Arminiya
Ostikanate of Arminiya Հայաստանի Օստիկանություն | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 654–884 | |||||||||||||||||||||
 Map of the Caucasus and ofArminiyac. 740 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Province (largely autonomousvassalprincipalities) of theUmayyadandAbbasidCaliphates | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Dvin 40°0′16.870″N44°34′45.012″E/ 40.00468611°N 44.57917000°E | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Armenian(native language) Arabic | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Christianity(Armenian Apostolic Church,Paulicianism) Sunni Islam(state) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Established | 654 | ||||||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 884 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | AM | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Historical Arab states and dynasties |
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Arminiya,also known as theOstikanate of Arminiya(Armenian:Հայաստանի Օստիկանություն,[1]Hayastani ostikanut'yun) or theEmirate of Armenia(Arabic:إمارة أرمينية,imārat armīniya), was a political and geographic designation given by theMuslimArabsto the lands ofGreater Armenia,Caucasian Iberia,andCaucasian Albania,following their conquest of these regions in the 7th century. Though thecaliphsinitially permitted anArmenianprince to represent the province ofArminiyain exchange for tribute and the Armenians' loyalty during times of war, CaliphAbd al-Malik ibn Marwanintroduced direct Arab rule of the region, headed by anostikanwith his capital inDvin.According to the historianStephen H. Rappin the third edition of theEncyclopaedia of Islam:[2]
Early Arabs followedSāsānian,Parthian Arsacid,and ultimatelyAchaemenidpractice by organising most of southernCaucasiainto a large regional zone called Armīniya (cf. the Achaemenidsatrapy of Arminacovering much of southern Caucasia and the subsequent Kūst-i Kapkōh of the Sāsānians).
| History ofArmenia |
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| Timeline•Origins•Etymology |
History[edit]
Early period: the Arab conquest of Armenia[edit]
The details of the early conquest of Armenia by theArabsare uncertain, as the various Arabic sources conflict with the Greek and Armenian sources, both in chronology and in the details of the events. However, the broad thrust of the Arab campaigns is consistent between the sources, allowing for a reconstruction of events by modern scholars.[3]
According to the Arabic sources, the first Arab expedition reached Armenia in 639/640, on the heels of theirconquest of the Levantfrom theByzantinesand the start of theMuslim conquest of Persia.[4]The Arabs were led byIyad ibn Ghanimand penetrated as far asBitlis.A second expedition occurred in 642, only to be defeated and pushed out of the country.[4]After this setback, the Arabs only undertook a raid fromAdharbayjanin 645, led bySalman ibn Rabi'a,but this only touched the Armenian borderlands.[4]The Muslim sources place the actual conquest of the country in 645/646, under the command ofHabib ibn Maslama al-Fihri.The Arabs first moved against the western, Byzantine portion of the country, capturedTheodosiopolisand defeated a Byzantine army, before subduing the Armenian princes aroundLake Vanand marching ontoDvin,the capital of the former Persian portion of Armenia. Dvin capitulated after a few days of siege, as didTiflisfurther north inCaucasian Iberia.[5]During the same time, another Arab army fromIraq,under Salman ibn Rabi'a, conqueredCaucasian Albania(Arran).[6]
Although Arab sources imply that the country was henceforth effectively under Arab rule, modern historians generally consider the contemporary account of the Armenian bishopSebeos,partly corroborated by the Byzantine chroniclerTheophanes the Confessormore reliable, and have proposed different reconstructions of the early Arab raids between 640 and 650, based on a critical reading of the sources; it is clear, however, that the country did not submit to Arab rule at this time.[5]
