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List of Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin

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A miniature depicting the proclamation of Leo V the Armenian as emperor (from the Madrid Skylitzes). Leo V is the only Byzantine emperor to be nicknamed "Armenian" by Byzantine chroniclers.[1]
This now-lost mosaic of Gregory the Illuminator, Armenia's patron saint, in Hagia Sophia of Constantinople, next to the Church Fathers, may had been created in support of the myth of the Arsacid origin of Basil I, likely fabricated by Patriarch Photios I of Constantinople.[2][3]
This 7th century obelisk in Oshakan, Armenia is attributed by a local tradition to emperor Maurice or his mother.[4][5][6][7]

According to medieval and modern sources, a number of Byzantine emperors were allegedly Armenian or of partially Armenian heritage. The following list includes the Byzantine emperors to whom sources attribute Armenian origin. Speculation of Armenian ancestry in emperors remains a wide topic of debate.

History and criticism

[edit]

In 1891 John Buchan Telfer reported to the Royal Society of Arts several Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin, including Maurice and John Tzimiskes.[8]

The first work on Byzantine emperors of Armenian origin, Armenian Emperors of Byzantium (Armenian: Հայ կայսերք Բիւզանդիոնի), was authored by Fr. Garabed Der-Sahagian and published in 1905 by the Mekhitarist congregation of San Lazzaro degli Armeni in Venice.[9] Anthony Kaldellis suggested that Der-Sahagian extended "western European modes of racial and nationalist historiography to the history of medieval Armenia." Kaldellis believes that it was Nicholas Adontz who "made the search for Armenians in Byzantium into a more scholarly and less romantic nationalist process." However, he is critical of Adontz as he saw "Armenians everywhere and injected them into as many important events as he could." According to Kaldellis it was later endorsed by Peter Charanis and Alexander Kazhdan and "has spread widely in the field of Byzantine Studies."[10] Kazhdan's book Armenians in the Ruling Class of the Byzantine Empire in the 11th-12th Centuries was published by the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Russian in 1975.[11]

Charanis suggested that "every emperor who sat on the Byzantine throne from the accession of Basil I to the death of Basil II (867—1025) was of Armenian or partially Armenian origin."[12] However, he noted that "in Byzantium the ethnic origins of a person was of not significance, provided he integrated himself into its cultural life."[13] Speros Vryonis listed the Heracleian and Macedonian as being of Armenian ancestry, along with individual emperors like Leo V, Romanus I, and John Tzimisces.[14]

Robert H. Hewsen counted "no fewer than sixteen emperors and eleven empresses" of Byzantium of Armenian origin and suggested that Armenians ruled "for almost a third of [the empire's] history." He conceded, however, that "[m]ost of these Armenians, of course, were thoroughly hellenized, membership in the Greek Church being the sine qua non for advancement in the Byzantine world."[15]

Anthony Kaldellis is highly critical of what he calls the "Armenian fallacy" in Byzantine studies to which he dedicated a separate chapter (Armenian fallacy) and a sub-chapter specifically about emperors ('Armenian' emperors) in his 2019 book Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium, published by Harvard University Press.[16] He wrote:[17]

The consensual mass hallucination that is the Armenian fallacy has populated Byzantine history with a series of alleged “Armenian” emperors.

Even earlier, in 2008, Kaldellis wrote in a publication for Oxford University Press:[18]

Here our scholarship creates confusion by calling these people, in obedience to the needs of modern nationalism, “Armenians,” “Bulgarians,” “Arabs,” and so on. In the vast majority of cases, however, what they should be called are Romans of Armenian descent (or Slavic, or whatever it might be), and in most cases they should not be called that at all without good reason. There is every indication that they or their immediate descendents were fully assimilated to the customs, language, religion, and social consensus that maintained—and, in fact, constituted—the (Byzantine) Roman nation. It makes as much sense to call the emperors Herakleios or Basileios I “Armenians” as it does to call president Bill Clinton an “Englishman” or Barack Obama a “Kenyan”—even less so, in fact, as the former ethnic attributions are mostly conjectural on our part. There is no evidence that these emperors spoke their supposed “ancestral languages” or knew much about the customs of their supposed ancestor. Yet since Roman national claims have never been taken seriously, Byzantinists have filled the gap with modern ones. It is also no coincidence that modern historians will label a Byzantine as an “Armenian” (or the like) overwhelmingly in cases when a modern nation corresponding to that label still exists and presses its ethnic claims to the past. Peoples who have since lost their lobbying power—for example, Goths, Pechenegs, and many others—have curiously lost their right to similarly colonize the Byzantine “assimilated” subject. This discrepancy reveals the modern dynamic behind this ethnicizing discourse.

