Proshyans Armenian:Պռոշյանք | |
---|---|
Armenian nobility | |
![]() | |
![]() Coat of arms of the Proshyans (one of theCoat of arms of Armenia), 1283, inGeghard, and approximate Proshyan territory within theZakarid Principality of the MongolIl-Khanate, circa 1300, in theCaucasus | |
Country | Kingdom of Georgia |
Founded | c. 1250 |
Founder | Prosh Khaghbakian |
TheProshyan dynasty, alsoKhaghbakians orXaghbakian-Proshians (Armenian:Խաղբակյանք/Պռոշյանք), was a family of theArmenian nobility, named after its founderPrince Prosh Khaghbakian. The dynasty was a vassal ofZakarid Armenia during the 13th–14th century CE, established asnakharar feudal lords as a reward for their military successes.[1] Zakarid Armenia was itself vassal of theKingdom of Georgia from 1201, effectively falling under Mongol control after 1236, while Georgian rule only remained nominal. The Proshyans were princes ofBjni,Garni,Geghard andNoravank. The family prospered as an ally of the Mongols, following theMongol invasions of Armenia and Georgia, as did theZakarians andOrbelians.[2] Despite heavy Mongol taxes, they benefited from trade routes to China under the control of the Mongols, and built many magnificent churches and monasteries.[2]
In the mid-11th century, the region ofTsaghkadzor suffered from theSeljuk invasion led byTughril and later by his successorAlp Arslan. Later, in the early 13th century, the Georgians captured theSyunik region from the KipchakEldiguzids, a successor state of the Seljuks (Georgian–Seljuk wars). With the establishment of theZakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate,Kecharuyk witnessed a significant rise in economic and cultural life under the rule of the Khaghbakyan and later the Proshyan noble families, during the 13th and the 14th centuries. After the Mongols capturedAni in 1236, Armenia turned into a Mongol protectorate as part of the Ilkhanate. After the fall of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century, the Zakarid princes ruled over Lori, Shirak, Kotayk, and Ararat plain until 1360 when they fell to the invading Turkic tribes of theTimurids andQara Qoyunlu.
Prosh Khaghbakian, founder of the Proshyan dynasty, had a grandfather named Haghbak, who is only known from the genealogical inscriptions of his descendants. Prosh's father was named Vasak Khaghbakian ("Vasak the Great"), himself a vassal ofIvane I Zakarian of theZakarian princes of Armenia who had helped in the reconquest ofVayots Dzor,Bjni, andDvin over theSeljukEldiguzids.[5][6]
Prosh's uncleGrigor Khaghbakian (died in 1220–1223) was a relatively well-known Prince who left some religious buildings and works of art, and sacrificed himself in the conflict with theKipchaks inc. 1222.[7][6] The Armenian historianKirakos Gandzaketsi reports that some time after a 1220 Mongol incursion underSubutai, theKipchaks came to the Armenian city ofGandzak between 1220 and 1223, where they encountered the troops of KingLasha of Georgia and hisatabegIvane.[6][8] Although the Georgians ultimately prevailed, Grigor Khaghbakian was captured and tortured to death by theKipchak Turks.[6]
Together with his wife Zaz, he built theSurp Stepanos church atAghjots Vank in 1217.[9] Grigor Khaghbakian is also known for a 1233khatchkar with a sacred image, now inEtchmiadzin Cathedral, where it was brought from Imirzek.[4][3]
TheKhachqar cross dedicated by Grigor Khaghbakian in 1233, now located nearEtchmiadzin Cathedral, is considered as one of the finest, with its detailed and refined openwork sculpture. A fineDeesis decorated the entablature, and the donator appears on horse at the bottom, a rare occurrence as such crosses are not often decorated with human depictions.[10][3][4]
