Hovhannes-Smbat III of Armenia

Gagik I died in 1020, at an old age.^[4] The power was inherited by Gagik's two sons, Smbat, who was called Hovhannes and Ashot IV. A fight broke out between the two brothers over the issue of inheriting the kingdom, in which King Gevorg of the Apkhazians intervened.^[5] Hovhannes-Smbat, as the firstborn son, inherited the capital of Ani with its surroundings, and Ashot inherited the inner regions of the kingdom, the area around Sevan, bordering Persia and Georgia.^[5] However, George later, due to the complaint of a prince, sent an army after Hovhannes-Smbat, he was captured, and his companions fled. The pursuers plundered churches and desecrated crosses.^[5] Ashot, unable to tolerate this, left for Byzantium, asked for help from Vasil II, and returned with an army and large gifts, taking possession of a number of fortresses.^[5]

Already after Gagik's death, the Byzantines began negotiations with his son, Hovhannes-Smbat.^[6]

In the 11th century, after its military successes against the Bulgarians, the Byzantine Empire focused its attention on the East, in particular on the Bagratudin Kingdom of Ani. From the end of the 10th century, the Bagratudin Kingdom of Ani was in decline. As early as 908, the Kingdom of Vaspurakan had separated, followed by Tashir Dzoraget, Syunik, and Vanand (Kars). For its part, the Byzantine Empire did everything to create discord in the country and destroy the country from within, so it soon began to divide and subjugate the territories of the Bagratudin Kingdom of Ani. The goal of the empire was to turn the Bagratudin Kingdom into an ordinary province of the empire.^[6]

The Byzantine conquest policy had become active even during the sectarian movement of the Paulicians. The issue of the city of Theodosiopolis-Karin was on their agenda. This city was under Arab rule. And the key to the city, Ketsion, belonged to the Georgians, and they were not going to cede this territory to the Byzantines. However, in 949, Byzantium captured the city and Taron was next. Taron was conquered already in 966.^[7] In 1001, after the death of David Kyurapalat, Tayk passed to Byzantium, and in 1021, Senekerim Artsruni handed over Vaspurakan and left for Byzantium. All these conquests were made by wills. The prince or governor bequeathed his domains to Byzantium, receiving another territory in some part of Byzantium in return. Such a will had to be signed by Hovhannes-Smbat.^[8]

Gagik I was the last powerful king of the Armenian realm. After his death, separatist tendencies made themselves felt even within the Kingdom of Ani. The struggle for royal power between the sons of Gagik I escalated into an armed conflict in which neighboring states intervened. Ultimately, through the intervention of the Armenian sparapet (commander-in-chief) Vahram Pahlavuni and the Georgian king, the brothers reconciled. The elder son, Hovhannes-Smbat, supported by the court elite, inherited the throne, receiving the city of Ani, Shirak, and neighboring provinces. The younger brother, Ashot IV, was allotted the southern and eastern regions of the Kingdom of Ani. After Hovhannes-Smbat's death, Ashot was to inherit his domains. In effect, the Kingdom of Ani became fragmented, and its subordinate kingdoms became virtually independent. The Bagratid state ceased to exist.^[9]

Hovhannes-Smbat ruled from 1020 to 1041. In order to save the country from destruction, he sent a delegation led by Catholicos Petros I to Trebizond to negotiate with the emperor. The Armenian king instructed the Catholicos to draft a will bequeathing the country to the emperor after his death as an inheritance. In 1021, in Trebizond, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II dictated his will by force of arms to the sovereigns of Armenia and Georgia. Under these dire conditions, by order of Hovhannes-Smbat, the Armenian Catholicos Petros I Getadarts departed for Trebizond. There, the fatal "will-treaty" in Armenian history was signed, by which Hovhannes-Smbat bequeathed the Kingdom of Ani to the Byzantine Empire after his death.^[10] The motives for creating the will are presented in detail in Byzantine primary sources. In particular, historian John Skylitzes, referring to the Treaty of Trebizond, writes that Hovhannes-Smbat bequeathed the country to Byzantium under severe pressure from the emperor.^[11] According to the historian, the emperor demanded from him a written document stating that after his death, the Armenian kingdom would become an integral part of Byzantium. Emperor Basil II commended Hovhannes-Smbat's "prudence", granted him the title of magistros, and appointed him lifelong ruler of Ani and the province of Greater Armenia, demanding in return a written document certifying that after his death the entire country would pass to the Empire^[11]. Regarding this will, Aristakes Lastivertsi writes: "...there was written the deed and letter of Armenia's ruin...".^[12] According to him, Hovhannes-Smbat had instructed the Catholicos: "Write a document and give a will to the emperor, so that after my death he may receive my cities and my land as an inheritance".^[10]

The news of ceding Ani reached Armenia with delay, and Catholicos Petros Getadarts did not dare to return to the country for a long time. Later, Byzantium would repeatedly exploit the treaty signed in Trebizond in 1021 between Catholicos Petros and Basil II to eliminate Armenian statehood and annex it to the Empire. The document signed by Hovhannes-Smbat kept the country in peace to some extent. However, as we will see later, this was only temporary.^[13] Unwilling to accept this, Hovhannes-Smbat's younger brother Ashot rebelled and proclaimed himself king. Sparapet Vahram Pahlavuni and the Georgian King Bagrat intervened in the armed conflict. The elder son, Hovhannes-Smbat, who was supported by the court elite, inherited the throne, receiving Ayrarat. The younger brother Ashot, who became known as Ashot IV the Brave (1022–1040), received the southern and eastern regions of the kingdom, and was set to inherit the entire country after his brother's death. Ashot died in 1040, and Hovhannes-Smbat passed away one year later. Primary sources hint that their quick succession of deaths was advantageous to Byzantium and may have been orchestrated by it. After their deaths, Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, citing the Will of Trebizond, dispatched troops to capture Ani, but faced heroic resistance from Ashot's son, Gagik II (whom the Byzantine historian Skylitzes mistakenly considered the son of Hovhannes-Smbat), and Armenian patriotic forces.^[14]

After Hovhannes-Smbat's death, Vest Sarkis attempted to consolidate power in his hands and rule the country as a Byzantine agent; however, his plans failed because supporters of central authority, led by sparapet Vahram Pahlavuni in 1042, elevated Ashot's 18-year-old son, Gagik, to the Armenian throne.^[12]