Battle of Avarayr

Coordinates: 39°20′20″N 45°3′26″E / 39.33889°N 45.05722°E / 39.33889; 45.05722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

39°20′20″N 45°3′26″E / 39.33889°N 45.05722°E / 39.33889; 45.05722

Battle of Avarayr
West Azerbaijan Province
, Iran)
Result Sasanian pyrrhic victory[3][4][5]
Belligerents Sasanian Empire
Pro-Sasanian Armenians Christian ArmeniansCommanders and leaders
Vasak of Syunik
Mushkan Niusalavurt
Vardan Mamikonian †
Ghevond Vanandetsi[6]Strength 200,000[4]–300,000[7] Sasanians
60,000 Armenian loyalists[7]
Unknown number of elephants 66,000 Armenians[7]Casualties and losses Heavy[5] Heavy[5]

The Battle of Avarayr (

Nvarsak Treaty of 484, which affirmed Armenia's right to practise Christianity freely.[4][5]

The battle is seen as one of the most significant events in Armenian history.[9] The commander of the Armenian forces, Vardan Mamikonian, is considered a national hero and has been canonized by the Armenian Apostolic Church.[10][11]

Background

The area of Armenia under Persian rule
Part of a series on the
History of Armenia
Coat of Arms of Armenia
Coat of Arms of Armenia
Prehistory
Antiquity
Middle Ages
Early modern age
Modern age
Timeline • Origins • Etymology

The

Zoroastrian
rather than a Christian, and his concern was not religious but securing political loyalty.

Battle

A tactical overview of the battle

The 66,000-strong Armenian army took

Holy Communion before the battle. The army was a popular uprising, rather than a professional force, but the Armenian nobility who led it and their respective retinues were accomplished soldiers, many of them veterans of the Sassanid dynasty's wars with Rome and the nomads of Central Asia. The Armenians were allowed to maintain a core of their national army led by a supreme commander (sparapet) who was traditionally of the Mamikonian noble family. The Armenian cavalry was, at the time, practically an elite force greatly appreciated as a tactical ally by both Persia and Byzantium. In this particular case, both officers and men were additionally motivated by a desire to save their religion and their way of life. The Persian army, said to be three times larger, included war elephants and the famous Savārān, or New Immortal, cavalry. Several Armenian noblemen with weaker Christian sympathies, led by Vasak Siuni, went over to the Persians before the battle, and fought on their side; in the battle, Vardan won initial successes, but was eventually slain along with eight of his top officers.[14][failed verification
]

Outcome

Memorial to the Battle of Avarayr in Gyumri, Armenia

Following the victory, Yazdegerd jailed some Armenian priests and nobles and appointed a new governor for Armenia.[citation needed]

The Armenian Church was also unable to send a delegation to the Council of Chalcedon, as it was heavily involved in the war. In the 6th century, the Armenian Church decided not to accept the Council of Chalcedon, instead adhering to Miaphysitism.[citation needed]

Armenian resistance continued in the decades following the battle, led by Vardan's successor and nephew,

Nvarsak Treaty, which guaranteed religious freedom to the Christian Armenians[15] and granted a general amnesty with permission to construct new churches. Thus, the Armenians see the Battle of Avarayr as a moral victory; the Feast of St. Vartan and His Companions is considered to be a holy day by Armenians, and is one of the most important national and religious days in Armenia.[citation needed
]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica".
  2. ISBN 9780192562463
    .
  3. ^ Susan Paul Pattie, Faith in History: Armenians Rebuilding Community (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1997), 40.
  4. ^ a b c Hewsen, Robert H. (August 17, 2011). "AVARAYR". Encyclopædia Iranica. So spirited was the Armenian defence, however, that the Persians suffered enormous losses as well. Their victory was pyrrhic and the king, faced with troubles elsewhere, was forced, at least for the time being, to allow the Armenians to worship as they chose.
  5. ^
    ISBN 1560986298
    . The Armenian defeat in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 proved a pyrrhic victory for the Persians. Though the Armenians lost their commander, Vartan Mamikonian, and most of their soldiers, Persian losses were proportionately heavy, and Armenia was allowed to remain Christian.
  6. ^ The Golden Age: Minor Writers, The Heritage of Armenian Literature, Vol.1, ed. Agop Jack Hacikyan (Wayne State University Press, 2000), 360.
  7. ^ a b c Babessian, Hovhannes (1965). "The Vartanantz Wars". The Armenian Review. 18: 16–19.
  8. ISBN 978-1472412713
    .
  9. ^ Hakobyan, Науk (2003). "Ավարայրի ճակատամարտը (պատմաքննական տեսություն) [The Avarayr Battle (historical-critical review)]". Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (1): 40–67.
  10. ISBN 9781604440003
    .
  11. ISBN 9780253207739
    .
  12. ^ Introduction to Christian Caucasian History:II: States and Dynasties of the Formative Period, Cyril Toumanoff, Traditio, Vol. 17, 1961, Fordham University, 6.
  13. ^ Ronald Grigor Suny, The Making of the Georgian Nation (Indiana University Press, 1994), 23.
  14. ^ Mission, Conversion, and Christianization: The Armenian Example, Robert W. Thomson, Harvard Ukrainian Studies, Vol. 12/13 (1988/1989), 41-42.
  15. ^ www.ANSC.org - Armenian Network of Student Clubs Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Avarayr&oldid=1216051437"