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83-506: The church was built in the 10th century during the Bagratid kingdom . There is historical information about the construction of the church in the work of the historian Asoghik . Tsaghats kar was a medieval educational institution, they studied painting there, and there is a hypothesis that the choice of the name has something to do with the name of the flowered stone (Armenian Ծաղկած Քար or Ցաղաց Քար). There are two groups of structures at

166-409: A city to settle in, alternating from Bagaran to Shirakavan to Kars; Kars never did reach a status where it could become a capital and Dvin was disregarded altogether, given its proximity to the hostile emirates. Ani's natural defenses were well suited Ashot's desire to secure an area which could withstand siege and fell on a trade route that passed from Dvin to Trebizond. Owing to this trade route,

249-594: A major victory when on April 21, 892, he recaptured the historic city of Dvin from the Arabs. Smbat's successes quickly came to a halt when Afshin decided that he could not countenance a powerful Armenia so close to his domains. He retook Dvin and managed to take Smbat's wife as a hostage until she was released in exchange for Smbat's son Mushegh, and his nephew, also named Smbat. The wars against Armenia continued even after Afshin's death in 901, when his brother Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj became ostikan of Arminiya. While Yusuf's reign

332-649: A new force under the Armenian Domestic of the Schools John Kourkouas to disrupt Ashot's position as king and to support the rebels fighting him. In 928, Kourkouas reached Dvin in an unsuccessful attempt to capture a city that was defended by both the Arabs and Ashot. In 923, the Caliph, facing troubles at home, released Yusuf, who traveled back to Armenia to unleash his fury against Armenia and especially Gagik I. He began demanding tribute from

415-456: A peace treaty with the Caliphate, although the continuing war with the Arabs and Byzantines soon led to further destruction throughout Armenia. In 661, Armenian leaders agreed to submit to Muslim rule while the latter recognized Grigor Mamikonian from the powerful Mamikonian nakharar family as ishkhan (prince) of Armenia. Known as al-Arminiya with its capital at Dvin , the province

498-504: A spherical dome. Many churches and other forms of architecture suffered vandalism or outright destruction following the Seljuk invasions of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Theodore Rshtuni Theodore or Theodoros Rshtuni ( Old Armenian : Թէոդորոս Ռշտունի , romanized:  T῾ēodoros Ṙštuni , Armenian pronunciation: [tʰɛodoɾos ərəʃtuni] ; AD 590–655 or 656 ), equated with Pasagnathes ( Πασαγνάθης ),

581-460: A string of victories and annexed parts of southwestern Armenia; King Hovhannes-Smbat felt forced to cede his lands and in 1022 pledged that his kingdom would pass to the Byzantines following his death. However, after Hovhannes-Smbat's death in 1041, his successor, Gagik II , refused to hand over Ani and continued resistance until 1045, when his kingdom, plagued by internal and external threats,

664-520: Is reliable, its squares are cross-shaped, its fields are wonderful. The main mosque is on a hill and next to the mosque is the church....By the city is a citadel. The buildings of the inhabitants are made of clay or stone. The city has main gates such as Bab ['Gate']-Keydar, Bab-Tiflis and Bab-Ani. Dvin became famous throughout the Arab world for its wool and silk production and the export of pillows, rugs, curtains and covers. A village named Artashat near Dvin

747-483: The marzban of Armenia in 634. He defended, alongside the Byzantine general Procopius , against the first, unsuccessful Arab attack into Armenia in 640. A maneuver that went wrong allowed the Arabs to pillage the capital of Dvin and take 35,000 inhabitants into slavery. However, in 641, Byzantine Emperor Constans II followed the advice of Armenian Catholicos Nerses III , made Theodore commander in chief of

830-810: The Armenian Apostolic Church , but there were elements in Armenian society who also adhered to the Eastern Orthodox Church , the official religion of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium repeatedly demanded for communion with the Armenian Church as prerequisite for sending aid to the Bagratunis but most attempts failed to bear any fruit. In the mid-10th century, a new internal challenge to the authority of

