Kingdom of Vanand

Kingdom of Kars (Armenian: Կարսի թագավորություն), alternatively known as the Kingdom of Vanand (Armenian: Վանանդի թագավորություն), was a medieval Armenian kingdom formed in the year 963 by the son of Abas I of Armenia, Mushegh Bagratuni (d. 984).

The capital of the kingdom was Kars, currently part of modern-day Turkey.

In 963, shortly after the Bagratuni seat was transferred to Ani, Kars became the capital of a separate independent kingdom called Vanand.

In 1064, just after the capture of Ani by Alp Arslan (leader of the Seljuk Turks), the Armenian king of Kars, Gagik-Abas, paid homage to the victorious Turks so that they would not lay siege to his city.

In 1065 Gagik-Abas ceded his kingdom to the Byzantine Empire, but soon after Kars was taken by the Seljuk Turks.