Kaldellis' criticisms of the "Armenian fallacy" have been subsequently praised and supported by historians such as Johannes Preiser-Kapeller,[19] Alexander Beihammer,[20] Marek Klatý,[21] and C.J. Meynell,[22] among others.[23] Toby Bromige wrote that Kaldellis "may at times seem dismissive of the depth and influence that Armenians had within Byzantium, especially the strength of ancestral descent in certain individuals, but he correctly identifies a lack of relevant historical investigation and precision."[24]

List

[edit]
Portrait Name Reign Dynasty Comments and notes

Pre-Macedonian

[edit]
Maurice 582–602
(20 years) 		Justinian Medieval Armenian chroniclers such as Stepanos Taronetsi and Kirakos Gandzaketsi claim Maurice to be of Armenian origin.[25] Modern scholarship, however, does not have a consensus. Krzysztof Stopka writes that it is generally regarded as a legend.[26] It has been accepted by Nicholas Adontz,[27] Peter Charanis,[a] Henri Grégoire,[13] Robert H. Hewsen,[15] but rejected by others, such as Paul Goubert.[29] Walter Kaegi described him as "of probable Armenian origin."[30] Anthony Kaldellis argues that his Armenian ancestry is "largely unknown to historians who study his reign" and that "no contemporary source—and there are many— mentions it." He considers the medieval Armenian chronicles to be "Armenian folktales" and notes that "[n]one of the names in his extended family are Armenian".[31] A. E. Redgate is also skeptical; as the "counter-arguments, in his case, seem overwhelming."[32]
Heraclius 610–641
(31 years) 		Heraclian The son of Heraclius the Elder, who is generally recognized by scholars as an Armenian.[40][b] According to the 7th century Armenian historian Sebeos, Heraclius was related to the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia.[42] Hewsen talked of the Heraclids being "of royal Arsacid origin."[15] Redgate considers his Armenian origin likely.[32] Walter Kaegi notes that Heraclius was presumably "bilingual (Armenian and Greek) from an early age, but even this is uncertain."[33] Kaldellis argues that his Armenian origin "takes the prize for fiction masquerading as history" and that statements regarding his ancestry "have been woven out of thin air".[43] He notes that "there is not a single primary source that says that Herakleios was an Armenian" and, moreover, "none of the names in his extended family are Armenian, and this in an age when Armenian generals in Roman service kept their native names and did not always switch to Graeco-Roman ones".[43] He writes that this assertion about Heraclius' ancestry is based on an erroneous reading of Theophylact Simocatta. In a letter, Priscus, a general who had replaced Heraclius the Elder, wrote to him "to leave the army and return to his own city in Armenia". Kaldellis interprets it as the command headquarters of Heraclius the Elder, and not his home town, since "[i]t would make no sense in the context of the narrative for Philippikos to send Herakleios “home.”".[44] According to historian Benjamin Anderson, Kaldellis "effectively debunks the received wisdom" on Heraclius's origins.[45]
Mizizios 668–669
(1 year)
—
(usurper)
 Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship.[46][47][48] He came from the Gnuni family.[49]
Philippicus
Bardanes 		711–713
(2 years)
—
(Twenty Years' Anarchy)
 Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship.[c][54] Kaldellis disputes this view, pointing to his anti-Armenian policies such as his decision to expel all Armenians from the empire, forcing them to seek refuge among the Arabs, (though this wasn't fully enforced) and his later decree ordering all Armenians to accept the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople. According to Kaldellis, this "shows that despite his ancestry he was not, and did not consider himself to be, 'an Armenian,' as some modern historians call him" and speculated that he may have been Persian.[55]
Artabasdos 741–743
(2 years)
—
(usurper)
 Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship.[56][57][15] Nina Garsoïan suggests that he hailed from the Mamikonian house.[58] Kaldellis believes that we "do not know enough about the first [i.e. Artabasdos] to have an interesting discussion of his ethnicity."[59]
Leo V 813–820
(7 years)
non-dynastic
 Scholars agree that he was at least partly of Armenian origin.[d][66] According to Jenkins, was certainly of Armenian stock on one side. He is said to have been 'Assyrian', that is, Syrian, on the other: but this is perhaps attached to him owing to his heretical and iconoclastic beliefs, and to the fact that he modelled himself on the great iconoclast conqueror Leo III, to whom Syrian descent was more certainly attributed.[67] He is the only emperor to be nicknamed "Armenian" by Byzantine historians.[1] Armenian chronicles claimed he was an Artsruni.[68] Kaldellis notes that his "ancestry is said to have been Armenian, Assyrian, and Amalekite (a biblical ethnonym), whatever exactly those terms may have meant in a late eighth-century context."[59] He also writes that "we have no evidence for how Leon V acknowledged, tried to hide or counter, or ameliorated his “ethnic” background as emperor".[59]
Constantine 813–820
(7 years)
co-emperor
non-dynastic
 The son of Leo V the Armenian.
Michael III 842–867
(25 years) 		Amorian His mother, Theodora, the wife of Theophilos, is considered by some scholars to have been, at least partly, of Armenian origin.[71][e] Kaldellis argues that "As the restorer of icons in 843, many texts discuss her, yet none refers to her Armenian ethnicity."[72]
Theodora 842–856
(14 years) 		Amorian Empress regnant during the minority of Michael III.[73][74] Considered by some scholars to have been, at least partly, of Armenian origin.[77][f] Kaldellis wrote that no source (Byzantine or Medieval Armenian) refers to her as an Armenian, or as being of Armenian descent.[78]

