Eastern Armenia

Eastern Armenia (Armenian: Արևելյան Հայաստան Arevelyan Hayastan) comprises the eastern part of the Armenian highlands, the traditional homeland of the Armenian people. Between the 4th and the 20th centuries, Armenia was partitioned several times, and the terms Eastern and Western Armenia have been used to refer to its respective parts under foreign occupation or control, although there has not been a defined line between the two.^[1] The term has been used to refer to:

Sasanian Armenia (a vassal state of the Persian Empire from 387, fully annexed in 428) after the country's partition between the Byzantine and Sassanian empires and lasted until the Islamic conquest of Armenia in the mid-7th century. The partition of Armenia in 387 marked the beginning of Sasanian control over Eastern Armenia, while the western half remained under Byzantine influence. Though initially ruled by an Armenian Arsacid king under Persian suzerainty, the Sasanian Empire abolished the Armenian monarchy in 428 and replaced it with a marzpanate, directly governed by Persian-appointed marzpans (governors). The Persian administration sought to integrate Armenia into the Sasanian system by imposing Zoroastrianism, leading to major resistance from Armenian nobles and clergy. One of the defining moments of this period was the Battle of Avarayr (451 AD), in which Armenian forces under Vardan Mamikonian fought against Persian forces to defend their Christian faith. Though the battle ended in defeat, Persia eventually recognized Armenia’s right to practice Christianity, securing its religious autonomy despite continued Sasanian rule. The Sasanian era saw the continuation of Armenian literary and religious traditions, with major developments such as the translation of the Bible into Armenian and the strengthening of the Armenian Church’s influence in Eastern Armenia. This period came to an end in the mid-7th century, when the Islamic Caliphate conquered Armenia, absorbing it into the growing Muslim empire.^[2]
Iranian Armenia (1502–1813/1828), which covered the period of Eastern Armenia during the early-modern and late-modern era when it was part of the various Iranian empires, up to its annexation by the Russian Empire (1813 and 1828).
Russian Armenia (1828 to 1917) and Soviet Armenia (1920 to 1991), which covered the Armenian populated areas under the control of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, respectively, and currently exists as the Republic of Armenia.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b Adalian, Rouben Paul (2010). Historical Dictionary of Armenia. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 336–337. ISBN 978-0-8108-7450-3.
^ The Armenian people from ancient to modern times. 2: Foreign dominion to statehood: the fifteenth century to the twentieth century, New York, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1997, ISBN 978-0-333-61974-2 {{citation}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)

References

Further reading