PrinceProsh Khaghbakian (sometimes spelled Brosh Xalbakean), also referred to as "Hasan Khaghbakian called "Prosh"" (1223–1283), was also an Armenian Prince in the service ofZakarid Armenia, itself nominally vassal to theKingdom of Georgia, at a time when Georgia was itself under the control of the Mongols (officially since the1239 treaty). As a reward for his military successes, the Zakarids granted him the titlenakharar, which allowed him to found his own dynasty with his own feudal fief in the service of the Zakarids.[1] The dynasty came to be known as "Proshyan" in his honour.[6] He was a lord of the Khaghabakian or Pŕoshian House in Urkghunk‘,Boloraberd, Eghegiats‘ Dzor and Hrashk‘aberd.[11]
Following the successful submission ofAvag Zakarian to the Mongols in 1236, the Proshyans were among many other Caucasian princes who followed suit the same year, in the understanding that they would be able to retain their lands under Mongol suzerainty.[15] Greater Armenian lords entered into a collaborative relationship with the Mongols:Awag Zak‘arian assistedChormaghan andGuyuk Khan,Hasan Jalal supportedSartakh andMongke Khan;Smbat Orbelian supportedMongke Khan andHulegu, while Prosh andSadun Artsruni helped Hulegu andAbaqa Khan.[15]
In 1256, the historical territories of Armenia were directly incorporated into the MongolIlkhanate of Persia.[16] Prosh was one of the main Greater Armenian lords to execute the alliance between his nominal suzerain the Georgian KingDavid Ulu (ruled 1247-1270) and the Mongol PrinceHulagu, during the Mongol conquest of Middle-East (1258–1260).[17] In 1258, he led Armenian troops to participate to the MongolSiege of Baghdad, whileZakare III Zakarian was leading the Georgian troops.[11] He was the main source for the account of the fall of Baghdad by the Armenian historianKirakos.[18] He had a son named Ami Hasan I (died in 1292).[19]
Prosh Khaghbakian was involved in the development of theGeghard medieval monastery in theKotayk province ofArmenia, partially carved out of the adjacent mountain and surrounded by cliffs.[20] He purchased the monastery in the 1240s,[7] and built a series of additional chapels hewn into the rock. The chamber reached from the North East of thegavit and became Prince Prosh Khaghbakian's tomb in 1283. Over a short period the Proshyans built the cave structures which brought Geghard well-merited fame — the second cave church, the family sepulcher of Prosh's son Papak and Ruzukan, a hall for gatherings and studies (collapsed in the middle of the 20th century) and numerous cells.
Spitakavor Monastery was built by two princes from the Proshian dynasty[24][25] during theZakarid Armenia period.[26] The construction of the church began by Prince Eachi Proshian (died in 1318), a grandson of Prosh Khaghbakian, and completed in 1321 by his son PrinceAmir Hasan II.[24][25] Eachi Proshian (-1318) is depicted in one reliefs from Spitakavor, and on a golden reliquary, he which he shown holding his hands up in prayer, and wearing a Mongol-style dress (cloud collar).[27] On his reliquary, Eachi Proshyan engraved acolophon recounting the story of his family:
With the will of almighty God, I, Each‘i, son of Hasan, son ofProsh, son of Vasak the Great, from the family of Khaghbak, ruled over my fatherland ofShabunik and many other countries with the help and support of Christ and of theHoly Cross of the Vegetarians in which my ancestors too found strength [and] built a tabernacle for it as unerasable memory. You who stand in front of this remember in prayers me and my parents, the Prince Hasan and Tajer, and my father’s brother Papak‘, and all our ancestors and family.