913-528: The Eastern Orthodox Church . A synod of Armenian church leaders was convoked and a letter laden with equivocal wording sent to Constantinople was able to sustain a temporary agreement between the two churches. In any case, religious differences mattered little to the Byzantines in consideration of the menace the Arabs continued to pose. In 884, the Caliph Al-Mu'tamid , reacting to the demands of Armenian princes and religious leaders and, more importantly,

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996-569: The Sassanid Empire . Another chronology proposes 651 as the year Rshtuni accepted the first truce with the Arabs, and that by 652 he accepted Muawiyah's suzerainty and was appointed ruler of Armenia . The Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia of 1978 states that in response to Theodore Rshtuni's treason, Constans personally marshaled his forces and led them to Armenia despite a growing plot against him in Constantinople , ironically by

1079-548: The Seljuk Turks , but even he was constrained to cede his lands to the Byzantines and retreat to Anatolia, only to see Kars captured by the Turks in 1065. In Baghk and Eastern Syunik, only a few Armenian fortresses remained. The king of Bagratuni Armenia held unlimited powers and was the ultimate authority when it came to resolving questions on foreign and domestic affairs. The princes and nakharars were directly subordinate to

1162-553: The Turkic general Bugha al-Kabir captured Bagrat, Smbat, and other Armenian princes and brutally put down the rebellion. In 857, Smbat had been succeeded by his son Ashot I , who took a measured approach to gradually retake territories formerly held by the Arabs. He assumed the title prince of princes in 862 and appointed his brother Abas sparapet, as they began to push the Arabs out from their base in Tayk. His initial efforts to expel

1245-590: The " patrikios of the Armenians" from the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor , was an Armenian nakharar (magnate), famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia. After the previous ishkhan (prince) David Saharuni was overthrown by other nakharar s in 638 or 640, Theodore Rshtuni became the leading prince of Byzantine Armenia under the same title as his predecessor, "Prince of Armenia" ( ishkhan hayots’ ). The chronology of

1328-461: The 10th century. Emperor Basil II 's numerous victories against the Arabs and internal Arab struggles helped clear a path towards the Caucasus. Constantinople's official policy was that no Christian ruler is equal to or independent of the Byzantine emperor, and even if it was at time masked with diplomatic compromises, the empire's ultimate goal was the complete annexation of the Armenian realms. By

1411-536: The Arab Muslim invasion of Armenia is not clear, Arab and Armenian sources making contradictory statements, with some clarity possible only in regard to the start of the aggression in the 640s, and Theodore Rshtuni's submission in 653. Prior to the Arab invasions, Rshtuni had been appointed the sparapet (commander-in-chief) of the Armenian forces in the Armenian Marzpanate and was appointed as

1494-616: The Arabs in Mosul , Ashot mobilized an 80,000 man army to meet and force its withdrawal. In the following year, he concluded an alliance with Tzimiskes and sent 10,000 Armenian troops to campaign with the emperor against the Muslim emirates in Aleppo and Mosul. Ashot also had unsuccessfully attempted to capture Dvin from the Shaddadid emir in 953; he had laid siege to it for quite some time but

1577-411: The Armenian nakharar noble families, Ashot succeeded in asserting himself as the leading figure of a movement to dislodge the Arabs from Armenia. Ashot's prestige rose as both Byzantine and Arab leaders—eager to maintain a buffer state near their frontiers—courted him. The Abbasid Caliphate recognized Ashot as "prince of princes" in 862 and, later on, as king (in 884 or 885). The establishment of

1660-599: The Armenian Church and the kingdom arose when the Tondrakians experienced a revival. An anti-feudal and heretical Christian sect that had been crushed by the Arabs with the Armenian Church's support in the 9th century, the Tondrakian movement attracted many followers during this period. Ashot III had realized the danger the Tondrakians posed against the kingdom and this was of his reasons why he directly subjected

1743-476: The Armenian commander of the army of Thrace . Constans secured Armenia and deposed Theodoros, who took refuge on the island of Akhtamar . Byzantine commander Maurianus was given the task to defend the Armenian frontier. In 654 Maurianus was driven out of Armenia into the Caucasus and Theodoros was restored. Deciding that Theodoros was untrustworthy, the Arabs sent him to Damascus , where he died in captivity

