ashot i's prestige rose as both byzantine and arab leaders courted him. the abbasid caliphate recognized ashot as "prince of princes" in 862 and, later on, as king. several contemporary prominent armenians, including grigor-derenik vaspurakan, insisted on ashot's coronation. ashot was crowned king of armenia through the consent of caliph al-mu'tamid in 885 to prevent intrusion into armenian territory by basil i, a byzantine emperor of armenian origin. the establishment of the bagratuni kingdom later led to the founding of several other armenian principalities and kingdoms: taron, vaspurakan, kars, khachen and syunik. during the reign of ashot iii (952/53–77), ani became the kingdom's capital and grew into a thriving economic and cultural center. the first half of the 11th century saw the decline and eventual collapse of the kingdom. the byzantine emperor basil ii (r. 976–1025) won a string of victories and annexed parts of southwestern armenia. king hovhannes-smbat felt forced to cede his lands and in 1022 promised to "will" his kingdom to the byzantines following his death. however, after hovhannes-smbat's death in 1041, his successor, gagik ii, refused to hand over ani and continued resistance until 1045, when his kingdom, plagued with internal and external threats, was finally taken by byzantine forces. it can be assumed that armenia had a population of 5–6 million at that time in the (ix-xi centuries).