Atabekians
The Atabekians are an Armenian Princely house of Lords of the Jraberd principality in Artsakh, which ruled in the 19th century. The most renowned representative of the family was Prince Hovhannes Atabekian, Prince of Jraberd, who took an active part in the 1804–1813 Russo-Persian War.
The Atabekians are descendants of Prince Ivane-Atabek I Hasan-Jalalian, son of Prince Hasan-Jalalian, the Lord of Khachen. His offspring, Prince Atabek III, settled in the north-eastern part of the paternal domain, along the banks of the Tartar and Kusapat rivers and there created a new dynasty. The Atabekians consider themselves to be a dynastic branch of the House of Hasan-Jalalian, and through them trace their ancestry to the noble houses of the Vakhtangian, Aranshahik, Syuni, and the Haykazuni. DNA studies in 2009 also revealed kinship between the Atabekians and princes Argutian of Lori, Meliq-Yeganians of Dizak and Meliq-Dadians of Goris; all mentioned families belong to R1b1b2a haplogroup.
Princes of the House of Atabekian
- Atabek I
- Aytin
- Sargis I
- Atabek II Jraberdci
- Hovhannes-Vani I and Ghuli
- Sargis II
- Harutyun
- Hovhannes (Meliq Vani) II of Jraberd
- Hovsep-bek
Notable Atabekians
- , Lord of Jraberd
- Mkrtich Atabekyan, public speaker
- , military general
- Alexander Atabekian, physician and anarchist publisher
- , member of the Russian Duma
- , physician, activist and poet
- Garegin Atabekyan, doctor
- , geographer
- , literary critic and translator
- Mikael Atabekyan, minister of education of Armenia
- , academic
- , literary critic
- Anzhela Atabekyan, musician and art historian
- , poet
- , surgeon
- , poet and translator
- , member of the Armenian parliament
Modern day
The Princely House of Atabekians is one of the well-organized and active clans of Armenian nobility. The Atabekians regularly organise clan gatherings ; the latest ones were held on 8 October 1983 in Meliqgyugh and on 19 April 2014 in Yerevan. The last clan gathering elected Prince Hrach Atabekian as the Head of the House of Atabekians.On 27 July 2012, the Atabekians were among the four aristocratic houses that initiated the restoration of the alliance of the traditional princely dynasties of the Armenian Artsakh, Melikdoms of Karabakh, by creating the Armenian [Meliq Union]:
Literature
- Archbishop Sergius Hasan-Jalaliants. A History of the Land of Artsakh.. Costa Mesa 2013.