Locating Religion, Controlling Territory: Conquest and Legitimation in Late Ninth Century Vaspurakan and its Inter-religious Context

The article discusses the conquest of Vaspurakan, i.e. territories south and east of Lake Van by the Armenian noble (later royal) dynasty of the Arstrunis and places the foundation and re-foundation of holy sites, especially monasteries, as well as the patronage of the cult of specific saints and their relics, as part of their efforts for territory control.