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115-753: During the Arsacid dynasty of the Kingdom of Armenia , it served as the main town of Ayrarat province and the capital of its Aragatsotn canton from which the Amatuni noble family ruled. However, Oshakan is best known for the Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church which is the burial place of Saint Mesrop Mashtots , the creator of the Armenian alphabet . The church houses his grave and was rebuilt by Catholicos George IV in 1875. Wall paintings on

230-402: A Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively. Ardashīr began leading campaigns into Greater Khurasan as early as 233, extending his power to Khwarazm in the north and Sistan in the south while capturing lands from Gorgan to Abarshahr, Marw, and as far east as Balkh . Ardashir I's son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria and the western portion of

345-571: A Roman puppet, Sohaemus (Roman senator and consul of Arsacid and Emessan ancestry), on the Armenian throne and deposed a certain Pacorus , who had been installed by Vologases III. As a result of an epidemic within the Roman forces, Parthians retook most of their lost territory in 166 and forced Sohaemus to retreat to Syria. After a few intervening Roman and Parthian rulers, Vologases II assumed

460-475: A client king of Rome . However, he did not succeed in establishing his line on the throne, and various princes of different Arsacid lineages ruled until the accession of Vologases II , who succeeded in establishing his own line on the Armenian throne, which ruled the kingdom until its abolishment by the Sasanian Empire in 428. Two of the most notable events under Arsacid rule in Armenian history were

575-772: A garden in Karbi , a villager (?), and three hostels, in the year 693 /AD 1244." Oshakan is known to have had a brief visit during October 1734 by Abraham Kretatsi during the time while he was serving the Catholicos Abraham II . He wrote a short passage speaking of his previous days stay at Mughni to visit the Monastery of Surb Gevorg , "In the morning, after services, we went down to Oshakan." 40°15′48″N 44°18′53″E  /  40.26333°N 44.31472°E  / 40.26333; 44.31472 Arsacid dynasty of Armenia The Arsacid dynasty , called

690-570: A general amnesty, which brought Armenia back into the Sassanid Empire. Around 570, "Ma 'd-Karib", half-brother of the King of Yemen, requested Khosrow I's intervention. Khosrow I sent a fleet and a small army under a commander called Vahriz to the area near present Aden , and they marched against the capital San'a'l, which was occupied. Saif, son of Mard-Karib, who had accompanied the expedition, became King sometime between 575 and 577. Thus,

805-537: A highly advantageous peace treaty with the new emperor Philip the Arab , by which he secured the immediate payment of 500,000 denarii and further annual payments. Shapur soon resumed the war, defeated the Romans at Barbalissos (253), and then probably took and plundered Antioch . Roman counter-attacks under the emperor Valerian ended in disaster when the Roman army was defeated and besieged at Edessa and Valerian

920-500: A hunting trip in 309. Following Hormizd II's death, northern Arabs started to ravage and plunder the western cities of the empire, even attacking the province of Fars, the birthplace of the Sassanid kings. Meanwhile, Persian nobles killed Hormizd II's eldest son, blinded the second, and imprisoned the third (who later escaped into Roman territory). The throne was reserved for Shapur II , the unborn child of one of Hormizd II's wives who

1035-498: A large army to the east to install Roman client kings (see Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 ). After Tiridates I escaped, the Roman client king Tigranes VI was installed. In 61, he invaded the Kingdom of Adiabene , one of the Parthian vassal kingdoms. Vologases I considered this an act of aggression from Rome and restarted a campaign to restore Tiridates I to the Armenian throne. In the following Battle of Rhandeia in 62, command of

1150-474: A large cemetery. The portion of the cemetery higher upon the hill is the older section while the lower portion contains a recent cemetery. There are Iron Age tomb fields around the area. Higher upon the same hill may be seen the shrine of Saint Grigor. Nearby are also the shrines of S. Sargis, S. Tadevos the Apostle, and a rock-cut Astvatsatsin. The village of Oshakan is mentioned in a 13th-century inscription on

1265-596: A major Byzantine offensive in Armenia was defeated at Anglon . Also in 541, Khosrow I entered Lazica at the invitation of its king, captured the main Byzantine stronghold at Petra , and established another protectorate over the country, commencing the Lazic War . A five-year truce agreed to in 545 was interrupted in 547 when Lazica again switched sides and eventually expelled its Persian garrison with Byzantine help;

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1380-712: A member of the Parthian House of Karen , one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran , quickly raised a new force and stopped the Hephthalites from achieving further success. Peroz's brother, Balash , was elected as shah by the Iranian magnates, most notably Sukhra and the Mihranid general Shapur Mihran . Balash (484–488) was a mild and generous monarch, and showed care towards his subjects, including

1495-635: A number of battles he crushed them and drove them out beyond the Oxus river in 450. During his eastern campaign, Yazdegerd II grew suspicious of the Christians in the army and expelled them all from the governing body and army. He then persecuted the Christians in his land, and, to a much lesser extent, the Jews . In order to reestablish Zoroastrianism in Armenia, he crushed an uprising of Armenian Christians at

1610-469: A permanent settlement in 387, which remained in place until the Arab conquest of Armenia in 639. Arsacid rulers intermittently (competing with Bagratuni princes) remained in control preserving their power to some extent, as border guardians ( marzban ) either under Byzantine or as a Sassanian protectorate, until 428. Out of the three phases (Achaemenid, Arsacid, Sasanian) of Iranian influence in Armenia,

1725-410: A rational system of taxation based upon a survey of landed possessions , which his father had begun, and he tried in every way to increase the welfare and the revenues of his empire. Previous great feudal lords fielded their own military equipment, followers, and retainers. Khosrow I developed a new force of dehqans , or "knights", paid and equipped by the central government and the bureaucracy, tying

