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The Arab conquest of Armenia was a part of the Muslim Conquests which began after the death of the prophet Muhammad . ISLAMIC EXPANSION After Muhammad's death in 632 , the prophet's successors started a military campaign in order to spread Islam . During the Muslim conquests, the Arabs conquered most of the Middle East .
On January 6th, 642, the Arabs stormed and took the city of Dvin , slaughtered 12,000 of its inhabitants and carried 35,000 into slavery. Prince Theodorus of the Rshtuni family confronted the Arabs, and came out victorious by liberating the enslaved Armenians. 1 Bishop Sebeos recorded the history of the Arab conquest. In his ''History of Heraclius'', he wrote of the sad fate of his country. He said: "Who can tell the horrors of the invasion of the Ishmaelite (Arab), who set both the land and the sea ablaze? The blessed Daniel foresaw and foretold like misfortunes. [... In the following year (643), the Ishmaelite army crossed to Atrpatakan (Azerbaijan) and was divided into three corps. One moved towards Ararat; another into the territory of Sephakan Gound, the third into the land of Alans. Those who invaded the domain of the Sephakan Gound spread over it, destroying, plundering and taking prisoners. Thence they marched together to Erevan, where they attacked the fortress, but were unable to capture it." ARMENIANS YIELD TO THE CALIPH During the Arab expansion, Armenians understood that the Byzantines were in no hurry to help them, and thus they had to make their own decisions. Theodorus Rshtuni and other Armenian '' Nakharar s'' (lords) considered that it'd be better to accept Arab rule of Armenia. In fact, Constans II , the Byzantine Emperor, sent occasional reinforcements to Armenia, but they were inadequate. The commander of the city of Dvin , Sembat, confronted by the fact that he could no longer hold out against the Islamic army, submitted to Caliph Omar , consenting to pay him tribute. In 644, he was assassinated by a Persian slave and was replaced by Caliph Uthman . The Armenian acceptance of Arab rule irritated the Byzantines. Emperor Constans sent his men to Armenia in order to impose the Chalcedonian creed of Christianity. He did not succeed in his doctrinal objective, but the new Armenian prefect, Hamazasp, who regarded the taxes imposed by the Muslims as too heavy, yielded to the Emperor. The Caliph thus ordered the massacre of 1,775 Armenian hostages then in his hands, and was about to march against the Armenian rebels when he was assassinated by the rebels in 656. Armenia remained under Arab rule for approximately 200 years, formally starting in 645 . Throughout these years of Umayyad and Abbasid rule, the Armenian Christians benefited from a good deal of political autonomy and religious freedom, but were considered second-class citizens. The Armenian Church enjoyed greater recognition than under any previous jurisdiction.2 The Caliph assigned Ostikans as governors and representatives, who sometimes were of Armenian origin. The first ostikan, for example, was Theodorus Reshtouni. However, the commander of the 15,000-strong army was always of Armenian origin, often from the Mamikonian , Bagratuni or Artsruni families. He would either defend the country from foreigners, or assist the Caliph in his military expeditions. For example, the Armenians helped the Caliphate against Khazar invaders. Arab rule was interrupted by many revolts, whenever Arabs attempted to enforce Islam, or higher taxes, to the people of Armenia. However, these revolts were sporadic and intermittent. They never had a pan-Armenian character. Arabs used to play out the rivalries between the different Armenian ''nakharars'' in order to curb the rebellions. Thus, the Mamikonian, Rshtuni, Kamsarakan and Gnuni families were gradually weakened in favor of the Bagratuni and Artsruni families. The rebellions led to the creation of the legendary character, David Of Sassoun . During Islamic rule, Arabs from other parts of the Caliphate settled in Armenia. By the 9th century, there was a well-established class of Arab emirs, more or less equivalent to the Armenian nakharars. At the end of this period, in 885 , the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was established. SEE ALSO REFERENCES |
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