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Sanesan invasion of Armenia (335-336)

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Sanesan invasion of Armenia (335-336)
Part of Maskute invasions of Armenia
Date335-336
Location
Kingdom of Armenia
Result Armenian victory
Belligerents
Maskut tribe  Kingdom of Armenia
Commanders and leaders
Sanesan † Arsacid dynasty of Armenia Khosrov III the Small
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia Vache I Mamikonian

The Sanesan invasion of Armenia, was a military conflict that took place between the kingdom of Armenia and the tribe of Maskut.

In about 335-336 Sanesan (or Sanatruk) and Aluank (Alans), in collusion with the Albanians, decided to take advantage of the situation and assembled a force of nomads including the "Honk" (Huns),[1][2][3] as well as the Caucasian mountaineers, and invaded in an attempt to take over Armenia as "rightful successor" to the throne.[4][5]

Baground

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The Arsacid king of the Maskut, whose realm was not necessarily bordering the Armenian province bearing their name, is called Sanesan by Faustus but Sanatruk by Movses Khorenatsi, raised a rebellion against Khosrov III to take the throne.[6]According to Movses Khorenatsi's version of Grigoris' martyrdom (in his book III, ch. 3), which is otherwise mainly based on Faustus, Sanesan was a relative of Tiridates commissioned to escort Grigoris to his distant diocese. Being informed that the Armenian king had been murdered, he revealed himself as a traitor by killing his young master and trying to usurpate the throne of Armenia. Quite differently, Faustus had styled Sanesan not an Armenian but a Parthian Arsacid who had only a remote kinship to Tiridates.Sanesan captured the Armenian city of Paytakaran[7] where he concentrated his troops in order to invade Armenia.[8]After the departure of the Roman forces from Armenia, at the instigation of Shapur,[9] Sanesan alliged by many peoples, entered Ayrarat with the forces of many Caucasian tribes, occupied Vagharshapat and ruled the entire country for about a year.[6][10]

Invasion

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Sanesan in 335 crossed the river Kura and sacked the whole of Armenia from Satał to Ganjak for almost a year, after forcing king Khosrov and the Catholicos (episkoposapet) Vrtanes to flee to the fortress of Darewnk. However, the Commander-in-Chief (zõravar) of the Armenians, Vache Mamikonean, up to that time absent in Greek lands, returned and recruited a powerful army, attacked the Barbarian camp in Mt. C'low Glowx ("Bull's Head") at dawn and put all them to the sword. Then, marching towards the plain in the district of Ayrarat, he surprised Sanesan in the city of Vagharshapat with a second contingent: "and when the Barbarians saw him falling upon them, they fled from the city to the craggy region of the fortress of Oshakan, counting on those deserted, rocky places as their refuge, and there took place an extremely severe battle in which Sanesan was killed. And the companions in arms of the commander of the Armenians, who were Bagrat Bagratuni, Garegin Rshtuni, Vahan, nahapet of the Amatuni house, and Varaz Kaminakan, arrived, defeated and annihilated the armies of the Alans, the Maskut, the Huns and other peoples.[11][2] After the severe battle the head of the great king Sanesan was brought and presented to the king of Armenia.[12]Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi links Sanesan's killing to Vahan Amatuni, another general of Khosrov.[13]

References

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  1. ^ Journal of the Society for Armenian Studies: JSAS. Vol. 1–3. The University of Michigan: The Society. 1984. p. 41.
  2. ^ a b Eghiayean, Biwzand (1993). Heroes of Hayastan: A Dramatic Novel History of Armenia. Armenian National Fund. pp. 208–209.
  3. ^ Maenchen-Helfen, Otto J. (2023-11-10). The World of the Huns: Studies in Their History and Culture. Univ of California Press. p. 458. ISBN 978-0-520-31077-3.
  4. ^ Syvänne, Ilkka (2015-09-09). Military History of Late Rome, 284–361. Pen and Sword. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-4738-7183-0.
  5. ^ Moses, (of Khoren) (2006). History of the Armenians. Caravan Books. p. 298. ISBN 978-0-88206-111-5.
  6. ^ a b "Հայկական Սովետական Հանրագիտարան (Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia)" (in Armenian). pp. 78–79.
  7. ^ "The Caucasian Albanian palimpsests of Mt. Sinai | WorldCat.org". p. 15.
  8. ^ Gippert, Jost; Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2023-06-19). Caucasian Albania: An International Handbook. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 63. ISBN 978-3-11-079468-7.
  9. ^ Edwards, Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen; Bowman, Alan; Garnsey, Peter; Cameron, Averil (1970). The Cambridge Ancient History: Volume 12, The Crisis of Empire, AD 193-337. Cambridge University Press. p. 496. ISBN 978-0-521-30199-2.
  10. ^ Pʻawstos (Buzandatsʻi.) (1989). The Epic Histories Attributed to Pʻawstos Buzand (Buzandaran Patmutʻiwnkʻ). Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. ISBN 978-0-674-25865-5.
  11. ^ Alemany, Agustí (2000). Sources on the Alans: A Critical Compilation. BRILL. p. 292. ISBN 978-90-04-11442-5.
  12. ^ Fragmenta historicorum graecorum (in French). Vol. 5. Editore Ambrosio Firmin Didot. 1867. p. 216.
  13. ^ Movses Dasxurantsi, Robert Bedrosian (2010). History of the Aghuans. p. 22.
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