Taron (Armenian: Տարօն; Western Armenian pronunciation: Daron; Greek: Ταρών, Tarōn; Latin: Taraunitis) was a canton of the Turuberan province of Greater Armenia, roughly corresponding to the modern Muş Province in eastern Turkey. It encompassed the fertile Muş plain and surrounding mountainous terrain, and was divided into districts including Mamikonian, Palauni, and Artokh.
Early Middle Ages
The principal source on the region's history during the Early Middle Ages is the History of Taron, a relatively short historical romance in five parts attributed to Yovhannes (John) Mamikonean, who claimed to have compiled it in 680–681 from earlier accounts written by the abbots of the monastery of Glak (Glakavank) in Taron. The work describes events during the Byzantine–Sassanid Wars under the Sassanid emperor Khosrau II (590–628), when Taron was frequently invaded by Persian forces. The narrative follows five generations of the Mamikonian princely house—Mushegh, Vahan, Smbat, Vahan Kamsarakan, and Tiran—in defending the district. The heroes are portrayed as holy warriors of St. Karapet (John the Baptist), their patron saint, and zealously defend the Saint Karapet Monastery and all Christian sites in the region.
Later History
Following the death of Mushegh VI Mamikonian at the Battle of Bagrevand in April 775 and the decline of the Mamikonian family, Taron passed to Ashot Msaker of the Bagratuni family after a conflict with the Jahhafids. The Bagratuni rulers of Taron included:
- Ashot I Msaker (died 826), ruled ca. 813–826, presiding prince of Armenia (as Ashot IV) from 806
- Bagrat I (died after 851), ruled 826–851, presiding prince of Armenia (as Bagrat II) after 830
- Ashot II (ca. 835–878), ruled after 851–878
- David (ca. 840–895), ruled 878–895
- Gurgen (murdered 895/6), ruled 895/6
- Grigor I (died 923/36), ruled 898–923/936
- Bagrat II (died before 940) and Ashot III (died 967), ruled jointly 898–967
Upon the death of Ashot III in 967, his sons Grigor II (Gregory Taronites) and Bagrat III (Pankratios Taronites) ceded the principality to the Byzantine Empire in exchange for lands and noble titles. In Byzantium, they formed the Taronites family, a senior Byzantine noble family during the 11th–12th centuries. Under Byzantine rule, Taron was united with the district of Keltzene into a single province (theme), whose governor typically bore the rank of protospatharios. In the mid-11th century, it was united with the theme of Vaspurakan under a single governor. Taron also became a metropolitan see with 21 suffragan sees.
Following the Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Manzikert against the Seljuk Turks in 1071, an independent Armenian lord named Tornik seized power in Taron, establishing a principality with Muş as his capital. This principality held out until it was overrun by the Turks in 1189/90.
