Gugark

For the village, see Gugark, Armenia.
Գուգարք
Province of Greater Armenia
189 BC–XIII century
Capital Ardahan
History
 - Artaxias I declaring himself independent 189 BC
 - Conqered by Mongols XIII century

Gugark (Armenian: Գուգարք, Georgian: გოგარენე) was the 13th province of Greater Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia.[1]

History

At first Gugark was part of Urartu. From VI century it became part of Satrapy of Armenia. In III century the territory was conquered by Caucasian Iberia, but during Artaxias I's reign it was re-united. According to Strabo commander Smbat Bagratuni defeated the Georgians and re-united Gugark. He also mentions, that Georgians had to mint coins with Artaxias I's face.[2] During the reign of the Artaxiad and Arshakuni kings of Armenia, Gugark served as one of the kingdom's four bdeshkhs, responsible for protecting the state's northern border. In 387 AD, Armenia was partitioned between the Byzantine and Sassanid empires and Gugark, with the exception of the canton of Tashir, was a made part of Caucasian Iberia. The ruler of the region around 425 was Archoucha (Arshusha of Gogarene). In 652, the Armenian prince Theodore Rshtuni was allowed by the Arabs to unite Gugark with his realms.

In the following centuries, Gugark and its cantons fell under the sway of several rulers. In the eighth century, it became a part of Emirate of Tbilisi; in the middle of the ninth century, it was taken by the Georgian Bagrationis, while the Armenian Bagratunis took over its eastern cantons.[3]

Notes

  1. ^ Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
  2. ^ Sverre Bøe, Gog and Magog: Ezekiel 38-39 as pre-text for Revelation 19,17-21 and 20,7-10 (2001), p. 209.
  3. ^ Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia

See also

Traditional provinces or Ashkhars
Other Armenian regions
Provinces during the reign of Tigranes the Great