The Armenian nobility () was a class of persons which enjoyed certain privileges relative to other members of society under the laws and customs of various regimes of Armenia. Governments which recognized or conferred nobility were the Kingdom of Van (860–590 B.C.), Satrapy of Armenia (570–331 B.C.), Kingdom of Armenia (331 B.C. – 428 A.D.), Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia (885–1045) and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375). The Armenian kingdoms of Vanand (963–1065), Syunik (987–1170), and Lori (978–1113) had a system of nobility that was similar to the nobility of Cilicia.
Terminology
Members of the upper class of medieval Armenian society were known as nakharars () and azats (), (also aznvakans ()).
The roots of Armenian nobility trace back to ancient tribal society, when the proto-Armenian tribes separated from the primordial Indo-European community and selected chieftain leaders for governing the community, defending territory and leading military campaigns against their enemies. These chieftains and leaders were usually the strongest members of the clans and tribes, who had become renowned for their strength, intelligence, and deeds. Thus, gradually the upper class of the Armenian society came into existence, namely that of the azats, also known as aznvakans or aznavurs. Translated from contemporary Armenian the word azat literally means "one who is free", a "freeman".
Armenian noble clans traced their origins either back to the gods of the old Armenian religion or to the heroes and patriarchs of the Armenian people or the origins of non-Armenian families. For example, the noble houses of Vahevuni and Mehnuni were believed to be offspring of Vahagn and Mihr, ancient Armenian deities of fire and war, and heavenly light and justice respectively. The House of Artzruni traced its origins to Sanasar, son of Mher from the Armenian epos Sasna Tzrer. According to the Armenian aristocratic tradition, the princely houses of [Poladian] Khorkhoruni, Bznuni, Mandakuni, Rshtuni, Manavazian, Angelea (Angegh tun), Varajnuni, Vostanikyan, Ohanian, Cartozian, Apahuni, Arran tun and some others, are all believed to be direct descendants of Nahapet (Patriarch) Hayk, whose epithet was Dyutsazn, meaning demigod, or of Hayk's descendants. It is quite common in all parts of the world for members of the nobility to purport to trace their ancestry back to gods, or legendary heroes. Besides that, according to legend the Bagratuni dynasty has origins in Judea, according to Movses Khorenatsi, as they transferred to Armenia in 6th century B.C. The Mamikonyan dynasty also had legends of coming from China.Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter XIII, Part II, Reign of Diocletian and This Three Associates.
Historical origins
The early Armenian historians mention various Armenian noble houses during different periods of Armenian history. Sometimes their number is mentioned to be ninety, yet at other times it reaches up to three hundred. Certainly, the number of the Armenian noble houses did change in the course of time as the aristocratic class was itself subject to flux.
The first attested Armenian royal dynasty was the Orontids (Yervandunis) which was ruling Armenia as a satrapy of the Persian Empire in the 4th century BC. They are preceded by legendary or semi-legendary patriarchs of Armenian tradition, first recorded in the History attributed to Moses of Chorene (Movses Khorenatsi), written circa the 5th century. Tiratsyan, Gevorg. «Երվանդունիներ» (Yerevanduniner). Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. vol. iii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1977, p. 640.Krause, Todd B. and John A.C. Greppin, and Jonathan Slocum. "The Yervanduni Dynasty ." The A. Richard Diebold Center for Indo-European Language and Culture at the University of Texas. Jan. 22, 2009.
The noble houses of Rshtuni, Mokats, Artzruni and others originated from tribal rulers or clans already in antiquity. Some others, such as the Mamikonians or Aravelians, were granted noble titles and/or offices, such as aspet (), 'coronator' and sparapet (), 'generalissimo' by special decrees of medieval Armenian kings for their services to the royal court or the nation.
Some Armenian Christian historians tend to derive certain Armenian noble houses from Mesopotamian or other roots. For example, in his History of Armenia, Movses Khorenatsi traces the family origins of his sponsor prince Sahak Bagratuni to non-Armenian roots. However, the historical sources prove the existence of the Bagratuni family in the oldest period of Armenian history and speak of them as aboriginal Armenians. The linguistic analysis also maintains that the name Bagarat probably is of Indo-European origin. It is remarkable that Prince Bagratuni himself rejected Khorenatsi's version of the origins of his family. Exotic descents were in vogue among the early medieval Armenian aristocratic families. However, there is no evidence supporting any of these claims of descent.
