page_title: Bagratid Armenia
hierarchical_section_title: Bagratid Armenia
context_page_description: The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia, was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni 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 in subjugating the people of 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. The establishment of the Bagratuni kingdom later led to the founding of several other Armenian principalities and kingdoms: Taron, Vaspurakan, Kars, Khachen and Syunik. Unity among all these states was sometimes difficult to maintain while the Byzantines and Arabs lost no time in exploiting the kingdom's situation to their own gains.
context_section_description: The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia (Armenian: Բագրատունյաց Հայաստան, Bagratunyats Hayastan or Բագրատունիների թագավորություն, Bagratunineri t’agavorut’yun, "kingdom of the Bagratunis"), was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni 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 in subjugating the people of 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 and kingdoms: Taron, Vaspurakan, Kars, Khachen and  Syunik. Unity among all these states was sometimes difficult to maintain while the  Byzantines and Arabs lost no time in exploiting the kingdom's situation to their own gains. During the reign of Ashot III (732 to 748), 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 a string of victories and annexed parts of southwestern Armenia; King Hovhannes-Smbat felt forced to cede his lands and in 1022 promised to "will" his kingdom 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 with internal and external threats, was finally taken by Byzantine forces.
caption: Bagratuni Armenia circa 1000