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JAVAKHK: A HISTORICAL OUTLINE (PART I)
By Ashot Melkonian
Asbarez
http://www.asbarez.com/2009/08/ 12/javakhk-a-historical-outline-part-i/
Aug 12, 2009
The rights to the English translation and publication of this
article-which will appear in this and next week's issue of the Armenian
Weekly-belong to the Hairenik Association.
Part I: From Javakhk's Historical Past
Gugarq, the 13th of the 15 regions (ashkhars) of historical Armenia's
Metz Haiq (Greater Armenia) Kingdom, covered the northern section
of the Armenian Highlands. In the east, it bordered on the province
of Utiq; in the west, of Tayq; in the south, of Ayrarat; and in
the north it bordered on Iberia (Virq, Georgia). Its administrative
center was the city of Tsurtav. Gugarq was one of the four borderline
counties of the Armenian Kingdom and, at times, it enjoyed certain
autonomy. According to some Georgian historians, the name Gugarq
has a Georgian origin, and it derives from the inhabitants of the
region who were called "Gogars" or "Gargars." But Armenian sources
do not mention such an ethnicity. As for the land of the Gargars,
it has no correlation with Gugarq.
The nine constituent counties of Gugarq were Dzoropor, Koghbopor,
Tzobopor, Tashir, Treghq, Kangarq, Kgharjq, Upper Javakhk, and
Artahan. Up to the first partition of Armenia (387 A.D.), the region
also included neighboring Shavshet, Inner Javakhk, Mangleatspor,
Qwishapor, Boghnopor, Khantsikhen, and Paruar. The total area covered
more than 16,500 square kilometers.
Javakhk is mentioned as eighth in rank of the Gugarq counties. It
was located in the central part of the region and covered areas of
the plateau of the same name (the headland of Akhalqalaq, upland of
Javakhk) and the mountainous area surrounding the latter, bordering
on Treghq (Trialet) in the north, on Samsar and Javakhk mountains
(Kechut, Mtin) in the east, and in the south, on the headland forming
the extension of the Ashotsq plateau.
In historiography, different points of view are offered on the
terminology of the name "Javakhk." According to the Georgian writer
Leonti Mroveli (author of Annals of Qartli and The Life of Qartli),
the plain of Kur, the environs of the river Potskhov (historic
Samtskhe province, now Akhaltskha), and other surrounding lands were
inherited by Javakhos, son of Mtskhetos, grandson of the ancestor of
the Georgians, Qartlos. After Javakhos, the region has been called
Javakhk, Javakheti in Georgian. However, rightfully considering this
"thesis" mythological and overly simplistic, many later researchers
have attempted to find other explanations. Some, having in mind the
region's favorable climate for growing barley, have connected javi,
the Georgian word for barley, with the name. Others have tried to
find in the area an ethnic race of Javakhis.
In reality, the place-name of Javakhk, as is evident in the
inscriptions of Van (Kingdom of Van)-where it is mentioned from the
close of the 9th century B.C.-is a transliterated variant of the land
called "Zabakha" or "Zabakhian": Zabakha-Jabakha-Javakha-Javakhk. In
the Khokhorian inscriptions of Argishti I (786-764 B.C.), among the
conquered lands of Diaukh or Daya (Tayq) and Tariun (Daruynq, Basen),
there is mention of Zabakhan.
This name is also referred to in several inscriptions left by a number
of succeeding Urartian kings. Although, there is no mention of Javakhk
prior to the 8th century B.C., by studying the pre-Urartian era, it
is possible to presume that it had either been an administrative part
of an early Armenian state formation of the 2nd millennia B.C.-in all
likelihood of Hayasa or Etiuni-or it may have been a fairly large,
separate entity including the entire western section of the province
of Gugarq. The second hypothesis is more probable; it is not by
coincidence that the above-mentioned Argishti inscription mentions
Zabakha as an occupied country. It means that until the beginning of
the 8th century B.C., Javakhk had been a self-governing nation at the
time and, as a territory inhabited by ethnic Armenians, was absorbed
into the unified Kingdom of Van, constituting its largest province
on the north-western frontier.
There is almost no direct reference to Javakhk from the post-Urartian,
Armenian Ervanduni era. We can only cite two semi-legendary, yet
noteworthy, references from Moses of Khoren's History of the Armenians
and Qartlis Tskhovreba. The father of historians notes that Vagharshak
I bequeathed "half of the Javakhs sector" to Gushar of the Sharas and
assigned a viceroy there to protect the Armenian homeland against the
north-Caucasian highlanders. Many scholars studying this venture of the
semi-legendary figure Vagharshak place it in the 3rd century B.C. At
that time, it seems, Javakhk was within the domains of the Ervandunis
and was given to Gushar, thus becoming identified with the latter; as
such, it ceased to be a vast province in its own right and was included
in the newly formed frontier principality as two split parts: Upper
Javakhk and Lower Javakhk. Upper Javakhk is identified with the "half
of the Javakhs sector" mentioned by Moses of Khoren, since it was given
to the Shirak province of the neighboring Shara. There are no sources
mentioning Lower Javakhk. But, if there was the upper segment-which
was the southern and northeastern highland-there must have also been a
"Lower Javakhk" encompassing the lowlands in the west and northwest.
It is significant that the above account by Moses of Khoren, written in
3rd-century B.C. (approximately) Javakhk, appears in its inaccurate,
"Georgian" version in Qartlis Tskhoveba, according to which-as
mentioned above-it was given to Javakhos. The fact is that in 270 B.C.,
adjacent to northern Metz Haiq, the Parnavazian state of the Georgians
(Iberia, Virq) had come into existence and, with the assistance
of the Seleucids-who were opposed to the Armenian Ervandunis-had
occupied and annexed the provinces of Gugarq and Javakhk, along
with other neighboring areas. At that time, the center of Javakhk
was the fortress of Tzunda, which the Armenians called Qajatun (City
of the Brave). The Greek writer Strabo describes the steps taken to
recover the territories listed above from the Georgians. He writes
that in the 2nd century B.C., King Artaxes of the Armenians (189-160)
had regained from the Iberians, among other lands, Gogarene (Gugarq)
and rejoined them to his country. The same statement, in different
words, is encountered also in Georgian sources. According to Leonti
Mroveli, in order to conquer Javakhetia, the Qartvelians (Georgians)
prompted the Osetians-the Alans, mentioned in Armenian annals-to
attack Artaxes. It means that the Armeno-Alan war, described by Moses
of Khoren in the well-known fable of "Artaxes and Satenik," was fought
also for Javakhk. Artaxes was not only able to re-conquer the Armenian
lands, but he also subjugated the small Georgian Kingdom. In fact,
the Georgian throne passed to the viceroy (Bdeshkh) of Gugarq. It is
not surprising, therefore, that in reference many future writers make
use of the title "Bdeshkh of Gu
Similarly, during the period of the Artaxiads and Arshakunis,
references to Javakhk are rare and it is basically through the
concept of the entire province of Gugarq that one can visualize the
region. The latter, until the downfall of the Arshakunis in 428 A.D.,
has remained the northern frontier province of Metz Haiq, and has not
been separated from it even in the first half of the first century
of our era (1-52 A.D.), when the Armenian throne was occupied by
foreigners, including Georgians.
