabekian in the 19th century - under the leadership of the Hasan-Jalalyans (and at the end of 18th century partially ruled by melik Mirzahanyan) Melikdom of Varanda (until early 17th century part of principality of Dizak) - under the leadership of the Melik Shahnazarian family Melikdom of Dizak - under the leadership of the Melik Avanian family.
The Hasan-Jalalyans, who ruled the Principality of Khachen, were especially important and were considered the most senior of the Five Melikdoms. They symbolised the connection between patriarch Hayk, the eponymous progenitor of the Armenian people, considered as a great-grandson of Noah, and medieval monarchs that ruled Armenia in the Middle Ages.
Hasan-Jalal traced his descent to the Aranshahik, a family that predated the establishment of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia in the region. Hasan-Jalal's ancestry was "almost exclusively" Armenian according to historian Robert H. Hewsen.
Much of Hasan-Jalal Dawla's family roots were entrenched in an intricate array of royal marriages with new and old Armenian nakharar families. Hasan-Jalal's grandfather was Hasan I (also known as Hasan the Great), a prince who ruled over the northern half of Artsakh.Hewsen. "The Kingdom of Arc'ax", p. 47. In 1182, he stepped down as ruler of the region and entered monastery life at Dadivank, and divided his land into two: the southern half (comprising much of Khachen) went to his oldest son Vahtang II (also known as Tangik) and the northern half went to the youngest, Gregory "the Black." Vahtang II married Khorishah Zakarian, who was herself the daughter of Sargis Zakarian, the originator of the Zakarid line of Armenian princes in Georgia. When he married the daughter of the Arranshahik king of Dizak-Balk, Mamkan, Hasan-Jalal also inherited his father-in-law's lands.Hewsen. "The Kingdom of Arc'ax", p. 49.
In medieval times, the Hasan-Jalalyans branched into two functionally separate but connected lines: landed princes who ruled the Melikdom of Khachen and clergymen who manned the throne of Catholicos of Aghvank at the Holy See of Gandzasar of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The clerical branch of the family was especially important. In 1441, a top military commander from the Hasan-Jalalyans in the service of the Kara Koyunlu orchestrated the return of the Holy See of the Armenian Apostolic Church from the Mediterranean town of Sis in Cilicia to its traditional location at Etchmadzin in Armenia.Bournoutian, George A. Armenians and Russia, 1626-1796: A Documentary Record. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, page 397 Shortly after the event, Grigor X Jalalbegiants (1443–1465), representing the clerical branch of the Hasan-Jalalyans, was enthroned as the Catholicos of All Armenians at Etchmadzin.Bournoutian, George A. Armenians and Russia, 1626-1796: A Documentary Record. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, page 398
The people of the principalities of Karabakh considered themselves direct descendants of the Kingdom of Armenia, and were recognized as such by foreign powers.Bournoutian, George A. Armenians and Russia, 1626-1796: A Documentary Record. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2001, p. 330, See: "Letter of Meliks of Karabagh to Prince Petemkin, January 23, 1790"
The autonomous status of Armenian meliks in Karabakh was confirmed and re-confirmed by successive rulers of Persia. In 1603 Shah Abbas I recognized their special semi-independent status by a special edict.
However, instability in Safavid Iran and Armenian frustrationEncyclopaedia Iranica, Armeno-Iranian Relations in the Islamic Period, H. Papazian, December 15, 1986, Vol. II, Fasc. 5, pp. 467-478 ARMENIA AND IRAN vi. with Islamic dominance. in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, turned Karabakh into the epicenter of plans for an independent Armenian state.Chorbajian, Levon; Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude. The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, p. 72George A. Bournoutian. A History of Qarabagh: An Annotated Translation of Mirza Jamal Javanshir Qarabaghi's Tarikh-e Qarabagh. Mazda Publishers, 1994. p. 17. , 978-1-568-59011-0 This state, centered on the semi-independent Armenian principalities of Artsakh and Syunik, would be allied with Georgia and both would be protected by fellow Christian Russia and European powers. Eventually the meliks agreed to pursue such an alliance. In 1678, Catholicos Hakob Jughayetsi (Jacob of Jugha, 1655–1680) called for a secret meeting in Echmiadzin to which he invited both meliks and clergy. He offered to lead a delegation to Europe, but died shortly after, largely causing the plan to be abandoned, but for the determination of one of the delegates, a young man, the son of Melik Haikazyan of Kashatag / Khnatsakh in Zankezur / Syunik.Карагезян А. К локализации гавара Кашатаг // Вестн. обществ. наук АН АрмССР. 1987. № 1. С. 44—45.Кристине Костикян «Քաշաթաղի 17-րդ դարի պատմությանը վերաբերող մի փաստաթուղթ» (Документ относящийся к истории Кашатага в 17 веке) из «Страны и народы Ближнего Среднего Востока. Том XX», стр. 168—171. Институт востоковедения Национальной Академии наук Армении; Ереван, 2001.И. Петрушевский «Очерки по истории феодальных отношений в Азербайджане и Армении в XVI-начале XIX вв.», стр. 59 и 72 named Israel Ori, who had served in the armies of Louis XIV of France, he tried to convince Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine (1658–1716), Pope Innocent XII and the Emperor of Austria, Leopold I to liberate Armenia from a foreign yoke and to send large amounts of money to the armed forces of Karabakh Armenians.Chorbajian, Levon; Donabedian Patrick; Mutafian, Claude. The Caucasian Knot: The History and Geo-Politics of Nagorno-Karabagh. NJ: Zed Books, 1994, p. 73 Unfortunately Ori died in 1711 before securing unified support for Armenian lands. Another prominent figure from Nagorno-Karabakh who worked to establish an independent Armenian entity in his homeland was Movses Baghramian.Life and Adventures of Emin Joseph Emin 1726-1809 Written by himself. Second edition with Portrait, Correspondence, Reproductions of original Letters and Map*. Calcutta 1918. Baghramian together with the Armenian patriot Joseph Emin (1726–1809), lobbied Karabakh's Armenian meliks to this same effect.A.R. Ioannisian. Joseph Emin. Yerevan, 1989, link to full text
In the early 18th century, Persia's Nader Shah took Karabakh out of control of the Ganja khans as punishment for their support of the Safavids, and placed it under his own control Abbas-gulu Aga Bakikhanov. Golestan-i Iram; according to an 18th-century local Turkic-Muslim writer Mirza Adigezal bey, Nadir shah placed Karabakh under his own control, while a 19th-century local Turkic Muslim writer Abbas-gulu Aga Bakikhanov states that the shah placed Karabakh under the control of the governor of Tabriz. Mirza Adigezal bey. Karabakh-name, p. 48 in which he granted the Armenian meliks supreme command over neighboring Armenian principalities as well as Muslim khans in the Caucasus, in return for the meliks' victories over the invading Ottoman Turks in the 1720s.Walker, Christopher J. Armenia: Survival of a Nation. London: Routledge, 1990 p. 40 However, the Armenian meliks were only able to maintain autonomous control over the region until the mid-18th century.
Karabakh Khanate