Armenians were the most significant ethnic minority in the Byzantine Empire at various times. Historically, this was due to the fact that part of historical Armenia, west of the Euphrates, was part of the empire. After the division of Armenia between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire in 387, part of Greater Armenia was annexed to the Empire. At this time and later, there were significant migrations of Armenians to Byzantine Anatolia, Constantinople and the European part of the Empire.
The Armenians occupied a prominent place in the ruling class of Byzantium, with a number of emperors believed to be coming from their ranks: Heraclius I (), Philippicus (), Artabasdos (), Leo the Armenian (), Basil I Macedonian () and the Macedonian dynasty which he founded, Romanos I Lekapenos () and John Tzimiskes (). According to the calculations of Alexander Kazhdan, Armenians made up 10–15% of the ruling aristocracy in the 11th–12th centuries; taking into account persons and families whose Armenian origin is not entirely certain, this proportion becomes much higher. Due to the fact that Armenia did not recognise the Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451), the relations between Byzantium and Armenia were influenced by the attempts of the official Byzantine Church to convert the Armenian Church to . Many Armenians played an important role in the Greco-Roman world and in Byzantium.
Armenian migrations to Byzantium
The presence of Armenians in the territory of the Roman Empire is known from the beginning of the first century. The geographer Strabo reports that "Comana has a large population and is an important trading centre for merchants from Armenia".Страбон, География Archive: 18 April 2015 In the 4th and 5th centuries, the Armenian population appeared in other regions and cities of the Empire. 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. In the middle of the 7th century, the Pavlicians fled to Byzantium and settled at the confluence of the Iris and Lycus rivers in the diocese of Pontus. Under Constantine V (), many Nakharars left their possessions in Armenia and fled to Byzantium. In 781, fleeing persecution in the Caliphate, 50,000 Armenians migrated to Byzantium. Empress Irene and her son Constantine VI () officially welcomed them in Constantinople and rewarded those who arrived with titles and lands according to their nobility.
Forced relocations of Armenians were also practised. 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". During the reign of Tiberius II (), 10,000 Armenians from Arzanene were resettled in Cyprus. Sebeos reports the plans of his successor Maurice () to solve the problem with the Armenians, who were "a stubborn and unruly people, living among us and muddying the waters". To this end, the Byzantine emperor entered into correspondence with Shah Khosrow II (), proposing that he should simultaneously carry out the resettlement of the Armenians subject to him, while Maurice would resettle his own in Thrace. However, the result was somewhat different, as the Armenians began to flee to Persia. Thrace was later considered the most suitable place for Armenians to live: under Constantine V () Armenians and Syrian Monophysites were resettled there, under Leo IV () 150,000 Syrians were resettled there, among whom could be Armenians. After the victory of Basil I () in 872 over the Pavlikians, most of whom were probably Armenians, many of them were scattered throughout the empire. Under his son, Leo VI, the Armenian ruler Manuel of Tekis was "brought to Constantinople", most likely indicating that he was forcibly detained, and his four sons were given lands and offices. Manuel himself was given the title of protospatharius and the theme of Mesopotamia was founded on his former lands. Under John Tzimiskes (969–976) the Paulicians were moved from the eastern provinces to Thrace. Basil II () also moved many Armenians from his subject lands to the region of Philippopolis and Macedonia in order to organise defence against the Bulgarians. 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".
Thrace was not the only place where Armenians settled: they are mentioned in the early 11th century among the peoples resettled by Nikephoros I () in Sparta to rebuild the ruined city; in 885 the commander Nikephoros Phokas the Elder resettled many Armenians, probably Pavlicians, in Calabria. After the conquest of Crete in 961, Armenians were also settled there. In 1021, the king of the Armenian Vaspurakan kingdom, Senekerim Artsruni, transferred his kingdom to Byzantium. He received Sebastia, Larissa and Avara for it and became patrician and stratigem of Cappadocia. With him, 400,000 people migrated from Vaspurakan to Cappadocia. This figure, first mentioned in the 18th century by the Armenian historian M. Chamchyan, is questioned by the contemporary Armenist Peter Charanis, as a contemporary source gives the number of settlers as 16,000, not counting women and children. From the middle of the 10th century, Armenians began to settle intensively in Cappadocia, Cilicia and northern Syria. Many Armenian refugees made their way to Byzantium to escape Seljuk raids. 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. Armenian colonies in the last period of Byzantine history are known in the remaining cities of Anatolia under Byzantine rule and in the European provinces.
