Ashot III of Armenia

Ashot III was a king of Armenia, ruling the medieval kingdom of Bagratid Armenia from 952/53–77. Known as Ashot III the Merciful and acknowledged by foreign rulers as the Shahanshah of Mets Hayk', he moved his royal seat of residence to Ani and oversaw its development and of the kingdom as a whole. Armenia reached the height of its golden era during his reign and that of his sons and successors, Smbat II (977–89) and Gagik I (990–1020).