Pahlavuni was an Armenian noble

Armenian nobility

Armenian nobility has a long history with many interruptions, most notable of which were the Ottoman and Russian occupations of Armenia.-Terminology:...

 family that rose to prominence in the late 10th century during the last years of the Bagratuni monarchy

Bagratuni Dynasty

The Bagratuni, Bagratid or alternatively Pakradouni royal dynasty of Armenia was a royal family whose branches formerly ruled many regional polities, including the Armenian lands of Sper|presently Ispir in Tayk Province of the Armenian Kingdom, Bagrevand in Ayrarat Province of the Armenian...

.

Origins

The Pahlavunis were an offshoot of the Kamsarakan

Kamsarakan

Kamsarakan was an Armenian noble family that was an offshoot of the Karen-Pahlav Clan, one of the seven great houses of Parthia of Persian Arsacid origin.Most of their lands were acquired by the Bagratuni during the last quarter of the eight century....

 noble house that was nearly annihilated following the Arab conquest of Armenia

Arab conquest of Armenia

The Arab conquest of Armenia was a part of the Muslim conquests after the death of Muhammad in AD 632.Persian Armenia had fallen to the Byzantine Empire shortly before, in AD 629, and was conquered in the Rashidun Caliphate by AD 645.-Islamic expansion:...

 in the 7th century. In 774 the nature of the Arab rule had provoked the Armenian nakharar

Nakharar

Nakharar was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility.-Nakharar system:Medieval Armenia was divided into large estates, which were the property of an enlarged noble family and were ruled by a member of it, to whom the title of Nahapet...

s into a major rebellion which included the Kamsarakans. The defeat of the rebels at the Battle of Bagrevand in April of 775 was followed by ruthless suppression of opposition in the years that followed. The power and influence of the Kamsarakans along with other leading nakharar houses such as the Mamikonian

Mamikonian

Mamikonian, Mamikoneans, or Mamigonian was a noble family which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th century. They ruled the Armenian regions of Taron, Sasun, Bagrevand and others...

s and the Gnunis was destroyed for good. Those that survived were either as exiles in the Byzantine Empire

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...

 or as dependants of other houses, chiefly the Artsruni

Artsruni

Artsruni was an ancient Armenian noble family that claimed descent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria . Although it mirrors the Bagratuni claim of Davidic descent and the Mamikonian claim of descent from the royal Han Dynasty, it is usually interpreted as a piece of genealogical mythology...

 and the Bagratuni. They were forced to sell their hereditary princedoms to the Bagratunis, such as the regions of Shirak

Shirak

Shirak is a province of Armenia. It is in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey in the west and Georgia in the north. Its capital is Gyumri. Shirak is known as the homeland of khash. It is as much semi-desert as it is mountain meadow or high alpine...

 and Arsharunik

Arsharunik

Arsharunik was a historical district in Armenia, part of the province of Ayrarat, north of the river Araxes. Earlier in its history, the area was known as Eraskhadzor, and the important castle of Artagerk was located there....

. The Bagratuni Prince Ashot the Carnivorous bought the former estates of the Kamsarakan family around Arpa River

Arpa River

The Arpa is a river that flows through Armenia and Azerbaijan's Nakhichevan exclave. It originates in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia and serves as a left tributary of the Aras River...

 near Mren, 34km south of Ani

Ani

Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...

 which was also now a Bagratuni possession.

Branches

In the 11th century the Pahlavunis controlled and built various fortresses throughout Armenia such as Amberd

Amberd

Amberd is the name given to the 7th century Armenian fortress located above sea level, on the slopes of Mount Aragats at the confluence of the Arkashen and Amberd rivers in the province of Aragatsotn, Armenia. The name translates to "fortress in the clouds" in Armenian. It is also the name...

 and Bjni

Bjni

Bjni is a village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia. It is situated in a valley between canyon walls and a small river. Throughout Bjni's history, it has remained one of the main centers of education in Armenia. Some manuscripts from Bjni dated to the 12th to 17th centuries have survived...

 and played a significant role in all the affairs of the country. According to Cyril Toumanoff

Cyril Toumanoff

Cyril Leo Heraclius, Prince Toumanoff was an United States-based historian and genealogist who mostly specialized in the history and genealogies of medieval Georgia, Armenia, the Byzantine Empire, and Iran...

, following the abdication in 1045-46 of Prince Gregory II

Gregory Magistros

Gregory Magistros was an Armenian linguist, scholar and public functionary. A layman of the princely Pahlavuni family, he was the son of Vassak Pahlavuni. After Byzantium annexed the Kingdom of Ani, Gregory went on to serve as the Governor-general of the province of Edessa. The Byzantine Emperor...

 (who received from the court of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 the rank of magistros and the office of duke of Mesopotamia, Vaspurakan

Vaspurakan

Vaspurakan was the first and biggest province of Greater Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered around Lake Van...

, and Taron

Taron

Taron may refer to: * Taron , a region of historic Armenia* Taron , an ethnic group in Myanmar* Taron, a genus of gastropods in the family Fasciolariidae...

) in favor of the emperor, the Pahlavunis (Oshin of Gandzak

Oshin of Lampron

Oshin of Lampron was an Armenian nakharar, formerly lord of a fortress near modern day Ganja, who migrated in the early 1070s to Cilicia and founded the House of Lampron that ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the 12th century....

) moved to Cilician Armenia forming the House of Hethumids. Toumanoff also names Zakarid-Mxargrzeli

Zakarid-Mxargrzeli

The Zakarid , also known by their Georgian language moniker as Mkhargrdzeli , were a noble family prominent in medieval Armenia and Georgia. Their name in Georgian, Mkhargrdzeli, or in , meant long-armed. A family legend says that this name was a reference to their Achaemenid ancestor Artaxerxes...

house as branch of the Pahlavunis.