Gregory I* Of Armenia
(surnamed the Mlamnigornan), brother and successor of Hamazasb, having been given as a hostage to the Arabians from the time of the conquest of Armenia, was sent back into his own country in 659, to govern it, with the title of a patriarch. He relieved Bagdad from its caliphs until the year 679, when he made himself independent. But four years later he perished, in 683, in an encounter with the Khazars, who had crossed the Caucasus and invaded Armenia. He erected several buildings, among which the monastery of Arfij, near Erivan, and the monastery of Elivard are particularly distinguishable. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.
*Strictly, Gregory II. (See GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR).