Theodore Rshtuni: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Armenian nakharar (magnate) famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia}} |
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{{Infobox military person |
{{Infobox military person |
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| name = Theodore Rshtuni |
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| name = Theodore Rshtuni<br>Թէոդորոս Ռշտունի |
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| birth_date = AD 590 |
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| death_date = 655/656 |
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| death_place = [[Damascus]] |
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| death_place = [[Damascus]] |
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| placeofburial= [[Rshtuniq|Rshtunik']] |
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| rank = ''[[Sparapet]]'' (appointed before 640); ''[[marzban]]'' (634-) |
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'''Theodore''' or '''Theodoros Rshtuni''' ({{Lang-xcl|Թէոդորոս Ռշտունի|translit=T῾ēodoros Ṙštuni}}, {{IPA-hy|tʰɛodoɾos ərəʃtuni}}; AD 590–655<ref name=Morrow>{{cite book |last= Morrow |first= John Andrew |chapter= Cancelling the Covenants: The Issue of Annulment |page= 421 |title= Islām and the People of the Book |publisher= Cambridge Scholars Publishing |volume= 1 |year= 2017 |isbn= 9781527509672 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8PhVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA421 |access-date= 16 September 2021}}</ref> or 656<ref name=Kaegi/>), equated with '''Pasagnathes''' ({{lang|grc|Πασαγνάθης}}), the "''[[patrikios]]'' of the Armenians" from the [[Theophanes the Confessor#Chronicle|chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor]],<ref>{{cite book |author= Theophilus (of Edessa) |title= Theophilus of Edessa's Chronicle and the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam |page= 139 (text and note 336) |publisher= Liverpool University Press |series= Translated texts for historians |volume= 57 |year= 2011 |translator=[[Robert G. Hoyland]] (also introduction and notes) |isbn= 9781846316975 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=CaaOWSbQ_GQC&pg=PA139 |access-date= 16 September 2021}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pbe.kcl.ac.uk/data/D61/F05.htm Pasagnathes 1] at, ''[[Prosopography]] of the Byzantine Empire 641-867'' (PBE I) online edition, [[King's College London]]. Accessed 2021-09-16.</ref> was an [[Armenians|Armenian]] {{transliteration|xcl|[[nakharar]]}} (magnate), famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia. After the previous {{transliteration|xcl|[[Ishkhan (title)|ishkhan]]}} (prince) [[David Saharuni]] was overthrown by other {{transliteration|xcl|nakharar}}s<ref name=Whittow/> in 638 or 640, Theodore Rshtuni became the leading prince of Byzantine Armenia under the same title as his predecessor, "Prince of Armenia" ({{transliteration|xcl|ishkhan hayots’}}).<ref name=deG>{{cite web |title= Theodoros Rštuni |work= Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online/Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period Online (PMBZ Online) |publisher=[[de Gruyter]] |location= Berlin |lang= de |url= https://www.degruyter.com/database/PMBZ/entry/PMBZ18526/html |access-date= 16 September 2021}} Contains commented references to all primary sources which mention Theodore Rshtuni.</ref> |
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}}'''Theodore Rshtuni''' ({{Lang-hy|Թեոդորոս Ռշտունի}}, {{IPA-hy|tʰɛodoɾos ərəʃtuni}}, also spelled '''Theodoros Ṛštuni'''; 590 - 654/655 AD), equated with the ''[[patrikios]]'' '''Pasagnathes''' (Πασαγνάθης) of [[Theophanes the Confessor]], was an [[Armenians|Armenian]] ''[[nakharar]]'', famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia. Rshtuni was appointed as ''ishkhan'' and ''[[kouropalates]]'' of Byzantine Armenia by Emperor [[Heraclius]] when the previous ''ishkan'' [[David Saharuni]] was overthrown by other ''nakharars.''<ref>{{cite book |
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| last = Whittow |
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| first = Mark |
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| title = The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025 |
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| publisher =University of California Press |
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| location= Berkeley |
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| year = 1996 |
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| page=209 |