Macedonian dynasty

[edit]

The Macedonian dynasty, which ruled the empire between 867 and 1056, has been called the "Armenian dynasty" by some scholars such as George Bournoutian[79] and Mack Chahin.[80] Zachary Chitwood suggests the term Macedonian dynasty is "something of a misnomer" because of the Armenian origin of Basil I, the dynasty's founder.[81]

Portrait Name Reign Dynasty Comments and notes
Basil I 867–886
(19 years) 		Macedonian His father is considered by many to be of Armenian origin.[85] The Armenian descent of his mother is debated.[g][87] Her name, which is Greek, points to a Greek origin for her.[88][89] Medieval Armenian historians Samuel Anetsi and Stepanos Taronetsi claimed that he hailed from the region of Taron.[82] He is also "presumed to have descended from the kingly house of the Arsacids."[63] Kaldellis calls the Arsacid connection "propaganda", aimed to confer legitimacy upon Basil's alleged "royal" and "biblical" origins[h] and additionally meant to give "diplomatic leverage in his dealings with the empire’s Armenian neighbors".[91] He wrote: "The Romans generally called Basileios a Macedonian, from his provincial origin, rather than an Armenian, and some Arabic texts call him a Slav.[i] A fierce debate has, predictably, raged among scholars over the issue, as if there could be a single “truth” about his ancestry (the entire debate is premised on the idea of racial purity)."[93]
Romanos I
Lekapenos 		920–944
(24 years) 		Macedonian/
Lekapenos 		According to some scholars.[62][86][64][94] Charanis wrote that Romanos Lekapenos was "definitely known to have been of Armenian origin."[86] According to Mark Whittow Romanos "seem[s] to have been Armenian."[64] According to Kaldellis, Romanos is discussed in many Byzantine sources, "but none of them calls him an Armenian," but because his father came from humble origin he was assumed to have been Armenian. "His alleged ethnicity has been repeated so often in the literature that it has acquired the status of a known fact, even though it is based on the most tenuous of indirect connections," wrote Kaldellis.[95]
Nikephoros II
Phokas 		963–969
(9 years) 		Macedonian According to some scholars he was of at least partial Armenian descent.[36][j] Kaldellis notes that recent scholarship has correctly removed his family's name from the list of Byzantine families of "Armenian" origin, writing that it had been placed there originally for "flimsy (i.e., nonexistent) reasons".[96]
John I
Tzimiskes 		969–976
(8 years) 		Macedonian Considered Armenian by mainstream scholarship.[99][k] According to the medieval Armenian chronicler Matthew of Edessa Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area which is now called Chmushkatzag."[101] Kaldellis is skeptical, calling the grounds for his Armenian origin "extremely weak", noting that "Tzimiskes" was a nickname given to him by Armenian soldiers serving under him, referring to his short statute, and not a family name.[102] Evaluating the evidence, he concludes that "No ethnicity or even distant ancestry can be proposed based on such evidence".[103]

Post-Macedonian

[edit]
Andronikos III
Palaiologos 		1328–1341
(13 years) 		Palaiologos His mother, Rita-Maria, was the daughter of Leo II, King of Armenian Cilicia, and sister of Hethum II.[104][105][106]