Armenian histories report that the Arabs first arrived in 642, penetrating the central region ofAyrarat,and sacked Dvin, returning with over 35,000 captives.[6]In 643, the Arabs invaded again from the direction of Arran, ravaged Ayrarat and reached Iberia, but were defeated in battle by the Armenian leaderTheodore Rshtuniand forced back.[6]After this success, Rshtuni was recognized as ruler of Armenia by theByzantine emperorConstans II,in exchange for accepting Byzantine suzerainty. When Constans' truce with the Arabs ended in 653, however, to avoid a new Arab invasion, Rshtuni voluntarily agreed to submit to Muslim overlordship.[6]Emperor Constans then campaigned in person in Armenia, restoring Byzantine rule, but soon after his departure in early 654, the Arabs invaded the country. With their assistance, Rshtuni evicted the Byzantine garrisons from Armenia and secured Arab recognition as the presiding prince of Armenia, Iberia, and Albania.[6]The Byzantines under generalMaurianostried to recover control of the region, but without success. In 655, even Byzantine Armenia was invaded, and the Arabs occupied Theodosiopolis (ArabicQaliqala) and cemented their control of the country by taking Rhstuni toDamascus,where he died in 656, and appointing his rivalHamazasp IV Mamikonianin his stead.[6]However, with the outbreak of theFirst Muslim Civil Warin 657, effective Arab authority in the country ceased, and Mamikonian returned to Byzantine overlordship almost immediately.[6]
In 661, however, Mu'awiya, now the victor of the Muslim civil war, ordered the Armenian princes to re-submit to his authority and pay tribute. To avoid another war, the princes complied.[7]The Arab policy of demanding that the tribute be paid in money affected the Armenian economy and society. Coins were struck in Dvin. The Armenians were forced to produce a surplus of food and manufactured goods for sale. A strong urban life was developed inCaucasiaas the economy revived.
Establishment of direct Muslim control[edit]
For most of the second half of the 7th century, Arab presence and control in Armenia was minimal. Armenia was considered conquered land by the Arabs but enjoyedde factoautonomy, regulated by the treaty signed between Rhstuni and Mu'awiya. Indeed, as Aram Ter-Ghewondyan comments, under Arab suzerainty "the country enjoyed a degree of independence such as it had not known since the fall of theArsacids"in the 5th century.[8]According to the terms of the treaty, the Armenian princes were submitted to—relatively low—taxation and the obligation to provide soldiers when requested, for which the princes were to be paid an annual subsidy of 100,000dirhams.In exchange, no Arab garrison or official was installed in Armenian lands, and Arab assistance was even promised in the event of a Byzantine attack.[8][9]
The situation changed in the reign of the caliphAbd al-Malik(r. 685–705). Beginning in 700, the Caliph's brother and governor ofArran,Muhammad ibn Marwan,subdued the country in a series of campaigns. Although the Armenians rebelled in 703 and received Byzantine aid, Muhammad ibn Marwan defeated them and sealed the failure of the revolt by executing the rebel princes in 705.[8][10]Armenia, along with the principalities ofCaucasian AlbaniaandIberia(modernGeorgia) was grouped into one vast province calledal-Arminiya(الارمينيا), with its capital at Dvin (ArabicDabil), which was rebuilt by the Arabs and served as the seat of the governor (ostikan) and of an Arab garrison.[10][11]For much of the remaining Umayyad period,Arminiyawas usually grouped with Arran and theJazira(Upper Mesopotamia) under a single governor into anad hocsuper-province.[12]
Arminiya was governed by an emir orwaliheadquartered at Dvin, whose role however was limited to defence and the collection of taxes: the country was largely run by the local princes - thenakharars.The province was divided into four regions: Arminiya I (Caucasian Albania), Arminiya II (Caucasian Iberia), Arminiya III (the area aroundAras River), Arminiya IV (Taron).[13]The local nobility was headed, as inSasaniantimes, by a presiding prince (իշխան, ishkhan), a title which in the 9th century, beginning probably withBagrat II Bagratuni,evolved into the title of "prince of princes" (իշխանաց իշխան, ishkhanac' ishkhan). Acting as the head of the other princes, theishkhanac' ishkhanwas answerable to the Arab governor, being responsible for the collection of the taxes owed to the caliphal government and the raising of military forces when requested.[14]
