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26-602: Melias was a member of the lower naxarar nobility, possibly from the Varazhnuni clan; he was possibly a grandson of Mliah, the prince of Varazhnunik, who was killed by the Arabs in 853. Melias first appears in historical sources as a vassal of Ashot the Long-armed, an Armenian prince (possibly a Bagratid from Taron ) who entered Byzantine imperial service in circa 890. As part of Ashot's Armenian contingent, he fought on

52-527: A kleisoura . Settled by Armenian immigrants, for the next decades, it would be one of the main Byzantine bases of attack against the Arabs. In a similar manner, Melias proceeded to occupy the mountainous regions of Tzamandos and Symposion, which became a kleisoura and a tourma respectively. The threat that this new province and Melias's activities posed on the Arab emirates of the frontier zone ( Thughur )

78-597: A full-scale insurrection that had to be quelled through swift military intervention, eventually sparking war with the Sassanids. Though weakened by numerous invasions and the legal reforms of Kings, the nakharar structure remained virtually unchanged for many centuries and was finally eliminated during the Mongol invasions in the thirteenth century. Certain aspects of the nakharar system remained intact in Armenia until

104-411: A part of their property to another family as dowry. Endogamic marriages had a religious reason too, particularly before Christianity, because Armenian paganism favoured marriages between relatives very highly. Each nakharar had his own army, depending on his domain. The national force or "royal cavalry" was under the sparapet , a commander-in-chief who presided over the whole of the nation. After

130-647: A particular social function: in Armenia a member of the Arshakuni family was chosen as king, who was consequently a sort of primus inter pares ; the Mamikonians fielded the sparapet , one of the Bagratunis was the cavalry chief ( aspet ) and king crowner ( tagadir ), and so on. The nakharar system appears to have originated near or before the beginning of the Common Era, probably emerging under

156-575: A rebellion, and through the Battle of Vartanantz convinced the Persians that conversion would come at too high a price, eventually leading to the Nvarsak Treaty . In western Armenia under Byzantine rule, Justinian 's reforms removed the martial role of the nakharars , as well as attempting to annex estates from Armenian nobles. The nakharars , angered at their restriction in power, began

182-486: A social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, [an] obligation both material and spiritual. Traditionally, shokunin honoured their tools of trade at New Year's – the sharpened and taken-care of tools would be placed in a tokonoma (a container or box still found in Japanese houses and shops), and two rice cakes and a tangerine (on top of rice paper) were placed on top of each toolbox, to honour

208-561: Is recognized in Arab sources, where Melias is mentioned as sahib al-Durub ("Lord of the Passes"). In 909 or 912, a major assault led by Rustam ibn Baradu was launched against him, but was repulsed. In 914/5, the Arabs of Tarsus launched an attack on Tzamandos, which they took and razed, but in retaliation Melias and his men raided Arab territory as far as Marash (Germanikeia, modern Kahramanmaraş ), reportedly bringing back 50,000 captives. In recognition for his success against Marash, in 916

234-608: Is that they picture them as "workers" in the modern sense: employed by someone. The most influential group among the artisans were the masters, the business owners. The owners enjoyed a high social status in their communities, and organised into guilds in towns and cities. Shokunin is a Japanese word for "artisan" or "craftsman", which also implies a pride in one's own work. In the words of shokunin Tashio Odate: Shokunin means not only having technical skill, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness...

260-570: The Artaxiad dynasty and existing during the entire Arsacid period in Armenia and for centuries after its end. The nakharars survived the fall of the Arshakuni dynasty and the subsequent placement of the Marzban Governor-Generals by Sassanid king, and allowed a great deal of autonomy for the vassal state, up until the attempted conversion of Armenia to Zoroastrianism by Yazdegerd II , in which Vartan Mamikonian led

286-472: The Middle Ages , the term "artisan" was applied to those who made things or provided services. It did not apply to unskilled manual labourers . Artisans were divided into two distinct groups: those who operated their own businesses and those who did not. The former were called masters , while the latter were the journeymen and apprentices . One misunderstanding many people have about this social group

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312-483: The kleisoura of Lykandos was raised to the status of a full theme, with Melias as its strategos with the rank of patrikios and later magistros . In the next year, Melias and his troops took part in the campaign against Bulgaria that led to yet another disastrous defeat at Acheloos on 20 August 917. Melias next reappears in the campaigns of John Kourkouas , where he played a prominent role. In 927, Kourkouas and Melias attacked Melitene, and succeeded in storming

338-564: The Arabs and outright brigandage. After participating in the failed aristocratic rebellion of Andronikos Doukas against Emperor Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912) in 905, however, Melias and many other Armenian nobles were forced to flee to the Arab border emirate of Melitene to escape retribution. In 907 or 908, however, through the intervention of the strategos Eustathios Argyros , the Armenian refugees were pardoned by Emperor Leo and granted