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1826-466: The Armenian rulers but faced considerable resistance by Ashot II. Time and again, Ashot was able to defeat and rout the Arab armies sent against him for several years. Finally, in 929, Yusuf died and an immense power struggle ensued between rival Iranian and Kurdish families in Azerbaijan , thus reducing the Arab threat to Armenia. Byzantine emperor Romanos Lekapenos also turned his attention from

1909-610: The Armenian troops and gave him the title of a patrikios . He gained a victory over the Arabs, for which he was recognized as ruler of Armenia by Constans in 643, but failed to coordinate with a second army under Procopius, who suffered a severe defeat for which the Byzantines put the blame on Theodore. It was the Arabs of Atropatene (geographically in the same area as modern-day Azerbaijan), who attacked in 642-3 and 650. Constans paid special attention to his family's imperiled homeland of Armenia, and he favored Byzantine generals of Armenian extraction to halt Arab advances. Faced with

1992-632: The Bagratuni and Mamikonian families. The rebellion's failure also resulted in the near disintegration of the Mamikonian house which lost most of the land it controlled (members of the Artsruni house were able to escape and settle in Vaspurakan ). A third and final rebellion, stemming from similar grievances as the second, was launched in 774 under the leadership of Mushegh Mamikonian and with

2075-449: The Bagratuni kingdom later led to the founding of several other Armenian principalities and kingdoms: Taron , Vaspurakan , Kars , Khachen and Syunik . During the reign of Ashot III (952/53–77), Ani became the kingdom's capital and grew into a thriving economic and cultural center. The first half of the 11th century saw the decline and eventual collapse of the kingdom. The Byzantine emperor Basil II ( r.  976–1025 ) won

2158-404: The Bagratuni kingdom was established, ushering in a new golden age of Armenian culture. The lack of a strong Arab presence saw a rise in the number of historians , who wrote and documented the relations between Armenia and other countries and described many events that took place from the seventh to eleventh centuries. Thanks to the patronage of the kings and nobles, monasteries became centers for

2241-552: The Balkans to Vaspurakan (which they also called Vasprakania, Asprakania, or Media) even before Senekerim-Hovhannes' offer and reduced it to another Byzantine theme with Van as regional capital. With the fall of the Ardzruni kingdom, Byzantine power was firmly established on the Armenian highlands, with only the Bagratuni and Eastern Syunik and Baghk kingdoms remaining independent. After the death of King Gagik I (in 1017 or 1020),

2324-458: The Byzantine Empire, the Arabs but also traded with Kievan Rus and Central Asia . Armenian-populated Dvin remained an important city on par with Ani, as evidenced in a vivid description by the Arab historian and geographer al-Mukadasi : Dabil [Dvin] is an important city, in it are an inaccessible citadel and great riches. Its name is ancient, its cloth is famous, its river is abundant, it is surrounded by gardens. The city has suburbs, its fortress

2407-535: The Byzantine advance, which stopped short of capturing Dvin due to the onset of winter. Nevertheless, the force had returned Ashot to a powerful position in Armenia and managed to inflict heavy casualties against the Arabs. This still left Ashot, the anti-king, in control in Dvin and civil war raged on from 918 to 920, when the pretender finally conceded defeat. Numerous other rebellions in Armenia also took place but Ashot

2490-632: The Byzantines, who had repeatedly demonstrated their unreliability as allies by attacking and annexing Armenian territories. Romanus of Byzantium was also more focused on fighting the Arab Hamdanids , leaving Abas virtually free to conduct his policies without foreign hindrance. Another foreign threat that Abas steadfastly confronted was an invasion by king Ber of Abkhazia in 943: a new church had been completed in Kars under Abas' orders and prior to its consecration, Ber had appeared with an army along

2573-551: The Caliph. As historian George Bournoutian observes, "this fragmentation of Arab authority provided the opportunity for the resurgence of Bagratuni leadership under Ashot Msaker [the 'Meat-Eater']". Ashot began to annex the lands that formerly belonged to the Mamikonians and actively campaigned against the emirs as a sign of his allegiance to the Caliphate, who in 804 bestowed upon him the title of ishkhan . Upon his death in 826, Ashot bequeathed his land to two of his sons:

