What is "melikov"

Melikov , the Russified version of Armenian last name Melikyan was an Armenian noble family in the Kingdom of Georgia and later in the Russian Empire.

The family descended from an Armenian nobleman named Malek Miriman who hailed from Somkhiti, had converted to Islam and was enfeoffed with the melikdom of Lori by the Safavid Iranian king Tahmasp I (r. 1514–1576). Under the Safavids, the family continued to rise to prominence, and they were known as the Mirimanidzes.

• Later, the family returned to Christianity ( Georgian Orthodox) and were confirmed as Princes Melikishvili and dukes of Somkhiti.
• A branch of this family became Armenian Apostolic and came to be known as Loris-Melikov , which means Meliks of Lori. After the Russian annexation of Georgia, the family was received among the princely nobility ( knyaz) of the Russian Empire, and was made famous by General Mikhail Tarielovich Loris-Melikov (1825–88) who was bestowed with the dignity of count in 1878.