Bidaxsh (bidakhsh, also spelled Pitiakhsh; in Roman sources Vitaxa) was a title of Iranian origin attested in various languages from the 1st to the 8th-century.[1] It has no identical word in English, but it is similar to a margrave, toparch and marcher lord.[2] The etymology of the term is disputed, and it has been interpreted as literally meaning "the eye of the king," "second ruler" or "vice king."[1] The word was borrowed into Armenian as Bdeašx (բդեաշխ), and into Georgian as Pitiaxshi (პიტიახში) and Patiaxshi (პატიახში).[3]
The title was prominent in Armenia and Georgia, being used by the military governor of a province, and being the hereditary title of the dynasts of Gugark.[1][4] The Armenian sources mention four bdeašxs in the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, who are referred to by different names.[5] Those four were the bdeašxs of Nor Shirakan (New Siracene), Aghdznik (Arzanene), Tsopk (Sophene), and Gugark (Gogarene).[5] According to Cyril Toumanoff, the bdeašxs of Armenia likely emerged in connection with the conquests of Tigranes the Great (r.) as viceroys tasked with protecting the newly conquered border territories.[6]
References
- ^ Sundermann 1989, pp. 242–244.
- ^ Rapp 2014, p. 62.
- ^ Rapp 2014, p. 58.
- ^ Aleksidze 2018.
- ^ Toumanoff 1963, p. 163.
- ^ Toumanoff 1963, p. 155.
Sources
- Rapp, Stephen H. (2014). The Sasanian World through Georgian Eyes: Caucasia and the Iranian Commonwealth in Late Antique Georgian Literature. Routledge. ISBN 978-1472425522.
- Sundermann, Werner (1989). "Bidaxš". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. IV, Fasc. 3. pp. 242–244.
- Toumanoff, Cyril (1963). Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Georgetown University Press.
Further reading
- Chkeidze, Thea (2001). "GEORGIA v. LINGUISTIC CONTACTS WITH IRANIAN LANGUAGES". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. X, Fasc. 5. pp. 486–490.