The Kingdom of Vaspurakan (; also transliterated as Vasbouragan from

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based on the Yerevan Arme ...

) was a

medieval 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 World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

kingdom centered on

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

, located in what is now eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. It was named after

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

, a province of historic

Greater Armenia Greater Armenia may refer to: * Ancient Armenia, independent from 331 BC to 428 АD, known as Greater Armenia (or "Armenia Major") to distinguish it from Roman-controlled Lesser Armenia (or "Armenia Minor") * United Armenia, a political goal of ...

. Ruled by the

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 ...

, 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 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 ...

in 1021.

History

The Kingdom of Vaspurakan was ruled by the

, 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 Ashot or Ashod () is an Armenian given name. Notable persons with the name include: Kings of the Bagratuni dynasty *Ashot Msaker (Ashot the Carnivorous) (died 826), Armenian prince *Ashot I of Armenia (Ashot the Great, 820–890), ruled 885–890 ...

received recognition as King of Armenia. In 908, during the reign of Ashot's successor

Smbat I 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 cro ...

Gagik I Artsruni 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 Vasp ...

was recognized as king by the Sajid ruler

Yusuf Yusuf ( ') is a male name meaning " God increases" (in piety, power and influence).From the Hebrew יהוה להוסיף ''YHWH Lhosif'' meaning " YHWH will increase/add". It is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew name Yosef and the English na ...

and allied with the latter to attack the Bagratuni kingdom. After Smbat's death at the hands of Yusuf in 914, however, Gagik allied with the new Bagratuni king

Ashot II Ashot II the Iron (; died 929) was king of Bagratid Armenia from 914 to 929. He was the son and successor of King Smbat I. His reign was filled with rebellions by vassals and pretenders to the throne, as well as foreign invasions, which Ashot fo ...

to defeat the Arabs. The Kingdom of Vaspurakan was at its zenith around 929 under the reign of Gagik I, who used the title of King of Armenia. He undertook a series of construction projects, particularly on

Aghtamar Akdamar Island (), also known as Aghtamar () or Akhtamar (; ), is the second largest of the four main islands in Lake Van, in eastern Turkey. About 0.7 km2 in size, it is situated approximately 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the i ...

, an island in Lake Van where one of his residences was located. Aghtamar also served as the residence of the Armenian

Catholicos A catholicos (plural: catholicoi) is the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and, in some cases, it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient Greek ( ...

while Dvin was under Muslim control, allowing Gagik to influence the election of several catholicoi and further increase his legitimacy. At its greatest extent Vaspurakan comprised the lands between

and

Lake Urmia Lake Urmia is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is located between the provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan in Iran, and west of the southern portion of the Caspian Sea. At its greatest extent, it was the largest lake in th ...

(also known as ''Kaputan'') in 908. It encompassed most of the historic provinces of

and Mokkʻ and, temporarily in the 910s, controlled parts of the provinces of

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharsha ...

, Taron and Korchaykʻ. The Kingdom of Vaspurakan had no specific capital. The court moved as the king transferred his residence from place to place –

Van A van is a type of road vehicle used for transporting goods or people. There is some variation in the scope of the word across the different English-speaking countries. The smallest vans, microvans, are used for transporting either goods or ...

, Ostan/Vostan (modern

Gevaş Gevaş (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 26,918 (2022). In the last 2019 Turkish local elections, elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justic ...

), Aghtamar and so on. Akdamar ruler with grapes

Although Gagik attempted to compete with Abas I Bagratuni in the 930s, he was eventually forced to accept the supremacy of the Bagratuni kingdom. Gagik died in 943 and was succeeded by his son Derenik-Ashot, who died without an heir in 953. He was succeeded by his brother Abusahl-Hamazasp, upon whose death the kingdom was divided among his three sons: Ashot-Sahak, Gurgen-Khachik and Senekerim-Hovhannes. The eldest brother, Ashot, retained the royal title and the suzerainty over his younger brothers. After Ashot's death Gurgen took the throne, bypassing the former's sons; Senekerim-Hovhannes became king in the same manner in 1003 following Gurgen's death. Senekerim-Hovhannes married his daughter to

Bagrat III of Georgia Bagrat III ( ka, ბაგრატ III) (c. 960 – 7 May 1014), also known as Bagrat the Unifier, of the Bagrationi dynasty, was the king ('' mepe'') of the Kingdom of Abkhazia from 978 on (as Bagrat II of Abkhazia) and king of the Kingdom of ...

, seeking an alliance against the eastward expanding

. In 1016, the kingdom was devastated by a raid by the

Seljuq Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persian culture. The founder of t ...

. In 1021, King Senekerim-Hovhannes ceded the Kingdom of Vaspurakan to the Byzantine Empire, receiving

Sebasteia Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

and its territories extending to the

Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

in return. Vaspurakan became the Byzantine province (''

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical appearance for certain software. * Theme (linguistics), topic * Theme ( ...

