"Mangup: The Last Stronghold of the Gavras Dynasty" - Ruben ATOYAN

The article by Ruben Atoyan is devoted to the history of the last fortress of the Principality of Theodoro — Mangup in Crimea — and to the genealogy of the ruling dynasty of the Gavrases, an Armenian aristocratic family in the service of Byzantium.

Introduction and Methodology

The author begins with a description of the fall of Mangup in 1475, when, after a six-month siege, the Turkish forces of Gedik Ahmed Pasha took the last stronghold of Christian Crimea through deception. Drawing on the notes of the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi and the observations of the Crimean scholar Pyotr Keppen, as well as his own travel impressions from visiting the Mangup-Kale plateau, the author establishes the historical and geographical context of the study.

Armenian Chalcedonians and Noble Byzantine Families

The key thesis of the article is the assertion of the Armenian origin of the rulers of Theodoro — the Gavras family. Atoyan traces the history of the Armenian Chalcedonian aristocracy beginning in 451:

• Part of the Armenian nobility, while in the military and administrative service of Byzantium, adopted the Greek Orthodox faith while preserving their language and cultural identity;
• Among the Armenian-Chalcedonian families, one may distinguish the Lekapenoi, the Kourkouases, the Taronites, the Komnenoi, the Aspietes, and others, including the Gavrases;
• The historiography of the question is not unanimous: A.A. Vasiliev, A.L. Yakobson, S.T. Eremian, and R.M. Bartikian confidently support the Armenian version of the Gavrases' origin, whereas A. Bryer and A.P. Kazhdan express reservations.

Theodore Gavras — the Central Figure of the Family

Special attention is given to the biography of Theodore Gavras (ca. 1050), who, independently and without support from Constantinople, liberated Trebizond and the themes of Chaldia and Koloneia from the Seljuk Turks, for which he was recognized by the emperor as doux of these regions. The author cites the testimony of Anna Komnene in the Alexiad, who describes him as the invincible ruler of Trebizond. After being captured by the Turks and refusing to convert to Islam, Theodore Gavras was executed and was subsequently canonized as a holy martyr, venerated in Pontus and in Rus'.

Written Evidence

Atoyan draws upon a corpus of Armenian-language manuscripts — in particular, the Jerusalem parchment manuscript No. 336 and the Gospel from the Monastery of Sergius and Bacchus — which record mentions of representatives of the Gavras family (Leon, Constantine) as rulers of Armenian lands along the Euphrates River, confirming the territorial and dynastic connection of the family to the Armenian cultural sphere.

Conclusion

The totality of genealogical, chronicle, and epigraphic data leads the author to conclude that the Gavras dynasty, which ruled the last stronghold of Christian Crimea — the Principality of Theodoro, centered on Mangup — traces its origins to the Armenian aristocracy of Asia Minor, and that the fall of Mangup in 1475 marks the final disappearance of the last political entity connected with this family.