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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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To cite once more the great Middle Ages expert, Charles Diehl, who writes the following about Armenia and Byzantine: "Armenia, given its geographical position between East and West, Persia and the Arabs on one side and the Byzantine world on the other, was under the constant influence of these two mighty neighbours, from a political, cultural and artistic point of view. Its constant close ties to Byzantine left behind a strong trace of Greek culture. Some of the Armenian provinces were a part of the Byzantine Empire and even those parts which had sustained their independence, were more or less susceptible to the customs of the Byzantine Empire. From the very beginning, the exchange of politicians, military leaders, soldiers and merchants between Armenia and Byzantine occurred. All Armenians, even those who hated and rejected Byzantine, felt its glory and glitter and, whether willingly or not, came to be affected substantially by itsprestige. Despite this, the Armenians undoubtedly displayed, resistance in order to sustain their independence, and the religious differences between them and Byzantine ended on occasions in battles. Naturally, they learned a lot through contact with the Greeks, and if the Armenian civilization, the culture and the art has maintained its original form and if we accept the Armenians were alien to the development and the flourishing of the Greek Empire, than the Armenians have received more than they have contributed. Greek literature was often translated to Armenian. The golden era of Armenian literature during the 5th century was led by an elite group of translators who translated the Bible into Armenian and, in cooperation with Byzantine, presented the Armenian language of literature to the Armenian people.Thereafter, Armenian historians continued to work in conjunction with the writings of Byzantine historians. There is no doubt that Armenian civilization and art has a unique character which is evident in its originality and power of attraction. Indisputably, Byzantine brought Armenia into the realm of civilized nations and through prodigious dominance and political influence helped to shape the country according to its own model." 95

The Policy of Byzantine towards Armenia

For Byzantine, Armenia was a buffer-nation, a shield at one of the most fragile borders of the empire, where it defended the Byzantine Empire against dangers from the east, dangers which time after time appeared, first in the shape of Sasanid Persia, then the Arabs, and finally the Turanians, who were a constant threat to Byzantine.

Though it was the heir of the Roman Empire in the East, Byzantine never managed to live up to the glory of Rome, except for some specific political issues where there were traces of that grandeur.

From the beginning of the 5th century, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius, Byzantine, divided Armenia between itself and Sasanid Persia, by doing so strengthened its competitors and weakened its own standing to such a degree that during the 6th and the 7th centuries the empire was truly in a weak position compared to its opponents.

The result of this division was that a strong barrier was removed, which had stood against the attacks of the Arabs during the 6th and the 7th centuries, and had made the advance of the Arabs either impossible or at least very difficult. At the same time, it was the presence of Byzantine at the Armenian border which contributed to the preservation of Armenian independence during the rule of the Arabs. Byzantine prevented the Arabs from gaining complete control over the Armenian principalities and since Byzantine posed a threat to the Arabs, the Arabs were forced to accept and recognize the independence of the Bagratouni house and of Armenia.