recorded as having participated in the anti-Sasanian revolt led by Vardan Mamikonian. ArshavirII also took part in the insurrection of 482–484, together with his son and successor Nerses. The Kamsarakans were known for following a broadly pro-Byzantine policy, and they were actively involved in the political life of the empire as well. For example, three brothers from the Kamsarakan family served as generals for Justinian I (r. 527–565); Narses, Isaac the Armenian (Sahak), and another Isaac (Sahak), who was executed by the king of the Ostrogoths, Totila, in 546. A later Kamsarakan, NarsesII Kamsarakan, served as presiding prince of Armenia for the Byzantine emperor in the late 7th century, and also held the high-ranking Byzantine office of curopalates. Another individual, presumably a Kamsarak, was the patrician Arsaber (Arshavir), noted for revolting against the Byzantine emperor in 808. The Kamsarakans took part in the revolt against Arab rule in Armenia in 771–772. When the insurrection failed, the Kamsarakan were amongst the "victims of the disaster", and they had no choice but to sell their "double princedom" to the Bagratids. The Pahlavuni family In the Bagratid era, the Kamsarakan rose to prominence once again, now represented by its cadet branch the Pahlavunis, led by the princes Bdjni and Nig. Cyril Toumanoff notes: When the Bagratids were destroyed and Prince Gregory II abdicated in 1045–1046 to allow the Byzantine emperor to assume control over his lands, the Pahlavunis moved to Cilicia, where they were known as the Hethumids. They dominated this "last phase of Armenia’s political history", first as princes of Lambrun, and after 1226, as kings of Armenia. When the Hethumids died out in the 14th century the Armenian crown passed, through inheritance, to the Lusignan dynasty of Cyprus, and afterwards to the House of Savoy. The Mkhargrdzeli, another branch of the Pahlavunis, were a dominant force in the Kingdom of Georgia in the 12th14th centuries, and "has survived to this day". Patrons of architecture The Kamsarakans and their Pahlavuni branch, and in turn the Mkhargrdzelis, were known for being patrons of Armenian architecture. Notable examples of structures built by the family include castles and palaces, as well as "splendid churches", such as the Church of St. Gregory (commissioned by AbughamrI Pahlavuni). References Sources Kamsarakan family