Smbat VIII Bagratuni

Smbat VIII Bagratuni or Smbat the Confessor was an Armenian noble of the Bagratid (Bagratuni) family and one of the most important princes (nakharar) of Armenia in the mid-9th century as the commander-in-chief (sparapet) of Armenia. Taken prisoner to Samarra, he was pressured to convert to Islam but refused and died there. He was the father of Ashot I of Armenia, founder of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia.