HOME



picture info

Kingdom Of Vaspurakan
The Kingdom of Vaspurakan (; also transliterated as Vasbouragan from Western Armenian) was a medieval Armenian kingdom centered on Lake Van, located in what is now eastern Turkey and northwestern Iran. It was named after Vaspurakan, a province of historic Greater Armenia. Ruled by the Artsruni dynasty, it competed and cooperated with the Bagratuni-ruled Kingdom of Armenia for a little over a century until its last king ceded the kingdom to the Byzantine Empire in 1021. History The Kingdom of Vaspurakan was ruled by the Artsruni dynasty, an ancient Armenian noble family. The Artsrunis had built up their power base in Vaspurakan in the 9th century while Arab rule was waning. The Bagratunis, on the other hand, were consolidating their control over Armenia. In 885, Ashot I Bagratuni received recognition as King of Armenia. In 908, during the reign of Ashot's successor Smbat I, Gagik I Artsruni was recognized as king by the Sajid ruler Yusuf and allied with the latter to at ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  




Gagik I Of Vaspurakan
Gagik I Artsruni (; 879/880 – 943) was an Armenian noble of the Artsruni dynasty who ruled over Vaspurakan in southern Armenia, first as prince of northwestern Vaspurakan (Gagik III, 904–908) and after that until his death as King of Vaspurakan, also claiming the title of King of Armenia. Background Since the end of the 7th century, Armenia was under Arab dominion and headed by an '' ostikan'' (governor) representing the Umayyad, and later Abbasid caliphates, and was the scene of numerous battles against the Byzantine Empire since the 9th century. To strengthen the Arab authority, these ''ostikans'' were implanted into various regions of Armenian emirs; the historical province of Vaspurakan was no exception to this. In opposition, the Armenian nobility created '' ishkhans'' (princes) to gradually extend their authority in the region. Biography Youth and regency Second son of Grigor-Derenik Artsruni, the Prince of Vaspurakan, and Sophia Bagratuni, the daughter of King ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Yusuf Ibn Abi'l-Saj
Yusuf ibn Abi'l Saj (died, d. 928) was the Sajids, Sajid Emir of Azerbaijan (Iran), Azerbaijan from 901 until his death. He was the son of Abi'l-Saj Devdad. War with Armenians and Georgians Yusuf came to power in 901 by overthrowing his nephew, Devdad Ibn Muhammad. He razed the walls of Maragha and moved the capital to Ardabil. Shortly afterwards, the Bagratuni Dynasty, Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia (Middle Ages), king of Armenia, Smbat I, offered to become a direct vassal of the caliph al-Muktafi. As this threatened the Sajids' interests in Armenia, Yusuf demanded that Smbat appear before him. When the Bagratid refused he invaded Armenia. An agreement was eventually reached between the two sides in 903; Smbat received a crown from Yusuf, acknowledging him as his overlord. Yusuf had never formalized his relations with the caliph, and they became hostile toward each other. In 908 a caliphal army was sent against Yusuf, but al-Muktafi died and his successor al-Muqtadir made peace ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Sajid Dynasty
The Sajid dynasty (, also known as Banu Saj) was an Iranian Muslim dynasty that ruled from 889/890 until 929. The Sajids ruled Azerbaijan and parts of Armenia first from Maragha and Barda and then from Ardabil. The Sajids originated from the Central Asian province of Ushrusana and were of Iranian (Sogdian) descent and culturally Arabised, . Muhammad ibn Abi'l-Saj Diwdad the son of Diwdad, the first Sajid ruler of Azerbaijan, was appointed as its ruler in 889 or 890. Muhammad's father Abu'l-Saj Devdad had fought under the Ushrusanan prince Afshin Khaydar during the latter's final campaign against the rebel Babak Khorramdin in Azerbaijan, and later served the caliphs. Toward the end of the tenth century, as the central authority of the Abbasid Caliphate weakened, Muhammad was able to form a virtually independent state. Much of the Sajids' energies were spent in attempting to take control of neighboring Armenia. The dynasty ended with the death of Abu'l-Musafir al-Fath in 929. ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Smbat I Of Armenia
Smbat I (; 850–912/14), sometimes Smbat A Martyr () was the second king of the medieval Kingdom of Armenia of the Bagratuni dynasty, and son of Ashot I. He is the father of Ashot II (known as Ashot Yerkat) and Abas I. Rule Smbat I was crowned king in 892 in Shirakavan (Yerazgavors), following a brief attempt by his uncle Abas to disrupt his succession to the throne. Smbat continued his father's policy of maintaining cordial relations with the Byzantine Empire but remained mindful of the Arabs' fears of the Armeno-Byzantine alliance. Speaking with the Arab '' ostikan'' (governor) 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 a major victory when on April 21, 892, he recaptured the former Armenian capital of Dvin from the Arabs. In some of these endeavors Smbat received strong support from his neighbor to the n ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Ashot I Of Armenia
