Ashot Msaker

Ashot IV Bagratuni , better known as Ashot Msaker (, "Ashot the Meat Eater / the Carnivorous"), reputedly for his refusal to refrain from eating meat during Lent, was an Armenian prince from the Bagratid family. A fugitive from the failed uprising in 775 against Arab rule in Armenia, where his father was killed, over the next decades he gradually expanded his domains and established a predominant role for himself in the country's affairs, becoming recognized by the Abbasid Caliphate as presiding prince of Armenia from 806 until his death in 826.

Origin and family Ashot was the son of Smbat VII Bagratuni, presiding prince of Arab-ruled Armenia and sparapet (supreme commander), who had participated in the rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate and was killed in the disastrous Battle of Bagrevand in 775. The Bagratid family, which traced its origins to the biblical prophet David, gradually displaced the older Armenian nakharar houses (Mamikonians, Artsrunis) in the second half of the 8th century, maintaining its influence in northern and central Armenia.

Bagarat II (prince of Taron, later presiding prince); Smbat VIII Ablabas (sparapet of Armenia, father of Ashot I the Great); Smbat had participated in the rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate, and had been killed in the disastrous Battle of Bagrevand in 775. Following the battle, Ashot fled from the family's traditional lands in eastern Armenia north to his relatives near the sources of the Araxes river, where he was further from Arab power and closer to the Byzantine Empire. There he also possessed silver mines, which allowed him to buy some of the lands of the Kamsarakan family and establish a new lordship around the fortress of Bagaran, in the province of Ayrarat.

The demise or exile of so many princely families (nakharar) after Bagrevand left a power vacuum in the southern Caucasus: in part this was filled by Arab settlers, who by the early 9th century had established a series of larger or smaller emirates in the region, but among the greatest beneficiaries were the Artsruni, a formerly middle-ranking nakharar family that now came to control most of south-eastern Armenia (Vaspurakan). Ashot's rise was challenged by another ambitious family, the Muslim Jahhafids. Frustrated, Jahhaf and his son Abd al-Malik openly rebelled against the Caliphate by seizing the Armenian capital, Dvin, in 813, and unsuccessfully besieging the caliphal governor at Bardaa.

The death of Abd al-Malik "marked the victory of the Bagratids over their most dangerous enemies" (Ter-Ghewondyan), and left Ashot as the greatest landholder among the nakharar.

By the time of his death in 826, Ashot had effected a remarkable transformation in his fortunes: as Joseph Laurent comments, the "proscribed and dispossessed" fugitive of Bagrevand died as the "most powerful and most popular prince of Armenia". His possessions were divided among his sons. The eldest, Bagrat II Bagratuni, received Taron and Sasun and later the title of ishkhan ishkhanats ("prince of princes"), whereas his brother, Smbat VIII the Confessor, became the sparapet (commander-in-chief) of Armenia and received the lands around Bagaran and the Araxes.

Religious-dogmatic stance Ashot Msaker paid special attention to preserving Armenian church identity. In Armenia, this conflict had not only religious but also deep political implications, since accepting Chalcedonianism actually meant coming under Byzantine political influence.

In this context, Ashot Msaker rejected the official proposal of the bishop of the city of Harran in Mesopotamia to accept Chalcedonianism. The bishop of Harran, who acted as an agent of Byzantine influence, tried to convince the Armenian prince of the necessity of church unity, thereby strengthening Byzantium's position in the Transcaucasus. However, Ashot not only rejected this proposal but also firmly defended the dogmatic identity of the Armenian Apostolic Church, rejecting the pro-Byzantine direction.

This decision was an extremely important political step, since the Armenian prince showed that Armenia under his rule did not submit to Byzantine religious-dogmatic pressure and maintained its church independence. Ashot understood that religious identity was one of the most important factors for consolidating the people and preserving statehood, so this step became one of the key components of his policy.

The historian Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi specifically emphasizes Ashot's dogmatic stance, presenting him as a defender of Armenian national-religious identity. According to the historian, Ashot "remained faithful to Orthodoxy" and "did not agree with foreigners," which testifies to his religious uncompromisingness. Draskhanakerttsi particularly emphasizes that Ashot's position stemmed not from personal but from state interests — the need to preserve the unity of the people. Armenian churchmen saw in Ashot their protector, which contributed to the formation of a strong alliance between the prince and the church. This alliance later played an important role in strengthening Bagratid power and restoring the Armenian Kingdom in 885, since the church became the ideological support of the Bagratids.

Remarkably, this dogmatic choice of Ashot Msaker was also reflected in Arabic sources, which note that the Armenian prince "remained faithful to his church" and "did not follow the religion of the Greeks." This fact testifies that Ashot's religious position received recognition even in the Muslim environment as an expression of Armenia's independence.

Death and legacy Ashot Msaker died in 826. After his death, power was divided among his sons. Bagarat II received Taron (later presiding prince), and Smbat VIII Ablabas received the Ayrarat possessions. Ashot's elder son — Bagarat II — and his grandson — Ashot I the Great (son of Smbat) — continued his work. In 885, Ashot I the Great was officially recognized as king of Armenia and founded the Bagratid Kingdom.

By the time of his death in 826, Ashot had effected a remarkable transformation in his fortunes: as Joseph Laurent comments, the "proscribed and dispossessed" fugitive of Bagrevand died as the "most powerful and most popular prince of Armenia." His possessions were divided among his sons. The eldest, Bagrat II Bagratuni, received Taron and Sasun and later the title of ishkhan ishkhanats ("prince of princes"), whereas his brother, Smbat VIII the Confessor, became the sparapet (commander-in-chief) of Armenia and received the lands around Bagaran and the Araxes.

The historical legacy of Ashot Msaker includes:

The unification of Armenian lands through a combination of arms, money (land purchases), and flexible diplomacy; The creation of a centralized Bagratid principality; The official restoration of the institution of "prince of Armenia"; The defense of the identity of the Armenian Apostolic Church; The creation of the territorial-economic foundation on which his grandson — Ashot I the Great — in 885 restored the independence of the Armenian Kingdom.