Social and Legal Status of the Feudal Estate Meliks of the Eastern Region of Armenia in the 17th — 19th Centures

The article employs an archival document-based comparative historical analysis to examine the evolution of the social and legal status of the feudal class meliks in the Eastern region of Armenia during the 17th to early 19th centuries. The study concluded that while in the times of Persian shahs the hereditary transfer of the dignity of a melik was confirmed by a firman, under the autocratic khans — only by the khans talga, and the life and rights of meliks directly depended on the will of the local khan. The Shahs firman did not bestow ownership of the entire mahal upon the meliks, but merely granted them the administration of the district. Consequently, the right to manage became a form of property. However, during the period of autocratic khans, the right to purchase and dispose of both movable and immovable assets was widely exercised, effectively rendering them.