>From the few references to the region in question, perhaps the most
valuable-a revealing observation on its demographic composition-belongs
to the pen of a Georgian historian. According to tradition, Nino
(Nune, of Armenian sources), one of the Hripsimean sisterhood of
Christian missionaries, on her way to Georgia from Armenia, finds
herself in Javakhk, where she meets Mskheti shepherds on the shores
of Lake Parvana and, speaking to them in Armenian, receives the right
directions to get to Mskhet. This testimony elucidates two important
issues. First, that Nune, a resident of Armenia until her passage to
Virq, was familiar with the native language and, along with other
missionaries, brought Christianity from Armenia to the land of the
Georgians. Second, that the language spoken in Javakhk was Armenian,
since it was populated with Armenians, otherwise there would have
been no necessity for shepherds from Mskhet to learn the language of
the Armenians.
During the reign of Arshak II (350-368 A.D.), Gugarq revolted and
pledged allegiance to the Georgian king. By the order of King Pap,
Sparapet (Supreme Commander) Mushegh re-conquered Gugarq and punished
the Bdeshkh and the princes who had helped him, re-establishing the
River Kur as the boundary between Armenia and Georgia: "...the old
boundary, which prevailed before between the land of the Armenians
and that of the Georgians, which is the great River Kur itself."
It is remarkable that, while being part of Gugarq, during the
3rd and 4th centuries, Javakhk managed to maintain its internal
autonomy. The princely clan of the Vardzavunis ruled there, and had
their special place in Arsacid (Arshakuni) Armenia. In the "Gahnamak"
(Register of Noble Clans), they occupied the 23rd place on a list of 70
"nakhararutiuns." During wartime, they contributed 200 warriors to the
eastern of the four command sectors. After the partition of Armenia in
the year 387 A.D., the influence of the Arsacids on Gugarq and Javakhk
was considerably weakened and, after the fall of the Armenian Kingdom,
the two regions were absorbed into the Georgian Satrapy set up under
the rule of Persia, at the same time that Artsakh was made part of
another Persian dominion, Aghvanq.
Along with all of northern Armenia, Javakhk also remained under
Persian rule until the Arab invasions of the 7th century. In History
of Taron, written by the contemporary author Hovhan Mamikonian, in
his narrative of the Arab conquests, once more we come across the name
of Javakhk. The author relates that the Arab general Abd el-Rahib had
sacked, in the mid-7th century, the Armenian provinces of Harq, Basen,
Javakhk, Vananda and, moving on to Virq, had returned to Arabia with
his loot. It is noteworthy, that Javakhk is listed with the Armenian
provinces, and Virq is mentioned only at the end. It signifies that
in the years 40-50 of the 7th century, during the period of the Arab
invasions, this province was part of Armenia, not Virq.
Javakhk remained under Arab domination until the end of the 9th
century, when Smbat I of the Bagratids (890-914 A.D.), according
to the historian Hovhannes of Draskhanakert, "...up and assailed
the province of the Gugars, subduing and conquering them for the
fortification of his own domain."
During the years 70-80 A.D., most of Gugarq formed part of the Kingdom
of Lori, or Kiurik (also Gugarq, Dzoraget). Upper Javakhk-particularly
Gogshen, its southern section-remained under the rule of the Bagratids
for a while, as, towards the end of the 10th century, Inner Javakhk
became a part of the increasingly more powerful Georgian Bagratids. By
the beginning of the 11th century, the same fate befell the heartland
of Upper Javakhk. In a short while, the Georgian kings turned Javakhk
and the neighboring Samtskhe into strong, fortified outposts of
their southern domains as a protection against separatist forces, the
Byzantine Empire and, later on, the Seljuk Turks. At the start of the
11th century, Bagrat III fortified one of the centers of the province
and called it New City, Akhalqalaq in Georgian (akhali meaning "new,"
qalaqi meaning "city"). In the years 1044-1047, in his war against
Liparit Orbelian, Bagrat IV built the Akhalklaq fort on the left bank
of the stream called Qarasunaghbiur. A certain number of Georgians
were brought here to populate the area.
Georgian hegemony did not last very long. In the year 1064, Armenia
and Georgia were devastated by the Seljuks. At that time, the Sultan
Alp Aslan "...set up camp in the province called Javalis (Javakhs),"
writes Matheos Urhayetsi, "and surrounding with arms the city called
Alakh (Akhal-qaghaq city), with a mighty assault captured Alakh city,
ruthlessly putting men and women, priests, clerics, and nobles to the
sword. He flooded the city with blood and took countless youngsters
and girls to Persia as slaves, and treasures of gold, silver, jewels,
and pearls beyond measure." Vardan the historian also narrates on these
events: The nephew of Tughril, Alp-Aslan "...returned with a force
of a hundred thousand and captured the new city that the Georgians
call Akhal-city (qaghaq)." It is obvious from these statements by
historians that by the middle of the 11th century, Akhalqalaq, which
had replaced Dzunda as regional center, had lost a sizable part of
its population to atrocious massacres and mass deportations.
At the beginning of the 12th century, King David the Builder of
Georgia (1089-1125) managed to regain Lori and Javakhk from the Seljuk
Turks. But, over the entire duration of the 11th century, Javakhk-along
with other provinces-continued to change hands. In August 1175, the
troops of Sultan-Atabek Eltkuz of Gandzak occupied and sacked Javakhk
and Treghq. Georgi III (1156-1184), avoiding a confrontation, showed no
opposition to the Seljuk aggression. After destroying Ani and Shirak,
Eltkuz "...totally devastates Akhal-qaghaq and Javakhet and then turns
towards Dvin..." Only towards the end of the 12th century-according
to Queen Tamar's (1184-1213) historian-after the victorious campaigns
of Zachary and Ivane Zacharians, did the territories between Javakhk
and Sper fall under Georgian rule.
During this period, infiltrations of Qartvelian ethnic groups into
Javakhk continued along with the spread of Georgian Orthodoxy-a
process that was evident during the rise of the Bagratids of Georgia
(from the 12th to the beginning of the 13th century) not only in
Akhalqalaq but also other areas of northern Armenia which, as a result
of the growing Armeno-Georgian alliance, had been absorbed into the
boundaries of Georgia.
Nevertheless, of those provinces, Lori, Samtskhe-Akhaltskha,
Daush, areas around Sevan, as well as Javakhk remained essentially
Armenian-populated territories. It is not by chance that the Georgian
court trusted these provinces to the Armenian Zacharians who, under
the aegis of Georgia, created their own fiefdom.
