Misplaced Pages

Armenian uprising of 538-539

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
This article may contain improper use of non-free material. Please review their use according to the criteria and guidelines. (December 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

The Armenian uprising of 538-539 took place in Byzantine Armenia, against Emperor Justinian’s government in 538–539. The singular, but rather detailed, account of it was provided by the famous Byzantine historian Procopius of Caesarea (c. 500 – c. 565), the adviser and confidante of Belisarius.

Armenian uprising of 538-539
Date538–539
LocationByzantine Armenia
Result Start of Byzantine-Sasanian war
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire Armenian rebels
Commanders and leaders
Justinian I
Sittas †
Bouzes		 Artabanes

Background

Map of the Byzantine–Sasanian frontier

Symeon who had given Pharangium into the hands of the Romans persuaded the Emperor Justinian, while the war was still at its height, to present him with certain villages of Armenia. And becoming master of these places, he was plotted against and murdered by those who had formerly possessed them. After this crime had been committed, the perpetrators of the murder fled into the land of Persia. They were two brothers, sons of Perozes. And when the Emperor heard this, he gave over the villages to Amazaspes, the nephew of Symeon, and appointed him ruler over the Armenians. Amazaspes, as time went on, was denounced to the Emperor Justinian by one of his friends, Acacius by name, on the ground that he was abusing the Armenians and wished to give over to the Persians Theodosiopolis and certain other fortresses. After telling this, Acacius, by the emperor's will, slew Amazaspes treacherously, and himself secured the command over the Armenians by the gift of the emperor. And being base by nature, he gained the opportunity of displaying his inward character, and he proved to be the most cruel of all men toward his subjects. For he plundered their property without excuse and ordained that they should pay an unheard‑of tax of four centenaria. But the Armenians, unable to bear him any longer, conspired together and slew Acacius and fled for refuge to Pharangium.

Therefore, the emperor sent Sittas against them from Byzantium. For Sittas had been delaying there since the time when the treaty was made with the Persians. So he came to Armenia, but at first he entered upon the war reluctantly and exerted half to calm the people and to restore the population to their former habitations, promising to persuade the emperor to remit to them the payment of the new tax. But since the emperor kept assailing him with frequent reproaches for his hesitation, led on by the slanders of Adolius, the son of Acacius, Sittas at last made his preparations for the conflict. First of all he attempted by means of promises of many good things to win over some of the Armenians by persuasion and to attach them to his cause, in order that the task of overpowering the others might be attended with less difficulty and toil. And the tribe called the Aspetiani, great in power and in numbers, was willing to join him. And they went to Sittas and begged him to give them pledges in writing that, if they abandoned their kinsmen in the battle and came to the Roman army, they should remain entirely free from harm, retaining their own possessions. Now Sittas was delighted and wrote to them in tablets, giving them pledges just as they desired of him; he then sealed the writing and sent it to them. Then, confident that by their help he would be victorious in the war without fighting, he went with ship whole army to a place called Oenochalakon, where the Armenians had their camp. But by some chance those who carried the tablets went by another road and did not succeed at all in meeting the Aspetiani. Moreover, a portion of the Roman army happened upon some few of them, and not knowing the agreement which had been made, treated them as enemies. And Sittas himself caught some of their women and children in a cave and slew them, either because he did not understand what had happened or because he was angry with the Aspetiani for not joining him as had been agreed.

Uprising

But they, being now possessed with anger, arrayed themselves for battle with all the rest. But since both armies were on exceedingly difficult ground where precipices abounded, they did not fight in one place, but scattered about among the ridges and ravines. So it happened that so few of the Armenians and Sittas with not many of ship followers came close upon each other, with only a ravine lying between them. Both parties were horsemen. Then Sittas with a few men following him crossed the ravine and advanced against the enemy; the Armenians, after withdrawing to the rear, stopped, and Sittas pursued no further but remained where he was. Suddenly someone from the Roman army, an Erulian by birth, who had been pursuing the enemy, returning impetuously from them came up to Sittas and his men. Now as it happened Sittas had planted his spear in the ground; and the Erulian's horse fell upon this with a great rushes and shattered it. And the general was exceedingly annoyed by this, and one of the Armenians, seeing him, recognized him and declared to all the others that it was Sittas. For it happened that he had no helmet on his head. Thus it did not escape the enemy that he had come there with only a few men. Sittas, then, upon hearing the Armenian say this, since his spear, as has been said, lay broken in two on the ground, drew his sword and attempted immediately to recross the ravine. But the enemy advanced upon him with great eagerness, and a soldier overtaking him in the ravine struck him a glancing blow with his sword on the top of his head; and he took off the whole scalp, but the steel did not injure the bone at all. And Sittas continued to press for which still more than before, but Artabanes, son of John of the Arsacidae, fell upon him from behind and with a thrust of his spear killed him. But some say that Sittas did not die at the hand of Artabanes, but that Solomon, a very insignificant man among the Armenians, destroyed him.