1840-464: A relatively peaceful era with the Romans, and he even took the young Theodosius II (408–450) under his guardianship. Yazdegerd also married a Jewish princess, who bore him a son called Narsi. Yazdegerd I's successor was his son Bahram V (421–438), one of the most well-known Sasanian kings and the hero of many myths. These myths persisted even after the destruction of the Sasanian Empire by

1955-800: A strategically critical area for control of the Silk Road . Shapur therefore marched east toward Transoxiana to meet the eastern nomads, leaving his local commanders to mount nuisance raids on the Romans. He crushed the Central Asian tribes, and annexed the area as a new province. In the east around 325, Shapur II regained the upper hand against the Kushano-Sasanian Kingdom and took control of large territories in areas now known as Afghanistan and Pakistan . Cultural expansion followed this victory, and Sasanian art penetrated Transoxiana , reaching as far as China. Shapur, along with

2070-637: A translation of the Gospel from the Syriac text about 411. That work must have been considered imperfect because soon afterward, John of Egheghiatz and Joseph of Baghin, two of Mashtots's students, were sent to Edessa to translate the Biblical scriptures. They journeyed as far as Constantinople and brought back with them authentic copies of the Greek text. With the help of other copies obtained from Alexandria ,

2185-472: Is believed to mark the grave of Byzantine Emperor Mauricius or his mother, as one historian claims he came from Oshakan. Adjacent to the church is a pillar on a plinth dated to the 6th or 7th century. West of Oshakan is a bridge dated to 1706 that crosses over the Kasagh River. On a hilltop overlooking the town there is a Tukh Manuk Shrine with a large khachkar monument adjacent that sits within

2300-413: The gusan , which resembled a bard or minstrel. In Arsacid Armenia, the custom of aristocratic children being raised by foster parents or tutors was widespread, as in the rest of the Iranian commonwealth. The Arsacid kings knew Parthia and regarded it as their native country. Tiridates III ( r.  298–330 ) is known to have said the following thing during a speech: "For I know the country of

2415-605: The xwarrah ("fortune", cognate of Armenian pʿaṙkʿ ), which was the divine glory wielded by legitimate Iranian and Iranic kings. The city of Ani served as the centre of the cult of Aramazd (the Armenian equivalent of Ahura Mazda ), as well as the royal necropolis of the Arsacids. In the same fashion as the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC), the Arsacids of Armenia and Iran practiced entombment and burial, probably doing it with great care to avoid contaminating

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2530-560: The Arshakuni ( Armenian : Արշակունի , romanized :  Arshakuni ) in Armenian , ruled the Kingdom of Armenia (with some interruptions) from 12 to 428 AD. The dynasty was a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia . Arsacid kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad dynasty until 62, when Tiridates I , brother of Parthian King Vologases I , secured Arsacid rule in Armenia as

2645-530: The Battle of Hormozdgan in 224, Ardashir's dynasty replaced that of the Arsacids and promptly set out to restore the legacy of the Achaemenid Empire by expanding the newly acquired Sasanian dominions. At its greatest territorial extent, the Sasanian Empire encompassed all of modern-day Iran and Iraq and parts of the Arabian Peninsula (particularly Eastern Arabia and South Arabia ), as well as

2760-543: The Battle of Vartanantz in 451. The Armenians, however, remained primarily Christian. In his later years, he was engaged yet again with the Kidarites right up until his death in 457. Hormizd III (457–459), the younger son of Yazdegerd II, then ascended to the throne. During his short rule, he continually fought with his elder brother Peroz I , who had the support of the nobility, and with the Hephthalites in Bactria . He

2875-652: The Caucasus , the Levant , and parts of Central Asia and South Asia . One of the high points in Iranian civilization, the Sasanian dynasty's rule was characterized by a complex and centralized government bureaucracy, and also revitalized Zoroastrianism as a legitimizing and unifying ideal. This period saw the construction of many grand monuments, public works, and patronized cultural and educational institutions. The Sasanian Empire's cultural influence extended far beyond

2990-595: The Iranians ' ), was the last pre-Islamic Iranian empire . Named after the House of Sasan , it endured for over four centuries, from 224 to 651, making it the second longest-lived Persian imperial dynasty after the directly preceding Arsacid dynasty of Parthia . It fell to the Rashidun Caliphate during the early Muslim conquests , which marked the beginning of a monumental societal shift by initiating

3105-648: The Islamization of Iran . Upon succeeding the Parthians, the Sasanian dynasty re-established the Persian nation as a major power in late antiquity , and also continued to compete extensively with the neighbouring Roman Empire . It was founded by Ardashir I , a ruler who rose to power as Parthia weakened amidst internal strife and the Roman–Persian Wars . After defeating Artabanus IV of Parthia during

3220-650: The Mamikonian family, touching off a revolt which led to the massacre of the Persian governor and his guard in 571, while rebellion also broke out in Iberia . Justin II took advantage of the Armenian revolt to stop his yearly payments to Khosrow I for the defense of the Caucasus passes. The Armenians were welcomed as allies, and an army was sent into Sassanid territory which besieged Nisibis in 573. However, dissension among

3335-668: The Shabuhragan , to him) and sent many Manichaean missionaries abroad. He also befriended a Babylonian rabbi called Samuel . This friendship was advantageous for the Jewish community and gave them a respite from the oppressive laws enacted against them. Later kings reversed Shapur's policy of religious tolerance. When Shapur's son Bahram I acceded to the throne, he was pressured by the Zoroastrian high-priest Kartir Bahram I to kill Mani and persecute his followers. Bahram II

