Artsakh – The Hasan-Jalalyan Dynasty and the Crown of the Armenian Kingdom

Armenians, highlighting the historical and cultural significance of Artsakh, often emphasize that “the Crown of the Armenian Kingdom is in Nagorno-Karabakh.” The image of the crown itself—the tiara of King Tigran II the Great (who ruled from 55-95 BC)—can be found on the state emblem of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The crown symbolizes the connection of the modern Armenian state in Nagorno-Karabakh with the aristocratic dynasties of ancient and medieval Armenia.

The main link in this chain of symbols is the Hasan-Jalalyan dynasty, an ancient feudal family named after Hasan Jalal Vahtangian, who ruled from 1214-1261. He was an Armenian prince and the founder of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Gandzasar.

Today, the Hasan-Jalalyans are the only surviving family that has a direct connection with the Armenian royal dynasties of Bagratuni and Artsruni. Through the ancient Armenian dynasty of Aranshahik and its progenitor Aran, the roots of the Hasan-Jalalyans go back to the legendary ancestor of the Armenians, Hayk, son of Torgom (Togarmah) and great-great-grandson of the biblical Japheth—one of Noah’s three sons. Thus, the Hasan-Jalalyans can rightfully be considered one of the oldest aristocratic dynasties on the planet.

Recently, several writers have created works attempting to present such historical excursions in the genre of entertaining historical narratives. One such work is “The Da Vinci Code” by American author Dan Brown. Brown’s book became an international bestseller: it has been translated into 44 languages and published in more than 60 million copies. The novel, written in the genre of an intellectual detective thriller, managed to arouse wide interest in the legend of the Holy Grail and the role of Mary Magdalene in the history of Christianity.

Despite all the artistic merits of the book, it is an undeniable fact that Dan Brown’s work is merely a fictional creation, using some ideas taken from non-canonical (apocryphal) Christian treatises. In contrast, the genealogical tree of the Hasan-Jalalyans is not fictional.

Members of this dynasty were living witnesses and active participants in historical events of ancient times. Today, we trace the history of Armenia, Karabakh, and the Hasan-Jalalyan family not only through historical records of their contemporaries but also through ancient inscriptions and symbols carved on the walls of churches and khachkars.

Today, direct descendants of the Hasan-Jalalyans live and create among us, continuing the lineage of the patriarchs of the Old Testament, the progenitors of the Armenian people, and the monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom. The Hasan-Jalalyans can be found both in Nagorno-Karabakh (in the village of Vank, under Gandzasar, and in Stepanakert), as well as in Armenia, Russia, and even the USA.

The Hasan-Jalalyans: Descendants of Armenian Royal Dynasties

The ancestors of the Hasan-Jalalyans, the ruling feudal lords of the once powerful Principality of Khachen, are directly connected with the royal dynasties of medieval Armenia.

The works of several Armenian historians, such as Movses Khorenatsi (5th century), Movses Kaghankatvatsi (7th century), and Kirakos Gandzaketsi (13th century), indicate that the direct ancestors of the dynasty’s founder, Hasan Jalal Vahtangian, on the paternal side were the princes of Aranshahik, rulers of the Armenian Kingdom of Aghvank, and the princes of Syunik—nakharars (i.e., the most noble lords) of the province of Syunik, which bordered Artsakh to the west.

Hasan Jalal’s mother, Khorishah, was the sister of the brothers Ivane and Zakare Zakarian—Armenian princes from Georgia who liberated Armenia and Georgia from the yoke of the Seljuk Turks. Through the Zakarians, Hasan Jalal is related to the Armenian Bagratids, rulers of Ani, who restored the independent Armenian state in 885, and the Artsrunis—the founders of the Armenian Kingdom of Vaspurakan, located around Lake Van.

American historian Robert Hewsen confirms that through his ancestors from the Mihranid dynasty, princes of the northern Artsakh district of Gardman, Hasan Jalal could also claim kinship with the imperial Persian Sassanid dynasty.

