Gardman

Gardman (Armenian: Գարդման), also known as Gardmank, was one of the eight cantons of the ancient province of Utik in the Kingdom of Armenia and simultaneously, together with the canton of Tuchkatak, an Armenian principality.[1] It roughly corresponded within the Gazakh, Shamkir, Aghstafa, Dashkasan, Goygol, Tovuz, Gadabay districts of modern-day Azerbaijan and the original Tavush Region of Armenia. Gardman was also the name of the central fortress of the canton.

Not to be confused with Gardabani (historic district).
The Kingdom of Gardman-Parisos (yellow) in 1017 when it was acquired by the Kingdom of Lori (red).

History

In prehistoric times Gardman was the homeland of the proto-Armenian tribe Gardman.[2] Contemporary Armenian authors referred to the historical area of Gardman as Northern Artsakh.[3] During the reign of the Arshakuni kings of Armenia (66–428 A.D.), Gardman was the seat of the nakharars of Utik'. For this reason, it was sometimes called "Gardmantsvots ishkhanutyun", or the principality of Gardman.[4] Gardman was acquired by Caucasian Albania in 387 following the partition of Armenia.[2] In the seventh century the local house of Gardman was replaced by the Mihranid family (of Persian or Parthian origin),[5] which later became the ruling dynasty in the region of Arran.

The region was conquered by the Arabs in 855. Contemporary Armenian historians repeatedly noted the presence of two well known venues in Gardman: a fortress called Getabakk' (in the current-day Azerbaijani region of Gadabay) and a copper mine.[3]

In 982, Gardman and Parisos, the northern district of Artsakh, became the small Armenian kingdom of Parisos, which lasted until 1017 and thereafter became part of the Kingdom of Lori.[2] In 1601, the princely family of Melik-Shahnazaryan established the melikdom of Gardman. The ruling family belonged to a branch of the House of Khachen, and their residence was in the village of Voskanapat (and for this reason, the statelet was sometimes referred to as the Voskanapat melikdom).[2] The territorial rights of the meliks were confirmed after the Russian Empire took control of the region in the early nineteenth century.[6]

References
  1. Hewsen 2001, pp. 100–103, 118–121.
  2. Hewsen 2001, pp. 119, 163.
  3. Hakobyan 2007, pp. 243–244.
  4. Ulubabyan 1977.
  5. Bosworth 1986.
  6. Hakobyan 2007, p. 378.

Bibliography
  • Bosworth, C. E. (1986). "ARRĀN". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
  • Hakobyan, Tʻadevos Kh. (2007). Hayastani patmakan ashkharhagrutʻyun (in Armenian). Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press. pp. 243–244.
  • Hewsen, Robert H (2001). Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 100–103, 118–121. ISBN 0-226-33228-4.
  • Ulubabyan, B. (1977). "Gardman". In Hambardzumyan, Viktor (ed.). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia (in Armenian). Vol. 2. Yerevan. p. 700.
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