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ST. VARTAN AND THE BATTLE OF AVARAYR
Haytoug Magazine
http://www.haytoug.org/3530/st-vartan-and-the-battle-of-avarayr-2
Feb 16 2012
Many of us are beginning to think that February is an empty month
in the Armenian calendar. Or that Saint Valentine's Day is the only
significant holiday. However, the idea that this is traditionally
an Armenian festival is incorrect. In fact, for those unaware,
the Armenian equivalent for celebrating love and affection between
companions takes place on February 4th, under the Saint Sarkis
(Õ~MÕ¸O~BO~@Õ¢ Õ~MÕ¡O~@Õ£Õ"Õ½) name. More to the focus of this
article though, is the commemoration of the Battle of Avarayr
(Ô±Õ¾Õ¡O~@Õ¡ÕµO~@Õ" Õ³Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¿Õ¡Õ´Õ¡O~@Õ¿Õ¨) on February 16th.
This battle came to be out of necessity for continuity as a People:
the Persian Empire wanted Armenians to abandon their faith. Their
king, King Yazdigerd II, loathed Christianity and wished to destroy
their individuality on the whole.
Those who grew up going to an Armenian school have undoubtedly heard
of Vartan Mamigonian (Õ~NÕ¡O~@Õ¤Õ¡Õ¶ Õ~DÕ¡Õ´Õ"Õ¯Õ¸Õ¶Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶), and the
epic battle during which he led the Armenian forces against a vastly
outnumbering Persian army. Vartan, who was later canonised, was of
noble lineage whose family tree includes Saint Gregory the Illuminator
(Õ~MÕ¸O~BO~@Õ¢ Ô³O~@Õ"Õ£Õ¸O~@ Ô¼Õ¸O~BÕ½Õ¡Õ¾Õ¸O~@Õ"Õ¹). His father,
however, was General Hamazasp (Õ~MÕºÕ¡O~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿ Õ~@Õ¡Õ´Õ¡Õ¦Õ¡Õ½Õº)
and, like him, Vartan became a soldier. He was a highly respected
soldier at that, with integrity and wisdom: in addition, he had a
strong Christian belief. The fact that he had Holy Communion with his
soldiers; prayed, recited the 23rd Psalm and shared food with them,
all prior to the commencement of battle, can attest to these.
It was in this period immediately before the battle when Vartan
was quoted as saying "We have served until now mortal kings... now
it is time to serve the immortal king". Vartan's speech instilled
inspiration and stimulated his troops towards defending not only their
religion but also, in the wider scheme, their culture and entire way
of life. Finally, the battle commenced on May 26th, 451 AD, on the
Avarayr Plain (Ô±Õ¾Õ¡O~@Õ¡ÕµO~@Õ" Ô´Õ¡Õ·Õ¿). Vartan Mamigonian led
66,000 Armenians against an army outnumbering them almost 4-to-1 and
consisting of war elephants too.
Many Armenian martyrs were made that day - Vartan Mamigonian
included - but, while the battle was lost, their sacrifice was not
in vain. The Persian king, astounded by the valour of his opponents
and acknowledging that this could only stem from their passion for
their beliefs, developed a great respect for Armenians and put an
end to his attempts at converting them. In this way the Armenians
of the time lived on in relative peace, their traditions safeguarded
for another period.
We've suffered countless episodes such as this where, for one reason or
another; our rights, customs, traditions, faith, freedom and uniqueness
have been challenged. We've endlessly endured stiff oppression, but,
as a brilliantly proud and zealous People, we've largely staved off
assimilating.
1600 years have since passed, our identity all the while maturing, and
we've spread across the globe achieving many things. As a persevering
people we must continue to uphold our identity in whichever corner
of the world we find ourselves. Wherever we may be and whatever we
pursue we all share a common history: a story of constant struggles
for peace which unites us and enriches our lives. As Hrant Dink, Serj
Tankian and Monte Melkonian (to name a few) have done, by digging
deep towards our roots we can find and adopt the same spirit with
which Vartan's soldiers fought in defending our heritage.