The significance of the Bagratuni dynasty in Armenian history is hard to overestimate. As is known, the Armenian Kingdom was founded in the 6th century BC by the Yervanduni (Orontid) dynasty. This happened immediately after the abolition of the Kingdom of Ararat (the so-called “Urartu”).

The zenith of the power of the Armenian Kingdom falls on the years of the reign of Tigran II the Great (95-65 BC)—a monarch from the Artaxiad dynasty. Tigran successfully resisted Rome, and his state, sometimes called the Armenian Empire, stretched from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea to the waters of the Caspian Sea.

Despite the Former Strength of the Armenian Kingdom

Despite the former strength of the Armenian Kingdom, the country’s location at an important geopolitical crossroads made it vulnerable to the influence of competing empires. In 387 AD, 86 years after Armenia became the world’s first Christian state, the country lost its independence and began to be divided between Byzantium and Persia.

The Persian part of Armenia remained a self-governing kingdom until the Arab invasion in the 7th century. When the Arab Caliphate weakened, Ashot I Bagratuni (Bagratid) managed to consolidate the Armenian principalities and re-declare independence.

In 885 AD, Armenia’s independence was recognized by Baghdad, and in 886 AD by Constantinople, and Ashot I was crowned king. To expand their domains and gather the semi-independent principalities of the Armenian Highlands under one flag, the Bagratids entered into marital alliances with local feudal lords, and those who resisted the centralization of power were forced into vassalage by force of arms.

By the 11th century, the kingdom of the Armenian Bagratids fell under the onslaught of the Seljuk Turks, nomadic conquerors who broke into the South Caucasus from Central Asia. After many years of stubborn resistance to the enemy, part of the Armenian nobility and population left some territories of Armenia and, moving to the Mediterranean coast, founded the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (1078-1375) in Asia Minor. Constantine I Rubinyan (1095-1100), king of Armenian Cilicia, supported the First Crusade, and his successors achieved recognition of Cilicia as an independent state by Byzantium and Western European monarchies.

Although a number of Armenian kingdoms and principalities—such as the Principality of Khachen of Hasan Jalal Vahtangian—continued their autonomous existence in well-fortified mountainous areas of the country, the united kingdom of the Bagratids was the last Armenian state that controlled most of historical Armenia. The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which in many ways replaced the united Armenia of the Bagratids, was located far from the traditional Armenian lands.

The Hasan-Jalalyans: Descendants of the Ancestor Hayk and Old Testament Patriarchs

The royal origin of the Hasan-Jalalyan family is a fact of great cultural and even political significance. However, perhaps even more intriguing is the direct connection of the Hasan-Jalalyans with the world of biblical patriarchs and the epic progenitors of the Armenians.

The paternal line of the dynasty’s founder, Hasan Jalal Vahtangian, comes from the Aranshahiks (Armenian: Առանշահիկներ)—a clan of ancient rulers of the Armenian provinces of Artsakh and Utik. The name “Aranshahik” means the clan of “shahs” (i.e., monarchs) originating from Aran, one of the great-grandsons of Sisak—the first ruler of the Armenian province of Syunik (hence the alternative name of Syunik—Sisakan).

According to legends recorded by the 5th-century Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi, Sisak was the son of Geham and the grandson of Hayk—the main character of the heroic epic about the founding of the Armenian people. According to tradition, Hayk was the son of Torgom (Togarmah) and the great-great-grandson of Japheth—the son of the biblical Noah.

Armenians call themselves “hay” [haj] and their country “Hayk” [hajk] after the patriarch Hayk.

The most famous monarch from the Aranshahik dynasty was Vachagan II the Pious (Armenian: Վաչագան Բ Բարեխաշտ)—a ruler of the Kingdom of Aghvank celebrated in legends and tales. He ruled in the 5th century and was known for his faith in Christ, the founding of many churches and schools, and the so-called “Constitution of Aghvank” (Armenian: Սահմանք Կանոնական)—the first surviving Armenian constitutional decree.

The remains of King Vachagan rest in the monastery of Jrvshtik (St. Apostle Yeghishe), located in the Mrav Mountains, in the north of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (30 km northeast of Gandzasar). For centuries, the crypt of Vachagan the Pious has been a place of pilgrimage for believers from all over the Eastern Region of Armenia.

