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Battle of Avarayr: victory of courage
May 26, 2013 - 16:03 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The plain of Avarayr, located in the extreme
northwest of Iran, was the scene of an important battle which took
place during an Armenian uprising against the Persians in the
mid-fifth century A.D. The cause of the rebellion was a decree issued
in 449 by the Sasanian king, Yazdegerd II (439-57), in which he
ordered the Armenians, the bulk of whose country had become a vassal
state of Iran at the Romano-Persian partition of 387, to convert from
Christianity to Zoroastrianism. The Armenians refused and were forced
to take up arms to defend their stand. In the course of this conflict,
the Persians attempted an invasion of Armenia which was met by a
combined force of Persarmenian nobles on the field of Avarayr lying
along the banks of the Thmut River (RÅ«d-e ZangemÄ?r), apparently the
Armeno-Persian frontier at that time.
The battle took place on May 26, 451. Its essential details were set
down soon after by Lazar Parpetsi; a more elaborate account was
recorded by Elise (Elisaeus) late in the same century or possibly
early in the next. According to the story, an Armenian army of 60,000
men, led by Vardan Mamikonyn, met a force of 200,000 Persians,
including the elite corps known as the Immortals led by Muskan
Niwsalawurt. The Armenians had appealed to the Byzantines for aid
without success and were further weakened by the defection of several
noble houses led by Vasak, Lord of Siwnik', the most important
principality in Armenia. In spite of these disadvantages, the
Armenians were holding their own until the Persians drew up their
elephant corps. Through this tactic the Armenians were crushed, and
Vardan and eight other generals were slain, together with the flower
of the Armenian nobility and a large number of common soldiers. So
spirited was the Armenian defense, however, that the Persians suffered
enormous losses as well. Their victory was pyrrhic and the king, faced
with troubles elsewhere, was forced, at least for the time being, to
allow the Armenians to worship as they chose.
The battle of Avarayr has become the Armenian national holiday; its
anniversary is a festival of the Armenian Church, and Vardan Mamikonyn
has become one of its saints. The defense of the Christian faith by
the Armenians has been hailed as a landmark in the history of the
struggle for religious freedom, and the fallen of Avarayr have been
held up as examples of heroism, patriotism to generations of young
Armenians.
May 26, 2013 - 16:03 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - The plain of Avarayr, located in the extreme
northwest of Iran, was the scene of an important battle which took
place during an Armenian uprising against the Persians in the
mid-fifth century A.D. The cause of the rebellion was a decree issued
in 449 by the Sasanian king, Yazdegerd II (439-57), in which he
ordered the Armenians, the bulk of whose country had become a vassal
state of Iran at the Romano-Persian partition of 387, to convert from
Christianity to Zoroastrianism. The Armenians refused and were forced
to take up arms to defend their stand. In the course of this conflict,
the Persians attempted an invasion of Armenia which was met by a
combined force of Persarmenian nobles on the field of Avarayr lying
along the banks of the Thmut River (RÅ«d-e ZangemÄ?r), apparently the
Armeno-Persian frontier at that time.
The battle took place on May 26, 451. Its essential details were set
down soon after by Lazar Parpetsi; a more elaborate account was
recorded by Elise (Elisaeus) late in the same century or possibly
early in the next. According to the story, an Armenian army of 60,000
men, led by Vardan Mamikonyn, met a force of 200,000 Persians,
including the elite corps known as the Immortals led by Muskan
Niwsalawurt. The Armenians had appealed to the Byzantines for aid
without success and were further weakened by the defection of several
noble houses led by Vasak, Lord of Siwnik', the most important
principality in Armenia. In spite of these disadvantages, the
Armenians were holding their own until the Persians drew up their
elephant corps. Through this tactic the Armenians were crushed, and
Vardan and eight other generals were slain, together with the flower
of the Armenian nobility and a large number of common soldiers. So
spirited was the Armenian defense, however, that the Persians suffered
enormous losses as well. Their victory was pyrrhic and the king, faced
with troubles elsewhere, was forced, at least for the time being, to
allow the Armenians to worship as they chose.
The battle of Avarayr has become the Armenian national holiday; its
anniversary is a festival of the Armenian Church, and Vardan Mamikonyn
has become one of its saints. The defense of the Christian faith by
the Armenians has been hailed as a landmark in the history of the
struggle for religious freedom, and the fallen of Avarayr have been
held up as examples of heroism, patriotism to generations of young
Armenians.