Rshtuni was an old 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:...

 house which ruled the region of Rshtuniq who were purportedly descendants of Rusas I of Urartu

Rusas I of Urartu

Rusa I was an Armenian King of Ararat . He succeeded his father, king Sarduri II.Before Rusa's reign had begun, his father, King Sarduri II, had already expanded the kingdom as far south as Nineveh and had annexed various Assyrian and Anatolian territories...

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The first attested member of the house is Manadjihr Rshtuni from about 330, brother of Zora, attested in 335 and 350 both of whom revolted against the King of Armenia Tiran

Diran of Armenia

Tigranes VII redirects here. Not to be confused with the famous king Tigranes II the Great.Tiran , was the king of Armenia from 339 AD to 350 AD. His reign was blemished by both internal and external conflict. Tiran had many disagreements with the reigning Catholicos St. Husik, so much that he...

, along with the prince Vatche Artsruni. The king ordered the extermination of the two families, but Savasp Artsruni and Tadjat Rshtuni survived. The latter is the father of Garegin Rshtuni, attested between 370-80.

Artak Rshtuni is attested in 445. The family rules from their region of Rshtuniq, as well as Bznuniq

Bznuniq

Bznuniq was a region of the old Armenia c. 300-800, north-east of Lake Van, later the region of Khelat. It was ruled by the Bznuni family....

 obtained from Arshakunis after the extermination of the family Bznuni

Bznuni

Bznuni was a minor noble family of old Armenia that ruled Bznuniq until c. 335....

. Rshtunis support the Sassanid Persians for the most part against the Byzantines

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...

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The best known member and the leading figure of the family in the early 7th century is Theodoros Rshtuni

Theodoros Rshtuni

Theodore Rshtuni , equated with the patrikios Pasagnathes of Theophanes the Confessor, was an Armenian nakharar, famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia...

, marzban

Marzban

Marzban were a class of margraves or military commanders in charge of border provinces of the Sassanid Empire of Persia between the 3rd and 7th centuries CE....

 then prince of Armenia from 638 to 655, who had the difficult task of ensuring Armenia's survival between Byzantine and Arab ambitions. Following the destruction of the Sassanid empire, the Muslim incursions into Armenia in 642 began. He is eventually exiled by the Caliph to Damascus.

The family becomes increasingly irrelevant following Theodoros' exile, becoming vassals of 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...

s and losing their hereditary land of Bznunik to 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 in 656. Vart Rshtuni is the last attested member of the family in 705.