Varaztirots III Bagratuni
Events
Date of Birth: unknown.
Place of Birth: unknown.
Settipani estimates about 645.
Date of Death: about 685.
Place of Death: unknown.
The date is given by Settipani.
Relationships
Father: unknown.
Mother: unknown.
Toumanoff (pp. 343-4), followed by Settipani (p. 574), argues that Varaztirots was a son of Smbat V Bagratuni.
Spouse: unknown.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Smbat VI Bagratuni (born about 670 - died 726)
Ashot Bagratuni
Bagrat Bagratuni
Commentary
On Varaztirots’s father:
Toumanoff’s argument goes like this:
[1] Ashot II was the son of a Smbat and father of another Smbat. The younger Smbat is called ‘Smbat son of Prince Ashot’ [Lewond p. 59]); Vardan gives Ashot II’s father as Smbat.
[2] Smbat VI was the son of Varaztirots. He is called ‘Smbat, the son of Varaz-Tirots’ by Lewond [p. 56].
Therefore:
[3] The younger Smbat in [1] is not Smbat VI [2].
[4] Prince Ashot II was not a brother of Prince Smbat VI: Ashot the brother of Smbat VI is mentioned after the death of Ashot II [Lewond p. 59].
[5] Smbat VI succeeded Ashot II as Prince of the Bagratids and Prince of Armenia.
[6] Since Smbat VI did not succeed as Ashot II’s son, and did not succeed as Ashot II’s brother, he must have succeeded as Ashot II’s nephew.
Therefore:
[7] Varaztirots III must have been a son of Ashot II’s father Smbat V Bagratuni.
[6] seems less than certain. Toumanoff believed that Bagratid succession went through the male line – father to son, or, if the son was unsuitable, then brother to brother, or uncle to nephew. Toumanoff argued that Ashot II succeeded his elder brother Varaztirots III when the latter was killed by the Byzantines while his son Smbat VI was a minor. Smbat VI naturally succeeded Ashot II.
References
History of Lewond, The Eminent Vardapet of the Armenians (Z. Arzoumanian tr.) (1982).
Settipani, Christian. “The Seventh-Century Bagratids between Armenia and Byzantium” in 2013, Constructing the Seventh Century, Travaux et Mémoires XVII, (C. Zuckerman ed.), (Paris, 2013), p. 559-578.
Toumanoff, Cyril. Studies in Christian Caucasian History (Georgetown U.P., 1963).