References

[edit]
Notes
  1. ^ Charanis changed his views on the ethnic origin of Maurice. In his The Armenians in the Byzantine Empire (1961) he wrote that it is "extremely doubtful" that Maurice may have been of Armenian descent.[28] However, in the 1965 article "A Note on the Ethnic Origin of the Emperor Maurice" he wrote that "Maurice must be accepted, therefore, as the first Byzantine emperor [...] to have been of Armenian origin."[13]
  2. ^ "...Heraclius, himself of Armenian descent..."[41]
  3. ^ "The Armenian Bardanes occupied the throne from 711 to 713."[50]
  4. ^ "Leo V, known as the Armenian, occupied the throne from 813 to 820. He is referred to in one of the sources as digenes, 'twyborn', i. e., born of two races, and these two races are given as Assyrian and Armenian (56). The thorough and careful investigation of all the sources, however, has shown that there is no truth in the tradition (57). Leo was an Armenian..."[60]
  5. ^ "Theodora, the wife of Theophilus, son and successor of Michael II, was a native of Ebissa in Paphlagonia, but she was of Armenian descent at least from her father's side. Thus Michael III who succeeded his father Theophilus was partly Armenian.[60]
  6. ^ "Theodora, the wife of Theophilus, son and successor of Michael II, was a native of Ebissa in Paphlagonia, but she was of Armenian descent at least from her father's side. Thus Michael III who succeeded his father Theophilus was partly Armenian.[60]
  7. ^ "That Basil I, the founder of the most brilliant dynasty of the Byzantine empire, was indeed Armenian and Armenian on both sides, can be regarded as an established fact."[86]
  8. ^ Excluding the Arsacids, Basil claimed links to figures such as Alexander the Great, Constantine the Great, Cyrus the Great, David, Solomon, as well as to prophets of the Old Testament.[90]
  9. ^ Nevertheless, the Arabic term Ṣaqlabī, used to define Basil, and adopted by some modern scholars to describe him as partly Slavic, also described the inhabitants between Constantinople and the First Bulgarian Empire.[92]
  10. ^ "The Phocades then, if not entirely Armenian in origin were at least partially so. That means, of course, that Nicephorus Phocas, one of the three emperors of the tenth century who were not legitimate members of the Macedonian dynasty, but were associated with it, was also at least partially Armenian in origin."[12]
  11. ^ "Thus, Tzimiskes, one of the truly great soldier-emperors of Byzantium, belonged by birth to a distinguished Armenian family which had established itself among the military aristocracy of Byzantium."[100]
Citations
  1. ^ a b Lang, David Marshall (1970). Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. Allen & Unwin. p. 185. However, Leo V (813-20) is the only emperor who has been officially recognized as an Armenian by the Byzantine historians.
  2. ^ Der Nersessian 1966, p. 389.
  3. ^ Mango & Hawkins 1972, p. 38.
  4. ^ Lang, David M. (1983). "Iran, Armenia and Georgia". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3 (1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge University Press. p. 522. ISBN 9780521200929. A stone obelisk marking his home is shown to visitors in the Armenian village of Oshakan...
  5. ^ Toramanian, Toros (1948). Հայկական ճարտարապետություն [Armenian Architecture] Volume II (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences Press. p. 54. Թեև գյուղացոց մեջ ընդհանուր համոզում կամ ավանդություն է թե Մորիկ կայսեր մոր գերեզմանն է։
  6. ^ Shahinyan, A. N. (1974). "7-րդ դարի կոթողներ Գեղամա լեռներում [Seventh century Monuments in the Geghama Mountains]". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 31 (7–8): 76. ...Օշականում Մորիկ կայսեր կամ նրա մորը վերագրվող 7-րդ դարի հուշասյան...
  7. ^ Ghalpakhchian, Hovhannes [in Armenian] (1962). "Տաթևի երերացող սյունը [Swinging Obelisk of Tatev]". Etchmiadzin (in Armenian). 19 (9): 51–52. Տեղի բնակչությունը համարում է գերեզմանաքարը Մորիկ կայսեր մոր, որն ըստ ավանդության հայ է եղել և ծնունդով օշականցի։
  8. ^ Telfer, John Buchan (29 May 1891). "Armenia and Its People". Journal of the Society of Arts. XXXIX (2, 010). London: Royal Society of Arts: 572.
  9. ^ Der-Sahagian, Garabed (1905). Հայ կայսերք Բիւզանդիոնի [Armenian Emperors of Byzantium] (in Armenian). San Lazzaro, Venice: Mekhitarist Congregation.
  10. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 157.
  11. ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (1975). Армяне в составе господствующего класса Византийской империи в XI - XII вв. [Armenians in the Ruling Class of the Byzantine Empire in the XI-XII Centuries] (in Russian). Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences Press.
  12. ^ a b Charanis 1963, p. 39.
  13. ^ a b c Charanis, Peter (1965). "A Note on the Ethnic Origin of the Emperor Maurice". Byzantion. 35 (2). Peeters Publishers: 417. JSTOR 44170146.
  14. ^ Vryonis, Jr., Speros (1981). "Byzantine Images of the Armenians". In Hovannisian, Richard G. (ed.). The Armenian Image in History and Literature. Undena Publications. pp. 71–72. ISBN 978-0890030882. The Heracleian dynasty, Leo V, the Macedonian dynasty, Romanus I, and John Tzimisces are the primary examples.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g Hewsen, Robert H. (2001). Armenia: A Historical Atlas. University of Chicago Press. p. 92. ISBN 0-226-33228-4.
  16. ^ Kaldellis 2019, pp. 155–195.
  17. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 180.
  18. ^ Kaldellis, Anthony (2015). "From Rome to New Rome, from Empire to Nation-State: Reopening the Question of Byzantium's Roman Identity". In Grig, Lucy; Kelly, Gavin (eds.). Two Romes: Rome and Constantinople in Late Antiquity. Oxford University Press. p. 392. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199739400.003.0017. ISBN 978-0-19-024108-7.
  19. ^ Preiser-Kapeller, Johannes (2020). "Aristocrats, Mercenaries, Clergymen and Refugees: Deliberate and Forced Mobility of Armenians in the Early Medieval Mediterranean (6th to 11th Century a.d.)". Migration Histories of the Medieval Afroeurasian Transition Zone. Brill. pp. 328, n.3. doi:10.1163/9789004425613_013. ISBN 978-90-04-42561-3. S2CID 218992750. Most recently, Kaldellis, Romanland, pp. 155–195, has (legitimately) discussed what he calls the "Armenian fallacy", that is the tendency in scholarship to identify individual member of the Byzantine elite as "Armenian" even several generations after the immigration of their ancestors and their integration into the Eastern Roman polity with regard to language, religion and identity. For a similar case regarding the Abbasid Caliphate see now Preiser-Kapeller, "ʻAlī ibn Yaḥyā al-Armanī".
  20. ^ Beihammer, Alexander (2020). "20.04.28 Kaldellis, Romanland". The Medieval Review. ISSN 1096-746X. Kaldellis debunks the notion that high-ranking dignitaries and even emperors built their careers on the grounds of Armenian family background and loyalties as an "Armenian fallacy" introduced by nationalist trends, and demonstrates how tenuous the evidence of an individual's Armenian descent is in most cases...his analysis of the Armenian fallacy problem is superbly persuasive
  21. ^ Klatý, Marek (2021). "KALDELLIS, Anthony. Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium. Cambridge; Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019. xv + 373 pp. ISBN 978-0-674-98651-0". Historický časopis. 69 (5): 941–948. doi:10.31577/histcaso.2021.69.5.6. ISSN 2585-9099. S2CID 246451714. The author aptly calls this the 'Armenian fallacy' of the scholarly community. Because such an interpretation of ethnicity is based on biological and false cultural continuity and does not consider the formation of identity based on the principle of cultural integration and assimilation.
  22. ^ Meynell, C. J. (2023). Romanness and Islam: Collective Roman Identity in Byzantium from the Seventh to the Tenth Century [PhD thesis]. University of Oxford. p.293-294. "‘Armenians’ were present in large numbers in the empire before the start of our period and became increasingly prominent over the centuries, a fact that is wellattested and well-studied. However, much of the literature regarding them tends to essentialise the ethnic identity presented in the sources by accepting at face-value the label ‘Armenian’ without questioning whether this was a mutable quality. This is the “Armenian fallacy” in Kaldellis’ formulation, whereby Roman and Armenian are placed on the same conceptual level, such that an individual is either one or the other, or ‘mixed’. Fitting Armenians into our framework of Roman groupness raises interesting results. We are almost never given any reason as to why certain individuals are classified as ‘Armenian’.13 Are they Armenians on the basis of their religious doctrine, their language, their place of birth, or, more nebulously, their customs? Did they picture themselves as ‘Armenian’ and identify as such in distinction to being Roman? In the vast majority of cases we cannot know: they are simply ‘Armenian’. One may surmise that the intended reader of such texts may have inherently ‘known’ what was meant by the appellation, but the cases are simply too numerous and diverse for that to be possible in all instances. Should we, therefore, see these people as Armenians and not Romans? The answer must be ‘no’, or, at least, a qualified ‘no’. The picture is far too complex for any easy solution.
