Moxoene

History

In the 9th century BC, the territory of Mokk was incorporated into the Kingdom of Urartu (Van), and subsequently became part of the Orontid and Artaxiad kingdoms of Armenia. Despite the severe territorial losses suffered by the Armenian kingdom in the 3rd century AD, Mokk remained within Greater Armenia. Historical studies indicate that the administrative consolidation of Mokk was fully finalized by the 3rd century.

According to the 6th-century Byzantine historian Peter the Patrician, under the 298 AD Peace of Nisibis, the Roman Empire received five trans-Tigritane regions from Sasanian Persia: Angetun, Sophene, Aldznik, Corduene, and Zabdicene. These territories were original Armenian lands that had been annexed by Sasanian Persia in the 3rd century, likely following the assassination of the Armenian King Khosrov II the Great. The text of the Treaty of Nisibis demonstrates that these areas were no longer viewed as immediate components of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia in either Persian or Roman political perceptions at that time. This is confirmed by the fact that after the victory of the joint Armeno-Roman forces in 297 AD and the restoration of Armenia's borders, these territories were listed individually during the Nisibis negotiations. Shortly after the conclusion of the peace, Rome handed over these five trans-Tigritane regions back to the Kingdom of Greater Armenia.

The sovereignty over these trans-Tigritane territories was contested again in 363 AD, following the ill-fated Persian campaign of Emperor Julian the Apostate, which led to a new Romano-Persian peace treaty. By this treaty, the victorious Persian King Shapur II gained control over Aldznik, Mokk, Zabdicene, Rehimene, and Corduene. Ammianus Marcellinus' accounts confirm that between 298 and 363 AD, these regions had functionally been part of the Armenian kingdom. Although Mokk passed to Sasanian Persia via the 363 AD treaty, the military successes of King Pap temporarily restored Armenian influence in the region.

The emergence of Mokk as an independent administrative unit is linked to the 3rd- and 4th-century Armeno-Persian and Armeno-Roman interactions. Nicholas Adontz argued that by the 363 AD peace, Sasanian Persia reclaimed only three of the regions it had lost in the 298 AD Peace of Nisibis—namely Aldznik, Corduene, and Zabdicene—while Angetun and Sophene remained under Roman dominion. However, primary sources do not provide definitive answers regarding the subsequent status of Angetun and Sophene. Concurrently, it is established that the 363 AD treaty ceded Mokk and Rehimene to the Persians, neither of which appeared in the list of the five regions mentioned in the 298 AD treaty.

Karl Güterbock, Heinrich Hübschmann, Nicholas Adontz, and Hakob Manandyan hypothesized that Rome had acquired seven regions instead of five in 298 AD, five of which were returned to Persia in 363 AD. According to this view, Mokk was treated as an integral component of Aldznik, while Rehimene was considered part of Zabdicene. Reconstructions suggest that Mokk was originally a subdivision within the province of Aldznik. However, it is unlikely to have passed to the Roman Empire via the 298 AD treaty. This stance is supported by a well-known passage in the Ashkharhatsuyts, which explicitly designates the region as "Mokk, which is adjacent to Assyria" (Mogq vor ar Asorestaneal).

According to Moses of Chorene, the Armenian King Vagharshak established a dedicated princely house (nakhararutyun) in Mokk. The interpretation of Chorenatsy's account has triggered historiographical debates. Stepnos Malkhasyants translated the term "srikays" as "bandits" or "thieves," whereas H. G. Melkonyan demonstrated that this word, derived from Syriac, originally meant "naked," "poor," or "unarmed" people. Following this linguistic clarification, Chorenatsy’s passage is understood to mean that an individual in Mokk who commanded a substantial following of unarmed locals was elevated to the rank of a nakharar (noble).

