Smbat II the Master of the Universe was a king of Armenia from the Bagratuni dynasty. He was the son of Ashot III the Merciful and Queen Khosrovanuysh, and the brother of Gagik I and Gurgen. In primary sources, he is mentioned with the titles “Master of the Universe” and “Shahanshah of Ani”.
The reign of Smbat II coincided with the deepening political fragmentation of Bagratid Armenia, the increasing activity of neighbouring Muslim emirates, and the reorganisation of the eastern policy of the Byzantine Empire. During his reign, the kingdoms of Tashir, Parisos, and Syunik were created or took their final form, although their rulers continued to recognise the supremacy of the Shahanshah of Ani. Smbat II’s most notable undertaking was the construction of Ani’s new defensive system, the Smbatashen Walls. The Cathedral of Ani was also founded during his reign, and its construction was completed by Queen Katranide during the reign of Gagik I.Arman Yeghiazaryan, “Smbat II the Master of the Universe, King of Armenia”, Yerevan, Yerevan State University Press, 2021, pp. 5–112.
Origin and accession to the throne
Smbat was the eldest son of Ashot III the Merciful. According to the contemporary historian Stepanos Taronetsi Asoghik, immediately after the death of Ashot III, his son Smbat ascended the throne and ruled for thirteen years. Based on a comparison of the data of the movable Armenian calendar, Ashot III’s death is dated to 3 January 978, and Smbat’s reign therefore began at the beginning of 978.Stepanos Taronetsi Asoghik, “Universal History”, “Armenian Classical Authors”, volume XV, book II, Yerevan, Yerevan State University Press, 2011, p. 760.“The Synaxarion According to the Order of the Most Select Copy of the Synaxarion of Lord Israel”, Constantinople, 1834, p. 226. Compare Malachia Ormanian, “National History”, vol. I, Constantinople, 1912, § 779.
The view that Smbat had already been his father’s co-ruler from 958 has occasionally been advanced in historiography. This opinion was based mainly on the phrase “the residence of Smbat, king of the Armenians”, mentioned in the work of Anania Mokatsi. However, the reference concerns not Smbat, the son of Ashot III, but Shirakavan, also known as Yerazgavors, the former residence of Smbat I. The wording of contemporary and later historians, according to which Smbat became king on the very day of his father’s death, likewise does not support the co-rulership hypothesis.“The Work of Lord Anania, Catholicos of the Armenians, Concerning the Rebellion of the House of Aghvank”, “Ararat”, 1897, no. 3, p. 144.Vardan Vardapet, “Compilation of History”, Venice, San Lazzaro, 1862, p. 90.
Political situation at the beginning of the reign
Smbat II ascended the throne under circumstances in which the territorial and military foundations of the Bagratid kingdom had been significantly weakened. Byzantium had already taken possession of Taron, separate claims to royal precedence continued to exist among the Artsrunis of the Kingdom of Vaspurakan, and a separate Bagratid kingdom had been established in Kars in 975. Local principalities were becoming stronger within the kingdom, while the Muslim emirates to the south and south-east were being reorganised.
The Arab Caliphate had lost effective control over most of its Middle Eastern territories. The Buyids had acquired a dominant position in Baghdad, the Sallarids and Rawwadids were competing in Azerbaijan, and the emirates of Goghtn, Dvin, and Manzikert remained influential within Armenia. At the same time, David the Curopalate and Bagrat III, the future founder of a united Georgian kingdom, had become more powerful in the South Caucasus.
Reconstruction of Ani and its defensive system
The Smbatashen Walls
Smbat II’s first major undertaking was the protection of the new districts of Ani that had spread beyond the Ashotashen wall. Asoghik reports that the king constructed a new, towering wall with towers and strongly fortified gates, extending from the gorge of the Akhurian River to Tsaghkotsadzor. In the work “History of the City of Ani”, the foundation of the wall is dated to the year 428 of the Armenian calendar, corresponding to the period between March 979 and March 980. The same account associates the construction with the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Basil II and the first year of Smbat II’s reign.Mkhitar of Ani, “Book of Universal Narratives”, edited by H. Margaryan, Yerevan, 1983, p. 107. Samuel of Ani likewise emphasises that construction of the wall began immediately after Smbat’s accession to the throne.Samuel of Ani and his continuators, “Chronology from Adam to 1776”, edited by K. Matevosyan, Yerevan, 2014, p. 178.
Toros Toramanian considered that work on such a scale would have required between five and ten years, while Marie Brosset suggested a period of approximately eight years. On the basis of these estimates, the principal stage of construction is placed approximately between 979 and 989.Toros Toramanian, “Extracts from My Recollections of Ani: Was Ani a City or a Fortress?”, “Ethnographic Review”, book XXIII, 1912, no. 2, pp. 6–8.
According to Toramanian’s measurements, the Smbatashen wall was more than 2,500 metres long and reached a height of 8–10 metres. Towers were constructed along the wall at intervals of 10–20 metres. Most were semicircular, although square-plan towers were also found in the areas of Igadzor and Gayladzor. Ani’s defensive system included dozens of towers and numerous gates and passages. The principal entrances included the Great Gate, the Kars Gate, and the Dvin Gate. A sculpture of a leopard, regarded as one of the heraldic symbols of Ani, was placed above the Great Gate.Nicholas Marr, “Ani: The Written History of the City and Excavations at the Site of the Settlement”, Leningrad–Moscow, 1934, pp. 78–85.Varazdat Harutyunyan, “The City of Ani”, Yerevan, 1964, pp. 31, 41–43.
A lower second wall existed in front of the main wall, and some sources also mention a broad moat that could be filled with water. The expression “double wall” may mean either a “second” wall or a “paired” wall, and several researchers therefore consider the Smbatashen system to have originally consisted of two lines of fortification. In accounts of the siege of Ani in 1064, the city’s fortifications are described as exceptionally powerful and difficult to penetrate.Ibn al-Athir, “Foreign Sources on Armenia and the Armenians”, 11, “Arabic Sources”, vol. II, translated by A. Ter-Ghevondyan, Yerevan, 1981, p. 42.Michael Attaleiates, “History”, “Foreign Sources on Armenia and the Armenians”, 17, “Byzantine Sources”, vol. VI, Yerevan, 2015, pp. 217–220. Urban development programme and the architect Trdat
The relationship between the locations of the Smbatashen walls, the bridges over the Akhurian River, the principal streets, and the Cathedral of Ani has provided grounds for the assumption that a unified urban development programme was implemented during Smbat II’s reign. Its designer and construction supervisor is considered to have been Trdat the Architect. According to S. Mnatsakanian, Trdat not only designed the fortification wall but also developed the general plan of the new city, with a principal axis extending from the main Smbatashen entrance towards the city centre and the cathedral.Stepan Mnatsakanian, “Masters of Masters: Manuel, Trdat, Momik”, Yerevan, 1982, pp. 100–103.
Settlement and construction in the new part of Ani had begun earlier, but during Smbat II’s reign the area received a unified defensive and urban system. These works contributed to the rapid growth of the capital and transformed it into a city described by contemporaries as “world-renowned” or “universal”.Aristakes Lastivertsi, “History”, Venice, 1901, pp. 125–127.
Foundation of the Cathedral of Ani
According to Asoghik, Smbat II laid the foundations of a great church in Ani through the work of the architect Trdat. The cathedral was constructed outside the Ashotashen wall, in the central part of the new city, and its foundation must therefore have followed the principal construction stage of the Smbatashen defensive system. One of the most widely accepted dates for its foundation is 989.
In August 989, an earthquake in Constantinople damaged Hagia Sophia. Trdat was invited to the imperial capital and directed the restoration of its dome. Construction of the Cathedral of Ani was probably temporarily suspended because of his departure. After the death of Smbat II, the work was continued and completed by Queen Katranide, the wife of Gagik I. An inscription in the Cathedral of Ani states that the queen completed the cathedral founded by “the great Smbat”.“Corpus of Armenian Inscriptions”, issue I, the City of Ani, compiled by H. Orbeli, Yerevan, 1966, p. 35.Stepanos Asoghik Taronetsi, “Universal History”, translated into modern Armenian by V. Vardanyan, Yerevan, 2000, pp. 240–241, 804–808.
“Master of the Universe” and other titles
Smbat II’s title “Master of the Universe” did not literally signify dominion over the entire world. It was part of the titular tradition of the Bagratid court and had first been used with significant political meaning during the reign of Smbat I. Smbat I had established supremacy over several rulers of Armenia and Christian Transcaucasia, and the title “Master of the Universe” therefore emphasised regional overlordship.H. Margaryan, “The Title ‘Master of the Universe’ of the Bagratid Kings”, “Issues of Armenian History”, 2005, no. 6, pp. 100–109.
In a colophon dated 965, the Byzantine emperor is called “Master of the Universe”, while Abusahl-Hamazasp, king of Vaspurakan, is called the “second Master of the Universe”. This usage indicates a particular hierarchy: the emperor was regarded as the supreme ruler of the entire Christian world, while the Armenian king was the overlord of regional kings who were subordinate to or allied with him.Ghevont Alishan, “Armenian History”, vol. II, Venice, 1901, pp. 122–123.
In his charter of 979, Smbat II presents himself as a descendant of Smbat I, the “Master of the Universe and great king”, without repeating the title beside his own name. This shows that Smbat II bore the title by virtue of inheritance and court tradition, regarding Smbat I as its original and authoritative holder.“Memorial Book of the Monastery of Sanahin”, edited by P. Muradyan, Holy Etchmiadzin, 2007, pp. 67–68.
The form “Shahanshah of Ani” is also mentioned among his titles. The title “shahanshah”, or “king of kings”, emphasised the supremacy of the king of Ani over the kingdoms of Kars, Tashir, and the other local Armenian kingdoms.Aram Ter-Ghevondyan, “The Arabic Inscription of Haghpat and the Titles of the Bagratid Kings”, “Herald of the Social Sciences”, 1979, no. 1, pp. 73–75.
Relations with the Kingdom of Kars
During the first years of Smbat II’s reign, relations with his uncle, King Mushegh of Kars, became strained. The subject of the conflict was the fortress of Shatik, near which an important commercial road passed through the Aghtodzor mountain pass of the Armenian Range. The fortress also had customs significance.
Smbat captured Shatik, but Mushegh appealed to David the Curopalate for assistance. The combined forces of Kars and Tao advanced into Shirak and halted in the Bava Valley. Smbat II did not enter into a large-scale war and returned the fortress to Mushegh in exchange for peace. Asoghik specifically states that, owing to the peaceful disposition of David the Curopalate, Smbat’s country was not subjected to devastation. The event is dated approximately to the period between 978 and 982.H. Harutyunyan, “Armenia in the Ninth–Eleventh Centuries”, Yerevan, 1959, p. 108.