page_title: Shirak Province
section_title: Seljuk period, Zakarid Armenia and Turkmen rule
hierarchical_section_title: Shirak Province / History / Seljuk period, Zakarid Armenia and Turkmen rule
caption_attribution_description: This is a photo of a monument in Armenia identified by the ID 8.43/
context_page_description: Shirak, is a province of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey in the west and Georgia in the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri. It is as much semi-desert as it is mountain meadow or high alpine. In the south, the high steppes crash into mountain terrain, verdant green in the spring, hues of reddish brown in the summer. The province is served by the Shirak International Airport of Gyumri.
context_section_description: After the fall of Armenia to the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and later to the Seljuk invaders in 1064, the region entered an era of downfall in all social, educational and cultural aspects.
  However, with the establishment of the Zakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate, the Eastern Armenian territories, mainly Lori and Shirak, entered into a new period of growth and stability, becoming a trade centre between the east and the west. After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, Armenia turned into a Mongol protectorate as part of the Ilkhanate, and the Zakarids became vassals to the Mongols. After the fall of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century, the Zakarid princes ruled over Lori, Shirak and Ararat plain until 1360 when they fell to the invading Turkic tribes.
  By the last quarter of the 14th century, the Aq Qoyunlu Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribe took over Armenia, including Shirak. In 1400, Timur invaded Armenia and Georgia, and captured more than 60,000 of the survived local people as slaves. Many districts including Shirak were depopulated. In 1410, Armenia fell under the control of the Kara Koyunlu Shia Oghuz Turkic tribe. According to the Armenian historian Thomas of Metsoph, although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place.
caption: Saint Paul and Peter Church of Bardzrashen, flourished under the Zakarids
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