The historian of Queen Tamar writes that Sargis Erkainabazuk Tmogveli
(Tmogvetsi) and Shalva Toreli (Toretsi) were viceroys of Javakhk. The
first had his seat at Tmogvi, in the Armenian fort of Tmuk or Tmka,
located in the valley of Kur, not far from the town of Tzunda;
while the second, in all probability, governed from the hamlet of
Torea. It is significant that there were two governors in Javakhk. It
means that the former administrative division of the province was
maintained. The Toreans were also under the jurisdiction of the
Tmkaberd Zacharians. Autonomous Akhalqalaq was the most important
administrative and economic center of the province.
In the mid-20's of the 13th century, Javakhk was subjugated by the
Central Asian conqueror Jalaleddin, and during the 30's, it was
devastated by the Mongol invasions. But in several provinces, as in
Javakhk, the autonomy of the Zacharians prevailed. Based on the new
administrative division of 1245, Javakhk was left to the Toreans, under
Mongol supervision. In 1266, taking advantage of the Georgian kings'
struggle against the Mongols, the lord of Tmkaberd, Sargis Jaghetsi,
in the name of the satrapy of Samtskhe, succeeded to establish a vast
principality from Tashir to Erzrum, including Javakhk. Until the
beginning of the 14th century, by paying a certain amount of taxes
to the Mongols, this basically Armenian-populated principality,
constituted in northern and northwestern Armenia, maintained its
autonomy until 1535 by resisting pressures from Qartli, Leng-Timur and
his successor Timurians and, from the 15th century onwards, Turkmen
Koyunlu tribes. Armenian cultural life thrived in Javakhk under the
Bagratids, Zacharians, and the succeeding Jaghetsis; the numerous
surviving architectural monuments are living proof of that era.
Towards the end of the 15th century, Javakhk became the target of
numerous aggressors. In 1484, the troops of Yaghub Khan of Persia
devastated the area, massacring and enslaving the population and
setting the province on fire. In 1535, in a joint effort, the kings of
Imeretia and Qartli defeated the forces of the ruler of Samtskhe and
occupied Akhalqalaq and Akhaltskha. However, in the wars against Sefian
Iran in 1547, the Ottoman Turks occupied those cities. By the 1555
Persian-Turkish peace treaty of Amasia, Javakhk was ceded to Persia.
But the war began again in 1578, the Turks reentered Javakhk, and
made it part of the newly constituted vilayet (province) of Chlter,
and later, in 1637, a separate sanjak (district).
The Ottomans began a census in the conquered regions for taxation
purposes. One of the taxpayers lists, prepared by the Turks at the
close of the 16th century, contains valuable information on the
demographic picture of Akhalqalaq. Called "Extensive Register of
Gurjistan (Georgian) Vilayet," it contains a listing of all the
counties, their villages, and inhabitants. It shows that in most
areas of Akhalqalaq, the inhabitants were Christians, with Armenian
or Georgian names, and names common to both ethnicities. We come
across Armenian names-or names widely used by Armenians-in Kokia,
Ruben, Roseb (Hovsep); in Orja, Prince Hanes, his brother Sargis,
elder of Hanes, Kirakos, Simon, Ghazar son of Nazar; in Kotelia,
Zachar; in Baralet, grandson of Mitich (Mkrtich), his son Sargis;
in Turtskh, son of Masur (Mansur) Sargis, Avag; in Khando, Hacob; in
Vachia, Qerob; in Qartzep, Bayandur; in Hokam, Manuel son of Sargis;
in Qilda, Khachatur; in Upper and Lower Khospia, Mitich, Ter-Beki,
Khosik-Husik, Sahak; in Jigrashen, grandson of Zachar; in Greater
Majadia, Hacob; in Naqalaqev, Havategh son of Karapet; in Korkh,
Rostom, his son Kirakos, Shahaba son of Mkrtich, Hanes son of Sargis,
Kirakos son of Astvatzatur; in Gumburdo, David son of Kharaba, Mkrtich
son of Amirkhan, Yaral son of Kirakos, Abraham son of Shahkul, Manuk;
in Olaverd, Abas; in Khulgumo, Astvatzatur, Artashes; in Heshtia,
Ter-Hacob; in Metz Khorenia and Chamdura, Grigor, his brother Mose,
Sahak son of Grigor, his brother Sargis, Ter-Hacob, his brother Yaral,
Khachatur, Murat son of Jihanshe; in Orja, Vahram, Sargis, Eghiazar;
in Zresk, Shahmurat, Rosep, Simon, Samson, Astvatzatur; in Ghaurma,
Sargis; in Bavra, Bayandur; in Toria, Araqel, Bayandur, Janibek son of
Sargis, Mkrtich; in Abul, Eghiazar, David, Sargis; in the fortress of
Akhalqalaq, Murat, his brother Zadik; in Little Murjakhet, Hanes son
of Sargis; in Little Manzara, Dolik son of Astvatzatur; in Tzunda,
Jojik son of Jhanshe, his brother Manuk; in Sulda, Shermazan, his
son Simon; in Erinja!
, son of ; in Khozabun, Manuk son of Astvatzatur; in Aragova, Sargis;
in Apnia, Abas; in Bezhono, Simon; in Alastan, Arzuman; in Lomaturtskh,
Rostom son of Alibek; in Zak, Eghiazar, Rosep; in Burnashet, Sargis,
etc.
It is noteworthy that there were also locations where the populations
were overwhelmingly Armenian. Thus, the famous fortress town of
Tmuk (Tmotsvi), according to the same source, was mostly Armenian
populated. There, we come across the following names: Sargis son
of Araqel, Rostom son of Anania, his brother Mkrtich, Vardan son
of Etigar, Hovhannes son of Bayandur, Papu son of Shirin, Berik son
of Piraziz, his son Mkrtich, Murat, Ter-Hacob, Berik son of Murat,
his brother Margar, Hacob, Sargis son of Meliq, etc. Qenarbel Village
of the Chldri Region was all Armenian populated: son of Tzaruk, his
brother Astvatzatur, son of Margar, Norses (Nerses) son of Ghulijan,
Khosik-Husik, son of Rostom, Sargis son of Mukhtar, Mkrtich son of
Velijan, son of Mkrtich, his brother Sargis, Murat son of Karapet,
Martiros son of Avanes, Hovhannes son of Amiraziz, his brother Karapet,
Khachik son of Hambardzum, Tornik son of Tzaruk, Khachatur son of
Alexan, Margar, Papu son of Margar, etc.
Many Armenians also lived in the villages of Metz and Poqr Kartzakh
of the same province: Nadar son of Shahnazar, Vardan, Grigor son of
Suqias, Jhanshe son of Kirakos, son of Mkrtich, his brother Vardzel,
Bayandur, Khachik son of Yarali, Son of Sahak, son of Anton, Ter-Hacob
son of Jomerd, his son Shahaziz, Yaraziz son of Ter-Hacob, Sargis,
Astvatzatur, Diarbek son of Sahak, his brother Astvatzatur, etc. It
should be noted that, among the names listed above, the name Ter-Hacob
is mentioned many times, while in Khospia, it is the name Ter-Bek-an
occurrence that proves the presence of Armenian clergy along with
churches and parishioners.
