Antzitene

Antzitene or Anzitene (Old Armenian: Անձիտ Anjit, Greek: Ἀνζιτηνή) was a region of the medieval Armenia c. 300–1000, known in Armenian as Hanzith and in Syriac as Hanzit. Today it lies in Turkey.

From 384, it formed one of the satrapies of Roman Armenia, before becoming part of the new province of Armenia IV in 536. In the 10th century the rulers were Habel (c. 970) and Sahak (c. 995).

Located at the southwestern corner of Armenia, it was bordered by the Arsanias river on the north, the Euphrates on the west, and the slopes of the Armenian Taurus on the south and southeast. The geographic core of Anzitene was the plains region stretching from modern-day Elazığ to the ancient city of Arsamosata.^[1] Now called Altınova, or "golden plain", this is a fertile and well-watered region surrounded by mountains. According to a local tradition recorded in the 19th century, it was the site of the ancient Garden of Eden.^[2] Anzitene also included areas on the east bank of the Euphrates, around Muşar and Tomisa (Kömür Han), in what is geographically part of the Malatya plain instead.^[1]

Anzitene controlled the southern of the two main east-west routes through the Armenia. The first one went from Melitene in the west, crossed the Euphrates at Tomisa, and then followed the Arsanias valley up to its headwaters in the lava country north of Lake Van. It also commanded the Ergani Pass - one of two main routes over the Armenian Taurus, linking the Armenian plateau with the rich upper Tigris valley. It also controlled several lesser-important routes. One went northwest towards northern Anatolia, crossing the Arsanias at the Aşvan ford and then the Euphrates near Ağın. Another went north to the upper Euphrates valley, crossing the Arsanias at the Pertek ford and then crossing the high, bare Mouzouron range.^[3]

Given its strategic position, Anzitene was often contested between major empires during late antiquity and the early middle ages. It was just beyond the Roman Empire's frontier on the Euphrates until 297, when it was annexed by Diocletian. It then formed a buffer zone protecting Roman Melitene and also controlled the Romans' main north-south military route in the region (the Ergani Pass) until Justinian extended Roman rule further east up the Arsanias valley. Then, after the Arab conquest, Anzitene became part a staging point for expeditions against Asia Minor and to control southwestern Armenia.^[3] Anzitene was reconquered by the Byzantines in the 930s and they fortified the city of Harput which now rose to prominence and became the main city in the region.^[4] Not long after, the Hamdanid ruler Sayf al-Dawla made a famous raid into Anzitene in 956. This was one of his most famous campaigns, and the "remarkably detailed" Arabic prose account of it provides a major source about medieval Anzitene and its settlement patterns.^[5]

Classical Anzitene was a prosperous region; its main towns were Dadima (Tadım) and Arsamosata, while many villages dotted the surrounding countryside.^[1] However, during the middle ages, Anzitene's population appears to have decreased - its location on the frontier during the Arab-Byzantine wars left it vulnerable to attack, and many people migrated north to the relatively more secure district of Sophene.^[6]

Today, the construction of the Keban Dam has flooded low-lying parts of old Anzitene along the Arsanias valley, hindering archaeological research of sites there.^[7]