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{{Short description|Hereditary title of the Armenian nobility}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}{{italic title}}
[[File:Hermitage hall 063 - 04.jpg|thumb|Relief depicting Eachi and [[Amir Hassan II]] of the [[Proshian dynasty]], {{c.|1321}}.<ref>{{cite book |title=Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages  |year=2018 |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art – MetPublications |pages=104 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Armenia_Art_Religion_and_Trade_in_the_Middle_Ages |language=en}}</ref> The Proshyans were ''Nakharars'' for the [[Zakarids]] in historical [[Armenia]] during the 13th-14th centuries.<ref name="TFM22">{{cite book |last1=Mathews |first1=Thomas F . |last2=Taylor |first2=Alice |title=The Armenian Gospel S of Gladzor The Life of Christ Illuminated  |date=2001 |publisher=The J. Paul Getty Museum Los Angeles |isbn=0892366265 |page=22 |url=https://www.getty.edu/publications/resources/virtuallibrary/0892366273.pdf |quote=The Armenian brothers [[Ivane I Zakarian|Ivane]] and [[Zakare II Zakarian|Zak'are]] served the Georgian [[Queen Tamar]] (reigned 1184–1213). Rising to the heights of the Georgian army and court, they achieved for themselves the status of a ''nakharar'' family, called the Zak'arians, in honor of [[Zakare II Zakarian|Zak'are]]. Queen T'amar gave the Zak'arians control of almost all her Armenian territories, including the former Armenian capital [[Ani]]. The Zak'arians established their own vassals, comprising both surviving ''nakharars'' and new men – from among their own Armenian generals – raised to ''nakharar'' status, each with smaller territories as their own fiefs. Among the new ''nakharars'' was the [[Proshian clan]], who were particularly important for the history of the [[Gladzor]] Gospels.}}</ref> [[Spitakavor Monastery|Astvatsatsin Spitakavor Monastery]], Vayots Dzor, [[Hermitage Museum]], inv. No. AR-619.<ref name="MET">{{cite book |title=Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages  |year=2018 |publisher=MetPublications – Metropolitan Museum of Art |pages=104–105 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Armenia_Art_Religion_and_Trade_in_the_Middle_Ages |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hermitage hall 63 |url=https://pano.hermitagemuseum.org/3d/html/pwoaen/main/#node85}}</ref>]]
'''''Nakharar''''' ({{langx|hy|[[wikt:նախարար#Old Armenian|նախարար]]}} ''naxarar'', from [[Parthian language|Parthian]] ''naxvadār'' "holder of the primacy"{{Sfn|Chaumont|1986}}{{Sfn|Ačaṙyan|1977}}) was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval [[Armenian nobility]].

==''Nakharar'' system==
[[Medieval Armenia]] was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of ''nahapet'' "chief of the family" or ''[[tanuter]]'' "master of the house" was given. Other members of a ''nakharar'' family in their turn ruled over smaller portions of the family estate. ''Nakharars'' with greater authority were recognized as ''[[ishkhan (title)|ishkhan]]s'' (princes).

This system has often been labelled as [[feudal]] for practical purposes; however, there are differences between this system and the feudal system later adopted in [[Western Europe]]. The estate as a whole was actually ruled by a single person, it was nonetheless considered the property of his whole enlarged family, so that, if the ruler died heirless, he was succeeded by a member of a different branch of the family. Furthermore, the ruler was allowed to [[alienation (property law)|alienate]] a part of the family estate only to another member of the family or by permission of the whole enlarged family. This may also explain why Armenian feudal families were normally [[endogamy|endogamic]], in order not to scatter parts of their property, as would have happened if they had to give a part of their property to another family as dowry. Endogamic marriages had a religious reason too, particularly before Christianity, because [[Armenian paganism]] favoured marriages between relatives very highly.

Each ''nakharar'' had his own army, depending on his domain. The national force or "royal cavalry" was under the ''[[sparapet]]'', a  commander-in-chief who presided over the whole of the nation. After the country's [[Christianization of Armenia|Christianization]], schools and courts were all run by the [[Armenian Church|Armenian clergy]].

In 4th-century Armenia, as in [[Parthia]], large estates were hereditarily possessed by noble families and actually ruled by one of their members. The whole enlarged family was devoted to the worship of the same ancestors, lived in small fortified villages and spent most part of their time in hunting and in banqueting. Furthermore, each ''nakharar'' family had a particular social function: in Armenia a member of the [[Arshakuni]] family was chosen as king, who was consequently a sort of [[primus inter pares]]; the [[Mamikonian]]s fielded the ''sparapet'', one of the [[Bagratuni Dynasty|Bagratunis]] was the cavalry chief (''[[aspet]]'') and king crowner (''tagadir''), and so on.

==History of the ''nakharars''==
The {{Transliteration|xcl|nakharar}} system appears to have originated near or before the beginning of the Common Era, probably emerging under the [[Artaxiad dynasty]] and existing during the entire [[Arsacid dynasty of Armenia|Arsacid]] period in Armenia and for centuries after its end.{{Sfn|Garsoian|2005}}

The ''nakharars'' survived the fall of the [[Arshakuni]] dynasty and the subsequent [[Marzpanate Period|placement of the Marzban]] Governor-Generals by [[Sassanid]] king, and allowed a great deal of autonomy for the vassal state, up until the attempted conversion of Armenia to Zoroastrianism by [[Yazdegerd II]], in which [[Vartan Mamikonian]] led a rebellion, and through the [[Battle of Avarayr]] convinced the Persians that conversion would come at too high a price, eventually leading to the [[Nvarsak Treaty]].<ref name="Kurkjian">{{Cite web |title=History of Armenia by Vahan Kurkjian • Chapter 20 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/20*.html}}</ref>

In [[Roman Armenia|western Armenia]] under [[Byzantine]] rule, [[Justinian]]'s reforms removed the martial role of the ''nakharars'', as well as attempting to annex estates from Armenian nobles. The ''nakharars'', angered at their restriction in power, began a full-scale insurrection that had to be quelled through swift military intervention, eventually sparking war with the Sassanids.

Though weakened by numerous invasions and the legal reforms of Kings, the ''nakharar'' structure remained virtually unchanged for many centuries and was finally eliminated during the [[Mongol conquests|Mongol invasions]] in the thirteenth century. Certain aspects of the ''nakharar'' system remained intact in Armenia until the early 20th century, when the noble class was altogether abolished by the [[Bolsheviks]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite dictionary |year=1977 |title=naxarar |encyclopedia=Hayeren armatakan baṙaran |publisher=Erewani hamalsarani hratarakčʿutʿyun |url=http://nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=7&dt=HY_HY&pageNumber=1813 |last=Ačaṙyan |first=H. |edition=2nd |volume=III}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica|volume=2|fascicle=4|title=ARMENIA AND IRAN ii. The pre-Islamic period|first=M. L.|last=Chaumont|year=1986|pages=418-438|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/armenia-ii}}
* {{Encyclopædia Iranica Online | title = NAXARAR | last = Garsoian | first = N. | author-link = Nina Garsoian | url = https://iranicaonline.org/articles/naxarar | year = 2005 }}

[[Category:Armenian noble titles]]
[[Category:Armenian titles of Parthian origin]]
[[Category:Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)]]
[[Category:Medieval history of Armenia]]
[[Category:Feudalism]]