Kiurikids of Tavush, King

The last Armenian royal line in the north.

The Kiurikids lost their capital Lori in the early 12th century and kept the forest castles of Tavush, Matsnaberd and Nor Berd above the Aghstev valley, at first as hereditary holders from the Muslim lords of the region (Kirakos); the Muslims later took Tavush itself, and the family lived on at Matsnaberd, with a David as prince of Nor Berd and an Aghsartan as heir of Matsnaberd. In 1185, by one modern account, the lands of the old Kiurikid kingdom came under the Mkhargrdzeli, and Kirakos lists Tavush and Gag among the castles Zakare and Ivane took from the Muslims, without a year. On 1 January 1200 the Kiurikid princes most likely hold Matsnaberd and Nor Berd under Georgian overlordship, while Tavush and Gag may still be Muslim: the block is drawn as contested.

Who he is

Title: King (by courtesy) of the line of Tashir-Dzoraget
Since: Not pinned
Confidence: low

After Georgia took Tashir-Dzoraget in 1118 the Kiurikids held on in the fortresses of Tavush, Matsnaberd and Nor Berd and kept their royal title into the early 13th century (Wikipedia, Kiurikian dynasty and Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget). The same article says that in 1185 the lands of the Kiurikid kingdom came under the control of the Zakarids (Mkhargrdzeli), and the Mkhargrdzeli count Tavush, Matsnaberd and Nor Berd among their holdings. Whether on 1 January 1200 the Kiurikids still hold these castles themselves, as Mkhargrdzeli dependants, or only keep the title, is not pinned.

A Kiurikid-sponsored building is dated 1181. Kirakos Gandzaketsi tells that King Kiurike's sons David and Abas held Tavush, Matsnaberd and other places as hereditary property from the Muslims ('the Iranians'), that the Muslims later took Tavush from them and the family lived on at Matsnaberd, that Abas died at nineteen without a son, that an Aghsartan became heir of Matsnaberd and that a David was prince of Nor Berd; and that Zakare and Ivane took Tavush, Gag, Terunakan, Katsaret, Ergevank, Karherdz and Gardman from the Muslims in King Leo's time (no year). So on 1 January 1200 Tavush and Gag may still be Muslim, while Matsnaberd and Nor Berd are held by Kiurikid princes.

Overlord

The Mkhargrdzeli brothers, under Tamar (not pinned)

What it holds

The castles of Tavush, Matsnaberd and Nor Berd and the Aghstev and Tavush valleys

How it was acquired

Remnant of the kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget (to 1118).

Allies and rivals

Overshadowed by the Mkhargrdzeli, who may be their kin.

Wealth

Forest valleys; the road from Lori to Ganja.

Military

Castles only.

Threats

Absorption by the Mkhargrdzeli
Raids from Ganja

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1200No dated event is recorded for this lordship in 1200.

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Only a general statement survives for the house in this period.

On the map: Rough block for a handful of castles.

Primary sources for Georgia

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

The Chronicle of Michael the Syrian (Michael the Great), Michael the Syrian, patriarch of Antioch 1166 to 1199 (about 1180 to 1195). The Jacobite patriarch's world chronicle, in parallel columns of church, secular and miscellaneous events, ending four years before 1200 and shortly before his own death on 7 November 1199, which left the Syrian Orthodox church with a disputed succession in 1200. Read online
The History of Derbent and Shirvan, as preserved in Munejjim-bashi's Jami al-duwal, Anonymous (an 11th-century author of Derbent, excerpted by Munejjim-bashi, died 1702) (about 1075; preserved in an Ottoman compilation of the 1670s). The only local history of the Shirvanshahs and the emirs of Derbent, surviving as extracts in a 17th-century Ottoman compilation.
The Complete History, Izz al-Din Ibn al-Athir (about 1200 to 1231, at Mosul). The widest Muslim narrative for the years 596 to 597 AH (1199 to 1201): al-Adil's entry into Cairo and his taking of the sultanate from his nephew al-Mansur Muhammad early in 1200, the quarrels of the Ayyubid princes at Damascus, Aleppo and Hama, the Nile failure and the great famine of Egypt, Mosul under Nur al-Din Arslan Shah and the Jazira under Gokbori and the Artuqids, Baghdad under the caliph al-Nasir, the Khwarazmshah Tekish's death in 1200 and Muhammad's accession, the Ghurid wars in Khurasan, the Eldiguzids and Georgia, the Almohads in the west, and the Seljuks of Rum in passing. Read online
History of the Armenians, Kirakos Gandzaketsi (1241 to 1265). Written at Getik and Gandzak in the Zakarid lands of Georgian Armenia. Read online
The Georgian Chronicles: the Histories and Eulogies of the Sovereigns, and the Life of Queen Tamar, Anonymous, attributed to the chancellor Theodore of Chqondidi and to Basili, master of the court (about 1210 to 1225). Two court histories of Queen Tamar written within a generation. Read online
The Historical Compilation of Vardan Areveltsi, Vardan Areveltsi (about 1267 to 1271). A short universal history that for the 12th and 13th centuries follows Samuel of Ani, Michael the Syrian (which Vardan helped translate into Armenian in 1248) and Kirakos. Read online
The History of the Seljuks of Rum, Ibn Bibi (Nasir al-Din Husayn ibn Muhammad) (about 1281 to 1285, at Konya). The main Seljuk narrative for Rum begins with Kilij Arslan II's partition of the sultanate among his sons and his death (1192), Kaykhusraw I's first reign at Konya, his deposition in 1196 to 1197 by Rukn al-Din Sulayman II, Kaykhusraw's wanderings to Cilician Armenia, Aleppo and Constantinople, Sulayman's reduction of his brothers' towns (Tokat, Malatya, Amasya, and Ankara by 1204) and his Erzurum and Georgian campaigns. Read online

Sources and studies

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.