3450-507: The Tigris , taking Ctesiphon. Narseh had previously sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his wives and children. Peace negotiations began in the spring of 299, with both Diocletian and Galerius presiding. The conditions of the peace were heavy: Persia would give up territory to Rome, making the Tigris the boundary between the two empires. Further terms specified that Armenia

3565-496: The conversion of Armenia to Christianity by Gregory the Illuminator and Tiridates III in the early 4th century and the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in c.  405 . In contrast to the more Hellenic-influenced Artaxiads, the reign of the Arsacids of Armenia was marked by greater Iranian influence in the country. The first appearance of an Arsacid on the Armenian throne occurred in 12 when

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3680-846: The king says "I am the lord of the Empire of the Iranians". More commonly, as the ruling dynasty was named after Sasan , the empire is known as the Sasanian Empire in historical and academic sources. This term is also recorded in English as the Sassanian Empire , the Sasanid Empire , and the Sassanid Empire . Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire and subsequent rise of

3795-409: The 400-year-old Parthian Empire to an end, and beginning four centuries of Sassanid rule. In the next few years, local rebellions occurred throughout the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sakastan , Gorgan , Khorasan , Marw (in modern Turkmenistan ), Balkh and Chorasmia . He also added Bahrain and Mosul to

3910-647: The Alchon Tamgha and the name "Alchono" in Bactrian script on the obverse, and with attendants to a fire altar on the reverse. Shapur II pursued a harsh religious policy. Under his reign, the collection of the Avesta , the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, was completed, heresy and apostasy were punished, and Christians were persecuted. The latter was a reaction against the Christianization of

4025-606: The Arabs. Bahram gained the crown after Yazdegerd's sudden death (or assassination), which occurred when the grandees opposed the king with the help of al-Mundhir , the Arabic dynast of al-Hirah . Bahram's mother was Shushandukht , the daughter of the Jewish Exilarch . In 427, he crushed an invasion in the east by the nomadic Hephthalites , extending his influence into Central Asia, where his portrait survived for centuries on

4140-546: The Arsacid one was the strongest and most enduring. The phase began with the ascendance of the Parthians in the 2nd century BC and reached its zenith following the establishment of an Arsacid branch on the Armenian throne in the mid-1st century AD. The Arsacid kings of Armenia attempted to base their court on the same model as the one in Ctesiphon . Many Parthian aspects were directly imported into Armenian civilization, such as

4255-641: The Bible was translated again from the Greek according to the text of the Septuagint and Origen 's Hexapla . This version, now used by the Armenian Church, was completed about 434. During the reign of Tiran , the Sassanid king Shapur II invaded Armenia. During the following decades, Armenia was once again disputed territory between the Byzantine Empire and the Sassanid Empire until

4370-486: The Byzantine Empire and met little effective resistance. Khosrow's generals systematically subdued the heavily fortified frontier cities of Byzantine Mesopotamia and Armenia, laying the foundations for unprecedented expansion. The Persians overran Syria and captured Antioch in 611. In 613, outside Antioch, the Persian generals Shahrbaraz and Shahin decisively defeated a major counter-attack led in person by

4485-422: The Byzantine Empire held a small portion of western Armenia. Bahram IV's son Yazdegerd I (399–421) is often compared to Constantine I . Both were physically and diplomatically powerful, opportunistic, practiced religious tolerance and provided freedom for the rise of religious minorities. Yazdegerd stopped the persecution against the Christians and punished nobles and priests who persecuted them. His reign marked

4600-532: The Byzantine emperor Heraclius . Thereafter, the Persian advance continued unchecked. Jerusalem fell in 614, Alexandria in 619, and the rest of Egypt by 621. The Sassanid dream of restoring the Achaemenid boundaries was almost complete, while the Byzantine Empire was on the verge of collapse. This remarkable peak of expansion was paralleled by a blossoming of Persian art , music , and architecture . While successful at its first stage (from 602 to 622),

4715-642: The Byzantine generals not only led to an abandonment of the siege, but they in turn were besieged in the city of Dara , which was taken by the Persians. Capitalizing on this success, the Persians then ravaged Syria, causing Justin II to agree to make annual payments in exchange for a five-year truce on the Mesopotamian front, although the war continued elsewhere. In 576 Khosrow I led his last campaign, an offensive into Anatolia which sacked Sebasteia and Melitene , but ended in disaster: defeated outside Melitene,

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4830-510: The Christians. However, he proved unpopular among the nobility and clergy who had him deposed after just four years in 488. Sukhra, who had played a key role in Balash's deposition, appointed Peroz's son Kavad I as the new shah of Iran. According to Miskawayh (d. 1030), Sukhra was Kavad's maternal uncle. Kavad I (488–531) was an energetic and reformist ruler. He gave his support to the sect founded by Mazdak , son of Bamdad, who demanded that

4945-493: The Eastern Romans, founded several cities, some of which were named after him, and began to regulate taxation and internal administration. After the reign of Kavad I, his son Khosrow I , also known as Anushirvan ("with the immortal soul"; ruled 531–579), ascended to the throne. He is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. Khosrow I is most famous for his reforms in the aging governing body of Sassanids. He introduced

5060-467: The Euphrates in 296, he was eventually decisively defeated by them. Galerius had been reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new contingent collected from the empire's Danubian holdings. Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia , leaving Galerius to lead the offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia. Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius's force, to