Ashot I (; c. 820 – 890) was a king of Armenia who oversaw the beginning of Armenia's second golden age (862 – 977). He was the son of Smbat VIII the Confessor and was a member of the Bagratuni dynasty. Life Early life Ashot was born around 820 to Smbat VIII Bagratuni and his wife Hripsime. Smbat VIII was ''sparapet'' (supreme commander) and the son of Ashot Msaker, the Prince of Armenia (r. 806–826). Ashot also had a brother named Abas. The family, the Bagratunis, was one of the most powerful in the kingdom, along with the Artsruni. Both families struggled for power through warfare against Arab invaders. The kingdom was later taken over by Armenians who overthrew the Arab government. Smbat VIII was exiled to Samarra, where he later died. Ashot continued to live in his father's quarters, located around the city of Bagaran. He was married to Katranide. Like Smbat before him, Ashot was named ''sparapet'' in 856 by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mutawakkil. Prince of princes o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Arminiya
Arminiya, also known as the Ostikanate of Arminiya (, ''Hayastani ostikanut'yun'') or the Emirate of Armenia (, ''imārat armīniya''), was a political and geographic designation given by the Muslim Arabs to the lands of Greater Armenia, Caucasian Iberia, and Caucasian Albania, following their conquest of these regions in the 7th century. Though the caliphs initially permitted an Armenian prince to represent the province of ''Arminiya'' in exchange for tribute and the Armenians' loyalty during times of war, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan introduced direct Arab rule of the region, headed by an '' ostikan'' with his capital in Dvin. According to the historian Stephen H. Rapp in the third edition of the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'': History Early period: the Arab conquest of Armenia The details of the early conquest of Armenia by the Arabs are uncertain, as the various Arabic sources conflict with the Greek and Armenian sources, both in chronology and in the details of the ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th centuryAD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Romanization (cultural), Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine the Great, Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I, Theodosius I () made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, expe ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bagratid Armenia
Bagratid Armenia 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 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 the Bagratuni kingdom later led to the founding of several other Armenian principalities A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarch ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Bagratuni Dynasty
The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty (, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to become the most prominent Armenian noble family during the period of Arab rule in Armenia, eventually establishing their own independent kingdom. Their domain included regions of Armenia such as Shirak, Bagrevand, Kogovit, Syunik, Lori, Vaspurakan, Vanand and Taron. Many historians, such as Cyril Toumanoff, Nicholas Adontz and Ronald Suny, consider them to be the progenitors of the Georgian royal Bagrationi dynasty. Early history The name ''Bagratuni'' derives from ''Bagarat'' (), a Parthian variant of the Old Iranian name ''Bagadata'' ('God-given'). Historian Cyril Toumanoff speculated that a general of King Tigranes II of Armenia () named Bagadates may have been the earliest known member of the Bagratuni family, which first emerged as '' nakharars''—memb ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Artsruni Dynasty
The House of Artsruni (; also Ardzruni or Artsrunid) was an ancient princely and, later, royal dynasty of Armenia. Name The name ''Artsruni'' contains the ending , which is widespread in old Armenian family names. The early Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi derives the name from (, ). He implies that the Artsrunis carried standards with eagles on them and makes reference to a legend from Hadamakert (the center of the Artsrunis' home district of Aghbak) in which a bird protects a sleeping boy from the rain and sun; this is presumed to be a legend about the Artsrunis' ancestor (Sanasar, according to Manuk Abeghian) involving an eagle. James Russell notes that the eagle was a totemic animal for the Artsrunis and connects the dynasty's name with Urartian , which is attested as the name of an Urartian king's horse and may derive from Armenian . On this basis, Russell suggests that the Artsrunis may have had Urartian ancestors. Hrach Martirosyan writes that this connection o ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Kingdom Of Armenia (antiquity)
The Kingdom of Greater Armenia or simply Greater Armenia or Armenia Major ( '; ), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire under Tigranes the Great, Tigranes II, was an Armenians, Armenian kingdom in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into the successive reigns of three Royal family, royal dynasties: Orontid dynasty, Orontid (331–200 BC), Artaxiad dynasty, Artaxiad (189 BC12 AD), and Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, Arsacid (52–428). The root of the kingdom lies in the Satrapy of Armenia of the Achaemenid Empire of Iran, which was formed from the territory of Urartu (860–590 BC) after it was conquered by the Medes in 590 BC. The satrapy became a kingdom in 321 BC during the reign of the Orontid dynasty after the conquest of Persia by Alexander the Great, which was then incorporated as one of the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic kingdoms of the Seleucid Empire. Under the Seleucid Empire ( ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]