Institutions and structure The nobility always played an important role in Armenian society. This is evidenced through the evolution of the term nakharar. Initially this term referred to the hereditary governors of the Armenian provinces and was used with the meaning of "ruler" and "governor". The same title could mean a particularly honorable service (nakhararutyun, nakharardom) at the Armenian royal court. Examples of such heritable services or nakharardoms are aspetutyun (coronation, which traditionally belonged to the house of Bagratuni), sparapetutyun (commander-in-chief of the Armenian army, which traditionally belonged to the house of Mamikonean), hazarapetutyun (chancellery and taxation, which were inheritably managed by the houses of Gnuni and Amatuni), and malhazutyun (royal guard that was traditionally organized and headed to the house of Khorkhoruni). However, in the course of hereditary consolidation of gavars (provinces) or royal court services by noble houses, the term nakharar has changed its original meaning and gradually transformed into a generic equivalent of "aristocrat", "nobleman". Accordingly, the aristocratic families started to be called nakharar houses or nakharardoms. Along with this analysis, there is another interpretation of term nakharar, which is based on Armenian nakh and arar, i.e. "the first created" or "the first borne".
The meaning of term nakharar was evolving in parallel with consolidation of the noble houses' hereditary rights over counties of Great Armenia."նախարար" in H. Ačaṙean (1926–35), Hayerēn Armatakan Baṙaran (Yerevan: Yerevan State University), 2nd ed., 1971–79 For example, the county of Great Albak was traditionally inherited by the noble house of Artzruni, county of Taron by the house of Slkuni, and the county of Rshtuniq by the house of Rshtuni. Even prior to this consolidation the traditional aristocratic emblems and coat-of-arms emerge. The latter often is deeply rooted in the ancient kinship and tribal beliefs and totems of the Armenian clans. Although the information on Armenian heraldry is quite limited, nevertheless it is well known that the most common symbols were those of the eagle, lion, and mountain ram. For example, the coat-of-arms of the Artashesian dynasty consisted of two eagles with the symbol of sun in the middle. An eagle holding a sheep was also the house symbol of Bagratuni nakharardom. The dynastic emblem of the Cilician Armenian royal house of Lusignan (Lusinian) reflected west European heraldic influence and consisted of red lions and crosses on the yellow and blue background of the shield. The nakharar families of ancient Armenia were listed in the so-called Gahnamaks and Zoranamaks, which were the official inventories or registrars that were positioning the families based on the criteria of honor, virtue and esteem. The difference between Gahnamak and Zoranamak were in the listing criteria that were determining the esteem of the noble family. Zoranamak was based on the military strength of the houses, i.e. the number of possessed cavalry and infantry, responsibility in defending the northern, eastern, southern and western borders of Armenia, as well as the size of the troops that the noble houses were placing under the command of the king of Armenia in times of military campaigns. Unlike Zoranamak, Gahnamak listed the noble houses based on the criteria of political and economic importance of the houses, size of their estates, their wealth, as well as their connections and influence over the royal courts.
Two other notions of the Armenian nobility related to Gahnamak and Zoranamak are those of bardz and pativ. Bardz literally means "cushion". It was the seat that was occupied by the head of the noble house at the royal table, be it during council or during festivities. The word bardz derives from these cushions on which the lords of houses were seated on special occasions. Bardz – literally cushioned seats at the royal table but more broadly the actual status at the royal court – were distributed on the basis of pativ, i.e. literally the honor and esteem of the noble houses. The latter, most probably was fixed in Gahnamaks and Zoranamaks.
Gahnamak Gahnamak (, literally: "throne registrar") – was an official state document, list of places and thrones (bardz) that the Armenian princes and nakharars were occupying at the royal court of Armenia. The throne of the prince or nakharar was defined by his economic or military strength (according to the Zoranamak, literally: "strength registrar"), as well as according to the ancient tradition. Gahnamak was composed and sealed by the King of Armenia, because the nakharars (lords) were considered to be his vassals. Nakharar thrones (gahs, i.e. the positions at the royal court) were changing rarely and were inherited from father to son. Only in special circumstances – such as high treason, cessation of the family etc. – did the king had the right to make some changes in the Gahnamak. The sequence and classification of Armenian lords' thrones had been defined and observed from the ancient times.
According to Khorenatsi, the first actual listing of lords in the shape of Gahnamak was Armenian King Vologases I (Vagharsh I). According to the recorded sources, the classification of Armenian lords' thrones in the form of Gahnamak existed throughout the reign of Arshakuni (Arsacid) dynasty (1st–5th centuries). The same system was continued during the Marzpanian period in the history of Armenia (5th–7th centuries), i.e. during the supremacy of the Sasanian kings of Persia. There are significant discrepancies and inaccuracies in the data of Gahnamaks of different centuries regarding the number of princely houses and degrees of their thrones. According to the Gahnamak of the 4th century preserved in "The Deeds of Nerses", during the reign of king Arsaces II (Arshak II) (c.350–368) the number of the Armenian aristocratic houses reached 400. However the author of "The Deeds" mentions the family names of only 167 lords, 13 of whom did not have a throne. The author himself explains that he is incapable of listing all of them. Armenian historian of the 13th century Stepanos Orbelian also mentions 400 nakharar thrones, who had "throne and respect" at the royal court of king Trdat III (287–332). Pavstos Buzand mentions 900 princely lords, who carried honorary services at the royal court and who sat on a special throne (gah) or cushion (bardz).