5175-529: The Greeks and that of the Romans very well, and our regions of Parthia—for it is even our home—as well as Asorestan, Arabia and Atropatene." Under the Arsacids, the Armenians became familiar with some of the stories that were later added into the Persian epic Shahnameh . They include the stories of figures such as Hraseak ( Afrasiyab ), Shawarsh ( Siyavash ) and Spandarat ( Esfandiyar ). The Armenians viewed

5290-437: The Hephthalites. Smbat, with the aid of a Persian prince named Datoyean, repelled the Hephthalites from Persia, and plundered their domains in eastern Khorasan , where Smbat is said to have killed their king in single combat. After Maurice was overthrown and killed by Phocas (602–610) in 602, however, Khosrow II used the murder of his benefactor as a pretext to begin a new invasion, which benefited from continuing civil war in

5405-479: The Iranian name Artaxias (a.k.a. Zeno-Artaxias). The Parthians under Artabanus II were too distracted by internal strife to oppose the Roman-appointed king. Zeno's reign was remarkably peaceful in Armenian history. After Zeno's death in 36, Artabanus II decided to reinstate an Arsacid on the Armenian throne, choosing his eldest son Arsaces I as a suitable candidate, but his succession to the Armenian throne

5520-560: The Kushan Empire, while leading several campaigns against Rome. Invading Roman Mesopotamia , Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis , but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories. The emperor Gordian III 's (238–244) subsequent advance down the Euphrates was defeated at Meshike (244), leading to Gordian's murder by his own troops and enabling Shapur to conclude

5635-413: The Parthian influence on Armenian to that of the French influence on English after the Norman Conquest of 1066. After their conversion to Christianity, the Arsacids continued to preserve their Iranian naming traditions, as demonstrated by the male names Trdat, Khosrov, Tiran, Arshak, Pap, Varazdat and Vramshapuh and the female names Ashkhen, Zarmandukht, Khosrovdukht, Ormazdukht, Vardandukht. Notably

5750-412: The Parthian king Vonones I was exiled from Parthia for his pro-Roman policies and Occidental manners . Vonones I briefly acquired the Armenian throne with Roman consent, but Artabanus II , incorrectly known as Artabanus III in older scholarship, demanded his deposition, and as Emperor Augustus did not wish to begin a war against the Parthians, he deposed Vonones I and sent him to Syria . Soon after

5865-468: The Parthians, who also withdrew, thus leaving open doors for Rhadamistus to regain his throne. After regaining power, according to Tacitus , the Iberian was so cruel that the Armenians stormed the palace and forced Rhadamistus out of the country, and Vologases I got the opportunity to install his brother Tiridates on the throne. Unhappy with the growing Parthian influence at their doorstep, Roman Emperor Nero sent General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo with

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5980-441: The Persians suffered heavy losses as they fled across the Euphrates under Byzantine attack. Taking advantage of Persian disarray, the Byzantines raided deep into Khosrow's territory, even mounting amphibious attacks across the Caspian Sea . Khosrow sued for peace, but he decided to continue the war after a victory by his general Tamkhosrow in Armenia in 577, and fighting resumed in Mesopotamia. The Armenian revolt came to an end with

6095-422: The Roman Empire by Constantine the Great . Shapur II, like Shapur I, was amicable towards Jews , who lived in relative freedom and gained many advantages during his reign. At the time of his death, the Persian Empire was stronger than ever, with its enemies to the east pacified and Armenia under Persian control. From Shapur II's death until Kavad I 's first coronation, there was a largely peaceful period with

6210-509: The Roman legions that had been stationed there under legatus Gaius Severianus. Encouraged by the spahbod Osroes, Parthian troops marched further west into Roman Syria . Marcus Aurelius immediately sent Lucius Verus to the eastern front. In 163, Verus dispatched General Statius Priscus , who had been recently transferred from Roman Britain along with several legions, from Syrian Antioch to Armenia. The Artaxata army, commanded by Vologases IV, surrendered to Priscus, who installed

6325-454: The Roman troops was again entrusted to Corbulo, who marched into Armenia and set a camp in Rhandeia, where he made a peace agreement with Tiridates. It stated that Tiridates was recognized as King of Armenia, but he agreed to become a Roman client king and go to Rome to be crowned by Emperor Nero. Tiridates ruled Armenia until his death or deposition around 110, when the Parthian king Osroes I invaded Armenia and enthroned his nephew Axidares ,

6440-462: The Romans (by this time the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire ) engaged in just two brief wars with the Sasanian Empire, the first in 421–422 and the second in 440 . Throughout this era, Sasanian religious policy differed dramatically from king to king. Despite a series of weak leaders, the administrative system established during Shapur II's reign remained strong, and the empire continued to function effectively. After Shapur II died in 379,

6555-421: The Romans in the west, where Persian forces won a series of battles but were unable to make territorial gains due to the failure of repeated sieges of the key frontier city of Nisibis, and Roman success in retaking the cities of Singara and Amida after they had previously fallen to the Persians. These campaigns were halted by nomadic raids along the eastern borders of the empire, which threatened Transoxiana ,

6670-419: The Romans; an attempt by the Iberians in 524/525 to do likewise triggered a war between Rome and Persia. In 527, a Roman offensive against Nisibis was repulsed and Roman efforts to fortify positions near the frontier were thwarted. In 530, Kavad sent an army under Perozes to attack the important Roman frontier city of Dara . The army was met by the Roman general Belisarius , and, though superior in numbers,

6785-490: The Sassanian Empire in mystery. The Sassanian Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I . Ardashir's father, Papak , was originally the ruler of a region called Khir. However, by 200, Papak had managed to overthrow Gochihr and appoint himself the new ruler of the Bazrangids . Papak's mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the provincial governor of Pars . Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power over all of Pars. Subsequent events are unclear due to

