Ali II Lashkari
Encyclopedia

Reign of Ali II Lashkari

In 1044, Constantine IX waged war against the Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

n king Gagik II
Gagik II
Gagik II of Ani was the last Bagratuni King of Ani from 1042 to 1045.-Historical background:During the reign of John Smbat III, a feudal lord, David, who owned Taik during his battles against the Muslims, gained a large area which stretched all the way to Manzikert...

. The Byzantine Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

, sent letters to al-Lashkari's uncle, Abu'l-Aswar (the Byzantine Aplesphares,emir of Dwin), inviting him to attack the territory of Ani. Abu'l-Aswar wrote back to Nikolaos (the Emperor's chief officer) that he would cooperate as long as the Emperor guaranteed him in writing that he could keep whatever territory he won by the sword. Constantine IX accepted this condition and ordered that his pact with Abu'l-Aswar be confirmed with a chrysoboullos logos or official document sealed with a golden bull. The Kurd
Kürd
Kürd or Kyurd or Kyurt may refer to:*Kürd Eldarbəyli, Azerbaijan*Kürd Mahrızlı, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Goychay, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Jalilabad, Azerbaijan*Kürd, Qabala, Azerbaijan*Qurdbayram, Azerbaijan...

 rose to the bait and quickly seized a section of Armenian territory with its fortresses and towns.

Right after the annexation of Ani, Constantine IX had the nerve to command Abu'l-Aswar to turn over those Armenian strongholds and towns he had captured as a Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 ally against Gagik. When Abu'l-Aswar reminded him of the chrysobull and refused to surrender his gains, the Emperor resorted to military coercion. He commanded that the Byzantine forces combine with the native garrisons of Ani and "Iberican" army and take the field. In the face of such overwhelming force, Abu'l-Aswar craftily withdrew his troops within the walls of Dwin, while damming up the course of the river Azat (Garni Chai) and inundating the level country all around the city, converting it into a swamp. All around the foot of the city walls were rows of vineyards; there the Kurd posted in ambush a strong corps of foot-archers. The Christian soldiers—immobilized in the quagmire and assaulted on all sides by enemies barely visible—was routed with terrible loss; among the dead was Vahram Pahlavuni and his son Gregory. Many of the Byzantine troops, along with their allies, were taken captive and sold as slaves. Iasites and Constantine the Alan escaped with difficulty and made their way back to Ani, where they announced the calamity to Nikolaos (autumn 1045).( see http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0SBL/is_18/ai_n13826854/pg_21, p. 6)

In early 1049, Nicephorus
Nicephorus
-Rulers:* Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus 1267-1297* Nikephoros I Logothetes, Byzantine emperor 802-811* Nikephoros II Orsini, ruler of Epirus 1335-1338 and 1356-1359* Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine emperor 963-969...

 (the palatial rector) invaded the emirate of Abu'l-Aswar, ravaging it from end to end and forcing the emir to take refuge inside Dwin. Abu'l-Aswar, temporarily cowed, again made terms and acknowledged Byzantine suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...

. According to Scylitzes, he had to yield as a hostage his nephew Ardashir (Artasyros in Greek), son of his brother "Phatlun, emir of Kantzakion"

By this time, Al-Lashkari, had been reduced from a border emir of some consequence to a glorified refuge, moving his headquarters from castle to castle until he died in 1049.
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