The Turco-Mongol Invasions and the Lords of Armenia in the 13 ...

inscription (1215) of one meeatun. Tigran, from the
historically unknown family Honenc', on the wall of
the church of St. Gregory in Ani, indicates the far-flung
and multi-faceted nature of meeatun wealth . Prom
the inscription of another meoatun. we learn that ca.
1242 a certain Umek purchased the church of Getik for
"40,000 red [gold] ducats",a currency which clearly
indicates that such merchants as Umek were participating
in the lucrative international trade with Italian city-
states2.
The nobility of the Zak'arid period included
descendants of the ancient dynastic families: Hamlkonids,
Bagratids, Arcrunids, Orbeleans, and others. In my
opinion, by the 13th century these groups are probably
best considered extended families rather than clans
in the Arsacid sense. Nonetheless, dynasties as hoary
as these (some of which by then were more than 13*centuries
in duration) had a strong consciousness of their own
past, which they knew from the ancient histories. Most
likely these names commanded rather profound emotions
among the Armenians, and their bearers probably possessed
a certain status for sentimental reasons alone,not
held by other segments of the nobility. Probable too
is the existence within such families of certain ceremonies
1 VT pp. 58-59; Manandyan, Trade, pp-. 185-86.
2 Manandyan, pp. 186-87.
161