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| isbn =0-520-20497-2}}</ref> |
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==Arab invasions== |
==Arab invasions== |
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The chronology of the Arab Muslim invasion of Armenia is not clear, Arab and Armenian sources making contradictory statements, with some clarity possible only in regard to the start of the aggression in the 640s, and Theodore Rshtuni's submission in 653.<ref name=Whittow>{{cite book |last= Whittow |first= Mark |title= The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025 |publisher= University of California Press |location= Berkeley |year= 1996 |page=[https://archive.org/details/makingbyzantium00whit/page/n234 209] |isbn= 0-520-20497-2 |url= https://archive.org/details/makingbyzantium00whit |url-access= limited}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Prior to the Arab invasions, Rshtuni had been appointed the ''[[sparapet]]'' (commander-in-chief) of the Armenian forces in the [[Marzpanate Period|Armenian |
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| ⚫ | Prior to the Arab invasions, Rshtuni had been appointed the ''[[sparapet]]'' (commander-in-chief) of the Armenian forces in the [[Marzpanate Period|Armenian Marzpanate]] and was appointed as the ''[[marzban]]'' of Armenia in 634.<ref name=SAE>{{in lang|hy}} Vardanyan, Vrezh M. ''«Թեոդորոս Ռշտունի»'' (Theodoros Rshtuni). [[Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia]]. vol. iv. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: [[Armenian Academy of Sciences]], 1978, p. 172.</ref> |
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He defended, alongside the Byzantine General Procopius, against the first, unsuccessful, Arab attack into Armenia in 640. He was unable to prevent the Arabs from pillaging the capital of [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]] in 642. He gained a victory over the Arabs, for which he was recognized as ruler of Armenia by [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]] in 643.<ref>{{cite book |
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| last = Ter-Ghevondyan |
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| first = Aram N |
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| authorlink =Aram Ter-Ghevondyan |
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| title = Армения и apaбcкий Халифат (Armenia and the Arab Caliphate) |
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| publisher =Armenian Academy of Sciences |
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| location= Yerevan, Armenian SSR |
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| year = 1977 |
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| pages=23–58|language=ru}}</ref> |
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He defended, alongside the Byzantine general [[Procopius]], against the first, unsuccessful Arab attack into Armenia in 640.<ref name=Ter>{{cite book |last= Ter-Ghevondyan |first= Aram N. |author-link= Aram Ter-Ghevondyan |title= Армения и apaбcкий Халифат |trans-title= Armenia and the Arab Caliphate |publisher= Armenian Academy of Sciences |location= Yerevan, Armenian SSR |year= 1977 |pages= 23–58 |language= ru}}</ref> A maneuver that went wrong allowed the Arabs to pillage the capital of [[Dvin (ancient city)|Dvin]] and take 35,000 inhabitants into slavery.<ref name=deG/> However, in 641, Byzantine Emperor [[Constans II (Byzantine Empire)|Constans II]] followed the advice of Armenian [[Catholicos]] [[Nerses III the Builder|Nerses III]], made Theodore commander in chief of the Armenian troops and gave him the title of a ''patrikios''.<ref name=deG/> He gained a victory over the Arabs, for which he was recognized as ruler of Armenia by [[Constans II|Constans]] in 643,<ref name=Ter/> but failed to coordinate with a second army under Procopius, who suffered a severe defeat for which the Byzantines put the blame on Theodore.<ref name=deG/> |
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Constans paid special attention to his family's imperiled homeland of Armenia, and he favored Byzantine generals of Armenian extraction to halt Arab advances.<ref>{{cite book |
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|last = Treadgold |
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|first = Warren |
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|title = A History of the Byzantine State and Society |
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|year = 1997 |
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|location =Stanford |
