 Pghndzahank became the property of Ivane Zakarian in the 1180s . While Ivane 's brother <unk> was Armenian Apostolic , Ivane had accepted Greek Orthodoxy in the Georgian court . Several monasteries in northern Armenia were converted by the Zakarids to Greek Orthodoxy , a prominent example is the monastery of <unk> . By doing so Ivane enhanced the benevolence of the Georgian court and gained influence among the Chalcedonian Armenians who mostly inhabited Northern and North @-@ Western Armenia . The Zakarids began to lose control starting in the 1220s during the disastrous Mongol invasions of Georgia and Armenia . The son of Ivane , <unk> was forced to recognize his subordination to the Mongol leader <unk> . The Mongol rule continued until 1340 when it was interrupted by successive conquests of Turkic tribes . The Turkic tribe of Kara Koyunlu began attacking the Caucasus and took control of most of Armenia proper by 1400 . Their rule was interrupted by the conquests of Tamerlane . One of the cliffs that surrounds Akhtala is known as <unk> , named after Tamerlane who according to local tradition buried one of his wives under the cliff . 
