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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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Tirdat III (252-330)



In this way the Sasanids could now concentrate all their forces against Armenia and could finally, after having treacherously murdered the Armenian king Khosrov I, conquer the country.

The successor to Khosrov, his son Tirdat, was still a child. The nobility and the king's closest circle managed to save the child who was regarded as the only hope for the future of Armenia and was smuggled out of the country to Rome. While Armenia for a period of 30 years, suffered the plundering of the Persian troops and their harassments, Tirdat was growing up in Rome and was educated to be a young man who was familiar with several western languages and literature. He had become a prince with a great passion for his fatherland and well aware of his duties as its ruler.

Gibbon wrote: "Tirdat III, who had been saved thanks to the loyalty of the Armenians, lived and was educated in Rome under the protection of the emperor. His distance from his home land and life in a foreign country gave him experiences and personal characteristics s which he would most likely failed to acquire if he had sat on the throne from the beginning. Among these qualities one can mention his belief in the capriciousness of the fate, the disloyalty of human beings and in Roman discipline and order. From his early youth he showed great courage and dignity and displayed great competence in handling weapons. Beside these qualities, he possessed enormous strength and impressed everyone during the competitions." 9

During this period, the Roman emperor, Valerianus, tried to take the initiative for a new attack but suffered a heavy loss during the battle at Edessa (Ourfa), was taken as prisoner and died in captivity.

After this victory the Persians conquered Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia. But just at the moment when the Roman Empire seemed to be falling apart because of internal conflicts and uneasiness, the heroic and miraculous battle at Palmyra took place. This small country, which consisted of one city with the same name, located in the middle of the Syrian Desert, with its king Odaenathos at its head, was forced into an uneven war against the mighty Persia. Step by step, Odaenathos managed to take back Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia and even some parts of Mesopotamia. Rome and its empire in the east were thus saved, thanks to Odaenathos and he was appointed as Rome's ambassador in the east.

It was only when Emperor Aurelius was sitting on the throne, year 270 A.D., that the Romans reappeared in the east. Aurelius came to Asia Minor with his reorganised army. First he crushed the king of Palmyra, whose hunger for power had reached unbearable proportions, and took back Cappadocia, Cilicia and Syria from him. The city of Palmyra was conquered in year 272 and queen Zénobia (Odaenathos' wife) was captured and sent to Rome. The next year Palmyra attempted to strike back against the Romans, but the revolt failed and the Romans re-conquered the city and smashed it into ruins. Emperor Aurelius continued his war against the Persians and managed to force the Sasanids to evacuate their troops from Mesopotamia.

Tirdat III took advantage of the Roman successful counterattack and returned to the borders of Armenia. He managed to get the people to revolt and threw the Persians out of the country (278). He had earlier proved his strength and his courage. On one occasion he had saved the life of the Roman commander Liscinus, whom some legionaries tried to murder, by standing with a drawn sword at the entrance to the tent of the commander and not allowing the legionaries to go inside. On another occasion, during a battle, in full armour and with a spear and a shield in his hands, he went down to the Euphrates River and swam over it.