Aftermath

After the death of Sittas the emperor commanded Bouzes to go against the Armenians; and he, upon drawing near, sent to them promising in effect a reconciliation between the emperor and all the Armenians, and asking that some of their notables should come to confer with him on these matters. Now the Armenians as a whole were unable to trust Bouzes nor were they willing to receive his proposals. But there was a certain man of the Arsacidae who was especially friendly with him, John by name, the father of Artabanes, and this man, trusting in Bouzes as his friend came to him with his son-in‑law, Bassaces, and a few others; but when these men had reached the spot where they were to meet Bouzes on the following day, and had made their bivouac there, they perceived that they had come into a place surrounded by the Roman army. Bassaces, the son-in‑law, therefore earnestly entreated John to fly. And since he was not able to persuade him, he left him there alone, and in company with all the others eluded the Romans, and went back again by the same road. And Bouzes found John alone and slew him; and since after this the Armenians had no hope of ever reaching an agreement with the Romans, and since they were unable to prevail over the emperor in war, they came before the Persian king Khosrow, led by Bassaces.

This was also known to Khosrow, who did not see why Justinian should be the only one to collect glory, land, and loot. Khosrow decided to exploit the absence of much of the Army of the East to extort and plunder money from Syria, and if possible to take a few places on the border. Before Belisarius could return, Khosrow led a strong army up the Euphrates into Byzantine territory and sacked the city of Sura. Buzes was nearby with troops from the Army of Armenia, but thought it prudent to retreat.

References

  1. Ayvazyan, Armen. The Armenian Military in the Byzantine Empire: Conflict and Alliance under Justinian and Maurice. Second revised and expanded edition. Alfortville: Sigest, 2014. ISBN : 978-2-9173-2939-9.
  2. Prokopios 2014, p. 271.
  3. Procopius (2022-11-21). History of the Wars, Books I and II: The Persian War. DigiCat.
  4. Greatrex, Geoffrey (2022-11-10). Procopius of Caesarea: The Persian Wars: A Historical Commentary. Cambridge University Press. p. 392. ISBN 978-1-009-30193-0.
  5. Hughes, Ian (2009-01-15). Belisarius: The Last Roman General. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1-84468-941-5.
  6. Bury, J. B. (2023-12-03). A History of the Later Roman Empire (Vol. 1&2): From the Death of Theodosius I to the Death of Justinian - German Conquest of Western Europe & the Age of Justinian. Good Press.
  7. Syvänne, Ilkka (2021-06-14). Military History of Late Rome 518–565. Pen and Sword Military. ISBN 978-1-4738-9530-0.
  8. Prokopios 2014, p. 76.
  9. Procopius (1954). Procopius: History of the wars, Books I and II (Persian War). Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-99054-8.
  10. Procopius, de Caesarea (1914). Procopius. Vol. 1. W. Heinemann. p. 273.
  11. "History of the Wars, Books I and II (of 8) - The Persian War by Procopius". Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  12. ^ Caesarea 2016.
  13. vahagnakanch (2012-06-03). "538-539 թթ. հայոց ապստամբությունը (պատմառազմագիտական վերլուծություն)". ՎԱՀԱԳՆԱԿԱՆՉ (in Armenian). Retrieved 2024-12-23.
  14. Conant, Jonathan (2012-04-12). Staying Roman: Conquest and Identity in Africa and the Mediterranean, 439-700. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-19697-0.
  15. Martindale, John R (1992). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire: Volume III, AD 527–641. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20160-8.
  16. Evans, James Allan (2011-10-20). The Power Game in Byzantium: Antonina and the Empress Theodora. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-2040-3.
  17. Nicholas Adontz; Նիկողայոս Ադոնց. Artavan Arshakuni.
  18. Kruse, Marion (2013). "THE SPEECH OF THE ARMENIANS IN PROCOPIUS: JUSTINIan's FOREIGN POLICY AND THE TRANSITION BETWEEN BOOKS 1 AND 2 OF THE WARS". The Classical Quarterly. 63 (2): 866–881. doi:10.1017/S0009838813000335. ISSN 0009-8388.
  19. Kruse, Marion (2013). "The Speech of the Armenians in Procopius: Justinian's Foreign Policy and the Transition Between Books 1 and 2 of the "Wars"". The Classical Quarterly. 63 (2): 866–881. doi:10.1017/S0009838813000335. ISSN 0009-8388. JSTOR 43906014.
  20. Evans, J. A. S. (2002-01-04). The Age of Justinian: The Circumstances of Imperial Power. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-134-55976-3.
  21. Prokopios 2014, p. 563.
  22. Procopius (2007-05-01). History of the Wars: Books 1-2 (Persian War). Cosimo, Inc. ISBN 978-1-60206-445-4.
  23. Quasten, Johannes; Kuttner, Stephan (1961). Traditio. Vol. 17. Fordham University Press. p. 45.
  24. Treadgold, Warren T. (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-0-8047-2630-6.

Bibliography

Categories: