Vardan Mamikonian(Armenian:Վարդան Մամիկոնեան;c. 387– 451) was anArmenianmilitary leader who led a rebellion againstSasanian Iranin 450–451. He was the head of theMamikoniannoble family and holder of the hereditary title ofsparapet,the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces. Vardan and most of his comrades died at theBattle of Avarayrin 451, but their sacrifice was immortalized in the works of the Armenian historiansYeghisheandGhazar Parpetsi.He is regarded as a national hero among Armenians and venerated as amartyrand asaintof theArmenian Apostolic Churchand theArmenian Catholic Church.Vardan and the rebellion he led are commemorated in numerous works of art and literature. According toArshag Chobanian,"To the Armenian nation, Vartan [...] is the most beloved figure, the most sacred in their history, the symbolical hero who typifies the national spirit."[2]
Vardan Mamikonian Վարդան Մամիկոնյան | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of Vardan Mamikonian in the 1908 bookIllustrated Armenia and Armenians[1] | |
| Born | c. 387 Ashtishat,Kingdom of Armenia |
| Died | 451 (aged 63–64) Avarayr Plain,Sasanian Empire |
| Rank | Sparapet |
| Battles / wars | Battle of Avarayr† |
Biography
editVardan Mamikonian was born in approximately 387 in the settlement ofAshtishatin theTaronregion to Hamazasp Mamikonian and Sahakanoysh, daughter of PatriarchSahak of Armenia.[3]He had two younger brothers, Hamazasp and Hmayeak.[3]He was educated inVagharshapatat the school founded by Patriarch Sahak andMesrop Mashtots.[4]After the death of his father, he became the head of the Mamikonian noble family.[4]In 420, he went toConstantinoplewith Mesrop Mashtots and was appointedstratelates(general) ofByzantine ArmeniabyTheodosius II.[4]In 422, he returned to Vagharshapat, then went toCtesiphon,where Sasanian kingBahram Vrecognized him assparapetof the Kingdom of Armenia; the office ofsparapet,the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces, was held hereditarily by the Mamikonian family.[4]Vardan retained this title after the abolition of the Kingdom of Armenia in 428.[4]
Conditions worsened inSasanian Armeniawith the accession ofYazdegerd IIin 439.[5]At first, Yazdegerd and his officials imposed heavier taxes and obligations on Armenia and its nobility, but did not yet openly move against the Armenian Church.[5]In 442, Yazdegerd sent the Armenian cavalry commanded by Vardan east to fight theHuns.[4]In 449, the Sasanian king issued an edict officially imposingZoroastrianismon Armenia.[4]That same year, the Armenian elite gathered atArtaxataunder the presidency ofmarzpanVasak Siwni,Vardan, thebidaxshof theIberian March,and the acting Catholicos of Armenia to declare their loyalty to the Sasanian state and their Christian faith.[5]Yazdegerd did not accept this decision and summoned the Armenian magnates (nakharars) to Ctesiphon and forced them to convert to Zoroastrianism.[5]Yazdegerd released most of the nobles after an unexpected attack from the east and sentmagito convert Armenia.[6]
Upon their return to Armenia, Vardan and most of the Armenian nobles repudiated their conversion, although Yeghishe and Ghazar Parpetsi give conflicting accounts of Vardan's initial apostasy and the origins of the Armenian rebellion that broke out in 450.[7]Vardan may have initially intended to retire into exile, but soon emerged as the leader the popular rebellion against the imposition of Zoroastrianism.[6]Vardan and his allies made a solemn oath and captured a number of fortresses and settlements.[8]Vardan's forces won a major victory over the Persians in the summer of 450 and secured an alliance with the northern Huns; however, an embassy to Byzantium asking for aid was unsuccessful.[8]Vardan was opposed by a significant pro-Persian party of Armenian nobles, andmarzpanVasak Siwni refused to follow him out of Armenia to meet the Persians in battle.[8]
In the summer of 451, a large Sasanian army including the elite cavalry corps of theImmortalsand war elephants marched against the Armenian rebels.[8]Vardan's army battled with the Persians atAvarayrnearMakuon June 2.[8]The supporters of Vasak Siwni deserted during the battle and Vardan's forces were defeated, with Vardan and most of the Armenian nobility dying in the fighting.[8]The aftermath of theBattle of Avarayris not completely clear, but it appears that Yazdegerd, alarmed by the Persian losses, withdrew his troops and imprisoned Vasak Siwni.[8]Vardan's surviving supporters were imprisoned in Iran, although many of them were eventually released in the following years.[8]In 481, a new rebellion manifested under the leadership of Vardan's nephew,Vahan Mamikonian,which succeeded in securing recognition of Armenian religious rights and autonomy with theTreaty of Nvarsakin 484.[9]
Family
editVardan Mamikonian was the father of Vardeni Mamikonian, known asShushanik,born around 439 AD. Shushanik marriedVarsken,a prominentMihranidfeudal lord (pitiakhsh). When Varsken took a pro-Persian position renouncingChristianityand adoptingZoroastrianism,he tried to force his wife Shushanik to convert as well, but she refused vehemently to submit and abandon her Christian faith, so she was put to death in AD 475 on her husband's orders. Shushanik has been canonized by theEastern Orthodox Churchand is venerated by theArmenian Apostolic Church.Known asSaint Shushanik,herfeast dayis celebrated onOctober 17.
