Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 631 The Fate of a Small Country

After visiting the church, Tuohuan and others still held a sacrifice according to previous customs, and then distributed sacrificial meat and gave gifts to the participants.

The ownership of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is very complicated. Due to the frequent divisions of the church and the change of ownership caused by years of war, it has become a mess. At present, the various areas and holy objects in the church are mostly divided up by the Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church and the Armenian Church. In addition, the Egyptian Coptic Church, the Ethiopian Church and the Syrian Church later got involved, making the ownership here a complete hodgepodge.

The clergy, like secular lords, fought each other to gain more territory and more holy relics. Local secular rulers, even the caliph at the time, tried to mediate, but never succeeded.

Even if an agreement is reached temporarily, the priests will try to find a breakthrough in the agreement and fight for it. For example, there is an agreement that the front yard of the church belongs to the Orthodox Church, while the steps in front of the yard belong to the Armenian Church. But then, the two churches began to fight for hundreds of years over whether the top step is part of the stairs or part of the yard. In addition to debating, they also compete in martial arts, and even cause casualties from time to time.

Later, Saladin captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders and tried to establish effective management of the city. However, the various factions in the church were still arguing and no one could take charge. So Saladin simply appointed a Muslim family as the manager of the church and in charge of the key to the door, so that at least they would not get involved in the fight. This decision has been carried forward, and until now, their family has sent someone to open and close the door every day.

After distributing consolation gifts to everyone, including the gatekeeper, they headed to the Armenian community. The Armenians were also Christians in theory, but their church had separated too early and had become a separate sect. However, because the church was not so large, their area was also the smallest, just a community formed around the church.

There are not many historical sites here. In the past, there were some buildings such as towers, but they were destroyed in the long war. The great lama Wang came forward and provided them with a donation in the name of helping the believers to repair the church. The local elders were very grateful and said that they would do their best to help if they needed anything in the future.

There are many Armenians in the area from Asia Minor to Syria, and you can meet them almost everywhere. Their church is an important way for these scattered groups to communicate with each other. Therefore, the Roman Church also hopes to have a good relationship with them, so that in the future, if they need to ask for help, they will have an additional channel for dialogue.

Armenia is located in the Caucasus Mountains, and its geographical location is very important, but it has always had a hard time. This place is located between the core areas of the Eastern Mediterranean and Persia, and is often used as a buffer. Its history is almost a standard history of a small country between the cracks of big countries.

Originally, this was the territory of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia, and was governed by Persian governors. Although it was nominally an official territory, the Achaemenid Empire was still in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the management of the local area was much looser. Most of these governors were hereditary local kings, and many of them were members of the Persian royal family. In fact, it was a feudal system.

After Alexander conquered Persia, his management strength and ability may not be as good as before, which led to the explosion of many border areas. Armenia initially obeyed the rule of the Seleucid dynasty, but later broke away and established its own kingdom. Taking advantage of the chaos at the time, it quickly became strong, took control of the Syrian region in the south, intervened in the Mithridatic War in the west, and competed with Rome for hegemony.

However, the military strength of Rome was far beyond the Armenians' estimation. Roman generals Lucullus and Pompey successively led their armies to defeat the Armenians and forced them to surrender. At this time, the power of the Parthian Kingdom was growing stronger and entered the Mesopotamian region. Armenia was sandwiched between the two and was repeatedly fought over.

Finally, since neither side could defeat the other, during the reign of Nero, Rome and Parthia signed the Treaty of Lamentia, which stipulated a somewhat strange method: the king of Armenia was nominated by the Parthian side. As in the previous Persian era, it was generally a royal family member. However, the power of appointment and coronation belonged to the Roman side. Relying on this compromise, peace was maintained for a period of time.

However, when the power of the two sides changed, the situation of Armenia would change. After the unification, Rome gradually became stronger, while Parthia declined earlier. During the reign of Trajan, the king of Parthia made a political misjudgment and made his nephew the king of Armenia without the permission of the Romans, which gave the Romans an excuse. Trajan took this opportunity to send troops to attack and destroy the Armenian Kingdom.

Seeing the situation was not good, Parthia quickly gave in and proposed compensation such as replacing the king, but Trajan refused to crown the new candidate king and sent them out of the country with gifts. He found that Parthia had also fallen into civil strife, which was why he made such stupid moves.

Trajan seized this opportunity and led his army south along the Mesopotamian River, finally reaching the coast of the Persian Gulf. Ctesiphon and Susa were both conquered by the Roman army, but the Parthians were still fighting among themselves. There were even pro-Roman nobles who tried to use the Roman army to achieve their own political goals, so they took the initiative to welcome them.

Some people believe that An Shigao, a monk in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, was the candidate for the Armenian king at that time. The story says that he gave up the throne, but in fact the Romans did not give it to him. There was also war in the palace of his hometown, so he had to flee eastward and finally came to Luoyang, where he became the first person to translate the Hinayana Buddhist scriptures. If this story is true, then he may be a rare legendary figure who has seen both the Han Dynasty and Rome.

However, the Romans were unable to continue their advance eastward and truly reach the East, because at this time, their rear was also on fire. While Trajan was still clearing out the resistance, Jewish rebellions broke out in the eastern provinces.

