 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Nakharar" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(December 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Nakharar (Armenian:նախարարnaxarar, fromParthiannaxvadār "holder of the primacy"[5][6]) was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medievalArmenian nobility.
Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title ofnahapet "chief of the family" ortanuter "master of the house" was given. Other members of anakharar family in their turn ruled over smaller portions of the family estate.Nakharars with greater authority were recognized asishkhans (princes).
This system has often been labelled asfeudal for practical purposes; however, there are differences between this system and the feudal system later adopted inWestern Europe. The estate as a whole was actually ruled by a single person, it was nonetheless considered the property of his whole enlarged family, so that, if the ruler died heirless, he was succeeded by a member of a different branch of the family. Furthermore, the ruler was allowed toalienate a part of the family estate only to another member of the family or by permission of the whole enlarged family. This may also explain why Armenian feudal families were normallyendogamic, in order not to scatter parts of their property, as would have happened if they had to give a part of their property to another family as dowry. Endogamic marriages had a religious reason too, particularly before Christianity, becauseArmenian paganism favoured marriages between relatives very highly.
Eachnakharar had his own army, depending on his domain. The national force or "royal cavalry" was under thesparapet, a commander-in-chief who presided over the whole of the nation. After the country'sChristianization, schools and courts were all run by theArmenian clergy.
In 4th-century Armenia, as inParthia, large estates were hereditarily possessed by noble families and actually ruled by one of their members. The whole enlarged family was devoted to the worship of the same ancestors, lived in small fortified villages and spent most part of their time in hunting and in banqueting. Furthermore, eachnakharar family had a particular social function: in Armenia a member of theArshakuni family was chosen as king, who was consequently a sort ofprimus inter pares; theMamikonians fielded thesparapet, one of theBagratunis was the cavalry chief (aspet) and king crowner (tagadir), and so on.
Thenakharar system appears to have originated near or before the beginning of the Common Era, probably emerging under theArtaxiad dynasty and existing during the entireArsacid period in Armenia and for centuries after its end.[7]
Thenakharars survived the fall of theArshakuni dynasty and the subsequentplacement of the Marzban Governor-Generals bySassanid king, and allowed a great deal of autonomy for the vassal state, up until the attempted conversion of Armenia to Zoroastrianism byYazdegerd II, in whichVartan Mamikonian led a rebellion, and through theBattle of Avarayr convinced the Persians that conversion would come at too high a price, eventually leading to theNvarsak Treaty.[8]
Inwestern Armenia underByzantine rule,Justinian's reforms removed the martial role of thenakharars, as well as attempting to annex estates from Armenian nobles. Thenakharars, angered at their restriction in power, began a full-scale insurrection that had to be quelled through swift military intervention, eventually sparking war with the Sassanids.
Though weakened by numerous invasions and the legal reforms of Kings, thenakharar structure remained virtually unchanged for many centuries and was finally eliminated during theMongol invasions in the thirteenth century. Certain aspects of thenakharar system remained intact in Armenia until the early 20th century, when the noble class was altogether abolished by theBolsheviks.
The Armenian brothersIvane andZak'are served the GeorgianQueen Tamar (reigned 1184–1213). Rising to the heights of the Georgian army and court, they achieved for themselves the status of anakharar family, called the Zak'arians, in honor ofZak'are. Queen T'amar gave the Zak'arians control of almost all her Armenian territories, including the former Armenian capitalAni. The Zak'arians established their own vassals, comprising both survivingnakharars and new men – from among their own Armenian generals – raised tonakharar status, each with smaller territories as their own fiefs. Among the newnakharars was theProshian clan, who were particularly important for the history of theGladzor Gospels.