6900-410: The Sassanid possessions. Later Sassanid inscriptions also claim the submission of the kings of Kushan , Turan and Makuran to Ardashir, although based on numismatic evidence it is more likely that these actually submitted to Ardashir's son, the future Shapur I . In the west, assaults against Hatra , Armenia and Adiabene met with less success. In 230, Ardashir raided deep into Roman territory, and

7015-421: The Sassanids were able to establish a base in South Arabia to control the sea trade with the east. Later, the south Arabian kingdom renounced Sassanid overlordship, and another Persian expedition was sent in 598 that successfully annexed southern Arabia as a Sassanid province, which lasted until the time of troubles after Khosrow II. Khosrow I's reign witnessed the rise of the dihqans (literally, village lords),

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7130-399: The Tigris, and agreed not to interfere in the affairs of Armenia and Georgia. In the aftermath of this defeat, Narseh gave up the throne and died a year later, leaving the Sassanid throne to his son, Hormizd II . Unrest spread throughout the land, and while the new king suppressed revolts in Sakastan and Kushan, he was unable to control the nobles and was subsequently killed by Bedouins on

7245-691: The Tigris, had to hand over all the provinces the Persians had ceded to Rome in 298, as well as Nisibis and Singara, to secure safe passage for his army out of Persia. From around 370, however, towards the end of the reign of Shapur II , the Sasanians lost the control of Bactria to invaders from the north: first the Kidarites , then the Hephthalites and finally the Alchon Huns , who would follow up with an invasion of India . These invaders initially issued coins based on Sasanian designs. Various coins minted in Bactria and based on Sasanian designs are extant, often with busts imitating Sassanian kings Shapur II (r. 309 to 379) and Shapur III (r. 383 to 388), adding

7360-444: The alliance, Khosrow also married Maurice's daughter Miriam. Under the command of Khosrow and the Byzantine generals Narses and John Mystacon , the new combined Byzantine-Persian army raised a rebellion against Bahram, defeating him at the Battle of Blarathon in 591. When Khosrow was subsequently restored to power he kept his promise, handing over control of western Armenia and Caucasian Iberia . The new peace arrangement allowed

7475-421: The army and bureaucracy more closely to the central government than to local lords. Emperor Justinian I (527–565) paid Khosrow I 440,000 pieces of gold as a part of the "eternal peace" treaty of 532. In 540, Khosrow broke the treaty and invaded Syria, sacking Antioch and extorting large sums of money from a number of other cities. Further successes followed: in 541 Lazica defected to the Persian side, and in 542

7590-412: The bond between their country and the royal houses of Parthia as indestructible. Armenian sources use the terms "king" and "Arsacid" ( Aršakuni ) as synonyms. The Arsacid king was regarded as the bnak tērn ašxarhis ("natural lord of this country"). The Arsacids were advocates of Iranian legitimacy, which they remained even after the fall of the Parthian Empire. They insisted that they carried

7705-436: The campaign of Khosrau II had actually exhausted the Persian army and treasuries. In an effort to rebuild the national treasuries, Khosrau overtaxed the population. Thus, while his empire was on the verge of total defeat, Heraclius (610–641) drew on all his diminished and devastated empire's remaining resources, reorganised his armies, and mounted a remarkable, risky counter-offensive. Between 622 and 627, he campaigned against

7820-507: The capture of his harem and the loss of all the Roman territories he had occupied. Shapur had intensive development plans. He ordered the construction of the first dam bridge in Iran and founded many cities, some settled in part by emigrants from the Roman territories, including Christians who could exercise their faith freely under Sassanid rule. Two cities, Bishapur and Nishapur , are named after him. He particularly favoured Manichaeism , protecting Mani (who dedicated one of his books,

7935-514: The coinage of Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan ). Bahram deposed the vassal king of the Iranian-held area of Armenia and made it a province of the empire. Bahram V's son Yazdegerd II (438–457) was in some ways a moderate ruler, but, in contrast to Yazdegerd I, he practised a harsh policy towards minority religions, particularly Christianity . However, at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, the Armenian subjects led by Vardan Mamikonian reaffirmed Armenia's right to profess Christianity freely. This

8050-472: The country. Surprisingly, Mithridates was summoned back to Rome, where he was kept as a prisoner, and Armenia was given back to Artabanus II, who gave the throne to his younger son Orodes. Another civil war erupted in Parthia upon Artabanus II's death. In the meantime, Mithridates was put back on the Armenian throne, with the help of his brother, Pharasmanes I , and of Roman troops. Civil war continued in Parthia for several years, with Gotarzes eventually seizing

8165-430: The deposition of Vonones I, Artabanus II installed his son Orodes on the Armenian throne. Emperor Tiberius had no intention of giving up the buffer states of the eastern frontier and sent his nephew and heir Germanicus to the East. Germanicus concluded a treaty with Artabanus II in which he was recognized as king and friend of the Romans. In 18, Armenia was given to Zeno , son of Polemon I of Pontus , who assumed

8280-466: The early 4th century AD, Saint Gregory the Illuminator converted King Tiridates III and members of his court to Christianity , making Armenia the first state to adopt Christianity as its official religion. The Armenian alphabet was created by Saint Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD for the purpose of Bible translation, and Christianization as thus also marks the beginning of Armenian literature . According to Movses Khorenatsi , Isaac of Armenia made

8395-404: The elusive nature of the sources. It is certain that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, the governor of Darabgerd , became involved in a power struggle with his elder brother Shapur. Sources reveal that Shapur was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By 208, over the protests of his other brothers, who were put to death, Ardashir declared himself ruler of Pars. Once Ardashir