The destruction caused by this rebellion even exceeded that of the Parthians. The rebellion started in Cyrenaica and spread to Libya, Egypt, Judea, Syria, Cyprus, and even to the Mesopotamian Basin. Wherever the Jews went, the locals, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, were massacred. Historians recorded that almost all the farmers in Libya were killed and the fields were left uncultivated. It was not until the Hadrian era that a group of people were relocated here and agricultural production was restored. In Egypt, the rebels ravaged the entire Nile Delta, and the Greeks retreated to Alexandria. Almost all areas from Thebes to the coast were occupied by the Jews. The Jewish leader even proclaimed himself king in Egypt, sent people to attack everywhere, ravaged the Egyptians, and forcibly requisitioned their ships, cutting off the vital grain transportation. In Cyprus, the main port cities were destroyed and massacred by the Jews. Even in the Mesopotamian region, the Jews occupied Edessa, killed the pro-Roman king, and cut off the road to the upper reaches of the two rivers.

Due to the chaos in the rear, Trajan could only hastily support a Parthian king and then return. Although the Jews were quickly purged after the regular army arrived, this largest Eastern Expedition in history was abandoned halfway. Trajan himself was also exhausted and died on the way back.

After this, Rome was unable to maintain direct rule, and Armenia became independent again as a vassal state. After the Sassanid Empire unified Persia, it became stronger and stronger than the Parthian period. Rome began to decline due to the Crisis of the Third Century, and the strategic situation of both sides turned to Persia attacking and Rome defending. Armenia also turned to Persia.

But it was also at this time that, in order to maintain balance, Armenia began to make Christianity its state religion.

Before, this country was almost a part of Persian civilization. The country also believed in Zoroastrianism, and the king called himself "King of Kings" and claimed to be a descendant of the Persian king to maintain legitimacy. But in the face of increasing pressure, they had to change their beliefs as soon as possible to maintain cultural independence and avoid being swallowed up by the Persians. Therefore, they accepted Christianity even earlier than Constantine.

However, these measures could only cope with the situation temporarily. Sassanid Persia was stronger than Parthia, and the political level of Sassanid Persia and the later Eastern Roman Empire had also greatly improved, and the control over the local areas was much stronger than in the classical era. For both sides who had recovered, Armenia soon became unnecessary and was eventually divided in the fourth century. The western side became a Roman province, and the eastern side became a Persian governorate.

After the rise of the Arabs, they replaced Persia and continued to control Armenia until the Abbasid dynasty also declined and split. The Eastern Roman Empire sent troops to the Caucasus many times to weaken the Arabs' rule over the area, and some independent vassal states emerged in Armenia again. However, these forces still made it increasingly difficult for the emperor to rest assured.

During the reign of Basil II, the Armenians intervened in the Roman civil war and colluded with the Georgians to rebel, which caused strong dissatisfaction. Basil led his army into Armenia, defeated the coalition forces, and blinded all the captives as revenge. The Armenians were terrified, and the small countries surrendered and requested to be annexed. Most of the independent princes were annexed by the Eastern Roman Empire.

At this time, only the Kingdom of Bagratuni remained in the Armenian region, and it remained independent for several decades. When the Eastern Romans failed to attack, they tricked the king into going to Constantinople for negotiations. The king believed it and led an embassy to Constantinople, but was detained and forced to agree to give up the territory. He was then exiled and assassinated by several Greeks on the way. The last Armenian Kingdom perished.

However, a member of the royal family escaped from the delegation and came to Cilicia, where he gathered the local Armenian refugees and hoped to continue to resist Rome. At this time, the Turks were advancing westward and defeated the Romans in Manzikert. The Asia Minor region was in chaos, and this small kingdom survived.

After that, with the help of the Crusaders, the kingdom was able to deal with other forces. After the arrival of the Mongols, the Armenians immediately formed an alliance with the Mongols and became one of the latter's most important supporters in the local area. After the Ilkhanate converted to Islam, the relationship between the parties did not change. The Mongolian-Armenian-Frankish alliance was still trying to resist the powerful Mamluks going north.

After the collapse of the Ilkhanate, the alliance lost its backbone and was finally unable to resist. Cilicia was also occupied by the Mamluks in 1375. The last king fled to Western Europe and eventually died in Paris.

However, the Mamluks' governance ability was relatively low, and it was difficult to effectively manage this complex and remote land. This uncontrolled area soon became a paradise for the Turkmen. The tribes in the surrounding mountains migrated to the Cilician Plain. The Franks on the island of Cyprus also took advantage of the chaos to get a piece of the pie. The migrating Turkmen attracted Timur's uncle to come for a holy war...

After a chaotic fight, the place was completely broken up. Armenians were running everywhere, and it was still like this until now.

Most of the rich people fled to Cyprus, where they continued to do business and run industrial estates. Some even fled to Europe. Those who could not escape wandered around and worked as mercenaries for different forces to make a living. In addition to the Turkmen tribe brought by Meltem's family, most of those hired to help strengthen the defense were Armenians - of course, now Armenians and Turkmen are mixed together. Maybe there are some differences in religious rituals, otherwise it is hard to tell them apart.

Small countries sandwiched between big countries are generally like this. Armenians are lucky, at least their cultural identity is quite strong, and they still have their own churches and communities. Throughout history, various ethnic groups have come and gone here, and most of them have long disappeared. Those who can stay are more or less some ruthless characters.

After pacifying these people, the mission of this trip was basically completed. At night, Tuohuan and others stayed in the city, and made another pilgrimage early the next morning. According to the plan, they left a few craftsmen here to carve an inscription as a memorial. They also invited a few elders to go south with the army to facilitate communication with the people in Egypt. After the preparations were completed, they packed up and left here.

(End of this chapter)