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|pages = 310–313 |
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|publisher = Stanford University Press |
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|isbn = 0-8047-2630-2}}</ref> |
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It was the Arabs of [[Adurbadagan|Atropatene]] (geographically in the same area as modern-day Azerbaijan), who attacked in 642-3 and 650.<ref name=Kaegi>{{cite book |last= Kaegi |first= Walter |title= Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year= 1992 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/byzantiumearlyis00kaeg_336/page/n208 196]–197 |isbn= 0-5214-8455-3 |url= https://archive.org/details/byzantiumearlyis00kaeg_336 |url-access= limited}}</ref><ref name=Treadgold>{{cite book |last= Treadgold |first= Warren |author-link= Warren Treadgold |title= A History of the Byzantine State and Society |year= 1997 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/historybyzantine00trea_749/page/n328 310]–313 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn= 0-8047-2630-2 |url= https://archive.org/details/historybyzantine00trea_749 |url-access= limited}}</ref> Constans paid special attention to his family's imperiled homeland of Armenia, and he favored Byzantine generals of Armenian extraction to halt Arab advances.<ref name=Treadgold/> Faced with the impending loss of the province, he marched in, spent the winter of 652–3 at Dvin, and returned to [[Constantinople]] the next year after leaving an army in place.<ref name=Kaegi/> The three-year peace with the Arabs broke down in 653, followed by the final Arab conquest of 654.<ref name=Kaegi/> |
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Meanwhile, the strength of Arab assaults continued to increase. Theodore eventually concluded a truce with then governor of Syria, [[Muawiyah I]] in 651, and Arabs concentrated their efforts against the remaining pockets of resistance in the [[Sassanid Empire]]. Finally, by 652 Rshtuni, despairing of further resistance, accepted Muawiyah's suzerainty and was appointed [[Principality of Armenia|ruler of Armenia]]. Rshtuni was able to negotiate a treaty that left Armenia with a relatively high level of autonomy.<ref>For the terms of this treaty see {{cite book |
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| last = Kaegi |
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Constans attempted to impose [[Chalcedonian]] doctrines, such as [[Monotheletism]], on the Armenians, which offended both their clergy and ruling elites.<ref name=Kaegi/> When the Muslims managed to defeat the remaining Byzantine troops in 653, Theodore Rshtuni participated in pushing out the Byzantines and he again recognized Muslim overlordship on very convenient conditions.<ref name=Kaegi/> Theodore's truce with then-governor of Syria and future [[caliph]], [[Muawiyah I|Muawiyah]], left Armenia with a relatively high level of [[autonomy]],<ref name=Kaegi/> and Arabs concentrated their efforts against the remaining pockets of resistance in the [[Sassanid Empire]].{{cn|date=September 2021}} |
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| first = Walter |
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| title = Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests |
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Another chronology proposes 651 as the year Rshtuni accepted the first truce with the Arabs, and that by 652 he accepted Muawiyah's suzerainty and was appointed [[Principality of Armenia|ruler of Armenia]].{{cn|date=September 2021}} |
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| publisher =Cambridge University Press |
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| location= Cambridge |
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| ⚫ | The [[Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia]] of 1978 states that in response to Theodore Rshtuni's treason, Constans personally marshaled his forces and led them to Armenia despite a growing plot against him in [[Constantinople]], ironically by the Armenian commander of the army of [[Thrace]].<ref name=SAE/> Constans secured Armenia and deposed Theodoros, who took refuge on the island of [[Akhtamar]].<ref name=SAE/> Byzantine commander Maurianus was given the task to defend the Armenian frontier.<ref name=SAE/> In 654 Maurianus was driven out of Armenia into the [[Caucasus]] and Theodoros was restored.<ref name=SAE/> Deciding that Theodoros was untrustworthy, the Arabs sent him to [[Damascus]], where he died in captivity the following year.<ref name=SAE/> Alternative years are 655 for the Muslim campaign during which Theodore Rshtuni was taken to Syria, and 656 for his death.<ref name=Kaegi/> He was replaced as prince by his son-in-law, [[Hamazasp IV Mamikonian]].<ref name=SAE/> His body was brought to his home district of [[Rshtuniq|Rshtunik]], where he was buried in the tomb of his forefathers.<ref name=SAE/> |
