[6] Armenian Smbatean or Arabic ibn Sunbat was Sahl's paternal name – Smbat is derived from the Pahlavi proper name Sunbādh "Sinbad".
[7] Movses Kaghankatvatsi wrote that Sahl Smbatyan was a descendant of the ancient Armenian House of Aranshahik (itself a branch of the Syunid dynasty).
[6] In Armenian sources, Sahl Smbatean and his brothers are remembered for their successful battles against enemy invaders in the mountains of Artsakh.
[1] In 854, according to Tovma Artsruni, Sahl Smbatean and many other princes of Armenia (including Atrnerseh of Khachen and Esayi Abu-Muse of Ktish) [12] were captured by Bugha al-Kabir, the Turkish commander of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, and exiled to Samarra.
Captured by Smbat (Sahl-i Smbatean), the Armenian prince of the Caucasian province Shakki, Babek was handed over to al-Afshin, who brought him to Samarra, where he was put to death in the same year.