HARUTYUNYAN H.Zh. The Question of Byzantine Armenia in “Ancient Armenian Geography” (or “Ashkharatsuyts”)
- Details
- Hits: 139
- echo 'ID: '.$this->item->id; ?>
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2023.6.15
Hakob Zh. Harutyunyan
Doctor of Sciences (History), Professor,
Yerevan State University,
Khachatura Abovyana St, 52, 0025 Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3746-9657
Abstract. Introduction. Until now, the issue of four Byzantine (Justinian) Armenias in historiography has been considered according to the data of the Byzantine historian of the 6th century Procopius of Caesarea, which does not give grounds for a final answer to the questions posed.
Analysis. When comparing the data of Procopius with the information of “Ashkharatsuyts” (“Ancient Armenian Geography”), we find many discrepancies (especially when considering the contour of the borders of I, II and III Armenias). According to the “Ancient Armenian Geography”, the territory of I Armenia was expanded both at the expense of the other two, and at the expense of Cilicia and northwestern Syria.
Results. So, under Emperor Justinian, a new defensive line was created, which we for the first time in historiography called the “Mamikonyan line”. One can rely on the information of Ashkharatsuyts almost without hesitation, since this work was written in the 5th – 7th centuries, and the lion’s share of the information was supplemented by the second author of the work, Anania Shirakatsi (it is convincingly proven that the first author was the father of Armenian historiography, Movses Khorenatsi). Justinian trusted the Mamikonyan family, being convinced that they had previously faithfully served the kings of Greater Armenia, the Arshakids, and was practically not mistaken in his calculations. Key words: Ashkharhatsuyts (Ancient Armenian geography), Byzantium, Armenia (Byzantine), Mamikonуans, administrative-territorial divisions, authors of Ashkharhatsuyts, Justinian.
Citation. Harutyunyan H.Zh. The Question of Byzantine Armenia in “Ancient Armenian Geography” (or “Ashkharatsuyts”). Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2023, vol. 28, no. 6, pp. 191-200. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2023.6.15.
The Question of Byzantine Armenia in “Ancient Armenian Geography” (or “Ashkharatsuyts”) by Harutyunyan H.Zh. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.