Osipyan B. A. The 505 Constitution of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Tsar Vachagan Barepasht (The Benevolent) as the Primary Source of the Loyal Armenian Legal Consciousness
DOI:10.22394/2225-8272-2025-14-4-9 EDN VFUMUU
Keywords:
legislative works of the Armenian rulers, independent administration of the Artsakh (Karabakh) minor princes, traditional Christian religion and faith, church canon lawAbstract
The purpose of the study is conduct a comprehensive historical and legal analysis of the so-called constitution or Judicial Code of the king of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Vachagan III Barepasht (the Pious), dating back to 505, and an assessment of its significance for the formation of the Armenian legal consciousness.
Problem. The article is devoted to the discussion of the issue of authenticity, content and legal nature of this monument. The problem of its attribution and dating is raised, as well as the critical separation of the historical core of the text from possible later layers. The issues related to the interpretation of this code of regulations as a constitutional act in the modern sense or as a Judicial Code reflecting the synthesis of canonical (ecclesiastical) and customary law of the Armenian population of Artsakh in the early Medieval period are considered.
Methodology. The research is based on textual, historical and comparative methods and legal analysis. The materials used are the texts of the Judicial Code published in Ancient Armenian (Grabar) and its translations into Russian. The sources were also the works of Armenian historians of the 5th–8th centuries. (Movses Khorenatsi, Faustos Buzand), canonical collections and epigraphic data. Attention is paid to the comparison with other early legal monuments of the region.
Novelty and results. The novelty of the research lies in the depoliticization analysis of the monument in the context of early Medieval law. A review and critical analysis of the main scientific positions of this document has been carried out. The results of a comparative analysis of its provisions with the norms of Armenian canon law and neighboring legal traditions are presented. The author focuses on the key blocks of the regulations: the regulation of marriage and family relations, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, norms on the protection of property and socio-hierarchical principles. It is shown that the Judicial Code consolidated the leading role of the church as a bearer of legal and moral norms. The author concludes that this monument is indeed an important source on the history of the Armenian legal consciousness, demonstrating how Christian doctrine was integrated into the local legal culture to regulate the life of the autonomous principality. The author's position is substantiated that its definition as a constitution is anachronistic and metaphorical.
Research perspectives. This work provides the basis for further research in the field of comparative study of the early legal systems of the Christian Transcaucasia and the mechanisms of interaction between secular and ecclesiastical authorities in the Armenian state entities after the partition of Armenia in 387.
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