Caucasia

The Arabs encountered the same sort of obduracy in the lands to the north of their realm. In 699, Muhammad ibn Marwan, who was the brother of 'Abd al-Malik and responsible for these northern territories, decided to change the

FIGURE 5.4 Giant Buddha, carved into rock face at Bamiyan, Afghanistan. © Western Himalaya Archive Vienna.

Prevailing system of indirect rule via a local Armenian prince in favor of direct rule via an agent appointed by Muhammad himself. However, for this proud mountain people any move to reduce their independence and ancient privileges was regarded with hostility, and Armenian sources accuse the appointee of plotting to destroy the nobility of the land of Armenia and their cavalry. Smbat Bagratuni, who had been chosen as the new chief prince of Armenia in 693, roused the nobles against the Arabs and rallied an army, and in January 703 they marched down the river Araxes near to Nakhchawan, where an Arab garrison some 5,000-strong was stationed. The Armenians crossed the river and camped at Vardanakert, pursued all the while by the Arab garrison. It was now nightfall and so the Armenians barricaded the streets of the town and assigned guards to keep watch until dawn. As the sun arose, they performed mass and received communion, and then they organized themselves into units and readied themselves for the attack. Although the Armenian warriors numbered only 2,000, they had the advantage of surprise, launching themselves on the Arabs just as they were waking. Those who escaped the sword fell into the river Araxes, and soon drowned or froze, since it was a cold winter. Some managed to flee, “naked, barefoot and wounded,” and they sought refuge with a local princess. “She bandaged their wounds, healed them and gave them clothes to wear,” and sent them back to their country, earning the gratitude of the caliph himself. Smbat reported the victory to the Byzantine emperor and sent him some of the choicest booty, for which praise was heaped upon him and he was awarded honors and high rank.14

Another assault was targeted against a small Arab unit quartered in the region of Vaspurakan, to the southeast of Lake Van. Once the Armenians realized how few in number the Arabs were, they threw themselves upon them and slaughtered them mercilessly. Only 280 Arabs got away, and they sought sanctuary in a church. The Armenians did not want to harm the church and so they besieged the Arabs inside. One of the latter tried to appeal to the compassion of the Armenian leader, but he replied: “We were taught by our Lord that merciful treatment is due to the merciful. You, however, are a merciless nation and do not deserve mercy.” At this the Arab returned to his men and encouraged them to act as true soldiers and to go out fighting. All were slain by the sword, except for this one man, who, it turned out, had done a deal with the Armenians that he should not be slain if he got his companions out of the church, and so instead they threw him into the sea. The Armenians, however, would come to regret their action, for a similar one was subsequently visited upon them.

On hearing of the double defeat of Arab troops, 'Abd al-Malik dispatched his brother Muhammad to reassert his authority over the Armenians. The latter feared a violent reprisal and so they sent the head of their church, Patriarch Sahak, to negotiate with Muhammad. The plan was for the two of them to meet at Harran in northern Syria, now just across the border in modern south Turkey. Unfortunately, Sahak fell sick and died just days before Muhammad arrived, in late 703, but he did leave a letter imploring Muhammad to show compassion to his people. Muhammad respected the man's dying wish and gave his oath that he would leave Armenia in peace for three years. As the expiry of this term drew near, the prince of Armenia, Smbat Bagratuni, wrote to the Byzantine emperor requesting troops, since he was afraid that the new Arab ruler, Walid, was likely to authorize a revenge attack. Muhammad donned his armor once more and marched to counter the Byzantine contingent, which had been reinforced by Armenian troops led by Smbat. The two sides met near Kars, in modern eastern Turkey. Muhammad, a skillful and experienced general, won with relative ease, and he then returned with his army to the Arab base at Dvin. However, Walid had evidently decided that it was time to teach the Armenians a lesson. The Arab commander of the district of Nakhchawan was ordered to summon a number of the Armenian nobles under the pretext of including them in the official register and to distribute payments, which is explained as “the official maintenance given to the Armenian nobles and their cavalry,” indicating that the old Sasanian system of granting subsidies to the nobles had been continued by the Arabs. However, once they were assembled “he confined them in a great church and set fire to it, thus incinerating them, and he allowed their women to be taken as spoil.”

News of this massacre evidently circulated widely, for it was recorded in Armenian, Byzantine, and Muslim sources. It prompted many Armenian nobles to flee their country. Smbat Bagratuni left with his clan to Phasis on the Black Sea coast, where the Byzantines allowed him to establish a safe haven. However, when Walid felt that his point had been made, he recalled Muhammad and dispatched a certain 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Hatim as governor of Armenia (706-9), who receives a surprisingly positive write-up in the Armenian sources: “He had poor hearing, but was a man of prudence, full of earthly wisdom, a teller of stories and proverbs. . . . He pacified the country by protecting it from all unjust attacks.” He issued an oath in writing guaranteeing the lives and property of the nobles and thus persuaded them to return to their ancestral seats. Prudently, though, he fortified the city of Dvin to give greater protection to the Arab garrison stationed there, installing new gates and a moat around the city walls. Possibly the reason for the more favorable attitude toward Armenia, which extended also to the other Caucasian polities, Georgia and Albania, was that the Arabs now faced a growing threat to the north, namely, the Khazars, and so it made sense to keep their southern Caucasian vassals loyal.