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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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Another issue which is worth mentioning is the fact that many Armenians joined the Roman legions in the east and in time, with their efforts, their value in military terms increased. This reached its peak during the time of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine, when the elite units of the imperial army was mostly made up of Armenians.

Service in the Roman army (which at its height reached the total number of 250 000 men) proved a valuable experience for Armenian soldiers, since the Roman armies were based on obedience and discipline and not slavery, a fact which strengthened the morale and the self-respect of the soldiers.

The Armenian units were even seen in the Roman army on the borders of the Rhine. 74 The Greek historian Herodotus (170-240) recounted that in 236, when the Roman emperor, Maximinus (235-238), wanted to start a campaign against the Germans "he had several Armenian archers with him, who were the allies and friends of Rome". 76 Even during the war against Batavia the Emperor Vespasianus (Titus Flavius) had an Armenian support unit with him. 77

The Economical and Social Aspects

Without a doubt, the Armenian economy was negatively affected by the troubles the country experienced during this period. But in spite of this Armenia became a rich country, partly because of the geographical position of the country, i.e. as a crossing point between east and west trade routes, but also thanks to its merchants who intrepidly continued their journeys in search of new profits.

Strabon (63 B.C.-25 A.D.), the geographer of the ancient world, described Armenia as a transit-country 78 and Mommsen wrote that the Armenians did not only have good trade relations with the west and its markets in Cilicia and Cappadocia, but also traded with Caucasus and Scythes (the present inhabitants of Russia) and travelled over the Caspian Sea to Central Asia and China and thereby linked east to west. 79

Something that should be added is that, during the periods when the Persians were at war against Rome, the economic importance of Armenia increased even more, since during these periods the trade routes between the Mediterranean region and Asia Minor were cut and the Far East could only through Armenia continue its trade with the west, at least during the periods when Armenia did not share the same interests as the Persians and was independent.

And finally, the closeness of Armenia to the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire, i.e. the richest region in the entire empire, was sufficient enough to be highly profitable for Armenia. "The western provinces in the Roman Empire, and even Italy itself which was the most important of them all, constituted the part of the empire which with regard to its population and wealth was inferior to the eastern provinces." 80

In this way we can also see that these early Armenian merchants, who in comparison to the rest of the Armenian population constituted a minority, were not newcomers to the trade but experienced professionals who came to be linked to an era when Armenia was destined to have a vital role in the trade between east and west, something which other countries and cities (such as Hansan, Venice, Genoa and others) until today display with pride.