8510-421: The empire passed on to his half-brother Ardashir II (379–383; son of Hormizd II) and his son Shapur III (383–388), neither of whom demonstrated their predecessor's skill in ruling. Bahram IV (388–399) also failed to achieve anything important for the empire. During this time Armenia was divided by a treaty between the Roman and Sasanian empires. The Sasanians reestablished their rule over Greater Armenia, while

8625-496: The following inscription: Armenia et Mesopotamia in potestatem P.R. redactæ ('Armenia and Mesopotamia brought back into the power of the people of Rome'). After a rebellion led by a pretender to the Parthian throne ( Sanatruces II , son of Mithridates V ), was put down, some sporadic resistance continued, and Vologases III had managed to secure a sizeable amount of Armenia just before Trajan's death in August 117. However, in 118,

8740-567: The former's disadvantage: the rugged Armenian terrain was favourable to Roman infantry, but not to Sassanid cavalry. Local aid gave Galerius the advantage of surprise over the Persian forces, and, in two successive battles, Galerius secured victories over Narseh. During the second encounter, Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife. Galerius advanced into Media and Adiabene , winning successive victories, most prominently near Erzurum , and securing Nisibis ( Nusaybin , Turkey) before 1 October 298. He then advanced down

8855-552: The frontiers to act as guardians against invaders. He was tolerant of all religions, though he decreed that Zoroastrianism should be the official state religion , and was not unduly disturbed when one of his sons became a Christian. After Khosrow I, Hormizd IV (579–590) took the throne. The war with the Byzantines continued to rage intensely but inconclusively until the general Bahram Chobin , dismissed and humiliated by Hormizd, rose in revolt in 589. The following year, Hormizd

8970-465: The head of a large army granted to him by the Hephthalite king, returned to the empire's capital. Jamasp stepped down from his position and returned the throne to his brother. No further mention of Jamasp is made after the restoration of Kavad I, but it is widely believed that he was treated favourably at the court of his brother. The second golden era began after the second reign of Kavad I. With

9085-697: The interior were done in 1960 by the artist H. Minasian. Saint Mesrop Cathedral is the seat of the Aragatsotn Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church . Just to the south of the town is the Didikond Hill, where excavations have uncovered a fort and five palaces built around the 7th to 5th centuries BC. To the north of town located in the Mankanots Valley is Saint Sion Church dating from the 7th century AD. It

9200-502: The kingdom. Peroz tried again to drive out the Hephthalites, but on the way to Balkh his army was trapped by the Huns in the desert. Peroz was defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army near Balkh. His army was completely destroyed, and his body was never found. Four of his sons and brothers had also died. The main Sasanian cities of the eastern region of Khorasan − Nishapur , Herat and Marw were now under Hephthalite rule. Sukhra ,

9315-689: The name of Nerses I 's mother, Bambishn, means "queen" in Persian. Overall, the Christian Arsacids remained true to their Arsacid Iranian traditions. This is a list of the kings of Armenia c.  12 – 428, most of whom were members of the Arsacid dynasty. The list also mentions the non-dynastic rulers of Armenia as well as periods of interregnum. Note that some dates are approximations. Sasanian Empire The Sasanian Empire ( / s ə ˈ s ɑː n i ə n , s ə ˈ s eɪ n i ə n / ), officially Ērānšahr ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 , lit.   ' Empire of

9430-489: The new Roman emperor, Hadrian , gave up Trajan's conquered lands, including Armenia, and installed Parthamaspates as King of Armenia and Osroene, although the Parthian king Vologases held most Armenian territory. Eventually, a compromise with the Parthians was reached, and Vologases was placed in charge of Armenia. Vologases ruled Armenia until 140. Vologases IV , the son of the legitimate Parthian King Mithridates V, dispatched his troops to seize Armenia in 161 and eradicated

9545-402: The nomad King Grumbates , started his second campaign against the Romans in 359 and soon succeeded in retaking Singara and Amida. In response the Roman emperor Julian struck deep into Persian territory and defeated Shapur's forces at Ctesiphon . He failed to take the capital, however, and was killed while trying to retreat to Roman territory. His successor Jovian , trapped on the east bank of

9660-417: The petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Khosrow I built infrastructure, embellishing his capital and founding new towns with the construction of new buildings. He rebuilt the canals and restocked the farms destroyed in the wars. He built strong fortifications at the passes and placed subject tribes in carefully chosen towns on

9775-453: The physical territory that it controlled, impacting regions as distant as Western Europe , Eastern Africa , and China and India . It also helped shape European and Asian medieval art. With the Muslim conquest of Persia , the influence of Sasanian art , architecture , music , literature , and philosophy was gradually absorbed into nascent Islamic culture , which, in turn, ensured

9890-492: The predominance of Iranianism in the country, with Parthian replacing Greek as the language of the educated. However, Armenian Hellenism was not eradicated, as the Arsacids of Iran were proud philhellenes . Armenian was considered a "vulgar" language and so the Parthian language was spoken amongst the upper class and at the court. It was during that period that Classical Armenian incorporated most of its Iranian loanwords. The modern historians R. Schmitt and H. W. Bailey compare

10005-571: The rich should divide their wives and their wealth with the poor. By adopting the doctrine of the Mazdakites, his intention evidently was to break the influence of the magnates and the growing aristocracy. These reforms led to his being deposed and imprisoned in the Castle of Oblivion in Khuzestan , and his younger brother Jamasp (Zamaspes) became king in 496. Kavad, however, quickly escaped and

