Armenians in the Byzantine Empire

[3] In 571, fleeing persecution in the Sasanian Empire, many Armenians, led by Vardan Mamikonian, found refuge in Byzantine Anatolia and in particular in the city of Pergamum, where they formed a large colony.

They were probably not significant until the middle of the 6th century, although Procopius of Caesarea, reporting on the reasons for the discontent of a certain Arsacus, says that during the Gothic War, Armenia was "... tormented by constant recruitment and military fasting, exhausted by extraordinary taxes, his father executed on the pretext of non-fulfilment of treaties and agreements, all his relatives enslaved and scattered throughout the Roman Empire".

[8] Sebeos reports the plans of his successor Maurice (r. 582–602) to solve the problem with the Armenians, who were "a stubborn and unruly people, living among us and muddying the waters".

[13] Asoghik reports in the early 11th century that "... the latter intended to resettle some of the Armenians under his rule in Macedonia [in order to set them] against the Bulgars [and to give them the opportunity to participate in] the organisation of the country".

The defeat of Byzantium at Manzikert in 1071 and the conquest of territories in Asia Minor by the Crusaders at the end of the 11th century led to a diminished role for the Armenians, although their presence is recorded until the final fall of the empire.

On the one hand, Byzantium was deprived of a buffer, and any invasion from the east now directly affected its territory, which meant the inevitable involvement of the empire in a conflict with the Seljuks.

The territories in the bend of the Euphrates were only nominally subject to the Arsacids from 298; their rulers were directly subordinate to the emperor, and local military contingents were under their command.

Nevertheless, the majority of modern researchers recognise the perspective of Evagrius Scholasticus, who asserts that Maurice "by descent and name, originated from ancient Rome, and by his immediate ancestors, his homeland was the Cappadocian city of Aravin".

[38] In the authoritative reference book Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, the origin of Heraclius is identified simply as Cappadocian, which does not exclude Armenian ancestors.

[45] Empress Theodora had Armenian roots, along with her brothers, uncle, nephews, and other numerous relatives who exercised regency during the minority of her son, Michael III (r. 842–867).

When considering the question of the affiliation of historical figures to specific noble families, the difficulty lies in the fact that Greek sources usually did not reflect this detail.

[63] Numerous Byzantine aristocratic families had Armenian origin, including the Lekapenos, Kourkouas, Gabras, Zautzes, and many others, whose representatives held high civil and military positions.

[69] The Chronicle of the Theophanes Continuatus repeatedly mentions Constantine Maniakes, “the father of our logothete of the dromos, wise philosopher and absolutely incorruptible patrician Thomas”.

[70][71] In the mid-9th century, the effective ruler of the Byzantine Empire was Bardas, a younger brother of Empress Theodora, the Armenian, possibly from the Mamikonian family.

Besides Narses, a native of Persoarmenia who achieved considerable success in the war with the Goths and in conflicts with the Antes, Heruli, and Franks,[88] about 15 commanders of Armenian origin in Justinian's army can be mentioned.

[98] Emperor Leo the Armenian's relative —General Gregory Pterot— had a successful military career during his uncle's lifetime and, after his assassination, attempted to join the revolt of Thomas the Slav.

[103] In the 7th century, the epithet "God-protected imperial" (Ancient Greek: θεοφύλακτος βασιλικός) was applied to this theme, indicating its special “elite” status.

In an anonymous military treatise, De velitatione bellica, attributed to Emperor Nikephorus II, it is especially noted that “Armenians are not good and are careless in fulfilling the position of guards”.

[111] In the early 4th century, Armenia became a Christian community, and since then, the church became a powerful organization; its role was particularly important in periods of loss of state autonomy.

Although the Armenian Church accepted the Christological formula of Cyril of Alexandria, the condemnation of the Council of Chalcedon made it monophysite, i.e., heretical from the perspective of Constantinople.

[115] For example, in the middle of the 9th century, on the eve of the recognition of the independence of the Bagratid Armenia by the Caliphate and Byzantium, the Empire, through Patriarch Photius, raised the dogmatic question, suggesting that Armenians accept Chalcedonism.

[116][117] Inter-confessional contradictions sometimes escalated to such an extent that in the middle of the 10th century, the Armenian Catholicos Ananias Mokatsi asked King Abas of Armenia to ban marriages with Chalcedonites.

In 1063, Constantine X Doukas ordered all those who did not recognize the Council of Chalcedon to leave Melitene, and a few months later, the liturgical books of the Syrian and Armenian churches were burned.

The discontent of the local Greeks was probably caused by the resettlement of Armenians from other regions after the conquest of Anazarbus from the Crusaders by John II Komnenos in 1138.

When, after the sack of Constantinople in 1204, Henry I of Flanders crossed into Anatolia to continue his conquests for the Latin Empire, the Armenians of Abydos helped him take the city.

[128] It is known that it was because of the invasive policy of the Byzantine Empire that the Bagratid of Armenia was destroyed, which, in turn, contributed to a more unimpeded advance of the Seljuks towards Anatolia and the further seizure of Byzantium itself.

Nevertheless, according to A. Y. Kakovkin, the majority of Armenian monuments of silverwork from the 11th to the 15th centuries, despite the presence of points of contact, exhibit a vivid originality and independence from Greek works.

Der Nersessian believes that, conversely, one can find traces of Armenian sculpture's influence in Byzantium, especially in the monuments of Greece, Macedonia, and Thrace.

[148] By the end of the 13th century, architectural traditions in the highland regions of Asia Minor underwent significant changes, likely influenced by Armenia or Georgia.

Research conducted on the dome of Hagia Sophia revealed some unique structural solutions implemented by Trdat; however, there are no known examples of these techniques being applied in other Byzantine churches.