The Catholicosate of Ałuank during the Zakarid period and the question of the location of its See

Abstract This article analyzes a pivotal chapter in the 13th-century history of the Catholicosate of Ałuank’ (Caucasian Albania), specifically the relocation of the Catholicosate See to Khamshi Monastery, examining the underlying conditions and factors that precipitated this significant event. The study places particular emphasis on the political role of the Zakarid brothers. During the active phase of their liberation struggles in the early 13th century, the Zakarid brothers provided secure residence to the Catholicos of Ałuank’, Hovhannes VI (1195–1235). This step, interpreted through the lens of Christian noble motives, was undoubtedly also aimed to use the authority of the Ałuank’ patriarchs in the region for their own positions. The Catholicoses of Ałuank’ established themselves at Khamshi Monastery in the Miapor district under the dominion of Ivane Zakarid, Catolicoses of Ałuank’ strategically capitalized on the advantageous opportunities that were presented to them. Hovhannes’s brother and successor Catholicos Nerses II (1235–1262) managed to obtain tax privileges during the initial period of Mongol rule. These privileges served to further strengthen the position of the Catholicosate of Ałuank’. Consequently, active church construction expanded in various locations of Artsakh and Utik. The present research thoroughly illuminates the confusion that arose in the field of Armenology due to Makar Barkhudariants’s error and continued for more than a century. Barkhudariants, without providing factual evidence, identified Khamshi Monastery with Harants Monastery in Gardman district, a mistake that has been followed by numerous generations of researchers. The source-critical and archaeological arguments presented in the article substantiate that Khamshi Monastery is located not in Gardman district, but in Miapor district on the left bank of the Getik River, in the vicinity of the present-day villages of Martuni and Aygut in the Republic of Armenia.