Zakarid-Mxargrzeli

The Zakarids ( _hy. Զաքարյաններ, Zakaryanner), also known by their Georgian language moniker as Mxargrdzeli, were a noble family of Kurdish origin [The Making of the Georgian Nation p 39, Ronald Grigor Suny, Published 1994, Indiana University Press, 418 pages, ISBN 0253209153 ] prominent in medieval Armenia and Georgia. Their name in Georgian, Mxargrdzeli, or _hy. Երկայնաբազուկ (Yerkaynbazook) meant long-armed. A family legend says that this name refers to their ancestor (version) King Achemenide Artaxerxes II "Longarmed" (404-358 BC).

= Origin =They originate from a Kurdish Christian family who probably were of Arsacid descent (another version tells they were of mixed Kurdish origin or of Artsruni descent from Vaspurakan according to some scholars), who later emigrated in northern Armenia, namely the Kingdom of Lori, where they attained a noble rank and served the Bagratuni family. When the Georgian King David IV the Restorer liberated these lands from the Seljuq grasp, the Zakarid came to be loyal vassals of the Georgian Bagratids, as they had served the Kingdom of Lori. They subsequently gained more prominence as military commanders and sponsors of cultural activities in both Armenian and Georgian lands. Zakare and Ivane were the most brilliant representatives of the family, who succeeded in liberating several Armenian districts from the Muslim overlords and were responsible for Georgian-Armenian military victories during the era of Tamar of Georgia (1184-1212/3). Around the same time, Ivane converted to Georgian-Orthodox Christianity, while Zakare remained Armenian-Apostolic in faith. Both brothers left several bilingual inscriptions across the Armeno-Georgian border lands and built several churches and forts.

References

*cite book
last = Minorsky
first = Vladimir
author link =
title = Studies in Caucasian History
publisher = Taylor’s Foreign Press
date =1953
location =New York
pages = pp. 102-103
isbn = 0521057353
*cite web
last =Sim
first =Steven
title =The City of Ani: A Very Brief History
publisher =VirtualANI
url =http://www.virtualani.org/history/part1.htm
accessdate = 2007-07-15
*cite web
last =Vardan
first =Arewelts'i
title =Compilation of History: 82
publisher =RBedrosian
url =http://rbedrosian.com/va3.htm
accessdate = 2007-07-15