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2656-521: The Church to him, gave it lands, and sponsored the construction of new monasteries and churches. The message of the Tondrakians, however, continued to spread and successive Armenian kings would work to suppress its expansion. The Bagratuni kingdom was based on essentially two economies: one which was centered around agriculture based on feudalism and the other which was concentrated on mercantilism in towns and cities. Peasants (known as ramiks ) formed

2739-479: The Muslims managed to defeat the remaining Byzantine troops in 653, Theodore Rshtuni participated in pushing out the Byzantines and he again recognized Muslim overlordship on very convenient conditions. Theodore's truce with then-governor of Syria and future caliph , Muawiyah , left Armenia with a relatively high level of autonomy , and Arabs concentrated their efforts against the remaining pockets of resistance in

2822-593: The Muslims out of his domains. Support for Ashot also arrived from the west: the Byzantine empress Zoe had watched the Arab invasion of Armenia unfold with consternation and so she ordered the Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos to write an official letter to the Armenian Catholicos to form a new alliance with Armenia. The Catholicos responded amicably and in 914, Ashot accepted an invitation by Zoe to visit Constantinople. There, Ashot

2905-403: The childless Hovhannes-Smbat sent Catholicos Petros Getadardz to Byzantium in order to negotiate a partial respite by leaving his kingdom to the empire after his death. Immediate results of this action were unknown, but after the death of the two brothers in 1040–41, the new Byzantine emperor and successor to Basil II claimed the kingdom of Bagratid Armenia. The son of Ashot, young Gagik II with

2988-722: The cities of Ani, Kars, and Artsn. The city of Kars allowed trade to move north, to ports on the Black Sea and to Abkhazia ; other routes were connected to cities in Anatolia and Iran ; and the main route leading from the Caliphate to Kievan Rus was known as the "Great Armenian Highway." Ani did not lie along any previously important trade routes, but because of its size, power, and wealth it became an important trading hub. From Ani, Armenia exported textiles , metalwork , armor , jewelry , horses, cattle, salt, wine, honey, timber , leather, and furs . Its primary trading partners were

3071-594: The city quickly began to grow and became Bagratuni Armenia's chief political, cultural and economic center. Shops, markets, workshops, inns were established by the city's merchants and populace while the nakharar elite went on to sponsor the building of magnificent mansions and palaces. The construction was also complemented by the King Ashot's own philanthropy, including the building of the famed "Ashotashen" walls that were erected around Ani, monasteries, hospitals, schools, and almshouses (his wife Khosrovanuysh also founded

3154-645: The country due to a lack of regional trade, and the Umayyads' preference of the Bagratuni family over the Mamikonians (other notable families included the Artsruni , Kamsarakan , and Rshtuni ) made this difficult to accomplish. Taking advantage of the overthrow of the Umayyads by the Abbasids , a second rebellion was conceived, although it too was met with failure, partly because of the tense relationship between

3237-473: The east to fight the Arabs in Syria . Ashot's efforts to preserve and defend the kingdom earned him the epithet "Yerkat", or Iron; he died in 929 and was succeeded by his brother, Abas I . Abas I's reign was characterized with an unusual period of stability and prosperity that Armenia had not enjoyed for decades. His capital was based at the fortress-city of Kars and Abas achieved numerous successes on both

3320-539: The eldest, Bagrat II Bagratuni received Taron and Sasun and inherited the prestigious title of ishkhanats ishkhan , or prince of princes, whereas his brother, Smbat the Confessor , became the sparapet of Sper and Tayk . The brothers, however, were unable to resolve their differences with one another nor able to form a unified front against the Muslims. A new Armenian rebellion against Arab rule broke out in 850 led by Bagrat and Ashot Artsruni of Vaspurakan but like previous rebellions, it failed: an Arab army led by

