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

Unlike the territorial units of Arsacid Armenia
studied by Adontz, which in some cases had been the
possessions of different ethnic groups from time immemorial,
the naxarardoms of the late 12th and 13th centuries were
in many—though not all—cases the creations of the
Zak'arid brothers, Zak'are and Iwane. The men chosen
by the Zak'arids to administer and rule parts of northern
and northeastern Armenia were not the elderly nahapets
or the descendants of anciai tribal chieftains of
Arsacid times who occupied office by right as much as
by appointaent. Rather, they were successful military
commanders who had served under Zak'are and Zwane in the
reclamation of Armenia from the Saljuqs. Many were men
of ambition and action, lacking illustrious pedigrees.
Frequently they were given charge of lands they themselves
captured; often they were attached to the Zak'arids
through marriage ties, as is illustrated below,
t
The properties under the overall jurisdiction of
amirspaaalar Zak'are and later of his son SahnSah were
located in the northwestern parts of the reconquered
lands: Lori, Ani, Aragacotn, Bagrewand, Calkotn, Kogovit,
Surmari, lands from the Yirahayoc' mountains to the southern
border of Calkotn, from Bolorpahakic' to Erewan. Ani
was the center of this realm. Subject to Zak'are's
house were both newly-created families (such as the
Vaguteans) and old naxarar families (such as the Pahlawunids,
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