In subsequent eras, during the long and brutal Ottoman domination,
the province in question was not immune to forced Islamization. The
Islamic faith was adopted particularly by Armenians who had converted
to the Chalcedonian creed. By the 17th and 18th centuries, these
Islamized elements, along with Turkish newcomers, were known regionally
as Meskhetians in Akhaltskha, Adige and, to a lesser degree, in
Akhalqalaq. Thus, according to the Georgian author Vakhusht Bagration,
in the mid-40's of the 18th century, the core populations of the
well-known hamlets in Akhalqalaq, Baralet, and Kokia were Meskhetian
and Armenian. Although in comparison to the Christians the Mohamedans
were few, the destructive realities of foreign occupation were
leading to the disfigurement of the native ethnicity. In particular,
Nadir Shah's invasion in the mid 1730's had dire consequences. Around
6,000 Armenian captives of northern Armenia were brought by force to
Persia: "...and they enslaved the province of Nariman, Javakhetia,
Chltur, and Ghayi Ghula, which were full of our co-nationals," writes
Abraham of Crete, "and they moved man and woman, old and young, and
took them to Khorasan-6,000 in all, from what we hear." Nevertheless,
as a statement by Ghucas Injijian indicates, at the close of the 18th
century, the province of Akhalqalaq continued to be a region inhabited
mainly by Armenians. Just in Akhalqalaq City, there were 600 Armenian
and Georgian households. Over the last decades of the 18th century,
Georgian kings attempted to liberate the province of Akhalqalaq from
the Turks. In 1772, Herakl II of Kskhet and Solomon of Imeritia
laid siege to the fortress of Akhalqalaq, without any success. At
the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire's involvement
in Transcaucasia became progressively more active. In April 1807,
Field Marshall Gudovich's troops surrounded Akhalqalaq, but suffering
enormous losses, retreated. On Sept. 5, 1810, in the vicinity of
Akhalqalaq, the division under the command of General Paulucci over!
whelmed t uli Khan of Erivan sent to assist the Turks, and on Dec. 8,
1811, Kotliarevski's army group, crossing the snow-covered mountains of
Treghq, staged a surprise attack on Javakhk and captured the Akhalqalaq
citadel. However, by the terms of the 1812 Bucharest peace treaty,
it was returned to Turkey.
On July 24, 1828, General Paskevich occupied Akhalqalaq in one
swift assault, and on July 26, the fort of Khertvis (Khertez). On
Sept. 2, 1829, based on the Treaty of Adrianopolis, the provinces
of Akhalqalaq and Akhaltskha were turned over to Russia. The war
had caused serious damage to the Armenian and Georgian villages;
many of them were depopulated, with many emigrating. The Russian
occupation gave the native population a chance to return and partly
rebuild several hamlets, such as Hokam, Baralet, Kokia, Gondura,
Abul, Diliska, Majadia, and Aragova. Already, at the end of the war
in 1829, the region was inhabited by 1,716 Armenian, 639 Muslim,
and 179 Georgian families.
At the end of 1829, with the efforts of Karapet Archbishop Bagratuni,
58,000 Armenians from Erzrum, Basen, and Khnus, and partly from the
environs of Derjan, making use of the 13th Article of the Adrianopolis
Treaty, settled in the provinces of Akhaltskha and Akhalqalaq. In
Akhalqalaq province alone, the Erzrum Armenians, along with the
natives, rebuilt or founded around 50 villages. In 1831, a few dozen
Armenian families from Akhaltskha set the foundations of a widespread
district in the half-ruined southern sector of Akhalqalaq. Thus, the
number of native Javakhk Armenians was enhanced with Western Armenians
who, actually more numerous than the Eastern Armenian-speaking natives
(whom they called Yerli or Yerlagan) imposed their dialect, lifestyle,
and traditions in the region. During the 1830's, a small percentage of
Western Armenians who had not found the comfortable living standards
promised by the Russian authorities, returned to Western Armenia,
while the majority, overcoming numerous difficulties, remained and
developed the region. Soon, Akhaltskha and Akhalqalaq turned into
overwhelmingly Armenian-populated provinces in Transcaucasia, since
the majority of Meskhetians of the area, not wishing to live under
Russian rule, emigrated to Turkey. By 1831, the number of Armenians
in the Akhalqalaq province exceeded 30,000-of which, as noted above,
1,716 families (nearly 10,000-13,000 people) were native locals,
some of them Catholics.
In 1840, the province of Akhalqalaq, constituting the main area of the
Turkish sanjak, was incorporated into Georgeoimeritia and, in 1846,
into the Tbilisi province. In 1860, it was made into a sub-sector
of Akhaltskha and, in 1874, was given the status of a full-fledged
province. That same year, Akhalqalaq received provincial status of the
third level; in 1890, the rating of a second-level city; and in 1896,
the regular autonomy of a metropolis.
Between 1841 and 1843, exiled members of the Russian Dukhobor sect
established eight to nine villages in the southern sector of the
region (the present region of Ninotzminda). Thus, Javakhk became
multi-ethnic. In 1886, the province included 110 villages, grouped
in 10 rural districts: Aragova (13), Baralet (23), Varevan (9),
Vachian (11), Gorelovka (8), Diliska (9), Kartzakh (10), Satkha (8),
Khertvis (11), Heshtia (8). All in all, approximately 63,800 people,
of which 46,386 were Armenians (39,597 Apostolic, 7,236 Catholic),
6,674 Russians (6,597 Dukhobors), 3,735 Georgians, 6,824 Muslims, 53
Jews, 14 Yezdis, and 102 Greeks. From the provided data, it is clear
that the overwhelming majority of the population (72.7 percent) were
Armenians. The Muslims constituted 10.7 percent, the Russian Dukhobors
10.4 percent, and the Georgians 5.8 percent. The Armenians outnumbered
the others not only in the villages but in the city of Akhalqalaq,
as well; in 1893, 4,084 of a population of 4,303 were Armenian. At
the close of the 19th century, in the same 110 villages and the city,
there was a population of 63,799, of which 50,467 (or 79 percent of the
entire population) were Armenian under Russian rule, the Akhalqalaq
province marked great socio-economic and cultural progress, turning
into a technological center, while the villages played an important
role in providing grain to the Transcaucasus. At the start of the
1830's, the Mesropian Boys' School opened its doors with the efforts
of Archbishop Karapet. In 1856, the Surb Khach (Holy Cross) church was
renovated with the donations of benefactor Karapet Yaghubian. In 1870,
the Sandkhtian Girls' School, in the 1880's, the Russian schools,
and in 1889, the municipal gymnasium started their classes.
Towards the close of the 19th century, a liberation group was
organized by J. Ter-Grigorian and P. Abelian. Thereupon, political
activities were initiated by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF). Javakhk produced national figures, such as Hovhannes Qajaznuni,
Hamo Ohanjanian, Vahan Terian, Ruben Ter-Minasian, Ruben Darbinian,
and many others.