A census and survey ofArminiyawas undertakenc. 725,followed by a significant increase in taxation so as to finance the Caliphate's increasing military needs in various fronts.[15]The Armenians participated with troops in the hard-fought campaigns of theSecond Arab–Khazar Warin the 720s and 730s. As a result, in 732, governor Marwan ibn Muhammad (the future CaliphMarwan II) namedAshot III Bagratunias the presiding prince of Armenia, an act which essentially re-confirmed the country's autonomy within the Caliphate.[16]
Abbasid period until 884[edit]
With the establishment of theAbbasid Caliphateafter theAbbasid Revolution,a period of repression was inaugurated. This was followed by Caliphal-Mansurrevoking the privileges and abolishing the subsidies paid to the various Armenian princes (thenakharars) and imposing harsher taxation, leading to the outbreak of another major rebellion in 774. The revolt was suppressed in theBattle of Bagrevandin April 775.[11][17]The failure of the rebellion saw the near-extinction, reduction to insignificance or exile to Byzantium of some of the most prominentnakhararfamilies, most importantly theMamikonian.In its aftermath, the Caliphate tightened its grip on the Transcaucasian provinces: the nobility of neighbouringIberiawas also decimated in the 780s, and a process of settlement with Arab tribes began which by the middle of the 9th century led to the Islamization ofCaucasian Albania,while Iberia and much of lowland Armenia came under the control of a series of Arab emirates. At the same time, the power vacuum left by the destruction of so manynakhararclans was filled by two other great families, theArtsruniin the south (Vaspurakan) and theBagratuniin the north.[18][19]
Despite several insurrections, the Emirate of Armenia lasted until 884, when the BagratuniAshot I,who had managed to win control over most of its area, declared himself "King of the Armenians". He received recognition by CaliphAl-Mu'tamidof the Abbasid dynasty in 885 and Byzantine EmperorBasil Iof theMacedonian dynastyin 886.
Ashot was swiftly able to expand his power. Through family links with the two next most important princely families, the Artsruni and the Siwnis, and through a cautious policy towards the Abbasids and the Arab emirates of Armenia, by the 860s he had succeeded in becoming in fact, if not yet in name, an autonomous king.[20]
Arab governors of Armenia[edit]
Early governors[edit]
These are reported as governors under the CaliphsUthman(r. 644–656) andAli(r. 656–661), as well as the early Umayyads:
- Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman[citation needed]
- Mughira ibn Shu'ba[citation needed]
- Al-Qasim ibn Rabi'a ibn Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt al-Thaqafi[citation needed]
- Habib ibn Maslama al-Fihri[citation needed]
- Al-Ash'ath ibn Qays al-Kindi(ca. 657)[citation needed]
- Al-Muhallab ibn Abi Sufra(ca. 686)[citation needed]
Emirs (Ostikans)[edit]
With the submission of Armenia to Muhammad ibn Marwan after 695, the province was formally incorporated into the Caliphate, and an Arab governor (ostikan) installed at Dvin:[21][22]
- Muhammad ibn Marwan(c. 695–705), represented by the following deputies:
- Abd al-Aziz ibn Hatim al-Bahili(706–709)
- Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik(709–721)
- Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah(721–725)
- Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik(725–729)
- Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah(729–730)
- Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik(730–732)
- Marwan ibn Muhammad(732–733)
- Sa'id ibn Amr al-Harashi(733–735)
- Marwan ibn Muhammad(735–744)
- Ishaq ibn Muslim al-Uqayli(744–750)
- Abu Ja'far Abdallah ibn Muhammad(750–753)
- Yazid ibn Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami(753–755)
- Sulayman (755–?)