  23. ^ Dimitriadis, Stefanos (2020). "ByzRev 02.2020.002: Anthony Kaldellis, Romanland. Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium". The Byzantine Review: 5–8 Seiten. doi:10.17879/BYZREV-2020-2637. Following the same pattern, in the fifth chapter he deals in particular with "The Armenian Fallacy" (pp. 155–195), that is the pervasive absurd claim that many Romans, just because they had (some) Armenian descent, had not been assimilated and acted as an Armenian power group within Romanía. Most amusing is the subchapter "'Armenian' Emperors", in that it effectively exposes the fallacy's line of (often racial) thought in assuming such descent for some of the Roman monarchs. The chapter is not to deny the Armenian origins of many Romans but to expose the field's outdated tendency to "dig up" ethnic Armenians among perfectly Roman elites.
  24. ^ Bromige, Toby (April 2021). "Anthony Kaldellis, Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium, Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019. Pp. xv, 373". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 45 (1): 131–133. doi:10.1017/byz.2020.30.
  25. ^ Abrahamian, Ashot G.; Petrosian, Garegin B. [in Armenian] (1979). Անանիա Շիրակացի․ Մատենագրություն [Anania Shirakatsi: Writings]. Yerevan: Sovetakan grogh. p. 332. Բյուզանդական կայսր Մորիկը [...] Ըստ հայ մատենագիրների տեղեկությունների՝ նա ծագումով հայ է։ Այս մասին տեղեկություններ կան Շապուհի, Ստեփանոս Տարոնեցու, Կիրակոս Գանձակեցու և այլ պատմիչների մոտ։ Նորագույն ուսումնասիրողներից ոմանք ժխտում են նրա հայկական ծագումը։
  26. ^ Stopka, Krzysztof [in Polish] (2016). Armenia Christiana: Armenian Religious Identity and the Churches of Constantinople and Rome (4th–15th Century). Jagiellonian University Press. p. 78. Some Armenian chronicles [...] write that the Emperor Maurice had Armenian roots. Generally this is regarded as a legend.
  27. ^ Adontz, Nicholas (1934). "Les légendes de Maurice et de Constantin V, empereurs de Byzance". Annuaire de l'Institut de Philologie et d'Histoire Orientales et Slaves (in French). 2. Université libre de Bruxelles: 1–12.
  28. ^ Charanis 1963, p. 14.
  29. ^ P. Goubert, Byzance avant I'Islam, I. Paris, 1951, pp. 34-41.
  30. ^ Kaegi, Walter (1995). Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge University Press. p. 64. ISBN 9780521484558. ...another emperor of probable Armenian origin, Maurice.
  31. ^ Kaldellis 2019, pp. 181–182.
  32. ^ a b Redgate, A. E. (2000). The Armenians. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. p. 237. ISBN 9780631220374.
  33. ^ a b Kaegi, Walter E. (2003). Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 9780521814591. The preponderance of evidence points to an Armenian origin for Heraclius the Elder...
  34. ^ Shahîd, Irfan (1972). "The Iranian Factor in Byzantium during the Reign of Heraclius". Dumbarton Oaks Papers. 26: 293–320. doi:10.2307/1291324. JSTOR 1291324. p. 305 "...the Armenian origins of Heraclius..."; p. 308 "...the house of Heraclius, the Armenian provenance of whose founder has been generally accepted."
  35. ^ a b Evans, Helen C. (2018). "Armenians and Their Middle Age". Armenia: Art, Religion, and Trade in the Middle Ages. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 34. ISBN 9781588396600. The Byzantine Emperor Heraclius (r. 610-640) was the son of an Armenian... [...] In 867 Basil I (r. 867-886), whose father was also Armenian...
  36. ^ a b c Geanakoplos, Deno J. (1984). Byzantium: Church, Society, and Civilization Seen Through Contemporary Eyes. University of Chicago Press. p. 344. ISBN 9780226284606. Some of the greatest Byzantine emperors — Nicephorus Phocas, John Tzimisces and probably Heraclius — were of Armenian descent.
  37. ^ Hovorun, Cyril (2008). Will, Action and Freedom: Christological Controversies in the Seventh Century. BRILL. p. 57. ISBN 9789047442639. Most contemporary historians agree that Heraclius was of Armenian background.
  38. ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 287: "Heraclius [...] ...his family were Armenians from Cappadocia..."
  39. ^ Mango, Cyril (1985) [1978]. Byzantine Architecture. Milan: Electa Editrice. p. 98. ISBN 0-8478-0615-4. The Byzantine aristocracy that emerged during the Dark Ages was to a considerable extent Armenian; and several Armenians mounted the imperial throne, beginning with the great Heraclius himself.15
  40. ^ [33][34][35][36][37][38][39]
  41. ^ Charanis 1963, p. 18.
  42. ^ Vasiliev, Alexander A. (1958). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780299809256.
  43. ^ a b Kaldellis 2019, p. 182-183.
  44. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 183.
  45. ^ Anderson, Benjamin (1 August 2021). "Anderson on Kaldellis" (PDF). The Classical Journal: 1–3.
  46. ^ Toynbee, Arnold J. (1973). Constantine Porphyrogenitus and His World. Oxford University Press. p. 80. ISBN 9780192152534. This exception is Mjej Gnouni (Graece Mizizios), an Armenian immigrant of the first generation. Mjej succeeded in 668 in assassinating his master Constans II...
  47. ^ Haldon, J. F. (1990). Byzantium in the Seventh Century: The Transformation of a Culture (Rev. ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 61. ...the Armenian general Mzez Gnouni, or Mizizios, as he is called in the Greek sources [...] was acclaimed emperor.
