The Kiurikian or Kiurikid dynasty ( or more rarely Gurgenian, ) was a medieval Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the kingdoms of Tashir-Dzoraget (978-1118) and Kakheti-Hereti (1029/1038-1105).Большая советская энциклопедия. Статья: [bse.sci-lib.com/article068098.html Кюрикиды]V. Minorsky. Studies in Caucasian History. — CUP Archive, 1953. — С. 102.: The family came to join the Armenian kings of Tashir (Dzoraget) and there was converted to the Armenian creed. They originated as a junior branch and vassals of the Bagratid dynasty, but outlived the main branch of the dynasty after the fall of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia․Статья: Гурген They became vassals of the Seljuk Turks in the second half of the 1060s. After the fall of the Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget to the Seljuks in the early 12th century, members of the dynasty continued to rule from their fortresses of Tavush, Matsnaberd and Nor Berd until the 13th century.Ռ. Մաթևոսյան, Դիտողություններ Կյուրիկյանների պատմության վերաբերյալ։
History In the 7th century, Armenia, Georgia, and Caucasian Albania were conquered by the Arab Caliphate and incorporated into it as a single administrative-political unit—the Ostikanate of Arminiya. The Bagratunis, an influential Armenian noble family within the region, restored independent statehood two centuries later in 885. The eastern provinces of the Gugark region, mainly Tashir and Dzoropor, were part of the Bagratuni Kingdom and were ruled by appointed governors.Статья: Кюрикяны Due to the centrifugal ambitions of these governors, the royal court soon transferred power to its own dynastic kin. Subsequently, to protect the realm's borders from internal encroachments by the Emirates of Tbilisi and Ganja, a special military-administrative region was created in Tashir-Dzoraget.Ռիմա Բոյաջյան, Հայ կանանց դերը միջնադարյան ճարտարապետական հուշարձանների կառուցման գործում
The center of the Kiurikid Kingdom was initially the Shamshulde fortress-town, and from 1065, Lore fortress (located near present-day Stepanavan, Armenia).Арташес Шахназарян (2009) [Տաշիր-Ձորագետի Կյուրիկյան թագավորության առաջացումն ու հզորացումը]. "Образование и усиление Ташир-Дзорагетского Кюрикийского царства" (журнал) (in Armenian) (Պատմա-Բանասիրական Հանդես ed.): 224–233. ISSN 0135-0536. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. To strengthen defense capabilities during the 10th–11th centuries, numerous fortresses were built and fortified within the kingdom—such as Kayan, Lore, Mahkanaberd, Gag, and Matsnaberd—which also guarded major trade routes. In the late 10th and early 11th centuries under David Anhoghin (David the Landless), the Kiurikid Kingdom served as a reliable bulwark for the Bagratuni Kingdom against invasions by the Shaddadid Emirs of Ganja.Լոռու մարզպետարան, Պատմական ակնարկ Լոռու հուշարձանների մասին
Following the fall of the central Bagratuni Kingdom (1045) and later the Kingdom of Kars (1065), the Kiurikid Kingdom remained the sole surviving Bagratuni domain. In the late 11th century during the reign of Kiurike I, the Seljuks began seizing its provinces, and the Georgian Bagrationi kings ultimately annexed the remaining Kiurikid territories.The free dictionary,Tashir-Dzoraget Kingdom
By the early 12th century, the Kiurikid Kingdom was restricted to the Tashir province. Between 1111 and 1113, the final Kiurikid rulers, Abas and David, lost Tashir as well and relocated to Tavush and Matsnaberd, establishing minor principalities.Степаненко В. П. (1978). "Из истории армяно-византийских отношений второй половины X—XI в. (к атрибуции монет Кюрикэ куропалата)" (PDF) (15) (Античная древность и средние века ed.): 43–51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-22. Following their demise, the Armenian commanders of the Georgian army—Zakare Amirspasalar and Ivane Atabeg—liberated most of Eastern Armenia, including the territories of Tashir-Dzoraget, Syunik, and Kars. New princes or descendants of former royal houses were established in these lands; the Vahramians, a branch of the Zakarians, settled at Gag Fortress in Tavush, a former Kiurikid stronghold.Վահե Աթանեսյան, Դավիթ Անհողին. հայ գահակալներից ամենաերկարակյացը
Gurgen-Kiurike: Foundation of the Kingdom Due to the deepening of feudal relations in Bagratuni Armenia, the growing separatist ambitions of powerful local princes, and negative external influences, the state entered a period of gradual fragmentation and decline starting in the second half of the 10th century.«Արարատ», 1897, -Գ, էջ 144, Մաշտոցի անվան Մատենադարան (այսուհետեւ` ՄՄ), ձեռ.−3031, էջ 38: Political entities—local kingdoms and principalities—began to emerge, often only formally recognizing the suzerainty of the Bagratunis of Ani. Among these was the Kiurikid Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget. During the initial period of the Bagratuni Kingdom, Tashir was administered by appointed non-dynastic governors-overseers. However, taking into account their overt separatist tendencies and the imperative to keep this strategically vital region under reliable control through a member of the royal house, King Ashot III the Merciful (953–977) appointed his eldest son Smbat—who had been his co-ruler since at least 958—as the governor of Tashir. Smbat ruled in Gugark for 14 years, from 958 to 972. After inheriting the royal throne, Smbat installed his younger brother Gurgen (who also bore the second name Derenik) as governor in Tashir.Մխիթարայ Այրիվանեցւոյ պատմութիւն Հայոց (այսուհետեւ` Մխիթար Այրիվանեցի), Մոսկվա, 1860, էջ 56:
