The Kingdom of Vaspurakan (; also transliterated as Vasbouragan from

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) 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 base ...

) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

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 across the ...

kingdom centered on

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

, located in what is now eastern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

and northwestern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. 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 ( hy, Մեծ Հայք, translit=Mets Hayk) is the name given to the Armenian state that emerged on the Armenian Highlands during the reign of King Artaxias I at the turn of the 2nd century BC. The term was used to refer princ ...

. Ruled by the

Artsruni dynasty The Artsruni ( hy, Արծրունի; also transliterated as Ardzruni) were an ancient noble (princely) family of Armenia. Background and history The Artsruni's claimed descent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria (705 BC–681 BC). Although ...

, 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 referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

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, were consolidating their control over Armenia. In 885,

Ashot I Bagratuni Ashot or Ashod ( hy, ) is an Armenian given name. Notable persons with that surname include: Kings of the Bagratuni Dynasty *Ashot Msaker (Ashot the Carnivorous) (died 826) *Ashot I of Armenia (Ashot the Great), ruled 884-890 *Ashot II, Ashot Yerk ...

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

Smbat I Smbat I (; c. 850–912/14) 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 Shiraka ...

, Gagik I Artsruni was recognized as king by the Sajid ruler

Yusuf Yusuf ( ar, يوسف ') is a male name of Arabic origin 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 ...

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 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, an island in Lake Van where one of his residences was located. Aghtamar also served as the residence of the Armenian Catholicos 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; az, اۇرمۇ گؤلۆ, script=Arab, italic=no, Urmu gölü; ku, گۆلائوو رمیەیێ, Gola Ûrmiyeyê; hy, Ուրմիա լիճ, Urmia lich; arc, ܝܡܬܐ ܕܐܘܪܡܝܐ is an endorheic salt lake in Iran. The lake is l ...

(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 kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras (river), Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Arm ...

, 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, Ostan/Vostan (modern

Gevaş Gevaş ( hy, Ոստան, lit= rincelycourt, translit=Vostan, ku, Westan) is a district of Van Province of Turkey. It is located on the south shore of Lake Van. In the last elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justice and Development Par ...

), Aghtamar and so on. 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, 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 ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

. In 1021, King Senekerim-Hovhannes ceded the Kingdom of Vaspurakan to the Byzantine Empire, receiving Sebasteia and its territories extending to the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

in return. Vaspurakan became the Byzantine province ('' 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 who lived in Lusitania. David had a daughter that married King

Gagik II Gagik II ( hy, Գագիկ Բ; c. 1025 - May 5/November 24, 1079) was the last Armenian king of the Bagratuni dynasty. Known as Gagik II King of Ani ( Ani being the capital of the kingdom at the time) he was enthroned as Gagik II and ruled for a br ...

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

Rulers

Princes

* Hamazasp II, Prince (800–836). Married to a daughter of Ashot Msaker of the Bagratuni family. * Ashot I Abulabus Artsruni, Prince (836–852). Son of Hamazasp II. First time. *

Gurgen I 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 (852–853). Brother of Ashot I. *

Abu Djafar Artsruni Abu or ABU may refer to: Places * Abu (volcano), a volcano on the island of Honshū in Japan * Abu, Yamaguchi, a town in Japan * Ahmadu Bello University, a university located in Zaria, Nigeria * Atlantic Baptist University, a Christian university ...

, 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 ( fa, افشین / ''Afšīn'') is a common Persian given name, which is a modern Persian word derived from Avestan. Afshin was used by the Sogdians. Historically, it was the princely title of the rulers of Osrushana at the time of the ...

(900).) * Safi, as governor of Van (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, 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, or Andzevatciq (in hy, Անձևացիք) 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 Va ...

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

References

Bibliography