Everything about Medieval Armenia totally explained
The
medieval history of Armenia (
Armenian: Միջնադարյան Հայաստան) covers the history of
Armenia during the
Middle Ages.
Prelude
Western Armenia had been under Byzantine control since the partition of the Kingdom of Armenia in
387 AD, while Eastern Armenia had been under the occupation of the Sassanid Empire starting
428. Regardless of religious disputes, many Armenians became successful in the Byzantine Empire and occupied key positions. In Sassanid-occupied Armenia,the people struggled to preserve their Christian religion. This struggle reached its culmination in the
Battle of Avarayr. Although the battle was a military defeat, Vartan Mamikonian's successor, Vahan, succeeded to force the Persians to grant religious freedom to the Christian Armenians in the
Nvarsak Treaty of
484.
Arab conquest
After the death of the prophet Muhammad in
632, the Arabs expanded their religion by force throughout the
Middle East. In
639, with a force of 18,000 warriors, Abd‑er‑Rahman took
Taron and sacked the country. In
642, the Muslims took
Dvin, slaughtered 12,000 of its inhabitants and carried 35,000 into slavery. Prince Theodoros Rshtuni organized resistance and liberated the enslaved Armenians. However, Theodoros eventually accepted Arab rule of Armenia. Thus, in
645, the entirety of Armenia fell under Islamic rule. This period of 200 years was interrupted by a few restricted revolts, which never had a pan-Armenian character. Most petty Armenian families were weakened in favor of the Bagratunis and Artsrunis.
Bagratuni Armenia
As Islamic power was waning,
Ashot I of the Bagratuni family got more influence in Armenia. He became prince of princes in
861, and after a war against nearby Arab emirs, in
885, he was recognized as King of Armenia by both the Caliph of Baghdad and the Emperor of Constantinople. After more than 450 years of foreign occupation, Armenians finally reasserted their sovereignty in their ancestral lands. Despite Bagratid efforts to control all Armenian noble families, the Artsrunis and Siunis eventually broke off from central rule.
Ashot III transferred the capital from
Kars to
Ani, which came to be known as the "city of 1001 churches".
Ani became an important cultural and economic center in the whole region. Bagratid Armenia fell in
1045 to the Byzantines and then in
1064 to
Seljuk Turks.
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Kingdom of Cilicia was founded by the
Rubenian dynasty, an offshoot of the larger
Bagratid family that at various times held the thrones of Armenia and
Georgia. Their capital was Sis.
Cilicia was a strong ally of the European
Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, since
Armenia was under foreign occupation at the time. In the mid-1200s, King
Hethoum I of Armenia voluntarily submitted the country to
Mongol overlordship, and tried to encourage other countries to do the same, but was only able to persuade his son-in-law,
Bohemond VI of Antioch, who submitted in 1259; however, Antioch was then wiped out in retaliation by the Muslims in 1268. Cilicia remained as a Mongol vassal until it too was destroyed in the mid-1300s by the Egyptian
Mamluks.
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