Hovhannes-Smbat III of Armenia

Hovhannes-Smbat III
Hovhannes submits to Basil II, miniature from the Madrid Skylitzes
King of Ani 1020–1040
Predecessor	Gagik I
Successor	Gagik II
Dynasty	Bagratuni
Father	Gagik I

Hovhannes-Smbat III was King of Ani (1020–1040). He succeeded his father Gagik I of Ani (989–1020) being the king's elder son and legal heir to the throne.

Life

His enthronement in 1020 was strongly opposed by his younger brother Ashot, who one year later in 1021 rebelled against him, driving his forces to Ani the capital, surrounding and conquering the city and dethroning his brother Hovhannes-Smbat III in 1021 and usurping power from him.

But following a compromise agreement between the two feuding brothers, he agreed to withdraw his rebel forces from Ani and let the legal heir Hovhannes-Smbat III to return to power continuing as Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani on limited areas around the capital, whereas Ashot (known as Ashot IV) would be enthroned a concurrent king and rule in further Armenian provinces closer to Persia and Georgia.

Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani's rule continued (1020–1040) and that of Ashot IV (1021–1039). Despite the agreed compromise, conflicts, sometimes military, continued between the two brother kings thus greatly weakening the Armenian Bagratid kingdom.

During the reign of Smbat III, there were other rebellions against him. David, an Armenian great feudal lord, in the eastern provinces and an ally of the Byzantines and who owned Taik (Tao) (Ispir and Olti), ran battles against the Muslims, thus taking a large area which stretched all the way to Manazkert under his control. David ran these liberated regions independently from Hovhannes-Smbat King of Ani's jurisdiction and being a subject of the Byzantine Empire, when he died, his entire controlled territory was occupied by Byzantine emperor Basil II's forces.

References