The Church and Political Geography of the Kari (Kars) Region

Literary sources of the 13th-17th cc. referred to a Georgian bishop of Kari (Kars) whose jurisdiction spread over Kari and its surroundings, Karnipor, Gagchevan (former Kechrol), and Kaghzevan or former Arsharunik/Ashornia.
Certain scholars’ statements that the organization of the Georgian church in Kari simply copied that of the former Byzantine or Armeno-Chalcedonian church province are groundless. Georgian cultural and ecclesiastical infl uence in Armenia – and specifi cally Vanand – has been traced since the 9-10th cc. In 1074 -1080 Kars Province was situated within the borders of the Georgian kingdom, and the dislocation of the Georgian garrisons was followed by the emergence of the Georgian Church in Kari. However, the lack of political and demographic conditions did not favour the rise of a new cathedral at that time. But the situation changed at the beginning of the 13th c. when the region of Kari was incorporated into the Georgian kingdom. The Georgian monarchs Tamar (1184-1207/1213) and Lasha-Giorgi (1207/1213-1222) actively promoted the establishment of new sees. Georgian literary sources made reference to Saba Syncellus, the bishop of Kari. However, it is not clear whether in this case the Georgian word kari refers to a kari-court (i.e. Saba, bishop of a royal court) or to the city of Kari (Kars). If the latter is correct, the bishopric of Kari might have been established no later than the 1220s. A mid-13th c. church document made early reference to the bishopric of Kari.
The establishment of the Georgian eparchy indicates that a Georgian or Georgian-speaking community was expanding, as was the number of Georgian churches and monasteries in the Kari (Kars) region. Epigraphic and literary evidence indicate that Georgian churches operated in modern Kizilkilis near Kars, another in Soghanlugh and in Hamamli close to Sarikamish, one more in Kizilkilis between Sarikamish and Karakurt, as well as in Changli. Architectural monuments attest that the foundation of monasteries and monastery life was vibrant even in the period of economic decline (mid-14th c.). It can be argued that monasticism in the area must have been even more broad-scale in the previous century.
The borders of the Kari bishopric did not coincide with either the administrative units (saeristavos or duchies) or the principalities. Its districts were divided between the Crown and the nobles. The city-fortress of Kari fell within the royal domains and was governed by an emir and the city was the residence of a monapire, or a margrave, as well. Kaghzevan was part of the Lore-Anisi princedom and belonged to the family of Mkhargrdzeli, and the rest was held by the house of Akhaltsikheli.
After the Khwarazm and Mongol invasions in the 13th c., the political and social geography changed. The Akhaltsikhelis fell and lost their seigneuries to the neighbours. In about 1240, the Jakelis held the province of Karnipor, then in the 1270s Sadun Mankaberdeli, a Georgian nouveau riche closely associated with the Mongols, obtained eastern parts of the Kari region through his marriage to the last Akhaltsikheli. At the same time, he seized the city-fortress of Kari from the royal domains.
At the end of the 13th c. and beginning of the 14th c. the political map of Georgia changed further. The Ilkhans annexed Kaghshevan and other lands from the Georgian kingdom south to the Araxes. They took over the province of Kari on the left bank of the Araxes, and ceded it shortly afterwards to the Prince of Samtskhe, Beka Jakeli. Kari and Kechroli remained within then borders of Georgia until the mid-14th c.
At the end of the 14th c. Kari became part of Islamic world again. Between 1362-1386 it was conquered by the Jalayirids and then the Timurids, and in 1579 was occupied by the Ottomans and turned into the Kars Vilayet. In spite of the transformations in the political geography, offi cial ecclesiastical geography remained unchanged. According to the documents dated to 1516, the bishopric still functioned and its prelate was under the jurisdiction of the Georgian Kathalicos-Patriarch. The demands of the Georgian Church could have been inspired by the existence of a Georgian (i.e. Orthodox) population in the area. Indeed, Turkish writers in the fi rst half of the 17th c. described the population of the Kars Vilayet as “Georgian”. The Berta Gospel, moved from Guria Province (West Georgia) to Kars, was presumably for the religious needs of this “Georgian” community. But under the Ottoman domination, the Georgian population in Kari declined quickly and along with it the Georgian church life also died out and disappeared by the end of the 17th century.