Turkmen Armenia

Turkmen Armenia
← 1335–1508 →
Ak Koyunlu tribal confederation at its greatest extent.
Capital		Ani
Languages		Armenian (native language) Oghuz Turkic
Religion		Armenian Apostolic Sunni Islam
Government		Monarchy
Historical era		Middle Ages
-	Established	1335
-	Disestablished	1508

History of Armenia
Etymology Timeline Traditional Urheimat
Prehistory Stone & Copper Age Shulaveri-Shomu culture c.6500–3400 BCE Areni-1 Cave Complex Kura–Araxes culture c.3400–2000 BCE Legend of Hayk (?) 2492 BCE Bronze & Iron Age Hayasa-Azzi c.1500–1290 BCE Arme-Shupria c.1300s–1190 BCE Ararat/Urartu Nairi Tribes 1114–860 BCE Kingdom of Van 860–590 BCE
Antiquity Achaemenid Period Satrapy of Armina 549–331 BCE Orontid Dynasty Ancient Armenia Kingdom of Armenia 321 BCE–428 CE Artaxiad Dynasty 189 BCE–12 CE Empire 84–34 BCE Arsacid Dynasty 52–428 CE Roman–Parthian War 58–63 CE Roman Province of Armenia 114–118 CE Christianization 301 CE Armenia Minor 331–72 BCE Kingdom of Sophene c.200–94 BCE Kingdom of Commagene 163 BCE–72 CE Marzpanate Period Byzantine Armenia 387–536 Persian Armenia 428–646 Mamikonian Dynasty Battle of Avarayr 451
Middle Ages Arabic Period Emirate of Armenia 653–884 Hamamshen 700s–1300s Amatuni Dynasty Medieval Armenia Bagratid Armenia 884–1045 Bagratid Dynasty 861–1118 Kingdom of Vaspurakan 908–1021 Artsruni Dynasty Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget 979–1118 Kingdom of Artsakh 1000–1261 House of Hasan-Jalalyan Battle of Manzikert 1071 Cilician & Turco-Mongol Period Seljuq rule 1071–1201 Georgian union 1201–1236 Ilkhanid rule 1236–1335 Principality of Khachen 1261–1750 Turkmen rule 1335–1508 Kingdom of Cilicia 1198–1375 Rubenid Dynasty 1000–1261 Hethumid Dynasty 1226–1373 Lusignan Dynasty 1341–1375
Early Modern Age Perso-Ottoman Period Safavid & Qajar rule 1508–1828 Five Melikdoms Nakhichevan deportation 1606 Ottoman rule 1548–1915 Six Vilayets 1878 Hamidian massacres 1895–1896 Armenian Genocide 1909–1918 Russian Period Russian rule 1828–1918 Armenian Oblast 1828–1840 Western Armenia 1915–1918 National Liberation Movement Armenakan 1885 S.D. Hunchakian Party 1887 ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) 1890 Caucasus Campaign 1914–1918 Battle of Sardarapat 1918 Battle of Karakilisa 1918 Modern Armenia First Republic of Armenia 1918–1920 Treaty of Batum 1918 War with Azerbaijan 1918–1920 War with Georgia 1918 Treaty of Sèvres 1920 Wilsonian Armenia 1920 War with Turkey 1920 Treaty of Alexandropol 1920
Modern Age Soviet Period Armenian S.S.R. 1920–1991 February Uprising 1921 Republic of Mountainous Armenia 1921 Treaty of Moscow 1921 Treaty of Kars 1921 Territorial claims against Turkey 1945–1953 Independence Armenian Diaspora Hidden Armenians Republic of Armenia since 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War 1989–1994
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Turkmen Armenia or Turcoman Armenia refers to the history of medieval Armenia under the two consecutive rules of two Turkmen tribal federations known as Kara Koyunlu and then Ak Koyunlu, and the brief occupation by the Timurid Empire, until the Armenian Highlands were reincorporated into the Persianate. Due to the fact that these tribal confederations were often centered in the Armenian Highlands, contemporary sources sometimes referred to the region as "Armenia or Turcomania."

Map that shows the name of the region, "Armenie ov Tvrcomanie," meaning "Armenia or Turcomania" in French

Background

Turkic tribes entered the neighbouring regions of the Armenian Highlands as early as the 6th century AD, from the brief conquest of the Caucasus by the Khazar Empire. However, they were Oghur Turks who did not leave a lasting impression on demographics of the territory. The Oghuz Turks, who paved the way for modern Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, entered the lands several centuries later with the conquest of the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia by the Seljuq Turks. Following the period after the collapse of the Mongol Empire and its successor in the Middle East, the Ilkhanate, various Turkic tribes rose to power in the 14th century, during which the region was often interchangeably named "Armenia or Turcomania." One of these tribes formed a tribal confederations known as the Kara Koyunlu, meaning of the Black Sheep in Oghuz Turkic.

Kara Koyunlu & Timurid Empire

Following the succession of rule by various Mongol, Turkic and Kurdish tribes since the 1335, Armenia fell under the control of the Kara Koyunlu in 1410. The principal Armenian sources available in this period come from the historian Tovma Metsopetsi and several other contemporary colophons.^[1] According to Tovma, although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place. This peaceful period was, however, shattered with the rise of Qara Iskander, who reportedly made Armenia a "desert" and subjected it to "devastation and plunder, to slaughter, and captivity."^[2] Iskander's wars with and eventual defeat by the Timurids invited further destruction in Armenia, as many Armenians were taken captive and sold into slavery and the land was subjected to outright pillaging, forcing many of them to leave the region.^[3] Iskander did attempt to reconcile with the Armenians by appointing an Armenian, Rustum, from a noble family, as one of his advisers.

When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they were able to get Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jihanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in Syunik and Armenian colophons record the sacking of the monastery of Tatev by his forces.^[3] But he, too, attempted a rapprochement with the Armenians, allotting land to feudal lords, rebuilding churches, and approving the relocation of the Armenian Catholicosate to Echmiadzin in 1441. For all this, Jihanshah continued to attack Armenian towns and take Armenian captives as the country saw further devastation in the final years of Jihanshah's failed struggles with the Aq Qoyunlu.^[4]

See also

• Turkmen invasions of Georgia
• List of Shi'a Muslims dynasties

Notes