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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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Charles Diehl writes: "It was obvious that Byzantine would never recover from the terrible defeat at Manazkert in year 1071 when it lost its conquered regions, since the empire, from that moment on, lost forever the entire eastern parts of Asia Minor, including Armenia and Cappadocia, from where the empire took its best soldiers and its most famous commanders." 28

Armenians served Byzantine not only as active soldiers, but also as military settlements at the borders of the empire where the threat was greatest; for instance, at the eastern part of Asia Minor, Tracia and Macedonia. These Armenian military settlements are most evident during the reign of Emperor Mauricius# (500), Phocas (600), Nicephorus Phocas (900) and Basil II (1000).

The Bulgarian historian Isjirkov points out that the origins of the Armenian presence in Bulgaria is a heritage from the Armenian settlers which came to the Maritza Valley by order of the Byzantine emperor, to defend the borders of the empire against the Bulgarian threat. 31

Even the presence of the majority of the Armenians in Sivas, Amasia and Tokat, which continued until the 1915 genocide, originated from these defensive settlements. These small islands of Armenian communities, defended the borders of the Byzantine Empire. 35

The Arab historian Abu Al Faraj, purports the following about the Armenian settlers in Sivas, during the 10th century: "Sivas, in Cappadocia, was dominated by the Armenians and their numbers became so many that they became vital members of the imperial armies. These Armenians were used as watch-posts in strong fortresses, taken from the Arabs. They distinguished themselves as experienced infantry soldiers in the imperial army and were constantly fighting with outstanding courage and success by the side of the Romans [in other words Byzantine]." 36

The battles at the borders of Euphrates, against the Muslim Arabs, spanned several centuries and were among the most important battles of Byzantine, as is reflected in Byzantine poetry.

The Armenian Commanders and Officials of Byzantine

Armenia did not content itself with providing Byzantine with soldiers; many of the Byzantine commanders and officials came from Armenia.

It was not only the Armenian peasants and mountain-dwellers who joined the Byzantine army. Charles Diehl writes: "The courageous and diligent nobility of the Armenian provinces contributed also to the Byzantine army, by supplying it with competent leaders. The terms of and the benefits of the imperial army for its officers were appropriate and lucrative, and tempted the Armenian nobility to join the army." 37 In his sociological book researching the art of warfare during the Middle Ages, Oman writes that: "The Armenians, as with the people in Cappadocia and Isauria, were famous for providing the Byzantine army with the best officers." 38