Vardandukht (4th century), was a
Queen consort of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
, as the wife of
Arsaces III (Arshak III) who was the last serving
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
Client King of
Arsacid
The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquer ...
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
. Arsaces III reigned from 378 until his death in 387.
Life
Vardandukht was the daughter of the great ''
sparapet
' ( hy, սպարապետ) was a military title and office in ancient and medieval Armenia. Under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, the ' was the supreme commander of the kingdom's armed forces. During the Arsacid period and for some time afterwards ...
'' (chief general)
Manuel Mamikonian
Manuel Mamikonian was the real leader of Armenia after the exile of King Varasdates (Varazdat) who ruled from 374 until 378. The Mamikonian family had long been the leading generals of Armenia, holding the title of ''sparapet'', commander-in-chief ...
of the pro-Roman, powerful and wealthy
Mamikonian
Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th c ...
family by an unnamed mother. She was born and raised in Armenia.
The previous Roman client Armenian King
Papas (Pap) was assassinated in 374. As Arsaces III and his younger brother, Vologases, were both too young to rule and succeed their father, the
Roman emperor Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
had sent their paternal first cousin
Varasdates (Varazdat) to occupy the Armenian throne. Their cousin who was a young man highly reputed for his mental and physical gifts had lived in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
for an unknown period of time. Varasdates began to rule under the regency of
Mushegh I Mamikonian
Mushegh I Mamikonian (also spelled Mushel; d. 377/8) was an Armenian military officer from the Mamikonian family, who occupied the hereditary office of ''sparapet'' (generalissimo) of the Kingdom of Armenia under the Arsacid kings Pap () and ...
.
Queen
In 378 with the failed reign of Varasdates and the murder of Mushegh Mamikonian, who was Vardandukht’s paternal uncle, her father, Manuel filled his late brother’s position of ''sparapet''. Manuel, furious at the Armenian King, with a military force drove out Varasdates from Armenia back to Rome. Manuel raised Arsaces III and his brother
Vologases to the throne as co-kings of Armenia, under the nominal regency of their mother
Zarmandukht Zarmandukht (also spelled Zarmanduxt; fl. 383) was the consort of King Pap of Arsacid Armenia, who ruled from 370 to 374. She was regent of Armenia during the minority of her sons, co-rulers Arsaces (Arshak) III and Vologases (Vagharshak) II, wh ...
.
To end the political anarchy in the country as Manuel being now the powerful regent-in-charge of Armenia, Manuel married Arsaces III to Vardandukht and he married Vologases to the daughter of Sahak from the
Bagratuni Dynasty
The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to beco ...
. Through marriage, Vardandukht became a relation to the ruling
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia and a powerful, influential woman in Armenian society. Not much is known on her relationship with Arsaces III and she bore him no children.
The Mamikonian government brought peace, stability to Armenia in which Manuel guided the country wisely. Manuel treated Arsaces III, Vologases and Zarmandukht with honor. He raised Arsaces III and Vologases and Manuel nurtured them as if they were his own children.
Later life
In 386, Vologases died without leaving an heir and sometime later, Manuel died. Vardandukht and Arsaces III were at Manuel’s bedside as he laid sick and dying. After this moment, no more is known on Vardandukht. From 386 until 387, Arsaces III became the sole-ruler of Armenia, which occurred at this time the
Sassanid invasions from Persia of Armenia. From this invasion, the authority of Arsaces III became lessened as he only maintained Western Armenia,
[Hovannisian, ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century'', p.92] in which his small kingdom was of a line from
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
to
Mush
In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social medium to which mult ...
. Sometime in 387 Arsaces III died, without leaving an heir. Western Armenia was annexed and became a province of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
. Eastern Armenia was annexed by the Sassanid Empire and the remaining ruling Arsacid monarchs in Eastern Armenia became Client Kings of Armenia under Sassanid rule.
References
Sources
*
Faustus of Byzantium
Faustus of Byzantium (also Faustus the Byzantine, hy, Փաւստոս Բուզանդ, translit=P'awstos Buzand) was an Armenian historian of the 5th century. Faustus' ''History of the Armenians'' (also known as '' Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk) exists ...
, History of the Armenians, 5th century
Armenian Girl Names – VardandukhtArmenian Girl Names – Vardandush* R.G. Hovannisian, The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century, Palgrave Macmillan, 2004
* A. Topchyan, The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movses Xorenac’i’s History of Armenia, Peeters Publishers, 2006
* V.M. Kurkjian, A History of Armenia, Indo-European Publishing, 2008
* R.P. Adalian, Historical Dictionary of Armenia, Scarecrow Press, 2010
See also
*
Arsacid dynasty of Armenia
*
Mamikonian
Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th c ...
{{authority control
Mamikonian family
Armenian queens consort
Foreign relations of ancient Rome
4th-century monarchs in the Middle East
4th-century women