House of Hasan-Jalalyan in the context of "Gülüstan, Goranboy"

Medieval Armenia refers to the history of Armenia during the Middle Ages. It follows Ancient Armenia and covers a period of approximately eight centuries, beginning with the Muslim conquest of Armenia in the 7th century. Key events during this period includes the rebirth of an Armenian Kingdom under the Bagratid dynasty, followed by the arrival of the Seljuk Turks. During this period, a portion of the Armenian people migrate to Cilicia to seek refuge from invasions, while the remnants in Eastern Armenia see the establishment of Zakarid Armenia under the Kingdom of Georgia. This period also marks the emergence of the royal dynasty in Artsakh.

In Cilicia, Armenians establish a crusader state, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which would be the last fully independent Armenian state throughout the following centuries until the establishment of modern-day Armenia. The arrival of the Mongol Empire in the area, followed by the rise and fall of several other Turko-Mongol confederations, marks a turning point in the history of the Armenian people, defined by the large influx of Turkic-speaking peoples into their homeland. By the end of the Middle Ages, the notion of an Armenian state is relegated to history, with the western portions of historic Armenia as part of the Ottoman Empire, and the eastern portion as part of Safavid Iran.

The Principality of Khachen (Modern Armenian: Խաչենի իշխանություն, Khach’eni ishkhanut’yun) was a medieval Armenian principality on the territory of historical Artsakh (present-day Karabakh). The provinces of Artsakh and Utik were attached to the Kingdom of Armenia in antiquity, although they were later lost to Caucasian Albania. In the early medieval period, these provinces were under Sassanid and then Arab suzerainty until the establishment of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia in the 9th century. From the 12th century, the principality of Khachen dominated the region. The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII addressed his letters to the prince of Khachen with the inscription "To Prince of Khachen, Armenia."

All of the contemporary sources refer to the ruler of the principality an Armenian prince. The Armenian princely family of Hasan Jalalyan began ruling much of Khachen and Artsakh in 1214. In 1216, the Jalalyans founded the Gandzasar monastery which became the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Catholicos of Albania, forced to Khachen from Partav (Barda) by the steady Islamization of the city. The Khamsa (The Five) principalities maintained Armenian autonomy in the region throughout the Persian-Ottoman Wars. In 1603 the Persians established a protectorate over the Khamsa and sponsored the establishment of a local khanate in 1750.