Azgapet
Azgapet is a leader of a tribe or clan in ancient and medieval Armenia, similar to chieftain. The term originates from the words azg (Armenian: ազգ), which means extended family or clan, and pet, which means chief. [1] The term azgapet had been used in addition to other similar terms for tribal collectivities, such as tanuter (Armenian: տանուտեր) and nahapet (Armenian: նահապետ). Patriarch Hayk, the legendary and eponymous progenitor of the Armenian people, is sometimes referred to as azgapet.[2] One prominent medieval work which mentions Armenian azgapets is The History of the Province of Aghvank by Movses Kaghankatvatsi,[3] which mentions several dignitaries, including azgapets, who signed the Constitution of Aghven, a 5th-century legal document commissioned by King Vachagan II the Pious of Aghvank. One family with origins in the village of Syghnakh in Artsakh claims descent from azgapet Marut, a chieftain from Varanda Valley and a consignee of the Constitution.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Western Armenian Dictionary & Phrasebook: Armenian-English/English-Armenian. Hippocrene Books; Bilingual edition (May 2006), p. 34.
- ^ Bishop Makar Barkhudarian,. Artsakh. Baku, 1885, p. 215
- ^ Movses Kaghankatvatsi (1983). History of Aghuank in original Old-Armenian (Մովսէս Կաղանկատուացի.Պատմութիւն Աղուանից աշխարհի), critical text and introduction by Varag Arrakelian. Yerevan: "Matenadaran" Institute of old manuscripts after Mesrob Mashtots. Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences, 1987
- ^ Yerevan Magazine. Families of Medieval Armenia, Have They Been Lost? Oct. 2011 issue.