Mokk (also known as Moks or Moxoene) was the 5th province (ashkharh) of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (Greater Armenia). It was bordered by Vaspurakan to the north and east, Aldznik to the west, and Corduene to the south. The administrative center of the province was the fortress-city of Moks.
Mokk was one of the smallest provinces of Greater Armenia. According to the early medieval geographical treatise Ashkharhatsuyts ("Geography"), it was divided into nine cantons (gavars). However, its total surface area was significantly smaller than even some of the larger individual cantons of other Armenian provinces.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի վարչաքաղաքական բաժանման համակարգն ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի [The System of Administrative-Political Division of Greater Armenia According to "Ashkharhatsuyts"], Yerevan, 2001, p. 255. Unlike other provinces of Greater Armenia, the administrative formation of Mokk took place relatively late. Researchers suggest that it developed as a separate province no earlier than the 3rd century AD.
Mokk is notably absent from Claudius Ptolemy's description of Armenia compiled in the mid-2nd century AD, which is viewed as historical evidence that it had not yet emerged as a distinct administrative-political entity during that period.Claudii Ptolemaei Geographia, V, 13, pp. 931-951. Geography Mokk occupied the middle section of the basin of the Jerm River (the modern-day Bohtan River) and was located approximately 70–80 kilometers north of the southern international borders of Greater Armenia.S. T. Eremyan, Մեծ Հայքի թագավորությունը IV դարում (298–385 թթ.) [The Kingdom of Greater Armenia in the 4th Century (298–385 AD)], map, Yerevan, 1979. It shared borders with Vaspurakan to the north and east, Aldznik to the west, and Kordjayq to the south.
The historical reference preserved in the Ashkharhatsuyts stating that Mokk bordered Assyria cannot reflect the geopolitical realities of the 4th or 5th centuries, as geographical reconstructions place Mokk substantially further north than the kingdom's southern frontiers.S. T. Eremyan, Մեծ Հայքի թագավորությունը IV դարում (298–385 թթ.) [The Kingdom of Greater Armenia in the 4th Century (298–385 AD)], map, Yerevan, 1979. Scholars hypothesize that such a geopolitical layout existed in the 3rd century AD, when Sasanian Persia sought to extend its borders to the watershed line of the Armenian Taurus to control strategic sections of the Royal Road. During this expansion, the Sasanians annexed Angetun, Sophene, Aldznik, and Corduene.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի վարչաքաղաքական բաժանման համակարգն ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի [The System of Administrative-Political Division of Greater Armenia According to "Ashkharhatsuyts"], Yerevan, 2001, pp. 256-258. Under these circumstances, the Armenian royal court, having lost its vital southern marchlands, attempted to maintain firm control over the strategic mountain passes of the Armenian Taurus. Consequently, the eastern section of Aldznik was administratively separated and reorganized into a brand new province named Mokk.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի վարչաքաղաքական բաժանման համակարգն ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի [The System of Administrative-Political Division of Greater Armenia According to "Ashkharhatsuyts"], Yerevan, 2001, pp. 256-258.
Mokk was a highly mountainous and heavily forested region.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի վարչաքաղաքական բաժանման համակարգն ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի [The System of Administrative-Political Division of Greater Armenia According to "Ashkharhatsuyts"], Yerevan, 2001, p. 269. Even into the early 20th century, a significant portion of the local population lived in relative isolation, and the transport of goods was frequently carried out by human porters rather than pack animals due to the rugged terrain. The 10th-century historian Catholicos John V the Historian described Mokk as a "deeply cleft, rocky, rugged, and well-fortified" land.John Catholicos, Պատմութիւն Հայոց [History of Armenia], p. 292. The same author also highlighted the "ravine-filled mountains" of Mokk.John Catholicos, Պատմութիւն Հայոց [History of Armenia], p. 270. In the medieval theological text Homily on the Cross of Aparan, Mokk is characterized as a "mountain-turned and firmly rooted canton."Gh. Injijian, Ստորագրութիւն հին Հայաստանեայց [Description of Ancient Armenia], p. 138. Thomas Artsruni likewise wrote that the land of Mokk possessed "lofty mountains and dense, forest-covered peaks."Thomas Artsruni, Պատմութիւն տանն Արծրունեաց [History of the House of Artsruni], p. 314.
History In the 9th century BC, the territory of Mokk was incorporated into the Kingdom of Urartu (Van), and subsequently became part of the Orontid and Artaxiad kingdoms of Armenia.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի վարչաքաղաքական բաժանման համակարգն ըստ «Աշխարհացոյց»-ի [The System of Administrative-Political Division of Greater Armenia According to "Ashkharhatsuyts"], Yerevan, 2001, pp. 269-270. Despite the severe territorial losses suffered by the Armenian kingdom in the 3rd century AD, Mokk remained within Greater Armenia. Historical studies indicate that the administrative consolidation of Mokk was fully finalized by the 3rd century.