The founding of the Aranshahik dynasty is described by Movses Kaghankatvatsi (7th century)—a native of Artsakh and historian of the Eastern Region of Armenia. Kaghankatvatsi largely repeats the narrative of two chapters of the “History of Armenia,” written by the 5th-century author, “father of Armenian history,” Movses Khorenatsi.

According to Khorenatsi, the founder of this dynasty was Aran, a descendant of the patriarch Sisak (the eponym of the Armenian princely dynasty of Syunik). The princes of Syunik—rulers of Syunik (the 10th province of ancient Armenia)—occupied a special place in the Armenian aristocratic hierarchy because they provided the largest military contingent to the Armenian army.

According to the Descriptions by Khorenatsi and Kaghankatvatsi

According to the descriptions by Khorenatsi and Kaghankatvatsi, Aran entered history thanks to King Vagharshak I of Armenia, who entrusted him with ruling the eastern provinces of his kingdom on his behalf. This narrative can be found in the fourth chapter of the First Book of “The History of the Country of Aghvank” by Kaghankatvatsi and in the fifth chapter of “The History of Armenia” by Khorenatsi:

“When establishing order among the northern inhabitants, he [Vagharshak] summoned [representatives] of the wild tribes living in the northern plain and at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, in the valleys and gorges to the south, up to the place where the plain begins, and ordered them to stop robbery and treachery, and to pay the royal taxes obediently.

Then [the king] appointed them leaders and rulers, at the head of whom, by Vagharshak’s order, was placed someone from the clan of Sisak, one of the descendants of Japheth, named Aran, who inherited the valleys and mountains of the country of Aghvank, from the river Yeraskh to the fortress of Khnarakert. Because of his [Aran’s] gentle nature, this country was called Aghvank, for due to his gentle nature he was called Agu. Many brave and noble descendants of this Aran, they say, were appointed by Vagharshak Partev as governors and commanders of thousands.”

Further in the text, Kaghankatvatsi directly indicates the connection of the Aranshahiks with the progenitor of the Armenians, Hayk. In one of the chapters of his book, he describes a bloody conflict between the autochthonous Aranshahiks and the incoming princely clan of the Mihranids—assimilated Armenian Christian Persians who in the 7th century captured the district of Gardman in Artsakh and temporarily displaced the local rulers. Kaghankatvatsi calls the Aranshahiks the “dynasty of Hayk.”

Kirakos Gandzaketsi, a 13th-century historian and author of “The History of Armenia,” complements Kaghankatvatsi and emphasizes that Aran, as well as kings Urnayr, Vache, Vachagan, and other representatives of the Aranshahiks, are descended from Hayk.

The legend of Hayk lies at the foundation of the historical self-consciousness of the Armenians. Movses Khorenatsi describes Hayk as a man of unprecedented strength, a brave warrior, an experienced archer, and a recognized leader of his tribe. In Khorenatsi’s narrative, Hayk is the son of Torgom (Togarmah), the grandson of Japheth, and therefore the great-grandson of the biblical Noah.

Khorenatsi’s account finds Hayk far from home, in Babylon—the first city built, according to the Bible, after the Great Flood. Babylon is ruled by the despotic king Bel (the Old Testament Nimrod). When, after the birth of his son Aramaneak, Hayk leaves Babylon and returns to his homeland in Armenia, Bel sends an army after him to capture his country and make it part of his empire.

Hayk refuses to submit to the Babylonians, and a war begins between his tribe and Bel’s army. In the decisive battle east of Lake Van, in a place later known as Hayots Dzor (“Gorge of Hayk”), Hayk catches up with Bel and strikes him with a three-headed arrow, routing the Babylonian army. The victory at Hayots Dzor establishes Hayk as the ruler of independent Armenia and the progenitor of the Armenians. The country of Hayk is named after him by his descendants—Hayk (Armenian: Հայք).