— Colophon of theHoly Cross of the Vegetarians, circa 1300.[28]
Also from the Monastery,a relief represents a young rider in princely attire with a bow, with the letters ԱՄՐ ՀՍ (AMR HS), indicating PrinceAmir Hasan II of the Proshians, son of Eachi Proshian, who completed the church his father had started. The relief is dated to 1320–1322, date the church was completed.[22][29] In these depictions, the Proshyans wear close-fitting clothing with an ornate belt and tall hats, and have round cheeks and almond-shaped eyes in a style characteristic of Mongol-era Armenia.[30] Riding a horse, Prince Amir Hasan wears a close-fitting tunic and a three-pointed hat with two ribbons, characteristic of 14th century Mongol nobility, and his facial features are similar to those of the Mongols.[31] Prince Eacchi Proshian on his reliquary, dated circa 1300, is shown wearing a Mongol-style royal dress (cloud collar).[32]
The Proshyan dynasty continued to rule inVayots Dzor andShahapunik under theTimurids, while theOrbelians were allowed to rule inSiunik, the Dopians inTsar. But their circumstances were difficult, and they receive huge pressure to convert toIslam.[33]
TheMelikdom of Kashatagh (1475-1730) was founded at the end of the 15th century by Melik Haykaz I, also the founder of the Melik-Haykazyan dynasty (the youngest branch of the Armenian princely Proshyan dynasty). Previously, the Kashatagh region was first ruled by the Orbelian family, and then by the Shahurnetsi clan.[34]
The region held by the Proshyans enjoyed relative political stability and prosperity from the end of the 13th century to the early 14th century.[7] In particular, theSyunik Province became a center of intellectual, literary and artistic creativity.[7] Monastic institutions grew under the patronage of the Proshians and theOrbelians, who built numerous monasteries and provided them with various financial resources.[7]Smbat Orbelian (1249/50-73) had obtained fromMöngke Khan that monastic properties which had been seized should be returned, and that they would be free from taxation.[7] This tax-exempt status, contrasting with the generally heavy taxation of private property under the Mongols, encouraged nobility to transfer part of their wealth for safeguarding to monastic institutions, either temporarily or permanently, all of this secured by Mongol edicts.[7] In some cases, members of the nobility could become abbots, so as to secure the ownership and management of these ecclesiastical resources.[7] The main holdings of the Proshyans were in the monasteries ofKecharuyk andGeghard, but they also contributed to theAghjots Vank and theTanahat Monastery (1273-1279).[7]
The Proshians were also in strong competition with theOrbelians, which contributed to stimulating an impressive number of architectural commissions.[36]
family tree of Proshyans | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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.
The devastation caused by the Mongols is recorded in the colophons of many manuscripts of the period. Some Armenians, however, prospered as allies of, and soldiers and merchants for, the Mongols, including the Zakarian, Orbelian, and Proshian families. They continued or extended their existing trade routes into China, now controlled by the Mongols. Examples of Proshian success are seen at the church of the White Virgin (Spitakavor Astuatsatsin) with its relief carving of Amir Hasan (cat. 35) and in the exquisite, richly gilded reliquary presented by his father (cat. 36).
Outre ces figurations, à partir du début du XIIIe siècle, une autre représentation humaine apparaît, soit sous la croix, soit sur le piédestal du khatchkar : l'image du donateur, ou plus exactement du défunt à la mémoire duquel le khatchkar a été érigé. Ce personnage est représenté en tenue d'apparat, armé et à cheval, rappelant le schéma iconographique sassanide de la chasse royale ou princière que l'architecture arménienne pratiquait depuis la période paléochrétienne.
Some khatchk'ars have sacred images on the top frame or beside the cross, and a donor image, such as that at the base of Grigor Khaghbakian's khatchk'ar (1233) on the grounds of Ēdjmiadzin Cathedral, where it was brought from Imirzek'.
Another of Ivane's subordinates was Vasak Khaghbakian, originally from the Khachen area, who had helped in the reconquest of Vayots Dzor, Bjni, and Dvin. This family came to be known as Proshian after Vasak's energetic son Prosh (1223-1284).