According to the 6th-century Byzantine historian Peter the Patrician, under the 298 AD Peace of Nisibis, the Roman Empire received five trans-Tigritane regions from Sasanian Persia: Angetun, Sophene, Aldznik, Corduene, and Zabdicene.Petri Patricii, Fragmenta, 14. These territories were original Armenian lands that had been annexed by Sasanian Persia in the 3rd century, likely following the assassination of the Armenian King Khosrov II the Great.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի թագավորության հարավարևմտյան շրջանների վարչաքաղաքական կացությունը III դարի վերջին և IV դարի սկզբին [The Administrative-Political Status of the Southwestern Regions of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia in the Late 3rd and Early 4th Centuries], Բանբեր Երևանի համալսարանի [Bulletin of Yerevan University], 1982, No. 2, pp. 82-83. The text of the Treaty of Nisibis demonstrates that these areas were no longer viewed as immediate components of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia in either Persian or Roman political perceptions at that time. This is confirmed by the fact that after the victory of the joint Armeno-Roman forces in 297 AD and the restoration of Armenia's borders, these territories were listed individually during the Nisibis negotiations. Shortly after the conclusion of the peace, Rome handed over these five trans-Tigritane regions back to the Kingdom of Greater Armenia.B. Harutyunyan, Մեծ Հայքի թագավորության հարավարևմտյան շրջանների վարչաքաղաքական կացությունը III դարի վերջին և IV դարի սկզբին [The Administrative-Political Status of the Southwestern Regions of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia in the Late 3rd and Early 4th Centuries], Բանբեր Երևանի համալսարանի [Bulletin of Yerevan University], 1982, No. 2, pp. 80-81.
The sovereignty over these trans-Tigritane territories was contested again in 363 AD, following the ill-fated Persian campaign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, which led to a new Romano-Persian peace treaty.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae. By this treaty, the victorious Persian King Shapur II gained control over Aldznik, Mokk, Zabdicene, Rehimene, and Corduene.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, XXV. Ammianus Marcellinus' accounts confirm that between 298 and 363 AD, these regions had functionally been part of the Armenian kingdom.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, XXV. Although Mokk passed to Sasanian Persia via the 363 AD treaty, the military successes of King Pap temporarily restored Armenian influence in the region.
The emergence of Mokk as an independent administrative unit is linked to the 3rd- and 4th-century Armeno-Persian and Armeno-Roman interactions. Nicholas Adontz argued that by the 363 AD peace, Sasanian Persia reclaimed only three of the regions it had lost in the 298 AD Peace of Nisibis—namely Aldznik, Corduene, and Zabdicene—while Angetun and Sophene remained under Roman dominion.N. Adontz, Армения в эпоху Юстиниана [Armenia in the Period of Justinian], Saint Petersburg, 1908, p. 43. However, primary sources do not provide definitive answers regarding the subsequent status of Angetun and Sophene. Concurrently, it is established that the 363 AD treaty ceded Mokk and Rehimene to the Persians, neither of which appeared in the list of the five regions mentioned in the 298 AD treaty.Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, XXV, 7.
Karl Güterbock, Heinrich Hübschmann, Nicholas Adontz, and Hakob Manandyan hypothesized that Rome had acquired seven regions instead of five in 298 AD, five of which were returned to Persia in 363 AD. According to this view, Mokk was treated as an integral component of Aldznik, while Rehimene was considered part of Zabdicene.K. Güterbock, Römische Armenia und die römischen Satrapien, Vienna, 1914, pp. 7-8.H. Hübschmann, Die Altarmenischen Ortsnamen, Vienna, 1907, pp. 30-31.H. Manandyan, Քննական տեսություն հայ ժողովրդի պատմության [A Critical Review of the History of the Armenian People], Vol. I, Yerevan, 1957, pp. 111, 177. Reconstructions suggest that Mokk was originally a subdivision within the province of Aldznik. However, it is unlikely to have passed to the Roman Empire via the 298 AD treaty. This stance is supported by a well-known passage in the Ashkharhatsuyts, which explicitly designates the region as "Mokk, which is adjacent to Assyria" (Mogq vor ar Asorestaneal).Աշխարհացոյց Մովսէսի Խորենացւոյ՝ յաւելուածովք նախնեաց [Ashkharhatsuyts of Moses of Chorene with Additions by the Ancients], Venice, 1881, p. 29.
According to Moses of Chorene, the Armenian King Vagharshak established a dedicated princely house (nakhararutyun) in Mokk.Moses of Chorene, Պատմութիւն Հայոց [History of Armenia], p. 116. The interpretation of Chorenatsy's account has triggered historiographical debates. Stepnos Malkhasyants translated the term "srikays" as "bandits" or "thieves," whereas H. G. Melkonyan demonstrated that this word, derived from Syriac, originally meant "naked," "poor," or "unarmed" people.H. G. Melkonyan, Ադիաբենեի պետությունը և Հայաստանը [The State of Adiabene and Armenia], Yerevan, 1980, pp. 142-148. Following this linguistic clarification, Chorenatsy’s passage is understood to mean that an individual in Mokk who commanded a substantial following of unarmed locals was elevated to the rank of a nakharar (noble).H. G. Melkonyan, Ադիաբենեի պետությունը և Հայաստանը [The State of Adiabene and Armenia], Yerevan, 1980, pp. 142-148.
For a long time, historians assumed that the entire territory of the province belonged exclusively to the Mokats princely family. However, an analysis of the individual cantons suggests that this view is not entirely robust. The canton of Arkayits gavar (Canton of the King) was a royal crown domain and did not belong to the princes of Mokk. Similarly, Arvenits dzor was likely under the control of the Aravanyan princely line. These factors indicate that the lands of the Mokats noble house and the administrative boundaries of Mokk province did not completely coincide.
A comparison of the military forces of the Mokats and Rshtuni princely houses further indicates that the entirety of Mokk could not have been owned by the Mokats princes alone. Both families were capable of fielding roughly one thousand soldiers each, even though Mokk vastly exceeded Rshtuniq in geographical size. From the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, the princes of Mokk were ranked among the most influential nobles of Greater Armenia. Agathangelos lists them as members of King Tiridates III the Great's royal entourage, alongside prestigious houses such as the Bagratunis, Syunis, and Rshtunis.Agathangelos, Պատմութիւն Հայոց [History of the Armenians].