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| year = 1992 |
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| pages=196–197 |
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==Legacy== |
==Legacy== |
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According to [[Manuk Abeghian]] and a number of other scholars, the popularity of Rshtuni in Armenia manifested itself in the character of K'eṛi T'oros in the [[epic poem]] of ''[[David of Sasun]]''. The Armenian writer [[Tserents]] also wrote a historical novel called ''Theodoros Rshtuni''.<ref name= |
According to [[Manuk Abeghian]] and a number of other scholars, the popularity of Rshtuni in Armenia manifested itself in the character of K'eṛi T'oros in the [[epic poem]] of ''[[David of Sasun]]''. The Armenian writer [[Tserents]] also wrote a historical novel called ''Theodoros Rshtuni''.<ref name=SAE/> |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
{{Reflist|2}} |
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{{Marzbans of Persian Armenia}} |
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==Further reading== |
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* {{cite book |editor-last= Hovannisian |editor-first= Richard G. |author-link= Richard G. Hovannisian |title= The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century |year= 1997 |publisher= St. Martin's Press |isbn= 978-1403964212 }} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:7th-century Armenian people]] |
[[Category:7th-century Armenian people]] |
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[[Category:Princes of Armenia|Theodore]] |
[[Category:Princes of Armenia|Theodore]] |
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[[Category:People of the Sasanian Empire of Armenian descent]] |
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[[Category:Kouropalatai]] |
[[Category:Kouropalatai]] |
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[[Category:People of the Arab–Byzantine wars]] |
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Latest revision as of 14:54, 17 August 2024
Theodore Rshtuni Թէոդորոս Ռշտունի | |
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| Born | AD 590 |
| Died | 655/656 Damascus |
| Buried | |
| Rank | Sparapet (appointed before 640); marzban (634-) |
| Battles/wars | Arab conquest of Armenia Byzantine–Arab Wars |
Theodore or Theodoros Rshtuni (Old Armenian: Թէոդորոս Ռշտունի, romanized: T῾ēodoros Ṙštuni, Armenian pronunciation: [tʰɛodoɾos ərəʃtuni]; AD 590–655[1] or 656[2]), equated with Pasagnathes (Πασαγνάθης), the "patrikios of the Armenians" from the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor,[3][4] was an Armenian nakharar (magnate), famous for resisting the first Arab invasions of Armenia. After the previous ishkhan (prince) David Saharuni was overthrown by other nakharars[5] in 638 or 640, Theodore Rshtuni became the leading prince of Byzantine Armenia under the same title as his predecessor, "Prince of Armenia" (ishkhan hayots’).[6]
Arab invasions
[edit]The chronology of the Arab Muslim invasion of Armenia is not clear, Arab and Armenian sources making contradictory statements, with some clarity possible only in regard to the start of the aggression in the 640s, and Theodore Rshtuni's submission in 653.[5]
Prior to the Arab invasions, Rshtuni had been appointed the sparapet (commander-in-chief) of the Armenian forces in the Armenian Marzpanate and was appointed as the marzban of Armenia in 634.[7]
He defended, alongside the Byzantine general Procopius, against the first, unsuccessful Arab attack into Armenia in 640.[8] A maneuver that went wrong allowed the Arabs to pillage the capital of Dvin and take 35,000 inhabitants into slavery.[6] However, in 641, Byzantine Emperor Constans II followed the advice of Armenian Catholicos Nerses III, made Theodore commander in chief of the Armenian troops and gave him the title of a patrikios.[6] He gained a victory over the Arabs, for which he was recognized as ruler of Armenia by Constans in 643,[8] but failed to coordinate with a second army under Procopius, who suffered a severe defeat for which the Byzantines put the blame on Theodore.[6]