- Salih ibn Subai al-Kindi (c. 767)
- Bakkar ibn Muslim al-Uqayli(c. 769–770)
- al-Hasan ibn Qahtaba(770/771–773/774)
- Yazid ibn Asid ibn Zafir al-Sulami(773/774–778)
- Uthman ibn 'Umara ibn Khuraym(778–785)
- Khuzayma ibn Khazim(785–786)
- Yusuf ibn Rashid al-Sulami(786–787)
- Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani(787–788)
- Ubaydallah ibn al-Mahdi(788–791) (?)
- Abd al-Qadir (791)
- Al-Fadl ibn Yahya al-Barmaki(791–793)
- Umar ibn Ayyub al-Kinani (793)
- ?(793)
- Khalid ibn Yazid al-Sulami(793–794)
- Al-Abbas ibn Jarir ibn Yazid al-Bajali (794)
- Musa ibn Isa ibn Musa al-Hashimi(794–795)
- Yahya ibn Sa'id al-Harashi(795)
- Ahmad ibn Yazid ibn Usayd al-Sulami (795–797)
- Sa'id ibn Salm al-Bahili(797–799)
- Nasr ibn Habib al-Muhallabi(799)
- Ali ibn Isa ibn Mahan(799)
- Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani(799–801)
- Asad ibn Yazid al-Shaybani(801–802)
- Muhammad ibn Yazid al-Shaybani(802–803)
- Khuzayma ibn Khazim(803–?)
- Sulayman ibn Yazid (807–808)
- Asad ibn Yazid al-Shaybani(c. 810)
- Ishaq ibn Sulayman al-Hashimi(c. 813)
- Khalid ibn Yazid ibn Mazyad al-Shaybani(813–?) (828–832), (841), (c. 842–844)
- Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Shaybani(c. 842/844–?)
- Abu Sa'id Muhammad al-Marwazi(849–851)
- Yusuf ibn Abi Sa'id al-Marwazi(851–852)
- Bugha al-Kabir(852–855)
- Muhammad ibn Khalidal-Shaybani (857–862)
- Ali ibn Yahya al-Armani(862–863)
- al-Abbas ibn al-Musta'in(863–865)
- Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz(866–867)
- Abi'l-Saj Devdad(867–870)
- Isa ibn al-Shaykh al-Shaybani(870–875, nominally until 882/3)
- Ja'farAl-Mufawwid(875–878)
- Muhammad ibn Khalidal-Shaybani (878)
Presiding princes of Armenia[edit]
- Mjej II GnuniՄժեժ Բ Գնունի, 628–635
- David SaharuniԴավիթ Սահառունի, 635–638
- Theodore RshtuniԹէոդորոս Ռշտունի, 638–645
- Varaztirots II BagratuniՎարազ Տիրոց Բ Բագրատունի, 645
- Theodore RshtuniԹէոդորոս Ռշտունի, 654–655
- Mushegh IV MamikonianՄուշէղ Բ Մամիկոնեան, 654
- Theodore RshtuniԹէոդորոս Ռշտունի, 654–655
- Hamazasp IV MamikonianՀամազասպ Բ Մամիկոնեան, 655–658
- Gregory I MamikonianԳրիգոր Ա Մամիկոնեան, 662–684/85
- Ashot II BagratuniԱշոտ Բ Բագրատունի, 686–690
- Nerses KamsarakanՆերսէս Կամսարական, 689–691
- Smbat VI BagratuniՍմբատ Զ Բագրատունի, 691–711
- Ashot III BagratuniԱշոտ Գ Բագրատունի, 732–744
- Gregory II MamikonianԳրիգոր Բ Մամիկոնեան, 745–746
- Ashot III BagratuniԱշոտ Գ Բագրատունի, 746–748
- Gregory II MamikonianԳրիգոր Բ Մամիկոնեան, 748
- Mushegh VI MamikonianՄուշէղ Բ Մամիկոնեան, 748–753
- Sahak VII BagratuniՍահակ Է Բագրատունի, 755–761
- Smbat VII BagratuniՍմբատ Է Բագրատունի, 761–775
- Ashot IV BagratuniԱշոտ Դ Բագրատունի, 806–826
- Bagrat II BagratuniԲագրատ Բ Բագրատունի, 830–851
- Ashot V BagratuniԱշոտ Ա Հայոց Արքայ, Աշոտ Ե իշխան Հայոց, 862–884
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^Yeghiazaryan, Arman (2005)."Հայաստանի Օստիկանության սահմանները [Borders of the Vicegerency of Arminia]".Patma-Banasirakan Handes(in Armenian) (1). Yerevan:Armenian Academy of Sciences:243–258.ISSN0135-0536.
