CHAPTER XVIII.
General History of Armenia.—Former Sovereigns.—Tiridates I. receives his Crown from Nero.—Conquest of the Country by the Persians and by the Arabs.—List of modern Kings.—Misfortunes of Leo V.: his Death at Paris.
The general history of Armenia contains but little that is interesting. It presents the picture of a line of sovereigns who have seldom been able to support their own authority, and who have constantly abdicated, embraced monastic vows, or been driven from the throne by rebellions of their subjects, and invasions of neighboring conquerors more talented and more powerful than themselves. Many of the Armenian kings seem to have lived almost on the charity of other states; the lines of their dynasties have been so often interrupted, and the changes from kings to governors, dukes, and counts have been so frequent, that their history is most intricate; and, from the boundaries of the so-called kingdom of Armenia having never been the same for many years together, it is difficult to understand from the scattered notices which history has transmitted to us who should be considered as the head of the state, or which of the many vassal princes, under the great empires of the East, has the better claim to the title of sovereign of this ancient kingdom.
At the time of our Savior, Abgarus, king of Edessa, seems to have exercised sovereignty over great part of Armenia, on the southern and western sides. Tiridates I. is the first person styling himself King of Armenia after this period. He conquered the country from Rhadamistus, by the assistance of his brother Vologeses, King of Parthia. The Romans, however, who did not approve of the erection of an independent kingdom in those regions, sent an army against Tiridates, commanded by Corbulo, who forced Tiridates to abdicate, on condition of his proceeding to Rome to receive his crown from the hands of the Emperor Nero. He was received with the highest honors by the Roman emperor, who advanced as far as Naples to meet him. Tiridates won his good graces by the artful manner in which he flattered Nero on his skill in driving a chariot. They became great friends: the Armenian king received large sums of money from the emperor, with which he returned to his own country, and repaired his dismantled fortresses. He changed the name of his capital from Artaxarte to Neronia, in compliment to his imperial protector, and died in the year 75 A.D., after a reign of eleven years.
To him succeeded several princes who were vassals to the Roman empire, but whose actions do not seem to offer any thing of interest. Tiridates II. had received his education at Rome, and, assisted by the emperor, he was placed upon the throne of Armenia, by the general consent of the nobles of his country, in 259. He, as I have mentioned in the ecclesiastical sketch of this history, embraced Christianity, and died in the year 314. Other unimportant princes succeeded, among whom John Nustaron governed Armenia, under the Emperor Maurice. The Persians conquered the country in the reign of the Emperor Phocas, but it was soon retaken by Heraclius. Pasagnates revolted against the Emperor Constantine II., who defeated him, and placed Sabarius, a Persian, on the throne, who also rebelled, and was beat in the year 658. Justinian II. concluded a treaty with the Caliph Abdolmalek, by which the two sovereigns divided between them the revenues of Armenia, Iberia, and Cyprus; and the same emperor, Justinian II., placed Sablas on the Armenian throne. This prince, being established in this mountainous kingdom, organized an army, and, having attempted to extricate his country from the power of the Caliph, was defeated by him in 687, and the Arabs became masters of Armenia. The Emperor Constantine Copronymus retook this province, and established Paulus as viceroy. Paulus was conquered by the forces of the Caliph, but he afterward re-established himself upon the throne.
After his reign, Armenia was governed by several dukes and counts, some of whom ruled over a larger, and some over a smaller, portion of the country. During this period constant battles and disturbances took place between the adherents of the caliphs and the Christian emperors in this distracted province. The Patriarch of Constantinople made every endeavor to break down the religious subjection of the Armenians to their heretical Patriarch. But the history of the numerous princes who succeeded each other, after periods of short and doubtful power, on the throne of parts only of Armenia, is so complicated and so doubtful, that I shall not attempt to speak of them, and proceed to the time of the first generally acknowledged king of modern times. The name of this monarch was
Philaretes Branchance. After resisting the forces of the Emperor Michael Ducas, he submitted to his successor, Nicephorus Botoniates, by whom he was supported through the rest of his reign. He flourished about the year 1080.
Constantine was succeeded by his brother
Taphroc, or Taphnuz. Under these two sovereigns appear numerous petty princes, who were feudatories to the King.
Leo, who was long a prisoner under the Turks, lived in 1131.