Zakarid

The Zakarids, known in Georgia as Mkhargrdzeli, meaning long-armed, were an Armenian noble dynasty that ruled northern Armenia from Ani under Georgian and later Mongol suzerainty. Possibly an offshoot of the Pahlavuni family, they rose as vassals of the Bagrationi: Sargis Zakarian was made governor of Ani in 1161.

His sons Zakare and Ivane became commanders of Queen Tamar, taking Dvin in 1193 and Ani around 1199, which Tamar granted them as a hereditary principality in 1201. They founded monasteries such as Harichavank and Akhtala.

When the Mongols stormed Ani in 1236 they confirmed the Zakarids in their lands as direct Ilkhanid vassals. The family held Ani until around 1360, when the Kara Koyunlu Turkomen seized the city and made it their own capital, ending Zakarid rule.