3403-527: The empire in exchange for a domain in Cappadocia . In 1044, the Byzantines twice invaded Ani but failed to conquer it. In view of this dire situation, Catholicos Petros Getadardz, who governed Ani in the king's absence, surrendered Ani to the Byzantines in 1045. Ani was then annexed to the theme of Iberia which was renamed "Iberia and Ani" or "Iberia and Armenia". The Bagratid king of Kars, Gagik-Abas , still kept his throne even after 1064 when Ani fell to

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3486-406: The family was left without any formidable rivals. Nevertheless, any immediate opportunities to take full control of the region were complicated by Arab immigration to Armenia and the caliph's appointment of emirs to rule in newly created administrative districts ( emirates ). But the number of Arabs residing in Armenia never grew in number to form a majority nor were the emirates fully subordinate to

3569-406: The family's overtures with suspicion but by the early 770s, the Bagratunis had won them over and the relationship between the two drastically improved. The members of the Bagratuni family were soon viewed as leaders of the Armenians in the region. Following the end of the third rebellion, which the Bagratunis had wisely chosen not to participate in, and the dispersal of several of the princely houses,

3652-448: The following year. Alternative years are 655 for the Muslim campaign during which Theodore Rshtuni was taken to Syria, and 656 for his death. He was replaced as prince by his son-in-law, Hamazasp IV Mamikonian . His body was brought to his home district of Rshtunik , where he was buried in the tomb of his forefathers. According to Manuk Abeghian and a number of other scholars, the popularity of Rshtuni in Armenia manifested itself in

3735-415: The foreign and domestic fronts. In the same year that he became king, Abas traveled to Dvin, where he was able to convince the Arab governor there to release several Armenian hostages and turn over control of the pontifical palace back to Armenia. Conflict between the Arabs were minimal too, with the exception of a military defeat Abas suffered near the city of Vagharshapat. He was far less conciliatory towards

3818-442: The full support of the other princes who recognized his authority in his becoming of king. With his status of king, his authority also carried over to the neighboring states of Georgia , Caucasian Albania and several of the Arab emirates. Ashot's reign was brief and upon his death in 890, he was succeeded by his son Smbat I . Smbat I was crowned king in 892, following a brief attempt by his uncle Abas to disrupt his succession to

3901-524: The great majority of the population of Armenia remained Armenian. 10th-century Arab sources attest that the cities of the Araxes valley remained predominantly Armenian and Christian despite Arab Muslim rule. In fact, the 10th-century Arab geographer Ibn Hawqal specified that Armenian was used in Dvin and Nakhichevan . Regardless, there was a notable Muslim presence in certain regions of Armenia. For instance,

3984-423: The impending loss of the province, he marched in, spent the winter of 652–3 at Dvin, and returned to Constantinople the next year after leaving an army in place. The three-year peace with the Arabs broke down in 653, followed by the final Arab conquest of 654. Constans attempted to impose Chalcedonian doctrines, such as Monotheletism , on the Armenians, which offended both their clergy and ruling elites. When

4067-517: The important trade intersection between the Byzantines, Arabs, and merchants of other countries, grew throughout the 9th century both commercially and culturally, earning renown for its "40 gates and 1,001 churches." The churches of this period expanded on 7th century designs; they were often steeper in elevation, introduced donor portraits in the round and incorporated ideas from Byzantine and Islamic architecture. Armenian churches were invariably built out of stone and had vaulted ceilings which supported

4150-404: The king and received and kept their lands only through his permission. Should certain nobles have disobeyed the king's orders, he would have the right to confiscate their lands and distribute them to other nobles. The concept of divine right , however, did not exist and insubordination by the nakharar elite could only be matched by the steadfastness of the king himself. Most Armenians belonged to

4233-414: The kingdom in ruins and this fact resonated among the Armenian princes who were left aghast in witnessing the Arab ostikan's brutality. Gagik I was especially shaken and he soon disavowed his loyalty to Yusuf and began to campaign against him. With Yusuf distracted by the resistance put up by his former ally, Smbat's son Ashot II felt it appropriate to assume his father's throne. Ashot at once began to drive

