-http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ARMENIA.htm#SmbatIIIdied1041

1. YOVHANES-SMBAT (-1041). The History of Aristakes Lastivertci names "Smbat who was called Yohannes and his brother Ashot" as the sons of "Gagik son of Ashot", recording that Giorgi King of Abkhazia arbitrated their dispute over their inheritance and awarded "the stronghold of Ani and the districts surrounding it" to Yohannes-Smbat and "the lower part of the land facing Persia and Georgia" to Ashot[114]. He succeeded his father in [1017/20] as SMBAT III King of Armenia, ruling jointly with his brother, based at Ani. Kirakos Ganjaketsi's History of Armenia records that "his son Yohannes" succeeded "Gagik Shahnshah" and ruled for 20 years[115]. He was embroiled in territorial quarrels with his brother and with the King of Kars, and proposed in 1022 to bequeath his kingdom to Emperor Basileios II. The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa records that disputes between Yovhanes and his brother, commenting that the former was “un homme savant et ingénieux, mais d´une grande obésité”[116]. The History of Aristakes Lastivertci records that King Smbat proposed to bequeath his kingdom to Emperor Basileios II as his son had predeceased him[117]. He was granted the imperial title archon. The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa records the death “en l´année 490 [11 Mar 1041/10 Mar 1042]” of “le roi d´Arménie Jean, frère d´Aschod et fils de Kakig, de la famille des Bagratides” and his burial at Ani[118]. The History of Aristakes Lastivertci records the death in the same year of "the two brothers Asot and Yovhannes"[119]. On his death in 1041, Byzantium claimed the Armenian kingdom of Ani[120]. The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa records that, after the death of “le roi d´Arménie Jean…”, “un des satrapes d´Arménie, homme perfide…Azad Sarkis, descendant de Haig” offered the kingdom to the Byzantines and took the national treasure “chez les Aph´khaz”[121].

m firstly ---. The name of Smbat's first wife is not known. However, the fact of this first marriage is proved by the reference to Smbat's deceased son in the History of Aristakes Lastivertci when it records that the king proposed to bequeath his kingdom to Emperor Basileios II (who died in 1025)[122].

m secondly ([1032]%29 --- [Argyre], niece of Emperor ROMANOS III Argyros, daughter of ---. Skylitzes states that the wife of Smbat King of Armenia was ανεψιάν of Emperor Romanos III[123]. The Tables chronologiques of Samuel of Ani record the "Romain donne en marriage sa fille à notre roi Iohannès" in 1032[124].

• King Smbat & his first wife had one child: a) ERKAT (-before [1022]). The History of Aristakes Lastivertci records that "his son Erkat" predeceased his father Yovhannes[125].

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• Wikipedia

Hovhannes-Smbat III was King of Ani (1020–1040). He succeeded his father Gagik I of Ani (989–1020) being the king's elder son and legal heir to the throne.

Life

His enthronement in 1020 was strongly opposed by his younger brother Ashot, who one year later in 1021 rebelled against him, driving his forces to Ani the capital, surrounding and conquering the city and dethroning his brother Hovhannes-Smbat III in 1021 and usurping power from him.

But following a compromise agreement between the two feuding brothers, he agreed to withdraw his rebel forces from Ani and let the legal heir Hovhannes-Smbat III to return to power continuing as Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani on limited areas around the capital, whereas Ashot (known as Ashot IV Qadj) would be enthroned a concurrent king and rule in further Armenian provinces closer to Persia and Georgia.

Hovhannes-Smbat III of Ani's rule continued (1020–1040) and that of Ashot IV (1021–1039). Despite the agreed compromise, conflicts, sometimes military, continued between the two brother kings thus greatly weakening the Armenian Bagratid kingdom.

During the reign of Smbat III, there were other rebellions against him. David, an Armenian great feudal lord, in the eastern provinces and an ally of the Byzantines and who owned Taik (Tao) (Ispir and Olti), ran battles against the Muslims, thus taking a large area which stretched all the way to Manazkert under his control. David ran these liberated regions independently from Hovhannes-Smbat King of Ani's jurisdiction and being a subject of the Byzantine Empire, when he died, his entire controlled territory was occupied by Byzantine emperor Basil II's forces.