Abas Abas I of Armenia

Background

He was the son of Smbat I and the brother of Ashot "Yerkat" World War II

Career

Abas was of the royal Bagratuni Dynasty. In contrast to the way his predecessors" ruled, Abas" reign was marked by years of peace, stability, and prosperity that Armenia had not enjoyed for decades. In the same year that he became king, Abas traveled to Dvin, where he was able to convince the Arab governor there to release several Armenian hostages and turn over control of the pontifical palace back to Armenia.

Conflict between the Arabs were minimal too, with the exception of a military defeat Abas suffered near the holy city of Vagharshapat.

He was far less conciliatory towards the Byzantines, who had repeatedly demonstrated their unreliability as allies by attacking and annexing Armenian territories. Fortunately for him, the Byzantine emperor Romanus I Lecapenus was more focused on fighting the Arab Hamdanids, leaving Abas virtually free to conduct his policies without foreign hindrance.

Abas refused to make any concessions and ambushed Ber"s forces in a dawn assault. Several more skirmishes took place, wherein Ber was finally captured by Abas" mentor

Abas took the king to his new church and told him that he would never see it again, blinding him and sending him back to Abkhazia.

Achievements

• His capital was based at the fortress-city of Kars and Abas achieved numerous successes on both the foreign and domestic fronts.