For a long time, historians assumed that the entire territory of the province belonged exclusively to the Mokats princely family. However, an analysis of the individual cantons suggests that this view is not entirely robust. The canton of Arkayits gavar (Canton of the King) was a royal crown domain and did not belong to the princes of Mokk. Similarly, Arvenits dzor was likely under the control of the Aravanyan princely line. These factors indicate that the lands of the Mokats noble house and the administrative boundaries of Mokk province did not completely coincide.

A comparison of the military forces of the Mokats and Rshtuni princely houses further indicates that the entirety of Mokk could not have been owned by the Mokats princes alone. Both families were capable of fielding roughly one thousand soldiers each, even though Mokk vastly exceeded Rshtuniq in geographical size. From the late 3rd and early 4th centuries, the princes of Mokk were ranked among the most influential nobles of Greater Armenia. Agathangelos lists them as members of King Tiridates III the Great's royal entourage, alongside prestigious houses such as the Bagratunis, Syunis, and Rshtunis.

Following the partition of Greater Armenia in 387 AD, Mokk was included in the eastern Armenian kingdom ruled by Khosrov IV. It was later integrated into the Marzpanate of Armenia under Sasanian oversight. During the Battle of Avarayr in 451 AD, the Grand Prince of Mokk served as an assistant commander of the first military corps of the Armenian allied army. Following the fall of the Arsacids of Armenia, the lords of Mokk maintained their local autonomy. In the early 8th century, a branch of the Bagratuni family established its rule in Mokk. By the second half of the 9th century, Mokk fell under the political suzerainty of the Artsrunis of Vaspurakan. In the second half of the 10th century, the Byzantine Empire sought to extend its influence over Mokk to facilitate the eventual annexation of Vaspurakan. Following the collapse of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan, although Mokk was annexed to Byzantium, the local Artsrunis continued to recognize the overlordship of the Khedenekyans, a surviving branch of the Artsruni dynasty in the region.

Mokk is frequently mentioned in primary sources documenting the 5th-century Armenian national liberation wars. Until the Armeno-Persian border delimitation of 591 AD, Mokk was part of the administrative district of the Tanuterakan regiment within the Persian-governed marzpanate. Following the 591 AD partition, the bulk of Armenian lands passed to the Byzantine Empire, whereas the downsized Marzpanate of Armenia under Persian control retained Vaspurakan, Mokk, portions of Parskahayk and Corduene, as well as the city of Dvin and its surroundings.

From the 6th and 7th centuries onward, the political and administrative weight of Vaspurakan grew, gradually expanding the contemporary definition of "Vaspurakan" to encompass all Armenian territories remaining under Persian rule. As a consequence of this shift, medieval and particularly Arabic historical sources frequently describe Mokk as an integral subdivision of Vaspurakan.

From the early 16th century, the territory of Mokk was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Under Ottoman rule, it was incorporated into the Van Eyalet as a distinct sanjak under the name Moks. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, semi-independent Armenian communities managed to survive in Mokk. The hereditary landowners were Armenians and, in some areas, Kurds. The local economy thrived on viticulture, cotton cultivation, oilseed farming, and apiculture. During the Armenian genocide of 1915, the Armenian population of Mokk's 49 villages—totaling over 900 families—was forcibly deported and largely massacred along the migration routes. The few survivors crossed into Eastern Armenia, settling in the regions of Talin, Ashtarak, and the Lake Sevan basin.

Church History

Following the 387 AD partition of the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, several border provinces were detached from the eastern Armenian kingdom and transformed into independent administrative zones or attached to neighboring foreign districts. During this era, the Syriac Church, leveraging political backing from the Sasanian court, gradually expanded its ecclesiastic jurisdiction into the southern marches of Armenia, particularly the trans-Tigritane regions. The Syriac Church succeeded in establishing a diocese even within Mokk, which remained administratively bound to the eastern Armenian kingdom. This development does not imply the absence of an Armenian Apostolic Church episcopate in Mokk; on the contrary, it is highly probable that both church structures operated in parallel for a certain duration. In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Sasanian royal court routinely used the Syriac Church as a political counterweight against the ecclesiastic influence of the Roman and later Byzantine empires.