  48. ^ Turtledove, Harry (1982). The Chronicle of Theophanes: Anni Mundi 6095-6305 (A.D. 602-813). University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 51. Once they had buried him, they named Mizizios — an Armenian — Emperor...
  49. ^ Charanis 1963, pp. 21–22.
  50. ^ Charanis 1963, p. 22.
  51. ^ Vasiliev, Alexander A. (1958). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324–1453. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 194. ISBN 9780299809256. ...the Armenian Vardan or Philippicus (711-13)...
  52. ^ Lang, David Marshall (1970). Armenia: Cradle of Civilization. Allen and Unwin. p. 14. Bardanes Philippicus, Armenian Emperor of 711-713
  53. ^ Rice, David Talbot (1965). Constantinople from Byzantium to Istanbul. Stein and Day. p. 79. In 710 an insurrection broke out against Justinian 11 and the Armenian Bardanes (711-13) appeared with a fleet off Constantinople; Justinian was deposed and killed and Bardanes was proclaimed emperor.
  54. ^ [51][52][53][15]
  55. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 185-186.
  56. ^ Beckwith, Christopher I. (2009). Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton University Press. p. 142. ISBN 9780691135892. ...the Armenian general Artavasdos. [...] Because Artavasdos was Armenian...
  57. ^ Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991). "Artabasdos". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. ...usurper (742–43).An Armenian (Toumanoff, "Caucasia" 135), Artabasdos was appointed strategos of the Armeniakon... online
  58. ^ Garsoïan, Nina (1998). "Armenian Integration into the Byzantine Empire". In Ahrweiler, Helene; Laiou, Angeliki E. (eds.). Studies on the Internal Diaspora of the Byzantine Empire. Dumbarton Oaks. p. 97. ISBN 9780884022473. On the contrary, Leo II's iconodule son-in-law, Artavasdos, still kept the traditional name, which identified unmistakably his descent from the Armenian Mamikonean house...
  59. ^ a b c Kaldellis 2019, p. 186.
  60. ^ a b c Charanis 1963, p. 23.
  61. ^ Chirat, H. "Leo V, Byzantine Emperor". New Catholic Encyclopedia. Leo was of Armenian descent. online
  62. ^ a b c d Rosser, John Hutchins (2012). "Armenia". Historical Dictionary of Byzantium. Scarecrow Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780810875678. ...a number of important military leaders and civil administrators were Armenian, including emperors Leo V, Basil I, Romanos I Lekapenos, and John I Tzimiskes.
  63. ^ a b c Ghazarian, Jacob G. (2000). The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia During the Crusades: The Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins, 1080-1393. Psychology Press. pp. 40-41. ISBN 9780700714186. Emperor Leo V (813-20), previously a soldier and by race an Armenian. The emperor Basil I (867-86) is presumed to have descended from the kingly house of the Arsacids [...] the Armenian John I Tzimiskes (969-76)...
  64. ^ a b c d e f g Whittow, Mark (1996). The Making of Byzantium, 600-1025. University of California Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780520204966. Four emperors — Leo V, Basil I, Romanos I and John Tzimiskes — seem to have been Armenian, as well as the empress Theodora, Theophilos' wife...
  65. ^ Bury, John Bagnell (1912). "Leo V (The Armenian) and the Revival of Iconoclasm (A.D. 813-820)". A History of the Eastern Roman Empire from the Fall of Irene to the Accession of Basil I (A. D. 802-867). p. 43. Leo V. was not the first Armenian1 who occupied the Imperial throne. 1 = On one side his parentage was "Assyrian," which presumably means Syrian.
  66. ^ [61][62][63][64][65][15]
  67. ^ Jenkins, Romilly James Heald (1987). Byzantium: The Imperial Centuries, AD 610–1071. Medieval Academy of America, University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802066671.
  68. ^ Kurkjian, Vahan M. (1958). "The Armenians Outside of Armenia". A History of Armenia. Armenian General Benevolent Union of America. p. 462. In 813, Leon V, known in history as "The Armenian," was enthroned by the army, which had just inflicted a severe defeat upon the Bulgarians. The Armenian chroniclers call him Leon Ardzruni.
  69. ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). "Theodora". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Volume III. p. 2037. ...she was of Armenian descent...
  70. ^ Codoñer, Juan Signes (2016). The Emperor Theophilos and the East, 829–842: Court and Frontier in Byzantium during the Last Phase of Iconoclasm. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781317034278. He was also born of and married to Armenian women (Thekla and Theodora)...
  71. ^ [69][70][64]
  72. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 172.
  73. ^ Ringrose, Kathryn M. (2008). "Women and Power at the Byzantine Court". In Walthall, Anne (ed.). Servants of the Dynasty: Palace Women in World History. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 78. ISBN 978-0520254435.