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4316-516: The kingdom was split between his two sons, Hovhannes-Smbat who received the territory of Ani, and Ashot IV the Brave who kept a territory that should have included Dvin, but which he could not occupy because of its capture by the Shaddadid Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl from Gandzak . The two brothers fought throughout their lives. In these tumultuous days, embroiled in territorial quarrels,

4399-466: The limits of their autonomy. This prosperous age which Armenia lived through continued unabated under the reign of Ashot's son and successor, Smbat II . Ani had grown so large by the time of Smbat's accession in 977, that a second set of walls, known as the Smbatashen walls, were ordered built by the new king. The Byzantines had slowly been creeping eastward towards Armenia in the final decade of

4482-489: The lowest class in the economic stratum and largely busied themselves with raising livestock and farming . Many of them did not own land, and lived as tenants and worked as hired hands or even slaves on the lands owned by wealthy feudal magnates. Peasants were forced to pay heavy taxes to the government and the Armenian Apostolic Church in addition to their feudal lords. Most peasants remained poor and

4565-575: The massive tax burden they shouldered sometimes culminated in peasant uprisings which the state was forced to put down. The Bagratuni kingdom did not mint any of its own coins, and used the currency found in Byzantium and the Arab Caliphate. The expanded trade between Byzantium and the Caliphate established several trades routes which ran across Armenia. The most important route began from Trebizond , in Byzantium, and from there it connected to

4648-528: The middle of the 10th century, the Byzantine Empire lay along the full length of the western border of Armenia. Taron was the first Armenian region annexed by the Byzantine Empire. In a certain sense, the Byzantines considered the Bagratuni princes of Taron as their vassals, for they had consistently accepted titles, such as that of strategos , and stipends from Constantinople. With the death of Ashot Bagratuni of Taron in 967 (not to be confused with Ashot III ), his sons Gregory and Bagrat were not able to withstand

4731-476: The monastery as well. There is a pipe-spring on the right a little after passing the river. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] This article on an Oriental Orthodox place of worship in Armenia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an Armenian Christian monastery, abbey, priory or other religious house is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Bagratid Armenia Bagratid Armenia

4814-459: The monastery complexes at Sanahin in 966 and Haghpat in 976). Ashot's sponsorship of the construction of all these edifices earned him the nickname of "the Merciful" ( Voghormats ) Ashot was also largely successful in foreign affairs. When a Byzantine army led by the Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes entered Taron in 973, purportedly to avenge the death of his Domestic killed at the hands of

4897-410: The one led by Smbat. As Yusuf began a new campaign against Smbat in conjunction with Gagik in 909, neither the Byzantines nor the Caliph sent aid to Smbat; several Armenian princes also chose to withhold their support. Those who did ally with Smbat were dealt brutally by Yusuf's powerful army: Smbat's son Mushegh, his nephew Smbat, and Grigor II of Western Syunik were all poisoned. Yusuf's army ravaged

4980-540: The ostikan of Arminiya failed, although this did not dissuade him in taking advantage of the Byzantine-Arab rivalry. Early on, he was courted by a Byzantium desperate to secure its eastern flank so as to direct its full strength against the Arabs; although Ashot avowed his loyalty to the empire, Byzantine leaders continued their long-standing demand that the Armenian Church make religious concessions to

5063-401: The plundering raids of various Turkmen groups. In 1016, Senekerim-Hovhannes thus offered Basil II the lands of Vaspurakan, including 72 fortresses and 3000-4000 villages, in exchange for a vast domain farther west on the Byzantine territory centered on the city of Sebastia to which he moved in 1021 together with his family and 14,000 retainers. Basil II had meanwhile already sent an army from

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5146-416: The pressure from the empire, which annexed their principality outright and converted it to a theme. The Ardzruni kingdom of Vaspurakan was later annexed as well. In 1003, the last ruler of the kingdom Senekerim-Hovhannes , son-in-law of King Gagik I of Ani, had brushed aside his nephews to become the sole king of Vaspurakan. His rule became even more precarious in the second decade of the 11th century with

5229-504: The progenitor of the Kyurikid line, in 966, who would later assume the title of king. The proliferation of so many kingdoms worked to the benefit of Armenia so long as the king in Ani remained strong and maintained his hegemony over other kings. Otherwise, the kings, as well their respective bishops who would claim the position of catholicos and formulate their own doctrines, would begin to test