The second invasion of the Caucasus took place immediately after the Mongol departure in 1222, and was caused by it. This time the participants were nomadic Kipchak Turks from the plains to the north. In their turn defeated by the Mongols, one sizable body of Kipchaks fled from them in a southward direction. These nomads pillaged and looted from Darband south to Gandzak in Azerbaijan. Atabeg Ivane mustered troops and went against them, but he was defeated, having underestimated their strength. What was worse, many nakharars were captured, then killed or ransomed for huge sums of money. The Kipchaks continued looting and raiding different parts of the Caucasus until 1223, when Ivane, in alliance with other Caucasian peoples, finally defeated them, killing or selling them into slavery. The Kipchak raids, though less serious than the invasions that preceded and succeeded them, nonetheless contributed to the continued unsettled state of affairs initiated by the Mongols, depleted the Armeno-Georgian military of some capable leaders, and undoubtedly weakened the army's morale.
The absolute peak of formal perfection and technique in the art of the khatchk'ar seems to have been reached from the twelfth to the fourteenth century. The khatchk'ar of Grigor Proshian, dated 1233, is an excellent example of 'openwork' sculpture, and of the varied ornamentation typical of the period. A different motif is carved inside each one of the polygons of the frame and, in three places, there is a bird. Even the ornaments of the two 'leaves' which frame the lower arms of the cross are not the same. But this variety does not spoil the unity of the whole. The Deesis decorates the entablature, and this iconographic theme is more highly developed in the khatchk'ar of Prince Prosh.
In November 1257, Hűlegű set off from Hamadān in the direction of Baghdad. (...) With him were the forces of the Armenian PrinceZak'arē, the son of Shahnshah Zak'arian andPrince Pŕosh Khaghbakian. The Mongols placed considerable trust in these Armenian lords, whose assistance they had received since the 1230s.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)The inscription carved on the north wall of the church, shows the date of foundation in 1283, and the name of the donator, Prince Prosh.
The prosperity of the monastery in the thirteenth century was due to the patronage of the Proshyan prince, who carved out the second cave church in 1283, reached through a rock-cut antechamber which served as their mausoleum. The burials are in a recess behind twin arches, over which two felines on leashes and an eagle with a lamb in its talons, the family's armoured bearings have been sculpted in bold relief.
Awag's submission had a domino effect on the other lords. The Armenian princes, such asShahnshah (d. 1261), the son of Zak'aré, Vahram Gagets'i (fl. 1240-1250) and his son Aghbugha, andHasan Jalal, the prince of Khachen, all followed his example in 1236. On seeing that the other lords retained their lands, the Armenian princes of the Orbelian, Proshian, Dop'ian, Vach'utian and Jalalian houses aimed to cooperate with Mongol administrators in order to retain their principalities, which had been under the suzerainty of the Zak'arids during the previous century. It was understood that they could regain their own land from the Mongol commanders. (...) p.96: The strategy of the Greater Armenian lords towards the Mongol presence was cooperative rather than confrontational. In fact, the assistance given byAwag Zak'arian toChormaghan andGuyuk Khan; Hasan Jalal to Sartakh and to Mongke Khan; Smbat Orbelian to Mongke Khan and Hulegu; and Prosh Zak'arian andSadun Artsruni to Hulegu and Abaqa Khan illustrate effective Mongol-Armenian partnerships.
In 1256 a fifth Mongol ulus was created, with the ilkhan Hulagu, the Great Khan's brother, as its governor. His task was to develop the Mongol Empire in the Near East. The historical territories of Armenia became part of the Ilkhanate of Persia. In these circumstances political complications accrued to the already diffi cult relations with Rome. At this time Western attitudes to the Mongols were hostile. Meanwhile, on his return from Karakorum (1255),Hethum I persuadedBohemond VI, Prince of Antioch, to side with the pro-Mongol party. (...) In 1258 Armenian troops from Greater Armenia took part in Hulagu's successful siege of Baghdad.