By Ashot Melkonian
Asbarez
http://www.asbarez.com/2009/08/ 12/javakhk-a-historical-outline-part-i/
Aug 12, 2009
The rights to the English translation and publication of this
article-which will appear in this and next week's issue of the Armenian
Weekly-belong to the Hairenik Association.
Part I: From Javakhk's Historical Past
Gugarq, the 13th of the 15 regions (ashkhars) of historical Armenia's
Metz Haiq (Greater Armenia) Kingdom, covered the northern section
of the Armenian Highlands. In the east, it bordered on the province
of Utiq; in the west, of Tayq; in the south, of Ayrarat; and in
the north it bordered on Iberia (Virq, Georgia). Its administrative
center was the city of Tsurtav. Gugarq was one of the four borderline
counties of the Armenian Kingdom and, at times, it enjoyed certain
autonomy. According to some Georgian historians, the name Gugarq
has a Georgian origin, and it derives from the inhabitants of the
region who were called "Gogars" or "Gargars." But Armenian sources
do not mention such an ethnicity. As for the land of the Gargars,
it has no correlation with Gugarq.
The nine constituent counties of Gugarq were Dzoropor, Koghbopor,
Tzobopor, Tashir, Treghq, Kangarq, Kgharjq, Upper Javakhk, and
Artahan. Up to the first partition of Armenia (387 A.D.), the region
also included neighboring Shavshet, Inner Javakhk, Mangleatspor,
Qwishapor, Boghnopor, Khantsikhen, and Paruar. The total area covered
more than 16,500 square kilometers.
Javakhk is mentioned as eighth in rank of the Gugarq counties. It
was located in the central part of the region and covered areas of
the plateau of the same name (the headland of Akhalqalaq, upland of
Javakhk) and the mountainous area surrounding the latter, bordering
on Treghq (Trialet) in the north, on Samsar and Javakhk mountains
(Kechut, Mtin) in the east, and in the south, on the headland forming
the extension of the Ashotsq plateau.
In historiography, different points of view are offered on the
terminology of the name "Javakhk." According to the Georgian writer
Leonti Mroveli (author of Annals of Qartli and The Life of Qartli),
the plain of Kur, the environs of the river Potskhov (historic
Samtskhe province, now Akhaltskha), and other surrounding lands were
inherited by Javakhos, son of Mtskhetos, grandson of the ancestor of
the Georgians, Qartlos. After Javakhos, the region has been called
Javakhk, Javakheti in Georgian. However, rightfully considering this
"thesis" mythological and overly simplistic, many later researchers
have attempted to find other explanations. Some, having in mind the
region's favorable climate for growing barley, have connected javi,
the Georgian word for barley, with the name. Others have tried to
find in the area an ethnic race of Javakhis.
In reality, the place-name of Javakhk, as is evident in the
inscriptions of Van (Kingdom of Van)-where it is mentioned from the
close of the 9th century B.C.-is a transliterated variant of the land
called "Zabakha" or "Zabakhian": Zabakha-Jabakha-Javakha-Javakhk. In
the Khokhorian inscriptions of Argishti I (786-764 B.C.), among the
conquered lands of Diaukh or Daya (Tayq) and Tariun (Daruynq, Basen),
there is mention of Zabakhan.
This name is also referred to in several inscriptions left by a number
of succeeding Urartian kings. Although, there is no mention of Javakhk
prior to the 8th century B.C., by studying the pre-Urartian era, it
is possible to presume that it had either been an administrative part
of an early Armenian state formation of the 2nd millennia B.C.-in all
likelihood of Hayasa or Etiuni-or it may have been a fairly large,
separate entity including the entire western section of the province
of Gugarq. The second hypothesis is more probable; it is not by
coincidence that the above-mentioned Argishti inscription mentions
Zabakha as an occupied country. It means that until the beginning of
the 8th century B.C., Javakhk had been a self-governing nation at the
time and, as a territory inhabited by ethnic Armenians, was absorbed
into the unified Kingdom of Van, constituting its largest province
on the north-western frontier.
There is almost no direct reference to Javakhk from the post-Urartian,
Armenian Ervanduni era. We can only cite two semi-legendary, yet
noteworthy, references from Moses of Khoren's History of the Armenians
and Qartlis Tskhovreba. The father of historians notes that Vagharshak
I bequeathed "half of the Javakhs sector" to Gushar of the Sharas and
assigned a viceroy there to protect the Armenian homeland against the
north-Caucasian highlanders. Many scholars studying this venture of the
semi-legendary figure Vagharshak place it in the 3rd century B.C. At
that time, it seems, Javakhk was within the domains of the Ervandunis
and was given to Gushar, thus becoming identified with the latter; as
such, it ceased to be a vast province in its own right and was included
in the newly formed frontier principality as two split parts: Upper
Javakhk and Lower Javakhk. Upper Javakhk is identified with the "half
of the Javakhs sector" mentioned by Moses of Khoren, since it was given
to the Shirak province of the neighboring Shara. There are no sources
mentioning Lower Javakhk. But, if there was the upper segment-which
was the southern and northeastern highland-there must have also been a
"Lower Javakhk" encompassing the lowlands in the west and northwest.
It is significant that the above account by Moses of Khoren, written in
3rd-century B.C. (approximately) Javakhk, appears in its inaccurate,
"Georgian" version in Qartlis Tskhoveba, according to which-as
mentioned above-it was given to Javakhos. The fact is that in 270 B.C.,
adjacent to northern Metz Haiq, the Parnavazian state of the Georgians
(Iberia, Virq) had come into existence and, with the assistance
of the Seleucids-who were opposed to the Armenian Ervandunis-had
occupied and annexed the provinces of Gugarq and Javakhk, along
with other neighboring areas. At that time, the center of Javakhk
was the fortress of Tzunda, which the Armenians called Qajatun (City
of the Brave). The Greek writer Strabo describes the steps taken to
recover the territories listed above from the Georgians. He writes
that in the 2nd century B.C., King Artaxes of the Armenians (189-160)
had regained from the Iberians, among other lands, Gogarene (Gugarq)
and rejoined them to his country. The same statement, in different
words, is encountered also in Georgian sources. According to Leonti
Mroveli, in order to conquer Javakhetia, the Qartvelians (Georgians)
prompted the Osetians-the Alans, mentioned in Armenian annals-to
attack Artaxes. It means that the Armeno-Alan war, described by Moses
of Khoren in the well-known fable of "Artaxes and Satenik," was fought
also for Javakhk. Artaxes was not only able to re-conquer the Armenian
lands, but he also subjugated the small Georgian Kingdom. In fact,
the Georgian throne passed to the viceroy (Bdeshkh) of Gugarq. It is
not surprising, therefore, that in reference many future writers make
use of the title "Bdeshkh of Gu
Similarly, during the period of the Artaxiads and Arshakunis,
references to Javakhk are rare and it is basically through the
concept of the entire province of Gugarq that one can visualize the
region. The latter, until the downfall of the Arshakunis in 428 A.D.,
has remained the northern frontier province of Metz Haiq, and has not
been separated from it even in the first half of the first century
of our era (1-52 A.D.), when the Armenian throne was occupied by
foreigners, including Georgians.