5312-457: The relocation of the Holy See of Cilicia from Vaspurakan to Argina, near the city of Ani . In attendance were several contingents of the Armenian military, 40 bishops, the king of Caucasian Albania, as well as Catholicos Anania Mokatsi who crowned the king with the title of shahanshah. In that same year, Ashot had also relocated the capital from Kars to Ani. The Bagratuni kings had never chosen

5395-413: The rest of Armenia as it advanced towards Blue Fortress, where Smbat had taken refuge, and besieged it for some time. Smbat finally decided to surrender himself to Yusuf in 914 in hopes of ending the Arab onslaught; Yusuf, however, showed no compassion towards his prisoner as he tortured the Armenian king to death and put his headless body on display on a cross in Dvin. Yusuf's invasion of Armenia had left

5478-665: The river of the Araxes , demanding that the new church be consecrated under Chalcedonian rite. Abas refused to make any concessions and ambushed Ber's forces in a dawn assault. Several more skirmishes took place, wherein Ber was finally captured by Abas' men. Abas took the king to his new church and told him that he would never see it again, blinding him and sending him back to Abkhazia. Abas died in 953, leaving his kingdom to his two sons, Ashot III and Mushegh. Ashot III 's official investiture as king of Armenia took place in 961, following

5561-484: The second half of the 10th century led to a great deal of interaction between Armenian artists and their Greek counterparts. Armenian manuscript authors tended either to stress the natural look of the human body in illustrations or to forgo it and instead concentrate on the aspect of decoration. Armenian architecture during the Bagratuni era was especially prominent and "most of the surviving churches in present-day Armenia are from this period." The city of Ani, situated on

5644-401: The security risks in allowing Armenia to fall under the Byzantine orbit, sent a crown to Ashot, recognizing him as king. This act was not lost on Basil who, according to Armenian historians Vardan Arewelts‘i (d. 1271) and Kirakos Gandzakets‘i (c. 1200–1271), similarly sent a crown to Ashot. Ashot relocated his throne to the fortress-city of Bagaran and it was here where his coronation ceremony

5727-448: The site that are separated by a distance of 200 meters (656 feet). The grouping to the west, now half-ruined, was constructed of rough-hewn basalt . Within the complex of Tsaghats Kar is Surb Hovhannes church built in 989, Surb Karapet church of the 10th century, and many other structures that are in ruins. Saint Karapet is a cupola hall type structure, with a sacristy in each of the four corners. Numerous khachkars may be seen around

5810-629: The southern region of Aghdznik was heavily Arabized since earlier periods of Muslim dominance. On the north shore of Lake Van in the ninth and tenth centuries, there was also a considerable Muslim population that consisted of ethnic Arabs, and later Dailamites from Azerbaijan. The Arab raids and invasion of Armenia as well as the devastation wrought upon the land during the Byzantine-Arab wars had largely stifled any expression of Armenian culture in fields such as historiography , literature and architecture . These restrictions disappeared when

5893-453: The study and writing of literature throughout the kingdom. The monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin were well-known centers for higher learning. Notable figures in Armenian literature and philosophy during this period included the mystic Grigor Narekatsi and Grigor Magistros . The art of illuminated manuscripts and miniatures illustrations were also revived during this era. The relative period of peace between Byzantium and Armenia during

5976-410: The support of sparapet Vahram Pahlavouni and his followers, reigned only for a period of two years. Despite internal dissention led by pro-Byzantine overseer or steward Sargis Haykazn , the Armenian king was able to repel a Turkmen attack. However, possibly with the persuasion of Sargis, he accepted the invitation of emperor Constantine IX to Constantinople, where he was obliged to cede his domain to

6059-535: The support of other nakharars . The Abbasids marched into Armenia with an army of 30,000 men and decisively crushed the rebellion and its instigators at the Battle of Bagrevand on April 24, 775, leaving a void for the sole largely intact family, the Bagratunis, to fill. The Bagratuni family had done its best to improve its relations with the Abbasid caliphs ever since they took power in 750. The Abbasids always treated

