KHAKHTIQ (KHALDIA) IN THE BYZANTINE ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS

Abstract

The valleys of the Kajkar Range of the Parkhar (Pontic) mountains, spread out in the vicinity of the Province of Taik lying on the north-west of Greater Armenia, according to Graeco-Roman and Armenian sources, were known as one of Armenians’cradles from ancient times. This is evidenced by the old Armenian toponyms and the dialect of Khakhtiq-Hamshen. In the ancient world, Armenians of Khakhtiq were called Armenokhalibs. Khalib here is not an ethnonym, but the specialty of Armenians, who had gained popularity as pioneers, processors and sellers of iron, as well as brave warriors. In Khakhtiq, the Armenian people, side by side with other peoples, created its own military-political, spiritual and cultural history, thereby laying the foundation for the subsequent – in the VIII century – formation of the semi-independent Armenian Principality of Hamshen. For centuries, Armenian princes governed in Khakhtiq. The north-western lands of the region were the property of the Mamikonyans princely dynasty. Not coincidentally, during the V century Vardanants war, the mountains and fortresses of Khakhtiq served as strongholds for the troops of the Armenian princes. In the VII-VIII centuries, Khakhtiq was part of the second largest Byzantine Armeniak theme, while later, having detached from it in the IX century, it became an independent theme. After the conquest of Trabzon by Ottomans, it fell under their power and was included in the territorial formations of the Ottomans.