Armenian Bagratids
Armenian Bagratids
(Bagratuni), an ancient, influential princely family in Armenia. The first mention of the Bagratids dates to the first century B.C. Under the Arabs, in the eighth and ninth centuries A.D., the Bagratids gradually took over most of Armenia. Shirak became the center of their holdings. The Bagratids took on the duties of the “prince of princes” of Armenia and led the struggle against the Arabs for Armenian independence. In 886, Ashot I Bagratid became king. In 961 the city of Ani became the capital of the Bagratid kingdom. The Bagratid royal dynasty achieved its greatest flowering in the second half of the tenth and early 11th century under Ashot III, Smbat II, andGagik I. In 1045, after the seizure of Armenia by Byzantium, the Bagratids ceased to exist.