364-469: The Byzantine army: another Melias is recorded as serving with John Tzimiskes , both during the reign of Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas (r. 963–969) and during Tzimiskes's own reign (r. 969–976). It has also been suggested that the memory of Melias has been preserved in the figure of the apelates Melementzes in the acritic epic Digenes Akritas . Naxarar Nakharar ( Armenian : նախարար naxarar , from Parthian naxvadār "holder of

390-514: The Byzantine side at the disastrous Battle of Bulgarophygon against the Bulgarians . Ashot himself perished in this battle, along with the larger part of the Byzantine force. Melias escaped death and returned to his service at the Byzantine eastern frontier, where, according to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos , he led a group of fellow Armenians in the Byzantine border wars with the Arabs as akritai , sharing their time between raids against

416-426: The border provinces as quasi-fiefs: the three brothers Vasak, Grigorik and Pazunes settled in the fortress of Larissa, which formed a border tourma of the theme of Sebasteia and now became a kleisoura (a fortified frontier district), Ismael (possibly an Arab-Armenian) took over the deserted area of Symposion, and Melias was appointed " tourmarches of Euphrateia, the Passes ( Trypia , from Arabic al-Durub ) and

442-566: The city, although the citadel held out. As a result, Melitene pledged vassalage to the Byzantine Empire. In the event, Melitene soon renounced this treaty, and was placed again under siege by the Byzantines. According to an Arab account, Melias tried to infiltrate the city by disguising some of his troops as artisans , but the ploy was foiled. Nevertheless, the city soon after agreed to host a Byzantine garrison. In 930, Melias raided

468-564: The country's Christianization , schools and courts were all run by the Armenian clergy . In 4th-century Armenia, as in Parthia , large estates were hereditarily possessed by noble families and actually ruled by one of their members. The whole enlarged family was devoted to the worship of the same ancestors, lived in small fortified villages and spent most part of their time in hunting and in banqueting. Furthermore, each nakharar family had

494-556: The crafting of handmade food products, such as bread , beverages , cheese or textiles . Many of these have traditionally been handmade, rural or pastoral goods but are also now commonly made on a larger scale with automated mechanization in factories and other industrial areas. Artisans were the dominant producers of commodities before the Industrial Revolution . In ancient Greece , artisans were drawn to agoras and often built workshops nearby. During

520-529: The early 20th century, when the noble class was altogether abolished by the Bolsheviks . Artisans An artisan (from French : artisan , Italian : artigiano ) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand . These objects may be functional or strictly decorative , for example furniture , decorative art , sculpture , clothing , food items , household items, and tools and mechanisms such as

546-488: The family estate. Nakharars with greater authority were recognized as ishkhans (princes). This system has often been labelled as feudal for practical purposes; however, there are differences between this system and the feudal system later adopted in Western Europe . The estate as a whole was actually ruled by a single person, it was nonetheless considered the property of his whole enlarged family, so that, if

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572-447: The handmade clockwork movement of a watchmaker . Artisans practice a craft and may through experience and aptitude reach the expressive levels of an artist . The adjective "artisanal" is often used in describing hand-processing in contrast to an industrial process, such as in the phrase artisanal mining . Thus, "artisanal" is sometimes used in marketing and advertising as a buzz word to describe or imply some relation with

598-446: The primacy" ) was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility . Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of nahapet "chief of the family" or tanuter "master of the house" was given. Other members of a nakharar family in their turn ruled over smaller portions of

624-421: The ruler died heirless, he was succeeded by a member of a different branch of the family. Furthermore, the ruler was allowed to alienate a part of the family estate only to another member of the family or by permission of the whole enlarged family. This may also explain why Armenian feudal families were normally endogamic , in order not to scatter parts of their property, as would have happened if they had to give

650-539: The territory near Samosata , but was defeated by the Arab general Nedjm, and one of his sons was captured and taken to Baghdad . He is last known to have participated in the opening stages of the campaign that led to the final capture of Melitene on 19 May 934, but neither Arab nor Byzantine sources mention him during or after this event, making it probable that he died at about this time. Melias's descendants, however, continued to play an important role in Lykandos and in

676-559: The wasteland", covering the mountainous frontier zone around the Pass of Hadath . Of these petty border-lords, Melias alone would hold his position for long: Ismael died in a Melitenian offensive in 909, while Vasak was accused of treason in 913, possibly due to his association with the failed usurpation of Constantine Doukas , and banished. Melias soon occupied the old and deserted fortress of Lykandos , refortified it and made it his seat. Emperor Leo soon raised it and its surrounding region to

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