It was the Arabs of Atropatene (geographically in the same area as modern-day Azerbaijan), who attacked in 642-3 and 650.[2][9] Constans paid special attention to his family's imperiled homeland of Armenia, and he favored Byzantine generals of Armenian extraction to halt Arab advances.[9] Faced with the impending loss of the province, he marched in, spent the winter of 652–3 at Dvin, and returned to Constantinople the next year after leaving an army in place.[2] The three-year peace with the Arabs broke down in 653, followed by the final Arab conquest of 654.[2]
Constans attempted to impose Chalcedonian doctrines, such as Monotheletism, on the Armenians, which offended both their clergy and ruling elites.[2] When the Muslims managed to defeat the remaining Byzantine troops in 653, Theodore Rshtuni participated in pushing out the Byzantines and he again recognized Muslim overlordship on very convenient conditions.[2] Theodore's truce with then-governor of Syria and future caliph, Muawiyah, left Armenia with a relatively high level of autonomy,[2] and Arabs concentrated their efforts against the remaining pockets of resistance in the Sassanid Empire.[citation needed]
Another chronology proposes 651 as the year Rshtuni accepted the first truce with the Arabs, and that by 652 he accepted Muawiyah's suzerainty and was appointed ruler of Armenia.[citation needed]
The Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia of 1978 states that in response to Theodore Rshtuni's treason, Constans personally marshaled his forces and led them to Armenia despite a growing plot against him in Constantinople, ironically by the Armenian commander of the army of Thrace.[7] Constans secured Armenia and deposed Theodoros, who took refuge on the island of Akhtamar.[7] Byzantine commander Maurianus was given the task to defend the Armenian frontier.[7] In 654 Maurianus was driven out of Armenia into the Caucasus and Theodoros was restored.[7] Deciding that Theodoros was untrustworthy, the Arabs sent him to Damascus, where he died in captivity the following year.[7] Alternative years are 655 for the Muslim campaign during which Theodore Rshtuni was taken to Syria, and 656 for his death.[2] He was replaced as prince by his son-in-law, Hamazasp IV Mamikonian.[7] His body was brought to his home district of Rshtunik, where he was buried in the tomb of his forefathers.[7]
Legacy
[edit]According to Manuk Abeghian and a number of other scholars, the popularity of Rshtuni in Armenia manifested itself in the character of K'eṛi T'oros in the epic poem of David of Sasun. The Armenian writer Tserents also wrote a historical novel called Theodoros Rshtuni.[7]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Morrow, John Andrew (2017). "Cancelling the Covenants: The Issue of Annulment". Islām and the People of the Book. Vol. 1. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 421. ISBN 9781527509672. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Kaegi, Walter (1992). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge University Press. pp. 196–197. ISBN 0-5214-8455-3.
- ^ Theophilus (of Edessa) (2011). Theophilus of Edessa's Chronicle and the Circulation of Historical Knowledge in Late Antiquity and Early Islam. Translated texts for historians. Vol. 57. Translated by Robert G. Hoyland (also introduction and notes). Liverpool University Press. p. 139 (text and note 336). ISBN 9781846316975. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ Pasagnathes 1 at, Prosopography of the Byzantine Empire 641-867 (PBE I) online edition, King's College London. Accessed 2021-09-16.
- ^ a b Whittow, Mark (1996). The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 209. ISBN 0-520-20497-2.
- ^ a b c d "Theodoros Rštuni". Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online/Prosopography of the Middle Byzantine Period Online (PMBZ Online) (in German). Berlin: de Gruyter. Retrieved 16 September 2021. Contains commented references to all primary sources which mention Theodore Rshtuni.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i (in Armenian) Vardanyan, Vrezh M. «Թեոդորոս Ռշտունի» (Theodoros Rshtuni). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. iv. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1978, p. 172.
- ^ a b Ter-Ghevondyan, Aram N. (1977). Армения и apaбcкий Халифат [Armenia and the Arab Caliphate] (in Russian). Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences. pp. 23–58.
- ^ a b Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. pp. 310–313. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2.
Further reading
[edit]- Hovannisian, Richard G., ed. (1997). The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times: Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1403964212.
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