MONGOL-ARMENIAN MILITARY COOPERATION: STAGE I: THE CONQUEST OF THE MIDDLE EAST 1258–1260 (...) The main allies of this campaign were King Het'um from Cilicia, the Greater Armenian lords under the Georgian King David Ulu and the Mongol Prince Hűlegű, who promoted himself as a founder of the Mongol dynasty in this region.(...) In November 1257, Hűlegű set off from Hamadān in the direction of Baghdad. (...) With him were the forces of the Armenian PrinceZak'arē, the son of Shahnshah Zak'arian and PrincePŕosh Khaghbakian. The Mongols placed considerable trust in these Armenian lords, whose assistance they had received since the 1230s.
Kirakos provides a detailed description of the fall of Baghdad in his History of the Armenians, started in 1241 and completed in 1265. Chapter eleven along with the subsequent ones are devoted to describing the events of his own day; they are considered the most important part of his work due to the details that they contain. His source was the Armenian Prince Prosh Khaghbakian, a participant and eyewitness of the conquest. Kirakos notes in his History that this Armenian lord told him directly about the events surrounding the invasion of Baghdad.
Following the custom of the time, a representation of the commissioner, Each'i Proshian, is engraved at the bottom center of the frame. His hands are upraised in the ancient Christian orant prayer pose, and his clothing recalls Mongolian royal dress.
Shown mounted and turning back to shoot his arrow at a deer, he wears a tall hat and a wrapped, close-fitting garment, cinched by an ornate belt. This costume, together with Amir's round cheeks and almond-shaped eyes, finds close parallels in other princely portraits from Mongol-era Armenia, and in particular that of his father on the reliquary of the "Holy Cross of Vegetarians" (Khotakerats').
The portrait of the founder as huntsman is an iconographic type common to Islamic art. Amir Hasan's costume, a long tunic drawn in at the waist by a belt decorated with stones, along with a three-pointed cap with two ribbons, is the same as that of the Mongol princes of the fourteenth century. The face itself, with heavy jowls and slightly slanting eves, also recalls that of the Mongols.
Following the custom of the time, a representation of the commissioner, Each'i Proshian, is engraved at the bottom center of the frame. His hands are upraised in the ancient Christian orant prayer pose, and his clothing recalls Mongolian royal dress.
The Timurids preserved the Orbelians in Siunik, the Dopians in Tsar, the Proshians in Vayots Dzor and Shahapunik. However, the circumstances of the Armenian lords were far from easy. Most were under constant pressure to convert to Islam. Tovma Metzopetsi as well as foreign travelers described the plight of the remaining lords: "During the first year of his reign [Umar, Timur's grandson], he forcibly made to apostatize three princes of our people who had remained like a tiny cluster of grapes among us...."
The Proshians and the Orbelians were in fierce political as well as cultural competition, a situation which stimulated an impressive number of architectural commissions.
All this was narrated to us by prince Hasan called Prosh, son of the pious Vasak, son of Haghbak, brother of Papak' and Mkdem, father of Mkdem, Papak', Hasan and Vasak who was an eyewitness to the events and also heard about events with his own ears, [a man] enjoying great honor in the Khan's eyes.
This is Prosh-Hasan (wife Khut'lu Khat'un) who had died in 1284. The sons of Prosh Hasan were Vasak the junior, Ami Hasan I and Papak', for whom Georg Khubov gives the date 1492. This Vasak Junior had died between the years 1268–1273 and Amir Hasan I had died in 1292,46 while Papak' had passed away in 1298-9
The historians Kirakos Gandzaketsi and Step'anos Orbelian testify that Prince Eatchi was a member of the Proshian princely family, whose name is first found in the inscription on the church of T'anahat, built during the catholicate of Hakob Klayetsi (1268-87). The date of his birth is put at around 1268 73. The last occurrence of his name is found in another inscription on the church of T'anahat, dated 1339.
The inscription carved on the north wall of the church, shows the date of foundation In 1283, and the name of the donator, Prince Prosh
Following the custom of the time, a representation of the commissioner, Each'i Proshian, is engraved at the bottom center of the frame. His hands are upraised in the ancient Christian orant prayer pose, and his clothing recalls Mongolian royal dress.