>From the few references to the region in question, perhaps the most
valuable-a revealing observation on its demographic composition-belongs
to the pen of a Georgian historian. According to tradition, Nino
(Nune, of Armenian sources), one of the Hripsimean sisterhood of
Christian missionaries, on her way to Georgia from Armenia, finds
herself in Javakhk, where she meets Mskheti shepherds on the shores
of Lake Parvana and, speaking to them in Armenian, receives the right
directions to get to Mskhet. This testimony elucidates two important
issues. First, that Nune, a resident of Armenia until her passage to
Virq, was familiar with the native language and, along with other
missionaries, brought Christianity from Armenia to the land of the
Georgians. Second, that the language spoken in Javakhk was Armenian,
since it was populated with Armenians, otherwise there would have
been no necessity for shepherds from Mskhet to learn the language of
the Armenians.
During the reign of Arshak II (350-368 A.D.), Gugarq revolted and
pledged allegiance to the Georgian king. By the order of King Pap,
Sparapet (Supreme Commander) Mushegh re-conquered Gugarq and punished
the Bdeshkh and the princes who had helped him, re-establishing the
River Kur as the boundary between Armenia and Georgia: "...the old
boundary, which prevailed before between the land of the Armenians
and that of the Georgians, which is the great River Kur itself."
It is remarkable that, while being part of Gugarq, during the
3rd and 4th centuries, Javakhk managed to maintain its internal
autonomy. The princely clan of the Vardzavunis ruled there, and had
their special place in Arsacid (Arshakuni) Armenia. In the "Gahnamak"
(Register of Noble Clans), they occupied the 23rd place on a list of 70
"nakhararutiuns." During wartime, they contributed 200 warriors to the
eastern of the four command sectors. After the partition of Armenia in
the year 387 A.D., the influence of the Arsacids on Gugarq and Javakhk
was considerably weakened and, after the fall of the Armenian Kingdom,
the two regions were absorbed into the Georgian Satrapy set up under
the rule of Persia, at the same time that Artsakh was made part of
another Persian dominion, Aghvanq.
Along with all of northern Armenia, Javakhk also remained under
Persian rule until the Arab invasions of the 7th century. In History
of Taron, written by the contemporary author Hovhan Mamikonian, in
his narrative of the Arab conquests, once more we come across the name
of Javakhk. The author relates that the Arab general Abd el-Rahib had
sacked, in the mid-7th century, the Armenian provinces of Harq, Basen,
Javakhk, Vananda and, moving on to Virq, had returned to Arabia with
his loot. It is noteworthy, that Javakhk is listed with the Armenian
provinces, and Virq is mentioned only at the end. It signifies that
in the years 40-50 of the 7th century, during the period of the Arab
invasions, this province was part of Armenia, not Virq.
Javakhk remained under Arab domination until the end of the 9th
century, when Smbat I of the Bagratids (890-914 A.D.), according
to the historian Hovhannes of Draskhanakert, "...up and assailed
the province of the Gugars, subduing and conquering them for the
fortification of his own domain."
During the years 70-80 A.D., most of Gugarq formed part of the Kingdom
of Lori, or Kiurik (also Gugarq, Dzoraget). Upper Javakhk-particularly
Gogshen, its southern section-remained under the rule of the Bagratids
for a while, as, towards the end of the 10th century, Inner Javakhk
became a part of the increasingly more powerful Georgian Bagratids. By
the beginning of the 11th century, the same fate befell the heartland
of Upper Javakhk. In a short while, the Georgian kings turned Javakhk
and the neighboring Samtskhe into strong, fortified outposts of
their southern domains as a protection against separatist forces, the
Byzantine Empire and, later on, the Seljuk Turks. At the start of the
11th century, Bagrat III fortified one of the centers of the province
and called it New City, Akhalqalaq in Georgian (akhali meaning "new,"
qalaqi meaning "city"). In the years 1044-1047, in his war against
Liparit Orbelian, Bagrat IV built the Akhalklaq fort on the left bank
of the stream called Qarasunaghbiur. A certain number of Georgians
were brought here to populate the area.
Georgian hegemony did not last very long. In the year 1064, Armenia
and Georgia were devastated by the Seljuks. At that time, the Sultan
Alp Aslan "...set up camp in the province called Javalis (Javakhs),"
writes Matheos Urhayetsi, "and surrounding with arms the city called
Alakh (Akhal-qaghaq city), with a mighty assault captured Alakh city,
ruthlessly putting men and women, priests, clerics, and nobles to the
sword. He flooded the city with blood and took countless youngsters
and girls to Persia as slaves, and treasures of gold, silver, jewels,
and pearls beyond measure." Vardan the historian also narrates on these
events: The nephew of Tughril, Alp-Aslan "...returned with a force
of a hundred thousand and captured the new city that the Georgians
call Akhal-city (qaghaq)." It is obvious from these statements by
historians that by the middle of the 11th century, Akhalqalaq, which
had replaced Dzunda as regional center, had lost a sizable part of
its population to atrocious massacres and mass deportations.
At the beginning of the 12th century, King David the Builder of
Georgia (1089-1125) managed to regain Lori and Javakhk from the Seljuk
Turks. But, over the entire duration of the 11th century, Javakhk-along
with other provinces-continued to change hands. In August 1175, the
troops of Sultan-Atabek Eltkuz of Gandzak occupied and sacked Javakhk
and Treghq. Georgi III (1156-1184), avoiding a confrontation, showed no
opposition to the Seljuk aggression. After destroying Ani and Shirak,
Eltkuz "...totally devastates Akhal-qaghaq and Javakhet and then turns
towards Dvin..." Only towards the end of the 12th century-according
to Queen Tamar's (1184-1213) historian-after the victorious campaigns
of Zachary and Ivane Zacharians, did the territories between Javakhk
and Sper fall under Georgian rule.
During this period, infiltrations of Qartvelian ethnic groups into
Javakhk continued along with the spread of Georgian Orthodoxy-a
process that was evident during the rise of the Bagratids of Georgia
(from the 12th to the beginning of the 13th century) not only in
Akhalqalaq but also other areas of northern Armenia which, as a result
of the growing Armeno-Georgian alliance, had been absorbed into the
boundaries of Georgia.
Nevertheless, of those provinces, Lori, Samtskhe-Akhaltskha,
Daush, areas around Sevan, as well as Javakhk remained essentially
Armenian-populated territories. It is not by chance that the Georgian
court trusted these provinces to the Armenian Zacharians who, under
the aegis of Georgia, created their own fiefdom.