During the reign of Sasanian King Yazdegerd I, permission was granted to convene an official synod of the Syriac Church to regulate its activities and strengthen the status of the Catholicosate of Ctesiphon. Records from the synod, convened on February 1, 410 AD, indicate that the Ctesiphon structure was divided into six major metropolitan provinces. The Metropolitan See of Nisibis encompassed five bishoprics: Arzn, Korduq, Zabdicene, Rehimene, and Mokk. In Syriac ecclesiastical sources, Mokk is recorded as Beth Moksaye (Beyth-Moksa). The acts of the 410 AD synod were signed by Bishop Daniel of Beth Moksaye, confirming the presence of an organized Syriac diocese in Mokk by the start of the 5th century.

Administrative Divisions and Cantons

According to the long recension of the Ashkharhatsuyts, Mokk was divided into nine cantons (gavars):

• Ishayr
• Myus Ishayr (The Other Ishayr)
• Ishots gavar
• Arvenits dzor (or Arruenits dzor), with its center at Arvants (Arruants)
• Midja, with its center at Midja
• Mokk Arandznak, with its center at Moks
• Arkayits gavar (The Canton of the King)
• Argastovit
• Jermadzor, with its center at the settlement of Shatakh

The same source mentions that Mokk possessed substantial pastoral resources and was highly regarded for its rich pastures and game fowl.

The short recension of the Ashkharhatsuyts does not diverge fundamentally from the long version in its description of Mokk. According to the short text, Mokk was considered the fifth province of Greater Armenia, positioned east of Aldznik within the rugged strongholds of the Taurus Mountains. This variant similarly attributes nine cantons to the province. By cross-referencing surviving manuscript variants, the historical layout of Mokk can be reconstructed: it was the fifth province of Greater Armenia, situated east of Aldznik in the Taurus range, and comprised nine cantons. The description also records the Vorb River in the Arandznak Mokk canton and the Jerm River in Jermadzor. The treatise notes the presence of rare flora and fauna in Mokk, specifically highlighting exotic fruits known as arshak and manragor (mandrake), alongside beautifully spotted leopards (lynxes) and partridges.

Suren Eremyan proposed a textual emendation to the passage, interpreting the phrase "the Arandznak Mokats canton, in which is the river Vorb, the Arkayits canton" as a description of a single combined unit. In his view, Arandznak Mokats was synonymous with Arkayits gavar. This emendation reduced the total number of cantons from nine to eight. However, B. Harutyunyan argued that this modification lacks sufficient manuscript backing, as no surviving copy of the Ashkharhatsuyts lists the canton count of Mokk as eight. Furthermore, the name Arkayits gavar implies a crown domain, whereas Arandznak Mokk served as the political seat and residential domain of the hereditary Mokats princes.

Toponymy and Location of Cantons

Reconstructing the exact topography of Mokk's cantons remains challenging, as only three or four possess clear geographic identifiers. Mokk Arandznak was located in the valley of the Vorb (Moks) River, which later became known as the Moks-su or Mukus-su. The princely center of Moks, later known as Mukus, was situated in this valley.

Ghoukas Injijian located the canton of Arvenits dzor in a river valley roughly six hours' travel southwest of Moks. This positioning was subsequently supported by Ghevont Alishan, Heinrich Hübschmann, and Leo. However, S. Eremyan later adjusted this placement, shifting Arvenits dzor to the far northwest of Mokk, nestled between the cantons of Yerevanq and Rshtuniq in the Oransdaras valley. B. Harutyunyan accepts this adjusted positioning, citing the geographical sequence of cantons in the Ashkharhatsuyts text and corroborating narrative records. This is further supported by Thomas Artsruni's account, which places Arvanits dzor precisely along the border zone between Rshtuniq and Mokk. Over time, through dialectal shifts, the name of the village of Arvants changed to Avrants, Orants, or Orrents, eventually shifting under Kurdish phonetic influence to Oranis or Orans, giving rise to the name of the Oransdaras valley.