Heros Jojaghaian
AYF London "Khanasor" Chapter
Haytoug Magazine
http://www.haytoug.org/3530/st-vartan-and-the-battle-of-avarayr-2
Feb 16 2012
Many of us are beginning to think that February is an empty month
in the Armenian calendar. Or that Saint Valentine's Day is the only
significant holiday. However, the idea that this is traditionally
an Armenian festival is incorrect. In fact, for those unaware,
the Armenian equivalent for celebrating love and affection between
companions takes place on February 4th, under the Saint Sarkis
(Õ~MÕ¸O~BO~@Õ¢ Õ~MÕ¡O~@Õ£Õ"Õ½) name. More to the focus of this
article though, is the commemoration of the Battle of Avarayr
(Ô±Õ¾Õ¡O~@Õ¡ÕµO~@Õ" Õ³Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¿Õ¡Õ´Õ¡O~@Õ¿Õ¨) on February 16th.
This battle came to be out of necessity for continuity as a People:
the Persian Empire wanted Armenians to abandon their faith. Their
king, King Yazdigerd II, loathed Christianity and wished to destroy
their individuality on the whole.
Those who grew up going to an Armenian school have undoubtedly heard
of Vartan Mamigonian (Õ~NÕ¡O~@Õ¤Õ¡Õ¶ Õ~DÕ¡Õ´Õ"Õ¯Õ¸Õ¶Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶), and the
epic battle during which he led the Armenian forces against a vastly
outnumbering Persian army. Vartan, who was later canonised, was of
noble lineage whose family tree includes Saint Gregory the Illuminator
(Õ~MÕ¸O~BO~@Õ¢ Ô³O~@Õ"Õ£Õ¸O~@ Ô¼Õ¸O~BÕ½Õ¡Õ¾Õ¸O~@Õ"Õ¹). His father,
however, was General Hamazasp (Õ~MÕºÕ¡O~@Õ¡ÕºÕ¥Õ¿ Õ~@Õ¡Õ´Õ¡Õ¦Õ¡Õ½Õº)
and, like him, Vartan became a soldier. He was a highly respected
soldier at that, with integrity and wisdom: in addition, he had a
strong Christian belief. The fact that he had Holy Communion with his
soldiers; prayed, recited the 23rd Psalm and shared food with them,
all prior to the commencement of battle, can attest to these.
It was in this period immediately before the battle when Vartan
was quoted as saying "We have served until now mortal kings... now
it is time to serve the immortal king". Vartan's speech instilled
inspiration and stimulated his troops towards defending not only their
religion but also, in the wider scheme, their culture and entire way
of life. Finally, the battle commenced on May 26th, 451 AD, on the
Avarayr Plain (Ô±Õ¾Õ¡O~@Õ¡ÕµO~@Õ" Ô´Õ¡Õ·Õ¿). Vartan Mamigonian led
66,000 Armenians against an army outnumbering them almost 4-to-1 and
consisting of war elephants too.
Many Armenian martyrs were made that day - Vartan Mamigonian
included - but, while the battle was lost, their sacrifice was not
in vain. The Persian king, astounded by the valour of his opponents
and acknowledging that this could only stem from their passion for
their beliefs, developed a great respect for Armenians and put an
end to his attempts at converting them. In this way the Armenians
of the time lived on in relative peace, their traditions safeguarded
for another period.
We've suffered countless episodes such as this where, for one reason or
another; our rights, customs, traditions, faith, freedom and uniqueness
have been challenged. We've endlessly endured stiff oppression, but,
as a brilliantly proud and zealous People, we've largely staved off
assimilating.
1600 years have since passed, our identity all the while maturing, and
we've spread across the globe achieving many things. As a persevering
people we must continue to uphold our identity in whichever corner
of the world we find ourselves. Wherever we may be and whatever we
pursue we all share a common history: a story of constant struggles
for peace which unites us and enriches our lives. As Hrant Dink, Serj
Tankian and Monte Melkonian (to name a few) have done, by digging
deep towards our roots we can find and adopt the same spirit with
which Vartan's soldiers fought in defending our heritage.
Heros Jojaghaian
AYF London "Khanasor" Chapter