10120-400: The sacred earth of the Zoroastrian yazata (angelic divinity) Spenta Armaiti . The bones of the buried Arsacid kings were believed to carry their xwarrah , which was the reason that the Sasanian shahanshah Shapur II had their bones disinterred and taken out of Armenia after his raid on the necropolis. The tombs were seemingly strongly fortified since Shapur II was unable to open

10235-653: The son of the previous Parthian king, Pacorus II , as King of Armenia. The encroachment on the traditional sphere of influence of the Roman Empire started a new war between Parthia and Rome and ended the peace that had endured for about half a century since Nero's time. Roman Emperor Trajan marched towards Armenia in October 113 to restore a Roman client king in Armenia. Envoys from Osroes I met Trajan at Athens, informed him that Axidares had been deposed and asked for Axidares' elder brother, Parthamasiris , to be granted

10350-448: The south with little or no interference from the Parthians. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, which was separated from the rest of Iran. Crowned in 224 at Ctesiphon as the sole ruler of Persia, Ardashir took the title shahanshah , or "King of Kings" (the inscriptions mention Adhur-Anahid as his Banbishnan banbishn , "Queen of Queens", but her relationship with Ardashir has not been fully established), bringing

10465-747: The southern wall of the Katoghike Church of the Astvatsnkal Monastery built between the 5th and 13th centuries. It reads, "By the grace and mercy of God, I Kurd, Prince of Princes, son of the great Vache, and my wife Khorishah, daughter of Marzpan, built the Holy Katoghike for the memory of our souls. We have decorated it with every kind of precious ornament and offered the garden bought by us in Parpi , virgin land in Oshakan ,

10580-401: The spread of Iranian culture, knowledge, and ideas throughout the expanding Muslim world . Officially, the empire was known as the Empire of the Iranians ( Middle Persian : 𐭠𐭩𐭥𐭠𐭭𐭱𐭲𐭥𐭩 , ērānšahr , Parthian : 𐭀𐭓𐭉𐭀𐭍𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓 , aryānšahr , Greek : Ἀριανῶν ἔθνος , Arianōn ethnos ), the term is first attested in the trilingual Great Inscription of Shapur I , where

10695-491: The support of the Hephthalites , Kavad launched a campaign against the Romans. In 502, he took Theodosiopolis in Armenia, but lost it soon afterwards. In 503 he took Amida on the Tigris. In 504, an invasion of Armenia by the western Huns from the Caucasus led to an armistice, the return of Amida to Roman control and a peace treaty in 506. In 521/522 Kavad lost control of Lazica , whose rulers switched their allegiance to

10810-399: The throne in 186. In 198, Vologases II assumed the Parthian throne and named his son Khosrov I to the Armenian throne. Khosrov I was subsequently captured by the Romans, who installed one of their own to take charge of Armenia. However, the Armenians themselves revolted against their Roman overlords, and in accordance with a new Roman-Parthian compromise, Khosrov I's son, Tiridates II (217–252),

10925-483: The throne in 45. In 51, Mithridates's nephew Rhadamistus invaded Armenia and killed his uncle. The governor of Cappadocia , Julius Pailinus, decided to conquer Armenia but settled with the crowning of Rhadamistus, who generously rewarded him. Parthian King Vologases I saw an opportunity, invaded Armenia and succeeded in forcing the Iberians to withdraw from Armenia. The harsh winter that followed proved too much for

11040-455: The throne. Trajan declined the proposal and in August 114 captured Arsamosata , where Parthamasiris asked to be crowned, but instead of crowning him, he annexed his kingdom as a new province to the Roman Empire. Parthamasiris was dismissed and died mysteriously soon afterwards. As a Roman province, Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Lucius Catilius Severus . The Roman Senate issued coins that celebrated this occasion and borne

11155-589: The tomb of Sanatruk . The ancient sanctuary of Bagawan was of high importance to the Arsacids, who celebrated the Iranian New Year's festival ( Nowruz ) there. The boar, which was the favourite totem of the yazata Verethragna ( Vahagn in Armenian), was the symbol of the Arsacids. While the culture of Armenia was dominated by Hellenism under the Artaxiads, the reign of the Arsacids marked

11270-523: The two empires to focus on military matters elsewhere: Khosrow focused on the Sassanid Empire's eastern frontier while Maurice restored Byzantine control of the Balkans . Circa 600, the Hephthalites had been raiding the Sassanid Empire as far as Spahan in central Iran. The Hephthalites issued numerous coins imitating the coinage of Khosrow II. In c.  606/607 , Khosrow recalled Smbat IV Bagratuni from Persian Armenia and sent him to Iran to repel

11385-590: The war resumed but remained confined to Lazica, which was retained by the Byzantines when peace was concluded in 562. In 565, Justinian I died and was succeeded by Justin II (565–578), who resolved to stop subsidies to Arab chieftains to restrain them from raiding Byzantine territory in Syria. A year earlier, the Sassanid governor of Armenia, Chihor-Vishnasp of the Suren family, built a fire temple at Dvin near modern Yerevan , and he put to death an influential member of

11500-554: Was also amenable to the wishes of the Zoroastrian priesthood. During his reign, the Sassanid capital Ctesiphon was sacked by the Romans under Emperor Carus , and most of Armenia, after half a century of Persian rule, was ceded to Diocletian . Succeeding Bahram III (who ruled briefly in 293), Narseh embarked on another war with the Romans. After an early success against the Emperor Galerius near Callinicum on

11615-495: Was an unfortunate choice because Sassanid King Shapur I defeated the Romans and made peace with Emperor Philip . In 252, Shapur invaded Armenia and forced Tiridates to flee. After the deaths of Tiridates and his son Khosrov II, Shapur installed his own son, Hurmazd, on the Armenian throne . When Shapur I died in 270, Hurmazd took the Persian throne, and his brother Narseh ruled Armenia in his name. Under Diocletian , Rome installed Tiridates III as ruler of Armenia, and in 287, he