The canton of Jermadzor is also reasonably well-defined, though it has been subject to varied interpretations. Gh. Alishan equated Jermadzor directly with Shatakh. Drawing on the geographic surveys of Hartmann, Hoffmann, and Wünsch, H. Hübschmann placed it in the valley of the Jerm River (Bohtan-su), slightly west of Shatakh. A key geographical anchor for Jermadzor is the historical fortress of Zrayl (or Zrel), whose ruins are preserved under the local name Zrelkalasi. Hübschmann argued that Jermadzor lay west of the Zrel stronghold, which acted as a climatic dividing line between the temperate and warmer zones of the Eastern Tigris basin. S. Eremyan delineated the borders of Jermadzor starting from the vicinity of the Zrayl fortress and extending to the confluence of the Jerm and Ketsan rivers. B. Harutyunyan, however, notes that the western limits of Jermadzor must have reached slightly further west than this confluence, as placing the Aldznik cantons of Erkhetq and Ketik within the Ketsan basin is geographically improbable.

Thomas Artsruni mentions Jermadzor in connection with Vardan Mamikonian's operations in Mokk, noting that he took refuge within the deep recesses of the Taurus range, specifically in the mountains of Jermadzor at the Zrayl fortress. The same author explicitly states elsewhere that Jermadzor and the Zrayl fortress were integral parts of Mokk. The location of Jermadzor is also verified by the medieval chronicler Mesrop Erats, who records the canton of Jermadzor alongside the strongholds of Tmorik and the Alko fortress.

The name of the Jermadzor canton is derived from the Jerm River. In surviving copies of the Ashkharhatsuyts, the river's name is preserved with a scribal error as "Merm." In Byzantine and Arabic sources, the same river appears under different variants: Agathias utilizes a Hellenized form of Jerm, while Yaqut al-Hamawi records it as Wadi ar-Razm or Wadi az-Zarm.

Gh. Injijian suggested that Jermadzor corresponds to the "Termatzou" fortress mentioned by Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. However, subsequent researchers demonstrated that Constantine VII's Termatzou must be identified with Sermants, located northwest of Harq, near the Euphrates. This identification is considered far more accurate, as Jermadzor was never under the control of the Kaysite amirate, whereas the events described by Constantine VII are explicitly tied to Harq and its adjacent districts.

Analysis of the geographic sequence suggests that the Ashkharhatsuyts recorded the cantons of Mokk moving from south to north and then toward the east. Given that Arvenits dzor occupied the extreme northwestern edge of Mokk, it is inferred that the cantons of Ishayr, Myus Ishayr, and Ishots gavar were situated within the basin of the Ketsan River. Ishayr was likely located in the valley of the Havkischay (a right-bank tributary of the Ketsan) and its adjacent left-bank tracts. If this holds true, Myus Ishayr must have lain further north, extending toward Arvenits dzor in the vicinity of Khizan. Ishots gavar was likely positioned on the left bank of the Ketsan, around Aghakis, old Yeghegis, and Spaykert. Following this progression past Midja, Mokk Arandznak occupied the main valley of the Moks River. The remaining cantons of Mokk would thus occupy the southern sectors of the province.

Opinions vary regarding the location of Arkayits gavar. Gh. Alishan placed it between Moks and Shatakh. However, B. Harutyunyan argues it is more accurately sought in the basin of the Eastern Tigris or Jerm River, west of Jermadzor. Arkayits gavar may have originally been a section of Jermadzor, but its status as a royal crown estate likely led to its administrative separation into an independent canton. For the canton of Argastovit, S. Eremyan’s reconstruction is widely accepted, placing the southern cantons of Mokk in a west-to-east sequence: Arkayits gavar, Argastovit, and Jermadzor.