Urnayr (attested only as

Old Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian pronunciation: Grabar, Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at ...

Ուռնայր ''Uṙnayr'') was the third Arsacid king of

Caucasian Albania Caucasian Albania is a modern exonym for a former state located in ancient times in the Caucasus: mostly in what is now Azerbaijan (where both of its capitals were located). The modern endonyms for the area are ''Aghwank'' and ''Aluank'', among t ...

from approximately 350 to 375. He was the successor of

Vache I Vache I was the second Arsacid ruler of Caucasian Albania from approximately 336 to 350. He was succeeded by Urnayr Urnayr (attested only as Old Armenian Ուռնայր ''Uṙnayr'') was the third Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania from approximat ...

().

Biography

The Treaty of Nisibis in 299 between the

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

King of Kings King of Kings; grc-gre, Βασιλεὺς Βασιλέων, Basileùs Basiléōn; hy, արքայից արքա, ark'ayits ark'a; sa, महाराजाधिराज, Mahārājadhirāja; ka, მეფეთ მეფე, ''Mepet mepe'' ...

('' shahanshah'')

Narseh Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; pal, 𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩, New Persian: , ''Narsē'') was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I (), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind and ...

() and the Roman emperor

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

had ended disastrously for the Sasanians, who ceded them huge chunks of their territory, including the Caucasian kingdoms 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 ''O ...

and

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese language, Aragonese and Occitan language, Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a pe ...

. The Sasanians would not take part in the political affairs of the Caucasus for almost 40 years. The modern historian Murtazali Gadjiev argues that it was during this period the Arsacids gained the kingship of Albania, by being appointed as proxies by the Romans in order to gain complete control over the Caucasus. In the 330s, a reinvigorated Iran re-entered the Caucasian political scene, forcing the Arsacid Albanian king Vachagan I (or Vache I) to acknowledge Sasanian suzerainty. Urnayr, whose mother was a Sasanian princess, enjoyed good relations with the Sasanian ''shahanshah''

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings ( Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reign ...

(), whose daughter he was given in marriage. The later Arsacid Albanian king

Aswagen Aswagen (also spelled Arsvaghen and Aswahen) was the eight Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania, ruling from approximately 415 to 440. He was most likely the son of the previous Albanian king Urnayr, while his mother was a daughter of the Sasanian Ki ...

() was most likely their son. Urnayr fought alongside Shapur II at the

battle of Bagrevand The Battle of Bagrevand was fought on 25 April 775, in the plains of Bagrevand, between the forces of the Armenian princes who had rebelled against the Abbasid Caliphate and the caliphal army. The battle resulted in a crushing Abbasid victory, w ...

in 372, where he was injured by the Armenian general Mushegh I Mamikonian, who spared him. When Urnayr returned to Albania, he sent a message to Mushegh thanking him for sparing his life, and also informed him of a surprise attack planned by Shapur II.Faustus of Byzantium, History of the Armenians, Book Four, Chapter 5 Urnayr was succeeded by Vachagan II in .

Conversion to Christianity

According to a legend, Urnayr accepted Christianity as state religion of

in 313 thanks to efforts of Tiridates III of Armenia and

Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...

. However, researchers Wolfgang Schulze, Zaza Alexidze and Jost Gippert argued this is unlikely given Urnayr's political career, as well as his contemporariness with Pap of Armenia. It is most likely a later addition to tradition. Therefore circumstances of his conversion is mystery.

References

Bibliography

Ancient works

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''.

Modern works

* * {{Arsacid dynasty of Caucasian Albania Arsacid kings of Caucasian Albania 4th-century Iranian people Vassal rulers of the Sasanian Empire