Bagratid Armenia

Bagratid Armenia
880s–1045
The coat of arms of Ani and the Bagratids on the city walls (ramparts)[a] of Armenia
The coat of arms of Ani and the Bagratids on the city walls (ramparts)[a]
Bagratuni Armenia and other medieval Armenian kingdoms c. 1000
Bagratuni Armenia and other medieval Armenian kingdoms c. 1000
StatusIndependent kingdom
CapitalBagaran (885–890)
Shirakavan (890–929)
Kars (929–961)[7]
Ani (961–1045)
Common languagesArmenian
Religion
Christianity (Armenian Apostolic)
GovernmentMonarchy
Bagratuni dynasty 
• 885–890
Ashot I
• 890–914
Smbat I
• 914–928
Ashot II
• 928–953
Abas I
• 953–977
Ashot III
• 977–989
Smbat II
• 989–1020
Gagik I
• 1020–1040
(1021–1039)
Hovhannes-Smbat III
Ashot IV (concurrently)
• 1042–1045
Gagik II
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Established
880s
• Disestablished
1045
CurrencyByzantine Hyperpyron
Abbasid Dinar
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Arminiya
Byzantine Empire
Kingdom of Syunik
Kingdom of Artsakh
Kingdom of Tashir-Dzoraget
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
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Bagratid Armenia (Armenian: Բագրատունիների թագավորություն) was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I Bagratuni of the Bagratuni dynasty in the early 880s[8] 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.[9]

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 and kingdoms: Taron, Vaspurakan, Kars, Khachen and Syunik.[10] During the reign of Ashot III (952/53–77), Ani became the kingdom's capital and grew into a thriving economic and cultural center.[11]

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 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, was finally taken by Byzantine forces.[12]

  1. ^ a b c Matevosyan, Karen (2021). Անին և անեցիները [Ani and Its Citizens] (PDF). Yerevan: Matenadaran. p. 10. ISBN 978-9939-897-01-1. Քաղաքի պարսպի վրա, Ավագ դռան մոտ պահպանվել է Բագրատունյաց կամ՝ Անի քաղաքի առյուծապատկեր զինանշանը... = The lion emblem of the Bagratuni dynasty, or Ani city, has been preserved on the city wall near the main gate...
  2. ^ Hasratyan, Murad (2011). "Անիի ճարտարապետությունը [Architecture of Ani]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (3): 8. ISSN 0135-0536. Դարպասի վերևի պատին Անի քաղաքի զինանշանն է՝ հովազի բարձրաքանդակով (archived)
  3. ^ a b Karapetyan, Samvel, ed. (2016). "Emblem of Ani". Another Genocide After the Genocide (PDF). Research on Armenian Architecture. p. 14-15. ISBN 978-9939-843-28-5.
  4. ^ Harutyunyan, Varazdat (1964). Անի քաղաքը [The City of Ani] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Haypethrat. p. 43. ...Անիի նշանավոր հովազի հարթաքանդակը, որը համարվում է Բագրատունիների քաղաքանշանը = the famous relief sculpture of the leopard of Ani, which is considered the city emblem of the Bagratunis
  5. ^ a b c Watenpaugh, Heghnar Zeitlian (2014). "Preserving the Medieval City of Ani: Cultural Heritage between Contest and Reconciliation". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 73 (4): 538. doi:10.1525/jsah.2014.73.4.528. ISSN 0037-9808. the restoration's aggressive layering of new stone altered the configuration of the beloved logo of the city, the lion relief. The restoration removed the cross, which was formed by colored diamond-shaped stones, surmounting the animal figure. For many observers, this desacralization constituted intentional removal of a cross, understood as a campaign to erase signs of Christian Armenian presence in Anatolia.
  6. ^ "Ethnozid durch die Türkei". aga-online.org (in German). Archived from the original on September 27, 2024. Das Symbol der Stadt Ani, der mittelalterlichen armenischen Hauptstadt. – (Ref-Nr. img001)
  7. ^ Bloom, Jonathan M.; Blair, Sheila, eds. (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture, Volume 3. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 371. ISBN 9780195309911.
  8. ^ Grigoryan, M. G. (2012). Բագրատունյաց թագավորության սկզբնավորման թվագրության շուրջ [On dating the formation of Bagratid Armenia]. Lraber Hasarakakan Gitutyunneri (in Armenian) (2–3): 114–125. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  9. ^ Bournoutian, George A. (2006). A Concise History of the Armenian People: From Ancient Times to the Present. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-56859-141-4.
  10. ^ Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram N. (1976). Բագրատունիների թագավորություն [Bagratuni Kingdom]. Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. Yerevan: Armenian SSR Academy of Sciences. p. 202.
  11. ^ Ghafadaryan, Karo (1974). Անի [Ani]. Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences. pp. 407–412.
  12. ^ Bournoutian, Concise History, p. 87.


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