The historian of Queen Tamar writes that Sargis Erkainabazuk Tmogveli
(Tmogvetsi) and Shalva Toreli (Toretsi) were viceroys of Javakhk. The
first had his seat at Tmogvi, in the Armenian fort of Tmuk or Tmka,
located in the valley of Kur, not far from the town of Tzunda;
while the second, in all probability, governed from the hamlet of
Torea. It is significant that there were two governors in Javakhk. It
means that the former administrative division of the province was
maintained. The Toreans were also under the jurisdiction of the
Tmkaberd Zacharians. Autonomous Akhalqalaq was the most important
administrative and economic center of the province.
In the mid-20's of the 13th century, Javakhk was subjugated by the
Central Asian conqueror Jalaleddin, and during the 30's, it was
devastated by the Mongol invasions. But in several provinces, as in
Javakhk, the autonomy of the Zacharians prevailed. Based on the new
administrative division of 1245, Javakhk was left to the Toreans, under
Mongol supervision. In 1266, taking advantage of the Georgian kings'
struggle against the Mongols, the lord of Tmkaberd, Sargis Jaghetsi,
in the name of the satrapy of Samtskhe, succeeded to establish a vast
principality from Tashir to Erzrum, including Javakhk. Until the
beginning of the 14th century, by paying a certain amount of taxes
to the Mongols, this basically Armenian-populated principality,
constituted in northern and northwestern Armenia, maintained its
autonomy until 1535 by resisting pressures from Qartli, Leng-Timur and
his successor Timurians and, from the 15th century onwards, Turkmen
Koyunlu tribes. Armenian cultural life thrived in Javakhk under the
Bagratids, Zacharians, and the succeeding Jaghetsis; the numerous
surviving architectural monuments are living proof of that era.
Towards the end of the 15th century, Javakhk became the target of
numerous aggressors. In 1484, the troops of Yaghub Khan of Persia
devastated the area, massacring and enslaving the population and
setting the province on fire. In 1535, in a joint effort, the kings of
Imeretia and Qartli defeated the forces of the ruler of Samtskhe and
occupied Akhalqalaq and Akhaltskha. However, in the wars against Sefian
Iran in 1547, the Ottoman Turks occupied those cities. By the 1555
Persian-Turkish peace treaty of Amasia, Javakhk was ceded to Persia.
But the war began again in 1578, the Turks reentered Javakhk, and
made it part of the newly constituted vilayet (province) of Chlter,
and later, in 1637, a separate sanjak (district).
The Ottomans began a census in the conquered regions for taxation
purposes. One of the taxpayers lists, prepared by the Turks at the
close of the 16th century, contains valuable information on the
demographic picture of Akhalqalaq. Called "Extensive Register of
Gurjistan (Georgian) Vilayet," it contains a listing of all the
counties, their villages, and inhabitants. It shows that in most
areas of Akhalqalaq, the inhabitants were Christians, with Armenian
or Georgian names, and names common to both ethnicities. We come
across Armenian names-or names widely used by Armenians-in Kokia,
Ruben, Roseb (Hovsep); in Orja, Prince Hanes, his brother Sargis,
elder of Hanes, Kirakos, Simon, Ghazar son of Nazar; in Kotelia,
Zachar; in Baralet, grandson of Mitich (Mkrtich), his son Sargis;
in Turtskh, son of Masur (Mansur) Sargis, Avag; in Khando, Hacob; in
Vachia, Qerob; in Qartzep, Bayandur; in Hokam, Manuel son of Sargis;
in Qilda, Khachatur; in Upper and Lower Khospia, Mitich, Ter-Beki,
Khosik-Husik, Sahak; in Jigrashen, grandson of Zachar; in Greater
Majadia, Hacob; in Naqalaqev, Havategh son of Karapet; in Korkh,
Rostom, his son Kirakos, Shahaba son of Mkrtich, Hanes son of Sargis,
Kirakos son of Astvatzatur; in Gumburdo, David son of Kharaba, Mkrtich
son of Amirkhan, Yaral son of Kirakos, Abraham son of Shahkul, Manuk;
in Olaverd, Abas; in Khulgumo, Astvatzatur, Artashes; in Heshtia,
Ter-Hacob; in Metz Khorenia and Chamdura, Grigor, his brother Mose,
Sahak son of Grigor, his brother Sargis, Ter-Hacob, his brother Yaral,
Khachatur, Murat son of Jihanshe; in Orja, Vahram, Sargis, Eghiazar;
in Zresk, Shahmurat, Rosep, Simon, Samson, Astvatzatur; in Ghaurma,
Sargis; in Bavra, Bayandur; in Toria, Araqel, Bayandur, Janibek son of
Sargis, Mkrtich; in Abul, Eghiazar, David, Sargis; in the fortress of
Akhalqalaq, Murat, his brother Zadik; in Little Murjakhet, Hanes son
of Sargis; in Little Manzara, Dolik son of Astvatzatur; in Tzunda,
Jojik son of Jhanshe, his brother Manuk; in Sulda, Shermazan, his
son Simon; in Erinja!
, son of ; in Khozabun, Manuk son of Astvatzatur; in Aragova, Sargis;
in Apnia, Abas; in Bezhono, Simon; in Alastan, Arzuman; in Lomaturtskh,
Rostom son of Alibek; in Zak, Eghiazar, Rosep; in Burnashet, Sargis,
etc.
It is noteworthy that there were also locations where the populations
were overwhelmingly Armenian. Thus, the famous fortress town of
Tmuk (Tmotsvi), according to the same source, was mostly Armenian
populated. There, we come across the following names: Sargis son
of Araqel, Rostom son of Anania, his brother Mkrtich, Vardan son
of Etigar, Hovhannes son of Bayandur, Papu son of Shirin, Berik son
of Piraziz, his son Mkrtich, Murat, Ter-Hacob, Berik son of Murat,
his brother Margar, Hacob, Sargis son of Meliq, etc. Qenarbel Village
of the Chldri Region was all Armenian populated: son of Tzaruk, his
brother Astvatzatur, son of Margar, Norses (Nerses) son of Ghulijan,
Khosik-Husik, son of Rostom, Sargis son of Mukhtar, Mkrtich son of
Velijan, son of Mkrtich, his brother Sargis, Murat son of Karapet,
Martiros son of Avanes, Hovhannes son of Amiraziz, his brother Karapet,
Khachik son of Hambardzum, Tornik son of Tzaruk, Khachatur son of
Alexan, Margar, Papu son of Margar, etc.
Many Armenians also lived in the villages of Metz and Poqr Kartzakh
of the same province: Nadar son of Shahnazar, Vardan, Grigor son of
Suqias, Jhanshe son of Kirakos, son of Mkrtich, his brother Vardzel,
Bayandur, Khachik son of Yarali, Son of Sahak, son of Anton, Ter-Hacob
son of Jomerd, his son Shahaziz, Yaraziz son of Ter-Hacob, Sargis,
Astvatzatur, Diarbek son of Sahak, his brother Astvatzatur, etc. It
should be noted that, among the names listed above, the name Ter-Hacob
is mentioned many times, while in Khospia, it is the name Ter-Bek-an
occurrence that proves the presence of Armenian clergy along with
churches and parishioners.
