| Bagratuni Բագրատունի | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Armenia |
| Founded | c. 300 AD |
| Founder | Smbat I |
| Final ruler | Gagik II (as King of Armenia) |
| Titles | |
| Cadet branches | Bagrationis Rubenids Hasan-Jalalyan (indirectly) Kiurikians |
TheBagratuni orBagratid dynasty (Armenian:Բագրատունի,Armenian pronunciation:[bagɾatuni]) was anArmenian royal dynasty which ruled themedieval Kingdom of Armenia fromc. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of theKingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to become the most prominent Armenian noble family during the period ofArab rule in Armenia, eventually establishing their own independent kingdom.[3] Their domain included regions of Armenia such asShirak,Bagrevand,[4] Kogovit,[5]Syunik,Lori,Vaspurakan,Vanand andTaron.[6] Many historians, such asCyril Toumanoff,Nicholas Adontz andRonald Suny, consider them to be the progenitors of the Georgian royalBagrationi dynasty.[7][8][9]
The nameBagratuni derives fromBagarat (Բագարատ), aParthian variant of theOld Iranian nameBagadata ('God-given').[10] HistorianCyril Toumanoff speculated that a general of KingTigranes II of Armenia (r. 95–55 BCE) named Bagadates may have been the earliest known member of the Bagratuni family,[11] which first emerged asnakharars—members of the hereditary nobility of Armenia—in the early 4th century.[9] TheArsacid dynasty, which ruled Armenia from 52 to 428, granted the family heritable rights. The first Bagratuni prince identified by Toumanoff, Smbat I, lived at the time of theArmenian conversion to Christianity (c. 314).[12] Starting with Smbat, the Bagratunis held the hereditary titles ofaspet, meaning "Master of the Horse" or the commander of the cavalry (although this appears to have been purely ceremonial and not an actual military command), andtagadir, which indicated their privilege of crowning Arsacid kings upon their accession to the throne.[13] Their domain included the region ofSper in theÇoruh River valley ofUpper Armenia, which was famous for its gold and silver, andTayk. The medieval Armenian historianMovses Khorenatsi claimed they had an ancestor, Smbat, who came to Armenia from Judea in 6th century BCE, but modern historians regard this as an invention to give a biblical origin to the family.[14] Toumanoff proposed instead that the Bagratunis were descended from theOrontids, the first identifiable ruling dynasty of ancient Armenia.[12]
After the 7th-centuryArab conquest of Armenia, members of the Bagratuni house often held the title ofishkhan (prince) of Armenia, although they were subordinate to a Muslim governor (ostikan) appointed by the caliphs.[3] The period of Arab rule in Armenia saw the decline of the power of theMamikonians at the same time as the Bagratunis gained in prominence, as the Muslim governors favored the latter.[3] During the collapse ofUmayyad rule in 748, the BagratuniishkhanAshot III reluctantly joined with the other Armenian nobles in a revolt against Arab rule. Ashot was blinded on the orders of Grigor Mamikonian after trying to withdraw from the rebellion, which failed after Grigor's death in 749. Ashot "the Blind" was restored to nominal rule asishkhan after theAbbasids reestablished Arab rule of Armenia in 750.[3] In 774-775sparapet (chief general)Smbat VII Bagratuni led the Armenian nobility in an unsuccessful revolt against theAbbasid Caliphate, although part of the Bagratuni house opposed the rebellion.[15] Smbat was killed at theBattle of Bagrevand along withMushegh Mamikonian and many other Armenian nobles. After the failed rebellion, the Bagratunis lost control of their domains ofTmorik, Kogovit and their possessions in Vaspurakan, although their losses were less severe than those of the other Armenian noble families.[15]
Smbat VII's sonAshot Msaker ("the Carnivore") restored the fortunes of the dynasty in the 9th century by waging war against the local Arab emir while remaining loyal to the Abbasid caliphs. Ashot Msaker (re-)acquired a number of territories for the Bagratuni family, which were divided between two of his sons:Bagrat II, who receivedTaron andSasun along with the new title "Prince of Princes" (ishkhan ishkhanats), andSmbat "the Confessor", who received the titlesparapet and the holdings of Sper and Tayk.[3] Meanwhile, Ashot Msaker's uncle, Vasak, established himself in the Georgian region ofIberia; Vasak's grandsonAshot I became the first ruler of Iberia from the Bagratuni dynastyc. 813. This branch of the dynasty would rule as kings of Georgia for centuries as theBagrationis.[3]
Ashot I, nephew ofBagrat II, was the first member of the dynasty to rule as King of Armenia. He was recognized as prince of princes by the court atBaghdad in 861, which provoked war with local Arab emirs. Ashot won the war, and was recognized as King of the Armenians by Baghdad in 885. Recognition fromConstantinople followed in 886. In an effort to unify the Armenian nation under one flag, the Bagratids subjugated other Armenian noble families through conquests and fragile marriage alliances. Eventually, some noble families such as theArtsrunis and theSiunis broke off from the central Bagratid authority, founding the separate kingdoms ofVaspurakan andSyunik, respectively.[16]Ashot III the Merciful transferred their capital to the city ofAni, now famous for its ruins. They kept power by playing off the competition between theByzantine Empire and the Arabs.[citation needed]
They assumed the Persian title of "King of Kings" (Shahanshah).[2] However, with the start of the 10th century and on, the Bagratunis broke up into different branches, fragmenting the kingdom in a time when unity was needed in the face of Seljuk and Byzantine pressure. The rule of the Ani branch ended in 1045 with the conquest of Ani by the Byzantines.[citation needed]
The Kars branch of the family held out until 1064. The juniorKiurikian branch of the Bagratunis continued to rule as independent kings ofTashir-Dzoraget until 1118 andKakheti-Hereti until 1104, and thereafter as rulers of smaller principalities centered on their fortresses of Tavush and Matsnaberd until the 13th century Mongol conquest of Armenia.[17] Thedynasty of Cilician Armenia is believed to be a branch of the Bagratids, which later took the throne of anArmenian Kingdom inCilicia. The founder,Ruben I, had an unknown relationship to the exiled kingGagik II. He was either a younger family member or kinsman.Ashot, son of Hovhannes (son of Gagik II), was later governor of Ani under theShaddadid dynasty.[citation needed]
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Bagrevand ... in the 9th-11th centuries was under the rule of the Bagratouni Kingdom of Armenia.
During the reign of the Arshakuni dynasty, the province of Kogovit belonged to the court, but after Arshakuni kingdom's decline it passed to the Bagratuni princes.
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Media related toBagratuni dynasty at Wikimedia Commons