Albania retained its monarchy, although the king had no real power and most civil, religious, and military authority lay with the Sasanian marzban ("margrave") of the territory. In 297 the Treaty of Nisibis stipulated the reestablishment of the Roman protectorate over Iberia, but Albania remained an integral part of the Sasanian Empire.[1] In the middle of the 4th century the king of Albania, Urnayr, arrived in Armenia and was baptized by Gregory the Illuminator, but Christianity spread in Albania slowly, and the Albanian king remained loyal to the Sasanians. After the partition of Armenia between Byzantium and Iran (387), Albania with Sasanian help was able to seize from Armenia the entire right bank of the river Kura up to the river Araxes, including Artsakh and Utik.[1]