Artsrunids

an influential Armenian princely family, well-known since the fourth century A.D. The Artsrunid family domain was centered around Adamakert (modern Başkale) in the Great Albak region. At the end of the seventh century the Artsrunids acquired the possessions of the princely Rshtuni family along the southern and eastern shores of Lake Van; Van became the political center of the Artsrunids. Subsequently, the Artsrunids took control of the entire Vaspurakan region. In the ninth century the Artsrunids came into rivalry with the Bagratids. Under Gagik Artsruni (908–943) their domain was proclaimed a kingdom; it existed until 1021. The invasion of the Seljuks and the offensive of the Byzantine Army compelled Senekerim Artsruni to turn his kingdom over to Byzantium. The Artsrunids received lands in Lesser Armenia, centered on the city of Sebastia (modern Sivas). In the homeland the descendants of the Artsrunids lived in the region of the city of Van, where they inherited the right to the post of the Akhtamar catholicos.