In subsequent eras, during the long and brutal Ottoman domination,
the province in question was not immune to forced Islamization. The
Islamic faith was adopted particularly by Armenians who had converted
to the Chalcedonian creed. By the 17th and 18th centuries, these
Islamized elements, along with Turkish newcomers, were known regionally
as Meskhetians in Akhaltskha, Adige and, to a lesser degree, in
Akhalqalaq. Thus, according to the Georgian author Vakhusht Bagration,
in the mid-40's of the 18th century, the core populations of the
well-known hamlets in Akhalqalaq, Baralet, and Kokia were Meskhetian
and Armenian. Although in comparison to the Christians the Mohamedans
were few, the destructive realities of foreign occupation were
leading to the disfigurement of the native ethnicity. In particular,
Nadir Shah's invasion in the mid 1730's had dire consequences. Around
6,000 Armenian captives of northern Armenia were brought by force to
Persia: "...and they enslaved the province of Nariman, Javakhetia,
Chltur, and Ghayi Ghula, which were full of our co-nationals," writes
Abraham of Crete, "and they moved man and woman, old and young, and
took them to Khorasan-6,000 in all, from what we hear." Nevertheless,
as a statement by Ghucas Injijian indicates, at the close of the 18th
century, the province of Akhalqalaq continued to be a region inhabited
mainly by Armenians. Just in Akhalqalaq City, there were 600 Armenian
and Georgian households. Over the last decades of the 18th century,
Georgian kings attempted to liberate the province of Akhalqalaq from
the Turks. In 1772, Herakl II of Kskhet and Solomon of Imeritia
laid siege to the fortress of Akhalqalaq, without any success. At
the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire's involvement
in Transcaucasia became progressively more active. In April 1807,
Field Marshall Gudovich's troops surrounded Akhalqalaq, but suffering
enormous losses, retreated. On Sept. 5, 1810, in the vicinity of
Akhalqalaq, the division under the command of General Paulucci over!
whelmed t uli Khan of Erivan sent to assist the Turks, and on Dec. 8,
1811, Kotliarevski's army group, crossing the snow-covered mountains of
Treghq, staged a surprise attack on Javakhk and captured the Akhalqalaq
citadel. However, by the terms of the 1812 Bucharest peace treaty,
it was returned to Turkey.
On July 24, 1828, General Paskevich occupied Akhalqalaq in one
swift assault, and on July 26, the fort of Khertvis (Khertez). On
Sept. 2, 1829, based on the Treaty of Adrianopolis, the provinces
of Akhalqalaq and Akhaltskha were turned over to Russia. The war
had caused serious damage to the Armenian and Georgian villages;
many of them were depopulated, with many emigrating. The Russian
occupation gave the native population a chance to return and partly
rebuild several hamlets, such as Hokam, Baralet, Kokia, Gondura,
Abul, Diliska, Majadia, and Aragova. Already, at the end of the war
in 1829, the region was inhabited by 1,716 Armenian, 639 Muslim,
and 179 Georgian families.
At the end of 1829, with the efforts of Karapet Archbishop Bagratuni,
58,000 Armenians from Erzrum, Basen, and Khnus, and partly from the
environs of Derjan, making use of the 13th Article of the Adrianopolis
Treaty, settled in the provinces of Akhaltskha and Akhalqalaq. In
Akhalqalaq province alone, the Erzrum Armenians, along with the
natives, rebuilt or founded around 50 villages. In 1831, a few dozen
Armenian families from Akhaltskha set the foundations of a widespread
district in the half-ruined southern sector of Akhalqalaq. Thus, the
number of native Javakhk Armenians was enhanced with Western Armenians
who, actually more numerous than the Eastern Armenian-speaking natives
(whom they called Yerli or Yerlagan) imposed their dialect, lifestyle,
and traditions in the region. During the 1830's, a small percentage of
Western Armenians who had not found the comfortable living standards
promised by the Russian authorities, returned to Western Armenia,
while the majority, overcoming numerous difficulties, remained and
developed the region. Soon, Akhaltskha and Akhalqalaq turned into
overwhelmingly Armenian-populated provinces in Transcaucasia, since
the majority of Meskhetians of the area, not wishing to live under
Russian rule, emigrated to Turkey. By 1831, the number of Armenians
in the Akhalqalaq province exceeded 30,000-of which, as noted above,
1,716 families (nearly 10,000-13,000 people) were native locals,
some of them Catholics.
In 1840, the province of Akhalqalaq, constituting the main area of the
Turkish sanjak, was incorporated into Georgeoimeritia and, in 1846,
into the Tbilisi province. In 1860, it was made into a sub-sector
of Akhaltskha and, in 1874, was given the status of a full-fledged
province. That same year, Akhalqalaq received provincial status of the
third level; in 1890, the rating of a second-level city; and in 1896,
the regular autonomy of a metropolis.
Between 1841 and 1843, exiled members of the Russian Dukhobor sect
established eight to nine villages in the southern sector of the
region (the present region of Ninotzminda). Thus, Javakhk became
multi-ethnic. In 1886, the province included 110 villages, grouped
in 10 rural districts: Aragova (13), Baralet (23), Varevan (9),
Vachian (11), Gorelovka (8), Diliska (9), Kartzakh (10), Satkha (8),
Khertvis (11), Heshtia (8). All in all, approximately 63,800 people,
of which 46,386 were Armenians (39,597 Apostolic, 7,236 Catholic),
6,674 Russians (6,597 Dukhobors), 3,735 Georgians, 6,824 Muslims, 53
Jews, 14 Yezdis, and 102 Greeks. From the provided data, it is clear
that the overwhelming majority of the population (72.7 percent) were
Armenians. The Muslims constituted 10.7 percent, the Russian Dukhobors
10.4 percent, and the Georgians 5.8 percent. The Armenians outnumbered
the others not only in the villages but in the city of Akhalqalaq,
as well; in 1893, 4,084 of a population of 4,303 were Armenian. At
the close of the 19th century, in the same 110 villages and the city,
there was a population of 63,799, of which 50,467 (or 79 percent of the
entire population) were Armenian under Russian rule, the Akhalqalaq
province marked great socio-economic and cultural progress, turning
into a technological center, while the villages played an important
role in providing grain to the Transcaucasus. At the start of the
1830's, the Mesropian Boys' School opened its doors with the efforts
of Archbishop Karapet. In 1856, the Surb Khach (Holy Cross) church was
renovated with the donations of benefactor Karapet Yaghubian. In 1870,
the Sandkhtian Girls' School, in the 1880's, the Russian schools,
and in 1889, the municipal gymnasium started their classes.
Towards the close of the 19th century, a liberation group was
organized by J. Ter-Grigorian and P. Abelian. Thereupon, political
activities were initiated by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(ARF). Javakhk produced national figures, such as Hovhannes Qajaznuni,
Hamo Ohanjanian, Vahan Terian, Ruben Ter-Minasian, Ruben Darbinian,
and many others.