Legacy
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(February 2017) |
Veneration
editVardan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Martyr | |
| Venerated in | Armenian Apostolic Church Armenian Catholic Church |
| Feast |
|
| Patronage | Armenia |
Vardan Mamikonian is as asaintof theArmenian Apostolic Church.[10][11]He is also revered by theArmenian Catholic ChurchandArmenian Evangelical Church.[dubious–discuss]
His commemoration day in the official Armenian Church calendar is usually in the month of February and on very rare occasions may fall in the first week of March. The actual feast day of Saint Vardan is amoveable feast,as it is on the last Thursday beforeGreat Lent.Armenian churches named after him include theSt. Vartan Cathedralof the Armenian Apostolic Church inNew York City[11]and the St. Vartan Armenian Catholic Church inBloomfield Hills, Michigan.[12][13]There is also aSt. Vartan Parknear the cathedral.
Knights of Vartan Inc. (USA)
editThe Armenian-American fraternal organizationKnights of Vartanis named in honor of Vardan Mamikonian.
References
edit- ^Gaidzakian 1898,p. 132.
- ^Tchobanian 1914,pp. 10–11.
- ^abSarafian 1951,p. 55.
- ^abcdefgKatvalian 1985.
- ^abcdGarsoïan 1997,p. 99.
- ^abGarsoïan 1997,pp. 99–100.
- ^Avdoyan 2018.
- ^abcdefghGarsoïan 1997,p. 100.
- ^Garsoïan 1997,pp. 101–102.
- ^"Saint Vardan Mamikonian | Biography, Death, & Facts | Britannica".
- ^ab"St. Vartan and the Battle of Avarayr".
- ^"Eastern Catholic Churches".
- ^"Detroit Churches Commemorate Genocide Anniversary".4 May 2023.
Bibliography
edit- Armot, Robert; Aghajanian, Alfred (2007).Armenian Literature: Comprising Poetry, Drama, Folklore, and Classic Traditions.Los Angeles: Indo-European Publishing.ISBN9781604440003.
- Avdoyan, Levon (2018)."Vardan Mamikonean".In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.).The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 1551.ISBN978-0-19-866277-8.
- Bedrosian, Robert (1983)."TheSparapetut'iwnin Armenia in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries "(PDF).Armenian Review.36(2): 6–46.
- Gaidzakian, Ohan (1898).Illustrated Armenia and the Armenians.Boston.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Garsoïan, Nina(1997). "TheMarzpanate (428–652) ". InHovannisian, Richard G.(ed.).The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times.Vol. 1. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 95–115.ISBN0-312-10169-4.
- Katvalian, M. (1985). "Vardan Mamikonyan". In Arzumanian, Makich (ed.).Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia(in Armenian). Vol. 11. Yerevan. pp.314.
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Sarafian, Krikor A. (1951).Vardanantsʻ paterazmě ew Vardan Mamikonean: Vardanantsʻ paterazmi 1500-ameakin aṛitʻov[Battle of Vardanantz and Vardan Mamikonian] (in Armenian and English) (Second ed.). Fresno: Nor Or.
- Suny, Ronald Grigor (1993).Looking Toward Ararat: Armenia in Modern History.Bloomington: Indiana University Press.ISBN9780253207739.
- Tchobanian, Archag(1914).The People of Armenia: Their Past, Their Culture, Their Future.Translated by Gregory, G. Marcar. Introduction byViscount Bryce.London: Dent.