Paytakaran
Encyclopedia
Paytakaran was the easternmost province of the Kingdom of Armenia. The province was located in the area of the lower courses of the rivers of Kura
and Araks, adjacent to the Caspian sea
. Today, the area is located in the territory of modern day southeastern Azerbaijan
and northwestern Iran
.
's Ashkharatsuyts ("World Atlas," 7th c. AD), Paytakaran was the 11th among the 15 provinces of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was located to the east of Utik
on Araxes and was divided into 12 cantons (gavars), which were at the time in possession of Atropatene
: Hrakot Perozh, Vardanakert, Yotnporakyan Bagink, Krekyan, Vovtibagha, Kaghanost, Buros, Pitchanhani, Ateshi-Bagavan, Spandaran-perozh, Vormizd-perozh, and Alevan.
: "To the country of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named after the Caspian tribe, as was also the sea; but the tribe has now disappeared." Strabo also mentions Caspiane among the lands conquered by king Artashes I
from Medes
in the 2nd century B.C. However, Armenia later lost it to Albania about 59 BC, when Pompey
rearranged the political geography of the region, but the region was again conquered by the Armenians. In the 360s A.D., a fierce rebellion engulfed Paytakaran but it was later put down by sparapet
Mushegh Mamikonian. After the partition of Armenia in 387, it remained a part of eastern Armenia until 428 (following the dissolution of the Armenian Arshakuni kingdom) and was added to Atropatena. The region was non-Armenian by ethnic composition. The population apparently consisted of Iranian speakers, such as the tribe of Parrasians.
Kura
Kura may refer to:* Kura River in Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan* Kura River, Russia in Russia* Kura Test Range in Kamchatka Krai, Russia, a major ICBM testing site during the Cold War* Kura, Nigeria, a Local Government Area of Kano State...
and Araks, adjacent to the Caspian sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
. Today, the area is located in the territory of modern day southeastern Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
and northwestern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
.
Province of Greater Armenia
The Armenians acquired the region in the second century A.D. According to Anania ShirakatsiAnania Shirakatsi
Anania Shirakatsi was an Armenian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He is commonly attributed to having written the Geography .-Life:Scholars are split on where exactly Anania was born...
's Ashkharatsuyts ("World Atlas," 7th c. AD), Paytakaran was the 11th among the 15 provinces of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was located to the east of Utik
Utik
Utik was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia and a region of Caucasian Albania. Most of the region is located within present-day Azerbaijan immediately west of the Kura River while a part of it lies within the Tavush province of present-day northeastern Armenia.-History:According to...
on Araxes and was divided into 12 cantons (gavars), which were at the time in possession of Atropatene
Atropatene
Atropatene was an ancient kingdom established and ruled under local ethnic Iranian dynasts first with "Darius" of Persia and later "Alexander" of Macedonia, starting in the 4th century BC and includes the territory of modern-day Iranian Azarbaijan and Iranian Kurdistan. Its capital was Gazaca...
: Hrakot Perozh, Vardanakert, Yotnporakyan Bagink, Krekyan, Vovtibagha, Kaghanost, Buros, Pitchanhani, Ateshi-Bagavan, Spandaran-perozh, Vormizd-perozh, and Alevan.
History
Prior to becoming Paytakaran, the region was known as Caspiane by Greco-Roman authors. Caspiane was contested between the regional powers. According to StraboStrabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
: "To the country of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named after the Caspian tribe, as was also the sea; but the tribe has now disappeared." Strabo also mentions Caspiane among the lands conquered by king Artashes I
Artaxias I
Artaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries....
from Medes
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...
in the 2nd century B.C. However, Armenia later lost it to Albania about 59 BC, when Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
rearranged the political geography of the region, but the region was again conquered by the Armenians. In the 360s A.D., a fierce rebellion engulfed Paytakaran but it was later put down by sparapet
Sparapet
Sparapet was a hereditary military rank that originated in the 2nd century BC, under the reign of King Artashes I, and was used in the Kingdom of Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , was supreme commander of the armed forces. It was the equivalent of the Parthian Spahbod Sparapet was a...
Mushegh Mamikonian. After the partition of Armenia in 387, it remained a part of eastern Armenia until 428 (following the dissolution of the Armenian Arshakuni kingdom) and was added to Atropatena. The region was non-Armenian by ethnic composition. The population apparently consisted of Iranian speakers, such as the tribe of Parrasians.