ARMENIAN - Erevangala500

Roman Empire was divided into an Eastern and a
Western Empire. The Armenian princes, who suffered
greatly under the intolerant, sometimes fanatically anti-
Christian religious policies of the Sassanids tried in vain
to obtain more freedom.
In the decisive battle o f Avarayr in the year 451, the
Armenian leader Vardan Mamikonean was defeated by
the Persians. His pleas to the Byzantines for help were of
no avail. 451 was a fateful year for the Armenians, it was
also the year of the Fourth Ecumenical Council in
Chalzedon (present-day Kadikoy, in Istanbul). Because
of the tragic war situation, the Christians from beyond the
Byzantine borders were unable to attend the Council. The
imperial policy, which was also the official policy of the
Byzantine clergy, won an unchallenged victory. The doctrine
of the dual nature of Christ, divine and human, prevailed.
The Monophysites did not recognize the decisions
of the Council. The most important Monophysitic group
was the Armenians, but also in this category were the
Syrians, the Egyptian Copts, their neighbors to the south
in Ethiopia, and the Indian church. One must also mention
the Nesto-rians in Persia, who at that time were quite
strong.
This conflict resulted in a feud between Byzantium and
the Armenians - a feud which had grave consequences for
both sides. The Byzantines watched disdainfully as the
When the church of Aghtamar was built in the tenth century,
the Armenians o f eastern Anatolia and their princes were subjects
of the Abbaside Caliphs o f Baghdad. The Caliphs were in
turn at the mercy o f the "Mamluks", who lived at the Caliphs'
court and controlled art and culture (not just the military!).
These Mamluks were Turkish and belonged to the administrative
and military caste. They influenced both Seljuk and
Armenian architecture with their classical round buildings.
Armenians were weakened. They failed to recognize that
they were losing a buffer against their Persian arch-ene-
mies, as well as against the new invaders from the East.
In 484, Byzantium was decisively weakened by Persians
attacking from the East. When the emperor Justinian
came to power in Byzantium a generation later, there was
not a trace left o f Armenian independence. Power was
divided between Persians and Byzantines. The emperor
Maurice even resettled a lot o f Armenians in Thrace,
which may well have been their original home.
Recurring themes o f Armenian art: the constant struggle with
the Persians, which lasted from the days o f the Armenian
immigration to the battle near Caldiran in 1514, where the
Ottomans drove the Persians out.
Illustration from Codex 189 of Lake Van: the Haik fighting the
Persians in 451. Near Avarayr the Haik lost not only the battle
but also the cream o f their fighting nobility under Vartan
Mamigo-nian. (Illustration from the sixteenth century from the
canon o f Saint Vartan and his companions.
Mechitaristenkloster, Vienna.) The same theme, the battle of
Avarayr, seen through the eyes o f the nineteenth century
(Georg Drah, 1888): The Persian king, Yadzegert II, tried to
force the Haik to return to Mazdaism in 451 (exactly at the time
o f the Council o f Chalzedon). He did not succeed, but the Haik
ended up in a schism due to their absence at Chalzedon.
Mechitaristenkloster, Vienna.
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