Arshak III

Arshak III
King of Armenia
Reign378–387
PredecessorVarazdat
SuccessorKhosrov IV
Co-rulerVologases
Born371
Died390 (aged 18–19)
Vardandukht
HouseArsacid
FatherPapas (Pap)
MotherZarmandukht

Arsaces III [1] (Armenian: Արշակ Գ, Greek: Ἀρσάκης, Parthian: 𐭀𐭓𐭔𐭊) was the King of Greater Armenia from 378 to 387 AD. As the elder son of King Pap, he and his brother, Vagarshak, were appointed as rulers of Armenia by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I.However, following the death of Theodosius, the Roman Empire was divided between his sons: Honorius received the Western Roman Empire, including Rome itself, while Arcadius took control of the Eastern portion (Byzantium). These political shifts profoundly impacted the fate of Greater Armenia. Exploiting Arshak’s weakened position, Emperor Arcadius signed a treaty with the Persian King Shapur III to partition Armenia.Unwilling to remain in the eastern part of the country under the rule of Zoroastrian Persia, Arshak relocated to the western, Byzantine-controlled sector. He was accompanied by all the Christian nakharars (nobles). Arshak III is often recognized as the last Armenian king to rule as a Roman vassal. During his reign, the territory he governed remained under Roman suzerainty in accordance with the Treaty of Acilisene.

Family and early life

Arshak III was the first-born son of the previous Roman client Armenian King Pap, who reigned from 370 until 374, and his wife, the Armenian noblewoman called Zarmandukht.[2] He had a younger brother[3] called Vagharshak. His known grandparents, both from his paternal side, were the previous ruling Arsacid monarch Arshak II and his wife Parandzem.[4]

Arshak III was the namesake of his paternal grandfather and several of his Arsacid ancestors. Arshak III was born at an unknown date during his father's reign and was raised in Armenia. Following the assassination of his father in 374, as Arshak III and his brother were too young to rule, the Roman emperor Valens sent their paternal first cousin Varazdat to occupy the Armenian throne. Their cousin had lived in Rome for an unknown period of time. Varazdat began his rule under the regency of Mushegh I Mamikonian, whose family was pro-Roman.

Rise to the throne

Ascend the throne

In 378, after Varazdat had his regent Mushegh Mamikonian murdered, the brother of Mushegh, Manuel Mamikonian,[5] raised a military force which drove Varazdat out of Armenia[6] and back to Rome. Manuel then raised Arshak III and Vologases to the throne as co-kings of Armenia, under the nominal regency of their mother Zarmandukht.[7]To end the political anarchy in the country, as Manuel was now the powerful regent-in-charge of Armenia, he married Arsaces III to his daughter Vardandukht[8] and Vologases to the daughter of Sahak from the Bagratuni dynasty.[9] The Mamikonian government brought peace and stability to Armenia, as Manuel guided the country wisely.[10] Manuel treated Arshak III, Vologases and Zarmandukht with honor.[11] He brought up Arshak III and Vologases[12] and nurtured them as if they were his own children.[13]Arshak III, like his predecessors, aggressively pursued policies based on Christian Arianism.[14]

Last years

In 386, Vologases died without leaving an heir and Arshak III became the sole ruler of Armenia. As Manuel Mamikonian died at the same time as Vagharshak did, the authority of Arshak III became lessened by the Sassanid invasions from Persia of Armenia. In 387, the last year of his kingship, Arshak III resided in Ekeghiats (Ekeleac’), in Western Armenia,[15] as he then ruled only Western Armenia along a line from Erzurum to Mush.

End of the reign

Around 390, Arsaces III died without an heir. After Arsaces' death, Armenia became a bone of contention between Persia and Rome. Shapur III and Theodosius reached an agreement and partitioned Armenia between themselves. The western part fell under the rule of Rome (Byzantium from 395), and the eastern part under Persia. Rome received the Armenian provinces of Upper Armenia, Sophene, Arzanene, and parts of Taron. To the east of these, the majority of Armenia remained with Persia. After Arsaces' death, Rome abolished the Armenian Arsacids in its sector, while in the Persian part, they continued to rule until 428[16].

In the Arts

  • Arshak is a character in the tragedy Nerses The Great, Patron of Armenia written in 1857, by the Armenian playwright, actor & editor of the 19th century, Sargis Vanandetsi, also known as Sargis Mirzayan.[17]

References

  1. ^ Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, p.94
  2. ^ Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book V, Chapter 37
  3. ^ Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book V, Chapter 37
  4. ^ Lenski, Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D., p.170
  5. ^ Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.177
  6. ^ Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.177
  7. ^ Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, p.92
  8. ^ Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book V, Chapter 44
  9. ^ Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, p.107
  10. ^ Topchyan, The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movses Xorenac’i’s History of Armenia, p.42
  11. ^ Topchyan, The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movses Xorenac’i’s History of Armenia, p.42
  12. ^ Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, p.xxxiii
  13. ^ Topchyan, The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movses Xorenac’i’s History of Armenia, p.42
  14. ^ Terian, Patriotism And Piety In Armenian Christianity: The Early Panegyrics On Saint Gregory, p.18
  15. ^ Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, p.92
  16. ^ Աշոտ Մելքոնյան, հայոց պատմություն, Երևան, <<Հայագիտակ>>, 1998, էջ 44 (in Armenian)
  17. ^ Hacikyan, Agop Jack; Basmajian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan (2005). The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Eighteenth Century to Modern Times. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. ISBN 0-8143-3221-8.

Sources

  • Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, 5th century
  • D. M. Lang, Armenia: Cradle of Civilization – p.p. 163-165, Boston: George Allen & Unwin, 1970
  • N. Lenski, Failure of Empire: Valens and the Roman State in the Fourth Century A.D., University of California Press, 2003
  • R. G. Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004
  • A. Terian, Patriotism And Piety In Armenian Christianity: The Early Panegyrics On Saint Gregory, St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2005
  • A. Topchyan, The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movses Xorenac’i's History of Armenia, Peeters Publishers, 2006
  • V. M. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, Indo-European Publishing, 2008
  • R. P. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, Scarecrow Press, 2010
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