Caucasia

Eastward and westward the Arabs made substantial gains over the course of the 640s, but northward, beyond the Jazira and northern Iraq, the mountainous

MAP 3.4 Caucasia.

Nature of the terrain presents a more serious challenge to would-be invaders. Up until AD 428 much of these lands had belonged to the kingdom of Armenia, equating to modern eastern Turkey, Armenia, and the northwest tip of Iran. Increasingly, however, the superpowers of Byzantium and Iran became involved in the affairs of this region and after 428 it became divided up between the two of them, though the ruggedness of the country meant that the various noble families of Armenia maintained a fair degree of autonomy and their celebrated martial prowess made them valued as allies by both sides. Nevertheless, Mu'awiya, the new Arab commander-in-chief in the west, was determined to cut his teeth on this proud land. For this task he selected Habib ibn Maslama, a formidable warrior with a stern temperament, who was described by one Christian chronicler as “a wicked Syrian man.” Habib took the easiest pass across the mountains to the northeast of the Jazira, and then marched along the northern shore of Lake Van. Continuing northeast he would have passed quite near the towering Mount Ararat, which attains a height of more than 5,000 meters. It was now the beginning of October and there was already snow on the ground. Not to be put off, the Arabs came up with the plan of bringing bulls and making them go on ahead of them to tread down the path. Thus they were able to forge ahead and enter the district of Ayrarat, the administrative center of Armenia, and to raid the capital, Dvin, some twenty miles south of modern Erevan. The Armenians had not been expecting an attack now that the winter had set in, and so they were caught unawares. The Arabs were able to plunder successfully across a wide area, and by means of smoke, dense volleys of arrows, and ladders they were able to enter the city of Dvin itself, in October 640, putting many of its residents to the sword and carrying off many captives and riches.23

Three years later, in the summer of 643, the Arabs launched another campaign against Armenia. This was part of a much wider assault on the whole region, perhaps intending to test the defenses of the northwest limits of the Persian Empire, which, it should be remembered, still endured at this time. The Arab army initially marched to the region of Azerbaijan, to the northeast of Lake Urmiah. There they split into three divisions of some 3,000 men apiece. One went northwards up the valley of the great Araxes River, past Dvin, and raided all around a great arc of territory to the north of the city, as far as the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. A second division headed northwest into the southern Armenian highlands, in the area around the modern border between Turkey and Iran. The third division besieged the strategic city of Nakhchawan, which commanded the Araxes valley south of Dvin. The second division had the most difficult task, for the local inhabitants could retreat into high mountain redoubts. It attacked two fortresses but suffered many losses and so withdrew. It captured a third fortress, but the next day Theodore Rshtuni, the Byzantine-approved commander in Armenia, fell upon them in a surprise attack. Out of 3,000 men, “the elite of all the Arab troops,” none survived save a few who escaped on foot and found safety in the lowland fens. To make known his victory Theodore selected 100 of the best Arab horses and sent them off to the Byzantine emperor as a gift. Hearing of this defeat, the third Arab division called off its siege of Nakhchawan and all the Arabs beat a hasty retreat, with only the booty taken by the first division to console them for this otherwise disastrous campaign.

Armenia, therefore, remained a free ally of the Byzantines for a while longer. However, in the year 652—53, Theodore Rshtuni, perhaps influenced by the news of the death of the Sasanian emperor Yazdgird, resolved to switch sides. The Armenians did not submit as conquered subjects, but agreed to act as vassals, which probably suited the Arabs, since their failed venture of a decade before was still fresh in their memory and they were in no hurry to return to fight this rugged country and its hardy inhabitants. The arrangement was quite a good one for the Armenians, since they were exempted from tribute for three years and then only had to pay whatever amount they deemed fair. They had to maintain 15,000 cavalry ready to give aid to the Arabs if they requested it, but in return they kept their autonomy. The document drafted by Mu'awiya stated: “I shall not send emirs to your fortresses, nor an Arab army—neither many, nor down to a single cavalryman.” Moreover, if anyone were to attack Armenia, the Arabs would send troops in support, as many as required. This move was not, however, universally popular in Armenia. Sebeos, probably echoing the sentiment of many of the clergy, laments that Theodore “made a pact with death and contracted an alliance with hell, abandoning the divine covenant.”