The mass resettlement of Armenians from Armenia to Byzantine lands had more global consequences than the growth of the community. In the second half of the 11th century, Armenians formed at least 6 states here: in 1071 the state of Filaret Varažnuni and the Principality of Melitene, in 1080 the Principality of Cilicia, in 1083 the Principality of Edessa, around the same time — the Principality of Kesun and the Principality of Pir. Of these, the Principality of Cilicia was recognised as an Armenian kingdom in 1198. Mekhitar Ayrivank wrote in the 13th century: "At that time the Rubenians began to rule in Cilicia. God Himself did justice to us who were oppressed: the Greeks ceased our kingdom, but God gave its land to the Armenians, who now reign in it". P. 407.
Armenian possessions
After the first partition of Armenia in 387, about a quarter of the Armenian Kingdom of the Arsacid was incorporated into Byzantium. This gave the empire a significant Armenian population. At the same time, they were one of the indigenous peoples of Cappadocia. With the support of Byzantium, which sought to strengthen its influence in the region, Christianity continued to spread in Armenia. In the Byzantine part of Armenia, Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet, was active in the 420s. After the end of the Iranian-Byzantine war in 591, the second division of Armenia took place,Ayrarat — статья из Encyclopædia Iranica. R. H. Hewsen as a result of which the Byzantine border moved eastwards and covered the whole of central Armenia. Around 600 rebellions started in Armenia, then from 603 Armenia was involved in another war between Byzantium and Iran. Around 640, the Muslim conquest of Armenia began and soon this part of the empire was lost. In the 10th century, significant areas with Armenian populations were incorporated into the Byzantine Empire. Thus in 949 the region of Karin was annexed, in 966 the Armenian principality of the Bagratids in Taron, and a few years later Malazgirt, also with a predominantly Armenian population.См. Г. Г. Литаврин. Комментарий к главам 44—53 трактата «Об управлении империей». Комм. 2 к главе 44. Archive: 4 November 2011. A turning point in the further history of the Armenian people was the annexation of the kingdom of Ani in central Armenia by the Empire in 1045 and the occupation of the great city of Ani. For a time, the Byzantine Empire's possessions in Armenia reached as far as the western coast of Sevan. However, this situation did not last long. In 1064 this territory was conquered by the Seljuk Sultan Alp-Arslan. The following year, King Gagik of Vanand was forced to surrender his kingdom to Byzantium. By 1065, much of historical Armenia, with the exception of Ani, Syunik, Tashir and Khachen, was part of Byzantium.
The mass annexation of Armenian lands by Byzantium had far-reaching consequences. 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. In addition, in an attempt to integrate the indigenous Armenian nobility into the new Byzantine reality, the Empire was forced to allocate lands in Lycandus, Cappadocia, Tsamandos, Harsianon, Cilicia and Mesopotamia to the displaced Armenian princes. Tens of thousands of Armenian peasants and artisans migrated with these princes, changing the ethnic and religious composition of these provinces. This in turn led to a fierce struggle with the Greek Orthodox population already present there.
Legal status
Lesser Armenia became a Roman province under Vespasian (), first as part of Cappadocia, then separately. Not much information has survived about this province, but it could be not very different from the others. In the territories acquired after 387, the power of the Arsacids was abolished either immediately or under Theodosius II () and transferred to the comes of Armenia. At the same time, the hereditary rights of the Nakharars to the land and its transfer on the basis of the principle of majorat were respected. 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. All parts of Armenia paid taxes to the treasury. During the reign of Justinian I (), changes were made to the administrative structure of Armenia, taxation was increased and women were given the right of inheritance. This last measure led to the fragmentation of the possessions of the Nakharars, which led to their discontent.
The Muslim conquest of Armenia in the 7th century did not change the general tendency to integrate the Armenian nobility into the administrative structures of the empire. In the areas conquered in the 10th and 11th centuries, themes were established, with command positions given not only to Armenians from the interior provinces, but also to local natives. In its activities, Byzantium relied not only on the Chalcedonian Armenians who were close in faith, but also on those who remained loyal to the Armenian Church.
Aristocracy