6142-485: The throne. Smbat continued his father's policy of maintaining cordial relations with Byzantium but he remained mindful of the Arabs' fears of the Armeno-Byzantine alliance. Speaking with the Arab ostikan Muhammad Ibn Abi'l-Saj (Afshin), Smbat convinced him that the alliance would not only be for the dual benefit of Byzantium and Armenia but would also work to the economic favor of the Arabs. Smbat also achieved

6225-399: Was able to defeat each one of them. In 919, Yusuf had instigated a failed rebellion against the Caliph and was replaced by a far more well-disposed ostikan, Subuk . Subuk recognized Ashot as the legitimate ruler of Armenia and awarded him with the title of Shahanshah , or "king of kings." Ironically, the Byzantines were distressed with Ashot's close relations with the Arabs and dispatched

6308-474: Was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I of the Bagratuni dynasty in the early 880s following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule. With each of the two contemporary powers in the region—the Abbasids and Byzantines —too preoccupied to concentrate their forces on subjugating the region, and with the dissipation of several of

6391-727: Was finally taken by Byzantine forces. The weakening of the Sasanian Empire during the 7th century led to the rise of another regional power, the Muslim Arabs. The Arabs under the Umayyad Caliphate had conquered vast swaths of territory in the Middle East and, turning north, began to periodically launch raids into Armenia territory in 640. Theodore Rshtuni , the Armenian Curopalates , signed

6474-426: Was forced to lift it after finding the city too well defended. A new phenomenon that began under Ashot III's reign, and continued under his successors, was the establishment of sub-kingdoms throughout Bagratuni Armenia. Ashot III had sent his brother Mushegh I to rule in Kars (Vanand) and had allowed him to use the title of king. The administrative district of Dzoraget near Lake Sevan was given to Ashot's son Gurgen ,

6557-416: Was headed by an ostikan , or governor. However, Umayyad rule in Armenia grew in cruelty in the early 8th century. Revolts against the Arabs spread throughout Armenia until 705, when under the pretext of meeting for negotiations, the Arab governor of Nakhichevan massacred almost all of the Armenian nobility. The Arabs attempted to conciliate the Armenians but the levying of higher taxes, impoverishment of

6640-466: Was held sometime in 884 or 885. Thus, Ashot restored the Armenian monarchy and became Armenia's first king since 428. He secured the favor of both the Byzantines and Arabs but ultimately showed loyalty to Basil and chose to conclude an alliance with the Byzantines in 885. Ashot was not the sole Armenian prince of the region (other principalities existed in Syunik , Vaspurakan, and Taron) yet he commanded

6723-496: Was not immediately hostile, Smbat committed a series of blunders which led to several of his allies to turn their backs on him: having sought to placate his eastern ally, Smbat of Syunik, by ceding to him Nakhichevan city, Smbat inadvertently drove Gagik Artsruni of Vaspurakan into Yusuf's arms since the city was a part of Gagik's domains. Yusuf took advantage of this feud by awarding Gagik a crown in 908, thus making him King Gagik I of Vaspurakan and creating an Armenian state opposed to

6806-405: Was so prominent a center for the production of Armenian cochineal that it received the name vordan karmiri gyugh ("red-worm village") for the distinctive red dye that was derived from insects. Cochineal and other Armenian goods were extensively found throughout the caliphate and for their eminence were referred to by Arabs as "asfin al-Armani" ("Armenian products"). During the Bagratuni period,

6889-694: Was well received, and a Byzantine force was created to assist Armenia in defeating the Arabs. The force, accompanying Ashot and led by the Domestic of the Schools Leo Phokas , moved out the next year and marched along Upper Euphrates , entering Taron with scant opposition from the Arabs. Meanwhile, Yusuf's efforts to crush Gagik had failed miserably; instead, Yusuf turned his attention to Ashot and attempted to weaken his position by crowning Ashot's cousin, Ashot Shapuhyan, king of Armenia. Ashot Shapuhyan's and Yusuf's armies, though, were unable to stop

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