In addition to the mentioned forces, during the war in the 4th century between Armenia and Persia, regarded as the last war of Great Armenia, there were small elite units in the Armenian army who were called the "mountaineers". Raffi writes: "In all of the wars where they would attack high situated and unreachable fortresses, it was the duty of these troops to lead the assault. These soldiers, who had grown up in the mountains since their childhood, were used to climbing over the high walls of the fortresses and they used strong metal hooks in this task. In defence against the rain of arrows which the defenders shot at them they used umbrella-like wide shields of copper which were attached at their shoulders." 54
The courage and knowledge of warfare of the Armenians were maintained during this entire period, proving invaluable not only in the defence of their homeland against enemy armies, but also during their service as legionaries in the armies of foreign countries. The Sasanids often used the Armenian feudal armies against rebellious tribes in the Caucasus, which were a constant source of trouble, but also against the Turkic people from Turkistan, who incessantly threatened the northern borders of Persia. Even Byzantine used the Armenian armies, for instance during the 6th century when the Byzantine emperor Mauricius, having defeated an uprising in Armenia and invaded the western parts of the country, in lieu of demanding taxes and war indemnity from the Armenian people used the Armenian cavalry during the wars in Tracia. 55
Apart from the Armenian soldiers who served in the Armenian army, there were many other Armenian soldiers in the Byzantine army, either as volunteers or legionaries. These soldiers were either stationed in that part of Armenia which was under Byzantine rule, or in those parts which at first had been under Persian rule and later under the rule of the Arabs. These constituted the elite forces in the Byzantine army. We will in more depth the Armenian soldiers in the Byzantine army in the chapter regarding the relations between Byzantine and Armenia.
Finally, as we have mentioned earlier, the Arab caliphs used Armenian soldiers to repress the rebellions, for example when the leaders in Kurdistan or Azerbaijan started to speculate about independence or separation from the empire. The most important contribution of this Armenian army for the Arabs was their performance during the war between the Arabs and the horrifying Khazares, the Turkic tribes who lived in the region stretching from the northern parts of the Caucasus to the Danube River, a tribe which often through Byzantine provocation attacked the Arab domain. During the wars of the years 717, 722, 727 and 813, the Armenians, side by side with the Arab troops, played a decisive role, driving the Khazares out from the Caucasus and beyond the mountain chain of Transcaucasia.
Therefore one could say that during these four long centuries, when Armenia had lost its independence, the warrior characteristics of the Armenian people continued to play an important role in the life of the nation. Most importantly, it was thanks to these characteristics that Armenia, under the leadership of its great princes, was able to sustain its religion, and to survive, if not as a united and independent country, at least as several smaller principalities belonging to different Armenian noble houses.
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