Beate Dignas & Engelbert Winter - Kaveh Farrokh

174 6 Shared interests: Continuing conflicts
the Black and the Caspian Seas that may be referred to as ‘Armenia’ by
contemporary or modern authors. 2 The meaning of ‘Armenia’ varies, and
this not only according to date and context but also according to perspective,
which means that at any given point the Armenians themselves would have
had a very different view from those adopted by the Romans and Persians. 3
From the beginning of Roman–Iranian relations, however, Armenia was an
object of rivalry between both powers, and for good reasons (map 11).
Because of its geographical location, the highland of Armenia to the south
and south-west of the Caucasus was a focal point throughout antiquity: it
was the area through which the majority of traffic from the Near East to Asia
Minor passed and it was close to the strategically important Caucasus passes
(27). Apart from being a transit area, Armenia had remarkable economic
resources. 4 Among others, there were the gold mines of Pharangion, 5 mentioned
by both Procopius and Malalas and famous already during Strabo’s
lifetime. 6 Accordingly, during the peace negotiations for the so-called ‘eternal
peace’ in 530/31 Kavādh I insisted on these mines being returned by the
Romans. 7
Armenia benefited not only from its ‘natural’ resources but also from its
important role in trade. Among those who travelled to Greater Armenia –
the larger part of the country, which, as we shall see, came to be controlled
by the Sasanians – in order to engage in trade were merchants from Persia as
well as from Syria and Palestine. 8 Procopius provides us with a description
of the most important Armenian city in the sixth century, Dvīn. 9 The
Byzantine historian mentions a densely populated landscape surrounding
the new capital, which was also the economic centre of Armenia. He also
refers to fertile plains used for breeding horses. According to the author,
merchants came from neighbouring Ibēria, from almost anywhere in Persia
and even from faraway India. 10
Armenia’s human resources were equally significant and resulted from
the idiosyncratic structure of Armenian society. Considering the sporadic
2 For an excellent summary of early Armenian history see Garsoïan 1997a: 63–94 and 1997b: 95–116;
for a sequence of maps see Hewsen 2001.
3 For a cautious assessment with an emphasis on the ‘diversity and incongruity’ of anything ‘Armenian’
see the forthcoming article by Greenwood.
4 On the economic resources of Armenia see Redgate 1998 (repr. 1999): 83–7.
5 Proc. BP i.15.26–9; Malal. 18.50–1 (pp. 455-6). 6 Strabo xi.14.9.
7 Chaumont 1987a: 433 correctly interprets this as an indication ‘that their exploitation yielded large
profits for the Sasanian government’.
8 Malal. 18.63 (p. 469). Armenia’s intensive trade with the neighbouring regions during late antiquity
may be confirmed by the large variety of coins found in the area; for references see Chaumont 1987a:
433.
9 Manandian 1965: 81–2. 10 Proc. BP ii.25.1–3.