Moxoene

Moxoene
Former subdivision ofKingdom of Armenia
Capital	Miks

MoxoeneorMokk'(Armenian:Մոկք,romanized:Mokkʿ) was a territory ofKingdom of Armeniaand laterSasanian Armenia,located east ofArzanenefrom south ofLake Vanto north of Bohtan river.The territory was ruled by a local dynasty.

Toponymy

The nameMoxoeneonly appears in ancient sources in the early fourth century. In later centuries, Armenian sources used the nameMokkʿ.The ancient name is preserved in modern times with the localKurdsusing the nameMiksforthe main town of the area.Attempts have been made to find the pre-Armenian attestations of Moxoene and someethnonymshave been suggested includingΜύκοιbyHerodotus,Muškifrom Assyrian sources andτῶν Μοσχικῶν ὄρηorΜοξιανοίbyPtolemyas attested by him inGeography.However, none of these fit the geographical and linguistic criteria.

History

In 198, Moxoene was emerged intoCorduene.

During theBattle of Samarrain 363, Roman soldiers likely marched through Moxoene under generalsProcopiusandSebastianusto joinArshak II.During the territorial negotiations that same year, theSasanian Empiredemanded the area of Moxoene. After the war, Moxoene emerged as a new political entity part of the Sasanian Empire.Thedioceseof Moxoene belonged toNestorianism.

The settlement was known in Roman times as Moxos, after the 8th century as Mokks or Moks, and after the 18th century as Mukus. Moxoene may have been named after theBronze AgeMushkipeople, who according to Assyrian sources, settled in the region.

References

• Kossian, Aram (1997),The Mushki Problem Reconsidered(PDF)
• Leezenberg, Michiel (2014),"Elî Teremaxî and the Vernacularization of Medrese Learning in Kurdistan",Iranian Studies,47(5): 713–733,doi:10.1080/00210862.2014.934150,ISSN0021-0862,S2CID162201041
• Marciak, Michał (2017),Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West,Brill Publishers