Persarmia

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Persarmenia and the Roman-Persian border in 565.

Persarmenia is the late antique name for that part of Armenia (which in antiquity and in the Middle Ages was much larger than the present-day state) which came under permanent control of the Sassanid Empire at the end of the 4th century AD . The name already appears in late Roman authors such as Prokopios (e.g. Bella 8,2,20) or Euagrios Scholastikos ( Church history 5,7).

Probably in 387, the Roman Emperor Theodosius I and the Persian Great King Shapur III came to an agreement . regarding Armenia, which has always been a bone of contention between Rome and the Parthians and later the Sassanids. Only about a fifth of the land fell to Rome (whose strategic needs were thus satisfied), the rest came under Persian control. Initially still a vassal kingdom under rulers from the Arsacid family , Persarmenia became a Sassanid province in 428 with its own governor ( Marzban ); new capital became Dvin (Dubios).

With the demarcation of 387, both sides, Romans and Persians, could in principle live. Nevertheless, Rome and Persia fought over and over again during the remainder of Late Antiquity , even if relations between the two great powers were largely peaceful in the 5th century . The mighty Armenian nobility, who sometimes dragged the two great powers into their conflicts, played an important role. About 50 aristocratic families are known for Persarmenia. The bitter rivalry between the two noble families of the Bagratuni and the Mamikonean was particularly significant.

Religion also played an increasingly important role. Armenia was ostensibly Christianized as early as 314 , but the country's conversion actually took longer than later sources show. The invention of the Armenian alphabet, which took place in Persarmenia around 400 and was primarily intended to serve the Christian mission, also belongs in this context. Still, several powerful aristocratic families stubbornly rejected Christianity and preferred Zoroastrianism .

The religious differences were thus combined with political rivalries and ultimately led to open conflicts with Persia, where Zoroastrianism played a central role. In connection with inner-Armenian power struggles, there were repeated uprisings by Christian nobles - especially from 449 to 451 (climax: Battle of Avarayr in June 451) and 571/72 - which also severely disrupted the relations between Eastern Europe and the Sassanid Empire. Strategic and economic interests also played a role for the two great powers. In the 6th and 7th centuries there was again bitter fighting between Rome and Persia for possession of this region (for details see Roman-Persian Wars ).

In 591 King Chosrau II left practically all of Persarmia to the Byzantines (Ostrom), but from 603 the Sassanids recaptured the area. At the very end of late antiquity, after the Persian War of Herakleios , from which Ostrom had emerged victorious, around 630 all of Armenia once again formally belonged to the Roman sphere of influence. But shortly afterwards, in the course of Islamic expansion , Armenia also fell (largely or temporarily) to the Arabs. For further history see History of Armenia .

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