'') of Vasprakania or Media. In about 1050 Vasprakania was merged with that of Taron, but was conquered by the Seljuqs in 1054–1056. After the Byzantine annexation, the Artsruni dynasty continued with Derenik, son of Gurgen-Khatchik, who became lord of Antzivazik by 1004 and had two brothers: Gugik and Ashot. King Senekerim-Hovhannes also had several children, among them David, Atom, Abushal and Constantine. There is a legend that one of Senekerim's daughter married Mendo Alao, an

Alan Alan may refer to: People *Alan (surname), an English and Kurdish surname * Alan (given name), an English given name ** List of people with given name Alan ''Following are people commonly referred to solely by "Alan" or by a homonymous name.'' * ...

who lived in

Lusitania Lusitania (; ) was an ancient Iberian Roman province encompassing most of modern-day Portugal (south of the Douro River) and a large portion of western Spain (the present Extremadura and Province of Salamanca). Romans named the region after th ...

. David had a daughter that married King

Gagik II Gagik II (; c. 1025 - May 5/November 24, 1079) was the last Armenian king of the Bagratuni dynasty, ruling in Ani from 1042 to 1045. Historical background During the reign of Hovhannes-Smbat (John-Smbat), a feudal lord, David, who owned Taik ...

of Ani. Another branch of the family appeared in the person of in 1040, who had three children: Hasan, Djendjluk and Ishkhanik. Hasan had a son called Abelgharib who had a daughter that married Prince David, son of

Rulers

Princes

* Hamazasp II, Prince (800–836). Married to a daughter of

Ashot Msaker Ashot IV Bagratuni (), better known as Ashot Msaker (, "Ashot the Meat Eater / the Carnivorous"), reputedly for his refusal to refrain from eating meat during Lent, was an Armenian prince from the Bagratid family. A fugitive from the failed upris ...

of the Bagratuni family. * Ashot I Abulabus Artsruni, Prince (836–852). Son of Hamazasp II. First time. * Gurgen I Artsruni, Prince (852–853). Brother of Ashot I. *

Abu Djafar Artsruni Abu or ABU may refer to: Aviation * Airman Battle Uniform, a utility uniform of the United States Air Force * IATA airport code for A. A. Bere Tallo Airport in Atambua, Province of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia People * Abu (Arabic term), a ku ...

, Prince (853–854). Probably brother of Ashot I. *

Gurgen II Artsruni Gurgen or Gourgen (Armenian: Գուրգեն, Georgian: გურგენ) is an Armenian and Georgian masculine name of Middle Persian origin (''Gurgēn''), itself ultimately deriving from Old Iranian ''Vṛkaina-''. It may refer to: Georgian mon ...

of Mardastan, Prince. (854–857). Distant relative. * Grigor-Derenik Artsruni, Prince (857–868). Married Sofia, daughter of

the Great, Prince of Armenia. Son of Ashot I Artsruni. First time. * Ashot I Abulabus Artsruni, Prince (868–874). Second time. * Grigor-Derenik Artsruni, Prince (874–887). Second time. * Gagik Abu Morvan Artsruni, regent for Grigor-Derenik's sons (887–896), then usurper prince (896–898). * Ashot-Sargis Artsruni (Ashot II), Prince (898–900). Son of Grigor-Derenik. * (Vaspurakan occupied by the Sajid emir

Afshin Afshin () is a common Persian language, Persian given name derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the title of the rulers of Principality of Ushrusana in Transoxiana before the Muslim conquest of Persia.. Etym ...

(900).) * Safi, as governor of

(900–901). * Ashot-Sargis Artsruni (Ashot II) (901–904). Reinstated. After his death Vaspurakan was divided: * Gagik III (I) Artsruni, Prince (later king) in northwest Vaspurakan (904–908).Brother of Ashot-Sargis. *

Gurgen III Artsruni Gurgen or Gourgen (Armenian: Գուրգեն, Georgian: გურგენ) is an Armenian and Georgia (country), Georgian masculine name of Middle Persian origin (''Gurgēn''), itself ultimately deriving from Iranian_languages#Old_Iranian, Old Irani ...

, Prince in southeast Vaspurakan (904–925). Brother of Ashot-Sargis.

Kings

* Gagik I (III) Artsruni, crowned king (908–925 northwestern part, 925–943 all Vaspurakan) * Derenik-Ashot (Ashot III), King (943–953). Son of Gagik I. * Abusahl-Hamazasp, King (953–972). Brother of Derenik-Ashot I. * Ashot-Sahak (Ashot IV), King (972–983). Son of Abusahl-Hamazasp. * Gurgen-Khachik (Gurgen IV), King (983–1003) and Lord of

Antzevasiq Andzevatsik (in , ''Anjewacʼikʼ'') was a region of ancient and medieval Armenia c. 400–800 in the South-East of Vaspurakan, ruled by the Antzevatsi family. Andzevatsik was the eleventh ghavar (region) of the province of Vaspurakan of Great ...

. Brother of Ashot-Sahak. * Senekerim-Hovhannes, Brother of Ashot-Sahak, King (1003–1021) and lord of Rechtuniq. Brother of Gurgen Khatchik.

References

Bibliography