Mikayel Chamchian (1738-1823), an Armenian historian and abbot of the Mekhitarist Congregation, tried to determine the approximate date of Hayk’s battle with Bel. According to his calculations, this happened in 2492 BC. From this date, the Armenian calendar begins.

According to Khorenatsi, the children and grandchildren of Hayk later become rulers of various regions of the country and founders of the main aristocratic dynasties of pre-antique Armenia. One of these descendants of Hayk was his grandson Sisak—the ruler of the region of Sisakan (Syunik), the supposed progenitor of the princely dynasty of Syunik and the ancestor of Aran and the Aranshahiks from the aforementioned narrative by Movses Kaghankatvatsi.

The Hasan-Jalalyans: Symbols and Signs

The narthex of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Gandzasar also serves as the tomb of the Grand Prince Hasan Jalal Vahtangian and his descendants—the princes of the Hasan-Jalalyan family and the hierarchs of the Aghvank Catholicosate of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

The tombstone of Hasan Jalal Vahtangian, located in front of the entrance to the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, contains the following inscription: “Here rests the great Jalal. Remember him in your prayers. Year 1431.”

The tombstone of Hasan Jalal is made from a piece of white marble. Three large mystical figures are engraved on it. The first of them contains the Old Testament symbol of the six-pointed star—the Star of David. Inside the star, in turn, is the Indo-Aryan symbol of the Wheel of Eternity. The symbol of the Wheel of Eternity was widely used by Armenians in ancient times and the Middle Ages.

It can be seen on the walls of many Armenian churches and fortresses. However, the symbol combining these two symbols seems to be most widely spread only in the lands that were once under the rule of dynasties related to the nakharars (archprinces) of Syunik—in the provinces of Syunik and Artsakh.

For example, this symbol can also be found on the walls of the monasteries of Vorotnavank and Tsakhats Kar, located in modern Armenia (Syunik and Vayots Dzor provinces, respectively). Stars of David are also engraved on the northern facade of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. What did the Syunids and Aranshahiks—the ancestors of Hasan Jalal—want to signify with these symbols? Apparently, they sought to emphasize the antiquity of their dynasties and indicate their kinship with the biblical patriarchs.

The second symbol is a 16-pointed star. At first glance, it is a combination of the South Asian variety of the Wheel of Eternity (such as the Indian Ashoka Chakra) and the symbol of the Vergina Sun of ancient Macedonia.

The third symbol is known in Armenia as the Sun (Armenian: Արև). This ornamented and most often relief figure can be found at the bottom of khachkars—Armenian stone crosses. The large cross on the southern facade of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Gandzasar rests on a bas-relief with the engraved symbol of the Sun. Historians believe that the symbol of the Sun remained in the Christian art of medieval Armenia as a legacy from the ancient cult of sun worship.

Mystical symbolism is widespread in the bordering provinces of Syunik and Artsakh. Perhaps the most mysterious of them is the depiction of a humanoid lioness on the tombstone of Prince Elikum III Orbelyan (1300). The tombstone is located in the chapel of St. Gregory of the Noravank Monastery in the Vayots Dzor district.

Elikum was the son of Prince Tarsaich Orbelyan, who married Princess Mina—the daughter of Hasan Jalal Vahtangian. The lioness on the tombstone has a human body and limbs, and a long tail. A halo can be recognized above her head. So far, no one has been able to explain what the symbol of the lioness on the tombstones of the Orbelyan princes means.

Artatsolum

: Hewsen, Robert H. “The Kingdom of Artsakh,” in T. Samuelian & M. Stone, eds. Medieval Armenian Culture. Chico, CA, 1983. See also: Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: A Historical Atlas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001, reference: Gandzasar Monastery, pp. 120, 134

: Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 32-35

: Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 114-115

: Hewsen, Robert H. Armenia: a Historical Atlas. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2001, pp. 121-124

: Movses Kaghankatvatsi. The History of the Country of Aghvank. Yerevan, Matenadaran, 1984, p. 25

: Kirakos Gandzaketsi. The History of Armenia. Moscow. Nauka, 1976, p. 57

: Movses Khorenatsi. The History of Armenia. Yerevan, Hayastan, 1990, pp. 15-25

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