Battle of Vartanantz
Part of Sassanid-Armenian War
A medieval Armenian miniature representing the battle
Date: 451 Location: Avarayr Result: Sassanid victory Casus belli: {{{casus}}} Territory changes: {{{territory}}}
Combatants
Sassanid Empire	Armenian rebels
Commanders
Yazdegerd II	Vartan Mamikonian
Strength
180,000 to 220,000(According to Armenian sources)	60,000
Casualties
Unknown	Heavy

Battle of Vartanantz (May 26, 451) is remembered by Armenians as probably the greatest battle in their history. It was fought on the Avarayr Field in Vaspurakan between the Armenian rebels under Saint Vartan and their Sassanid overlords. It was the Persian victory. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2476x1880, 1492 KB) Summary The Battle of Avarayr, Sharaknots, 1482, Akants Desert, MS 1620, 295b-296a, size 12,8 X 8. ... Events April 7 - The Huns sack Metz June 20 - Attila, king of the Huns is defeated at Troyes by Aetius in the Battle of Chalons. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... The Sassanid Empire in the time of Shapur I; the conquests west of the Euphrat were only temporally Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) Dominant Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of... Casus belli is a Latin expression from the international law theory of Jus ad bellum. ... Head of king Shapur II (Sasanian dynasty A.D. 4th century). ... The Armenians are a nation and an ethnic group, originating in the Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor. ... Yazdegerd II, (made by God, Izdegerdes), king of Persia was the son of Bahram V Gor and reigned from 438 to 457. ... Mamikonian or Mamikoneans was a noble family which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th centuruies. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... Events April 7 - The Huns sack Metz June 20 - Attila, king of the Huns is defeated at Troyes by Aetius in the Battle of Chalons. ... The Battle of Waterloo by William Sadler. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Armenian medal representing Vartan Mamikonean Mamikonian or Mamikoneans was a noble family which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th centuruies. ... Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the name given to the kings of Persia during the era of the second Persian Empire, from 224 until 651, when the last Sassanid shah, Yazdegerd III, lost a 14-year struggle to drive out the Umayyad Caliphate...

Background

Before the Sassanid conquest of Armenia, Armenia hed been the first nation to accept Christianity as their religion (301 AD). The Armenians accepted the Persian mandate in all respects providing that their freedom to practice Christianity remained intact. Some of the Sassanid kings refused this idea including Yazdegerd II due to its contradiction to the fundamental idea behind the dynasty itself which (first introduced by founder of Empire Ardashir I) was the central authority enforced by the state religion, Zoroastrianism and also pressure from Zoroastrian Magi. Yazdegerd II then tried to tie Armenia more closely to its empire, by rooting out Christian faith and replacing it with Zoroastrianism, following the policy, he summoned leading Armenian nobles to Ctesiphon and forced them to convert to Zoroastrianism. Christianity is a monotheistic religion that recognizes Jesus Christ as its central figure, Lord and Messiah. ... Yazdegerd II, (made by God, Izdegerdes), king of Persia was the son of Bahram V Gor and reigned from 438 to 457. ... Ardashir I (Artaxerxes, Artaxares, Artashastra) was the founder of the Sassanian Empire of Persia and king from around 226 until around 240. ... Faravahar (or Ferohar), the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... Yazdegerd II, (made by God, Izdegerdes), king of Persia was the son of Bahram V Gor and reigned from 438 to 457. ... Ctesiphon (Parthian: Tyspwn as well as Tisfun) is one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia and the capital of the Iranian Parthian Empire and its successor, the Sassanid Empire, for more than 800 years located in ancient Iranian province of Khvarvaran. ... Faravahar (or Ferohar), the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ...

When the news about the nobles renouncing Christianity reached Armenia, a mass revolt broke out. On their return home, the nobles, led by Vartan Mamikonian, joined the rebels. Upon hearing the news of rebelion Yazgerd gathered a massive army and attacked Armenian rebels. Armenians asked the Christian Byzantine Empire for support, as Vartan had good relations with Theodosius II who had given him the rank of general. He sent a delegation to Constantinople for help but help never arrived in time because the war effort against Attila the Hun had drained the treasury. Mamikonian or Mamikoneans was a noble family which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th centuruies. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Theodosius II Flavius Theodosius II (April, 401 - July 28, 450 ). The eldest son of Eudoxia and Arcadius who at the age of 7 became the Roman Emperor of the East. ... God damn what a bitch on the rag. ...

Battle

The 66,000-strong Armenian army took the Holy Communion before the battle. The Persian army, said to be four times larger, featured war elephants. A terrible bloodshed ensued, and Vartan along with along with eight of his generals perished in the battle. During the battle a number of Armenian generals and nobility inclding Vasag Suni defected to the Persians. The Eucharist is either the Christian sacrament of consecrated bread and wine or the ritual surrounding it. ... Indian war elephant, relief at Mathura, 2nd century BC War elephants were important, although not widespread, weapons in ancient military history. ...

Outcome

Following the victory, Yazdegerd jailed some Armenian priests and nobles and appointed a new governor for Armenia. Although the Persians eventually subdued the rebellion, they had to revise their plans for persecution of Christians. Consequently, the battle has been viewed by the Armenians as their moral victory. This day is considered Holy Day by Armenians and is one the most important national and religious days in Armenia. Another important consequence of the battle was that the Armenian Church was unable to send a delegation to the Council of Chalcedon as they were very involved in the war effort. Armenian Church can refer to: Armenian Catholic Church Armenian Apostolic Church External reference and links Jerusalem Photos Archive - Armenian Church in Jerusalem Pictures of Armenian Churches This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8–November 1, 451 at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ...

References

• Dr. Abd al-Husayn Zarrin’kub "Ruzgaran:tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi" Sukhan, 1999. ISBN 964-6961-11-8

External links

• Summary of the battle from A History of Armenia by Vahan M. Kurkjian
• Battle of the Avarayr Field
• St Vartan's life on www.armenianchurch.org
• Vartan Mamikonian's biography in Brockhaus-Efron (in Russian, by Nicholas Marr)