Orbelian Dynasty
Encyclopedia
The Orbelian lords of Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...

 were a noble family, documented in inscriptions throughout Vayots Dzor
Vayots Dzor
Vayots Dzor is a province of Armenia. It lies in the south-east of the country, bordering the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan in the west and the Azerbaijan in the east. It covers an area of 2,308 km². With a population of only 53,230 , it is the most sparsely populated province in the country...

 and Syunik
Syunik
Syunik is the southernmost province of Armenia. It borders the Vayots Dzor marz to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave to the west, Karabakh to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital is Kapan. Other important cities and towns include Goris, Sisian, Meghri, Agarak, and Dastakert...

, and recorded by the family bishop Stepanos
Stepanos Orbelian
Stepanos Orbelian was a thirteenth century Armenian historian and the Metropolitan of the province of Syunik. He is known for writing his well-researched Patmut'yun Nahangin Sisakan, or History of the Province of Syunik.-Biography:...

 in his 1297 History of Syunik.

Through 12th century were a major feudal family in Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

, with their home base the fortress of Orbet'i in or near Abkhazia
Abkhazia
Abkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...

. In 1177/8, their leader Ivane led his whole extended clan on the losing side in a power struggle between the deceased king
David V of Georgia
David V , of the Bagrationi Dynasty, was a king of Georgia c. 1154/5.He was an elder son of King Demetre I. Fearing that Demetre would make his younger son Giorgi an heir to the throne, David attempted a revolt in 1130...

's young heir, Ivane's protege and son-in-law Demetre
Prince Demna of Georgia
Demna was a Georgian prince and pretender to the throne proclaimed as king during the failed nobles’ revolt of 1177/8....

, and the king's brother Giorgi
George III of Georgia
Giorgi III , of the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1156 to 1184. His reign, and that of Tamar, are seen as the 'golden age' of Georgian history, the era of empire, diplomatic success, military triumphs, great learning, cultural, spiritual, and artistic flowering.-Life:He succeeded on...

. Ivane sent his brother Liparit and nephews Elikum and Ivane to the Persians in Tabriz
Tabriz
Tabriz is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former...

 for help, but this new army came too late, after Ivane had been blinded, his family strangled, and young Demetre blinded and castrated.

Liparit died in exile. One son, Ivane, returned to Georgia when the situation cooled down; his descendants, on their dwindled estates, stayed prominent in Georgia and even the USSR. Honored by the Persian atabek, other son Elikum stayed and became an important official, converting (half-heartedly and maybe not at all) to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 and dying in one of the atabek's wars. He left behind a widow, sister of an Armenian bishop of Syunik, and a young son Liparit. These quickly became, involuntarily, the wife and stepson of a Muslim notable in Nakhchivan.

In 1211 a combined Georgian and Armenian army under Ivane Zakarian wrested control of Syunik from the Ildenizid atabeg state. Remembering the Orbelians -- whose dominant role in Georgia the Zakarians had since filled -- Ivane made a search, located Liparit thanks to the bishop brother-in-law, and established him as feudal lord of Vayots Dzor. Bolstered by marriage alliances with its feudal relations the Khaghbakians or Proshians and others, the Orbelians flourished, building or supporting a network of fine monasteries (most notable of which is Noravank
Noravank
Noravank is a 13th century Armenian Apostolic Church monastery, located 122 km from Yerevan in a narrow gorge made by the Amaghu river, nearby the city of Yeghegnadzor, Armenia. The gorge is known for its tall, sheer, brick-red cliffs, directly across from the monastery. The monastery is best...

, historically important manuscripts, and inscribed khachkars. Every medieval monastery in Vayots Dzor bears inscriptions recording their patronage.

The Mongol
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...

 arrival imposed the need for fast footwork. In 1251 and 1256, the prudent and multi-lingual Orbelian prince Smbat made arduous pilgrimages to Karakorum, armed with a splendid jewel and divine blessing, and persuaded Mangu Khan, son of Genghis
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....

, the Mongol ruler, to make Syunik and its churches a tax-exempt fiefdom under Mangu's (or at least his Christian mother's) direct patronage. The family expanded its influence, helped by an apparently genuine and reciprocated liking and respect for the Mongols, at least until the Mongols converted to Islam. In 1286, the scholar of the family, the historian Stepanos, made the pilgrimage to the Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....

n kingdom in Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...

 and was made Metropolitan -- presiding archbishop --of the newly amplified See of Syunik.

The fiefdom was divided in three from 1290-1300, then reunited by Burtel, who ruled a flourishing principality and was ultimately named Mayor/Amir of the Mongol capitals Sultania and Tabriz. This close cooperation with the Mongol rulers had its price. Several Orbelians died on the Khan's campaigns far from home, and one spent 12 years a captive in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 before being ransomed. The Orbelians survived the arrival of Timur Lenk and his Turkmen
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...

 hordes in the 1380s, but in the collapse of Timur's empire into warring factions, Smbat, the last firm Orbelian ruler of Syunik, chose the wrong side and, on the capture of his stronghold of Vorotnaberd (south of Sisian
Sisian
Sisian formerly also known as Sisakan, Sisavan and later Garakilse, is a city in the southern province of Syunik, Armenia. Located on both banks of Vorotan River, 6 km south of the Yerevan-Meghri highway, at a distance of 217 km from Yerevan and 115 km from Kapan. Sisian forms an urban...

) in 1410, decamped for Georgia where he died. Orbelians managed to retain property in Vayots Dzor throughout the 15th c, though many of them emigrated to their relatives in Georgia.
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