39°20′20″N45°3′26″E / 39.33889°N 45.05722°E /39.33889; 45.05722
| Battle of Avarayr | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A 15th-century Armenian miniature depicting the battle | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sasanian Empire Pro-Sasanian Armenians | ChristianArmenians | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Vasak of Syunik Mushkan Niusalavurt | Vardan Mamikonian † Ghevond Vanandetsi[6] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 300,000[7] Sasanians 60,000 Armenian loyalists[7] Unknown number ofelephants | 66,000 Armenians[7] (Perhaps exaggerated)[8] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 3,544 dead[9] | 1,036 dead[9] | ||||||
TheBattle of Avarayr (Armenian:Ավարայրի ճակատամարտ,romanized: Avarayri chakatamart) was fought on 26 May 451 on theAvarayr Plain inVaspurakan between a Christian Armenian army underVardan Mamikonian andSassanid Persia. It is considered one of the first battles in defense of theChristian faith.[10][page needed] Although the Persians were victorious on the battlefield, it was apyrrhic victory. The Armenians were allowed to continue practising Christianity freely.[4][5]
The battle is seen as one of the most significant events in Armenian history.[11] The commander of the Armenian forces,Vardan Mamikonian, is considered a national hero and has been canonized by theArmenian Apostolic Church.[12][13]
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TheKingdom of Armenia under theArsacid dynasty of Armenia was the first nation to officially convert toChristianity, in 301 underTiridates III. In 428, Armenian nobles petitioned Bahram V to deposeArtaxias IV.[14] As a result, the country became a Sassanid dependency with aSassanid governor. The Armenian nobles initially welcomed Persian rule, provided they were allowed to practise Christianity; butYazdegerd II, concerned that the Armenian Church was hierarchically dependent on the Latin- and Greek-speaking Christian Church (aligned with Rome and Constantinople rather than the Aramaic-speaking and Persian-backedChurch of the East) tried to compel the Armenian Church to abandon Rome and Byzantium in favour of theChurch of the East or simply convert toZoroastrianism. He summoned the leading Armenian nobles toCtesiphon, and pressured them into cutting their ties with the Orthodox Church as he had intended.[15]
The unsteadiness of the empire was ever-increasing under Yazdegerd II, who had an uneasy relationship with the aristocracy and was facing a great challenge by theKidarites in the east.[16] Yazdegerd II needed the cooperation of the aristocracy so that he could have an organized government to combat the external and internal issues endangering the empire.[16] His policy of integrating the Christian nobility into the bureaucracy led to a major rebellion in Armenia.[16] The cause of the rebellion was the attempt by his ministerMihr-Narseh to impose theZurvanite variant of Zoroastrianism in Armenia.[16] His intentions differed from those of Yazdegerd II.[17] As a result, many of the Armenian nobles (but not all) rallied underVardan Mamikonian, the supreme commander (sparapet) of Armenia.[18] The Armenian rebels tried to appeal to the Romans for help, but to no avail.[19] Meanwhile, another faction of Armenians, led by themarzban (governor)Vasak Siwni allied themselves with the Sasanians.[18]
The 66,000-strong Armenian army tookHoly Communion before the battle. The army was a popular uprising, rather than a professional force, but the Armenian nobility who led it and their respective retinues were accomplished soldiers, many of them veterans of the Sassanid dynasty's wars with Rome and the nomads of Central Asia. The Armenians were allowed to maintain a core of their national army led by a supreme commander (sparapet) who was traditionally of the Mamikonian noble family. The Armenian cavalry was, at the time, practically an elite force greatly appreciated as a tactical ally by both Persia and Byzantium. In this particular case, both officers and men were additionally motivated by a desire to save their religion and their way of life. The Persian army, said to be three times larger, includedwar elephants and the famousSavārān, or New Immortal, cavalry. Several Armenian noblemen with weaker Christian sympathies, led byVasak Siuni, went over to the Persians before the battle, and fought on their side; in the battle, Vardan won initial successes, but was eventually slain along with eight of his top officers.[citation needed]
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Nine generals, including Vardan Mamikonian, were killed, with a large number of the Armenian nobles and soldiers meeting the same fate.[19] The Sasanians, however, had also suffered heavy losses due to the resolute struggle by the Armenian rebels.[19] Yazdegerd II dismissed Vasak Siwni and allowed religious freedom in Armenia.[20] Although tensions continued until 510 when a kinsman of Vardan Mamikonian,Vard Mamikonian, was appointedmarzban by Yazdegerd II's grandson,Kavad I (r. 488–531).[21]
So spirited was the Armenian defence, 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 Armenian defeat in the Battle of Avarayr in 451 proved a pyrrhic victory for the Persians. Though the Armenians lost their commander, Vartan Mamikonian, and most of their soldiers, Persian losses were proportionately heavy, and Armenia was allowed to remain Christian.