11730-426: Was appointed shah (king), he moved his capital further to the south of Pars and founded Ardashir-Khwarrah (formerly Gur , modern day Firuzabad ). The city, well protected by high mountains and easily defensible due to the narrow passes that approached it, became the center of Ardashir's efforts to gain more power. It was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgerd. Ardashir's palace

11845-510: Was captured by Shapur, remaining his prisoner for the rest of his life. Shapur celebrated his victory by carving the impressive rock reliefs in Naqsh-e Rostam and Bishapur , as well as a monumental inscription in Persian and Greek in the vicinity of Persepolis . He exploited his success by advancing into Anatolia (260), but withdrew in disarray after defeats at the hands of the Romans and their Palmyrene ally Odaenathus , suffering

11960-419: Was crowned in utero : the crown was placed upon his mother's stomach. During his youth the empire was controlled by his mother and the nobles. Upon coming of age, Shapur II assumed power and quickly proved to be an active and effective ruler. He first led his small but disciplined army south against the Arabs, whom he defeated, securing the southern areas of the empire. He then began his first campaign against

12075-443: Was defeated at the Battle of Dara . In the same year, a second Persian army under Mihr-Mihroe was defeated at Satala by Roman forces under Sittas and Dorotheus, but in 531 a Persian army accompanied by a Lakhmid contingent under Al-Mundhir III defeated Belisarius at the Battle of Callinicum , and in 532 an "eternal peace" was concluded. Kavad succeeded in restoring order in the interior and fought with general success against

12190-499: Was disputed by his younger brother Orodes, who had been overthrown by Zeno. Tiberius quickly concentrated more forces on the Roman frontier and once again after a decade of peace, Armenia was to become the theater of bitter warfare between the two greatest powers of the known world for the next 25 years. Tiberius sent an Iberian , Mithridates , who claimed to be of Arsacid blood. Mithridates successfully subjugated Armenia to Roman rule and deposed Arsaces, inflicting huge devastation upon

12305-452: Was given refuge by the Hephthalite king. Jamasp (496–498) was installed on the Sasanian throne upon the deposition of Kavad I by members of the nobility. He was a good and kind king; he reduced taxes in order to improve the condition of the peasants and the poor. He was also an adherent of the mainstream Zoroastrian religion, diversions from which had cost Kavad I his throne and freedom. Jamasp's reign soon ended, however, when Kavad I, at

12420-411: Was in possession of the west Armenian territory. The Sassanids stirred some nobles to revolt when Narseh left to take the Persian throne in 293. Rome, nevertheless, defeated Narseh in 298, and Khosrov II's son Tiridates III regained control over Armenia with the support of Roman soldiers. As late as the later Parthian period, Armenia was predominantly Zoroastrian. However, that was soon to change. In

12535-556: Was killed by his brother Peroz in 459. At the beginning of the 5th century, the Hephthalites (White Huns), along with other nomadic groups, attacked Iran. At first Bahram V and Yazdegerd II inflicted decisive defeats against them and drove them back eastward. The Huns returned at the end of the 5th century and defeated Peroz I (457–484) in 483. Following this victory, the Huns invaded and plundered parts of eastern Iran continually for two years. They exacted heavy tribute for some years thereafter. These attacks brought instability and chaos to

12650-556: Was made king of Armenia. In 224, Persian King Ardashir I overthrew the Arsacids in Parthia and found the new Persian Sassanid dynasty . The Sassanids were determined to restore the old glory of the Achaemenid Empire and so they proclaimed Zoroastrianism as the state religion and considered Armenia as part of their empire. To preserve the autonomy of Arsacid rule in Armenia, Tiridates II sought friendly relations with Rome. That

12765-468: Was on the north side of the city; remains of it are extant. After establishing his rule over Pars, Ardashir rapidly extended his territory, demanding fealty from the local princes of Fars, and gaining control over the neighbouring provinces of Kerman , Isfahan , Susiana and Mesene . This expansion quickly came to the attention of Artabanus IV, the Parthian king, who initially ordered the governor of Khuzestan to wage war against Ardashir in 224, but Ardashir

12880-491: Was overthrown by a palace coup and his son Khosrow II (590–628) placed on the throne. However, this change of ruler failed to placate Bahram, who defeated Khosrow, forcing him to flee to Byzantine territory, and seized the throne for himself as Bahram VI. Khosrow asked the Byzantine Emperor Maurice (582–602) for assistance against Bahram, offering to cede the western Caucasus to the Byzantines. To cement

12995-494: Was returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border; Caucasian Iberia would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over the five satrapies between the Tigris and Armenia: Ingilene , Sophanene ( Sophene ), Arzanene ( Aghdznik ), Corduene , and Zabdicene (near modern Hakkâri , Turkey). The Sassanids ceded five provinces west of

13110-576: Was to be later confirmed by the Nvarsak Treaty (484). At the beginning of his reign in 441, Yazdegerd II assembled an army of soldiers from various nations, including his Indian allies, and attacked the Byzantine Empire , but peace was soon restored after some small-scale fighting. He then gathered his forces in Nishapur in 443 and launched a prolonged campaign against the Kidarites . After

13225-463: Was victorious in the ensuing battles. In a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where the former met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir went on to invade the western provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. At that time the Arsacid dynasty was divided between supporters of Artabanus IV and Vologases VI , which probably allowed Ardashir to consolidate his authority in

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