  74. ^ Griffith, Sidney H. (2001). "The Life of Theodora of Edessa: History, Hagiography, and Religious Apologetics in Mar Saba Monastery in Early Abbasid Times". In Patrich, Joseph (ed.). The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present. Leuven: Peeters. p. 155. ISBN 90-429-0976-5.
  75. ^ Kazhdan, Alexander (ed.). "Theodora". Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium Volume III. p. 2037. ...she was of Armenian descent...
  76. ^ Codoñer, Juan Signes (2016). The Emperor Theophilos and the East, 829–842: Court and Frontier in Byzantium during the Last Phase of Iconoclasm. Routledge. p. 111. ISBN 9781317034278. He was also born of and married to Armenian women (Thekla and Theodora)...
  77. ^ [75][76][64]
  78. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 170-172, 192.
  79. ^ Bournoutian, George (2002). A Concise History of the Armenian People. Mazda Publishers. p. 89. ISBN 9781568591414. ....the later Macedonian dynasty, according to most Byzantinists, was of Armenian origin as well. [...] Ironically, it was this same Armenian dynasty which was chiefly responsible for the breakup of the Bagratuni kingdom.
  80. ^ Chahin, Mack. The Kingdom of Armenia: A History. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2001, p. 232 ISBN 0-7007-1452-9
  81. ^ Chitwood, Zachary (2017). Byzantine Legal Culture and the Roman Legal Tradition, 867-1056. Cambridge University Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781107182561.
  82. ^ a b PmbZ, Basileios I..
  83. ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 455: "Though of Armenian stock, Basil was called the Macedonian because he had been born in the Theme of Macedonia...."
  84. ^ Vasiliev, Alexander (1964). History of the Byzantine Empire, 324-1453, Volume 1. University of Wisconsin Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780299809256.
  85. ^ [82][35][83][62][64][84]
  86. ^ a b c Charanis 1963, p. 35.
  87. ^ Adontz, L'Age et l'origine de I'empereur Basile I, Byzantion 8 (1933) 475-550; 9 (1934) 223-260.
  88. ^ Άμαντος, Κωνσταντίνος Ιωάννου (1953). Ιστορία του Βυζαντινού Κράτους: 395-867 [History of the Byzantine State: 395-867] (in Greek). Οργανισμός Εκδ Σχολικών Βιβλίων. p. 436. Ο Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών θεωρεῖται ἀρμενικῆς καταγωγῆς , ἡ μήτηρ του ὅμως ἐλέγετο Παγκαλὼ καὶ ἦτο ἑπομένως Ελληνίς.
  89. ^ Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Zielke, Beate; Pratsch, Thomas (2013). "Basileios I." Prosopography of the Byzantine World. De Gruyter. Seine Mutter Pankalo (# 5679) ist wohl griechischer
  90. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 192-193.
  91. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 193.
  92. ^ Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Zielke, Beate; Pratsch, Thomas (2013). "Pankalo." Prosopography of the Byzantine World. De Gruyter
  93. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 192.
  94. ^ "Romanos I Lekapenos". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  95. ^ Kaldellis 2019, pp. 174–175.
  96. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 174.
  97. ^ "John I Tzimiskes (969–76)". The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. John was a general of Armenian origin.... online (archived)
  98. ^ Lang, David Marshall; Walker, Christopher J. (1976). The Armenians. Minority Rights Group. p. 7. Another Armenian emperor was John Tzimiskes (969–976), one of the most brilliant conquerors ever to sit on the throne...
  99. ^ [97][36][62][98][64][63][15]
  100. ^ Charanis 1963, p. 37.
  101. ^ (in Armenian) Matthew of Edessa. Մատթեոս Ուռհայեցի`Ժամանակնագրություն (The Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa). Translation and commentary by Hrach Bartikyan. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Hayastan Publishing, 1973, pp. 12–13.
  102. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 184.
  103. ^ Kaldellis 2019, p. 185.
  104. ^ Nicol, Donald (1993). The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453. Cambridge University Press. p. 151. ISBN 9780521439916. ...in 1295 , he married a sister of the King of Armenia called Rita or Maria . She gave him two sons and two daughters . The elder of the sons was named , in the Byzantine custom , after his grandfather and became the Emperor Andronikos III...
  105. ^ Maxwell, Kathleen (2014). Between Constantinople and Rome: An Illuminated Byzantine Gospel Book (Paris gr. 54) and the Union of Churches. Ashgate Publishing. p. 209. ISBN 9781409457442.
  106. ^ Garland, Lynda (2002). Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527-1204. Routledge. p. 226. ISBN 9781134756391. ...Rita-Maria, an Armenian princess who had married Michael IX and who was the mother of Andronikos III...

Bibliography

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