- ^Rapp, Stephen H. (2020)."Georgia, Georgians, until 1300".In Fleet, Kate;Krämer, Gudrun;Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John;Rowson, Everett(eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam(3rd ed.). Brill Online.ISSN1873-9830.
- ^Canard & Cahen 1960,pp. 635–637.
- ^abcCanard & Cahen 1960,p. 635.
- ^abCanard & Cahen 1960,pp. 636–637.
- ^abcdefgCanard & Cahen 1960,p. 636.
- ^Canard & Cahen 1960,p. 637.
- ^abcTer-Ghewondyan 1976,p. 20.
- ^Whittow 1996,p. 211.
- ^abBlankinship 1994,p. 107.
- ^abTer-Ghewondyan 1976,p. 21.
- ^Blankinship 1994,pp. 52–54.
- ^Robert H. Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001, 107, map 81.
- ^Jones 2007,pp. 1–2.
- ^Blankinship 1994,pp. 123–124.
- ^Blankinship 1994,p. 153.
- ^Whittow 1996,p. 213.
- ^Ter-Ghewondyan 1976,pp. 21–22.
- ^Whittow 1996,pp. 213–215.
- ^Ter-Ghewondyan 1976,pp. 53ff..
- ^Arab Governors (Ostikans) of Arminiya, 8th CenturyArchivedOctober 29, 2013, at theWayback Machine
- ^A. Ter-Ghevondyan's "Chronology of the Ostikans of Arminiya," Patma-banasirakan handes (1977) 1, pp. 117-128.
Sources[edit]
- Blankinship, Khalid Yahya(1994).The End of the Jihâd State: The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads.Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.ISBN978-0-7914-1827-7.
- Canard, Marius&Cahen, Claude(1960)."Armīniya".InGibb, H. A. R.;Kramers, J. H.;Lévi-Provençal, E.;Schacht, J.;Lewis, B.&Pellat, Ch.(eds.).The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Volume I: A–B.Leiden: E. J. Brill. pp. 634–640.doi:10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0064.OCLC495469456.
- Jones, Lynn (2007).Between Islam and Byzantium: Aght'amar and the Visual Construction of Medieval Armenian Rulership.Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.ISBN978-0754638520.
- Laurent, Joseph L. (1919).L'Arménie entre Byzance et l'Islam: depuis la conquête arabe jusqu'en 886(in French). Paris: De Boccard.
- Morgan, Jacques de (1918),The History of the Armenian People: From the remotest times to the present day,Barry, Ernest F., trans., Boston: Hairenik Press,OL5788153M
- Ter-Ghewondyan, Aram(1976) [1965].The Arab Emirates in Bagratid Armenia.Translated byNina G. Garsoïan.Lisbon:Livraria Bertrand.OCLC490638192.
- Whittow, Mark(1996).The Making of Byzantium, 600–1025.Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-20496-6.
- Robert H. Hewsen. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001, Pp. 341.
- Garbis Armen. Historical Atlas of Armenia. A. N. E. C., New York, 1987, Pp. 52.
- George Bournoutian.A History of the Armenian People, Volume I: Pre-History to 1500 AD, Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, 1993, Pp. 174.
- John Douglas. The Armenians, J. J. Winthrop Corp., New York, 1992.
