The Kingdom of Syunik (Սյունիքի թագավորություն), was
The Kingdom of Syunik (Սյունիքի թագավորություն), was one of the medieval Armenian kingdoms. It was located on the territory of Syunik, Artsakh, Gardman and Gegharkunik. Contemporary sources referred to it as the Khachen. The royal house of Artsakh was a cadet branch of the ancient Syunid dynasty and was named Khachen, after its main stronghold. The kingdom emerged when Hovhannes-Senekerim acquired the royal title in 1000.
The kingdom was under the protectorate of the Bagratuni kings of Armenia.
Syunik maintained its sovereign rulers, though in the early 13th century they accepted Georgian, then Mongol suzerainty. They lost the royal title after the assassination of Hasan-Jalal (1214–1261) by the Ilkhanid ruler Arghun, but continued to rule Syunik as a principality, which from the 16th century comprised five Armenian melikdoms and lasted until the early 19th century.