Gurgen I Kiurike, the younger son of Ashot III the Merciful, founded a new kingdom belonging to a junior branch of the Bagratunis subordinate to the Bagratunis of Ani. The name Kiurikian (Kiurikid) given to this local kingdom and its ruling dynasty stems from Gurgen being called "Kiurike" in the local pronunciation or dialect. The Kiurikids were dependent on the Bagratunis of Ani and received confirmation of their rights from them.Մանր ժամանակագրություններ, XII-XVIII դդ., հ. II, կազմեց Վ. Ա. Հակոբյան, Երեւան, 1956, էջ 501: In 974, Gurgen participated in a military mobilization led by Ashot III in response to the Asia Minor campaign of Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes, which posed a threat to Armenia's southern borders. Although Matthew of Edessa mentions Gurgen with the title "King of Aghvank" among the participants of the 974 mobilization, this was done retroactively, as the Kiurikids did not yet possess domains in Caucasian Albania/Aghvank at that time.ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, թ. 43: Furthermore, other figures mentioned by Matthew of Edessa as kings during that mobilization assumed their thrones later: Abas became King of Kars in 984, Senekerim acceded to the throne of Vaspurakan in 1003, and King Philippe of Kapan was one of the minor rulers of Artsakh.Հաւաքումն պատմութեան Վարդանայ վարդապետի լուսաբանեալ (այսուհետեւ` Վարդան վարդապետ), Վենետիկ, 1862, էջ 90:
Following the death of his father in 977, Gurgen became the de facto ruler of the region. In a 979 colophon by Simeon, scribe of Sanahin Monastery, Gurgen is still referred to as "prince of the entire land of Tashir". As a distinct administrative-political unit entrusted to Gurgen as governor by Smbat II, the region also required a corresponding ecclesiastical organization and spiritual status. Following the construction of the Holy Redeemer (Amenaprkich) Church at Sanahin Monastery in the mid-960s, Ashot III and Queen Khosrovanush granted estates to the monastery, making it the center of the Tashir province's spiritual diocese with Amenaprkich as its cathedral.Մատթէոսի Ուռհայեցւոյ Ժամանակագրութիւն (այսուհետեւ` Մատթէոս Ուռհայեցի), Վաղարշապատ, 1898, էջ 17: By 970, Bishop Grigor led this diocese, confirmed by Simeon's 972 entry.Вахушти Багратиони: «История Царства Грузинского» Глава 3 However, the newly created administrative unit under Gurgen's governance encompassed a larger area than that previously overseen by Smbat, and the jurisdiction of the Tashir diocese did not cover all its districts. To resolve this discrepancy and fulfill Smbat II's desire to make the Holy Mother of God (Surb Astvatsatsin) Church—the ancestral burial site—the main cathedral of the newly established diocese instead of Amenaprkich, Smbat II visited Sanahin in 979 and issued a decree. Through Catholicos Khachik I, Smbat II designated the Surb Astvatsatsin Church of Sanahin as the cathedral for the church organization encompassing Gurgen's domains under the leadership of Bishop Yesayi. It included "all the land of Upper and Lower Tashir, from both sides of the Bazum Mountains to the borders of the realm of Gugark, up to the borders of Tbilisi and Georgia, to the borders of the Nig province, to the borders of Kayan, and the borders of Tsaghkotsadz up to the borders of the House of Shirak".Ստեփանոսի Տարօնեցւոյ Ասողկան Պատմութիւն տիեզերական (այսուհետեւ` Ասողիկ), Սանկտ Պետերբուրգ, 1885, էջ 188-189:Մանր ժամանակագրություններ, XIII–XVIII դդ., հ. II, էջ 501:
The establishment of the Kiurikid Kingdom was a prolonged process, and the exact date of its proclamation is debated in historiographical literature between 966 and 988. Among primary sources, only Mkhitar of Ayrivank explicitly mentions 981 as the year Gurgen became king. The other two principal medieval sources—the 12th-century Anonymous Chronicler and Vardan Vardapet—do not specify a date.ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 37: According to the Anonymous Chronicler, after the death of Ashot III, his sons Smbat, Gagik, and Gurgen "divided the kingdom by mutual love, making Smbat the head of the house." Vardan Vardapet notes that Ashot III passed away "leaving three sons: Smbat, Gagik, and Gurgen; on that same day, the eldest son, Smbat, took the crown... and the youngest brother inherited Tashir with the Sevordik of Dzoroyget." On a khachkar dated 986 in the cemetery of Kurtan village, Gurgen is already referred to by the name Kiurike with the title of king.Մխիթար Այրիվանեցի, էջ 56: 11 ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 37: Thus, the Kiurikid Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget was formed after the death of Ashot III, between 979 and 985, with Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi's 981 being considered an acceptable date. Smbat II the Master of the Universe officially recognized Gurgen as king in 982.Վարդան վարդապետ, էջ 90:
The boundaries of the Kiurikid Kingdom stretched from the Pambak and Aghstev valleys to the vicinity of Tbilisi, the Tsaghkunyats mountain range, and the Nig province. To the north, it bordered the Georgian Bagratuni Kingdom and the Arab Emirate of Tbilisi; to the south, the domains of the Pahlavuni family; to the east, Armenian regions under the rule of the Shaddadids; and to the west, the core domains of the Bagratunis of Ani. According to the Anonymous Chronicler, Gurgen possessed "the regions of Gogarene starting from Gag, Khorai up to the gates of Tbilisi." Vardan Vardapet writes that he received "Tashir with the Sevordik of Dzoroyget, as well as Kayan, Kaitson, Khorkhorunik built in Khorai—which is Khozhorni and Khorakert—as well as Bazunik (Bazkert) in Tashir province and other famous fortresses." Mkhitar Ayrivanetsi notes: "Gurgen reigned in Georgia/Iberia and his brother Smbat in Armenia."ՄՄ, ձեռ. −3031, էջ 47-48։