David Saharuni
David Saharuni ({{langx|hy|Դաւիթ Սահառունի}}, Davit' Saharuni) was sparapet, curopalates, ishkhan, and presiding prince of Byzantine-controlled Armenia from 635 to 638.Cyril Toumanoff. Studies in Christian Caucasian History. Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1963, p. 214. In an unprecedented move, his remit also included Byzantine-controlled Syria, which was likely driven by the efforts of the emperor Heraclius to attract Armenian military support against the advancing Muslim armies.{{cite book |last=Greenwood |first=Timothy William|date=January 12, 2009 |editor-last=Shepard|editor-first=Jonathan|title=The Cambridge History of the Byzantium Empire c.500-1492|publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=333–364 |chapter= Armenian Neighbours (600-1045) |url= https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/1032}}
Biography
David was a nakharar from the princely noble House of Saharuni. When the marzpan of Persarmania Varaztirots II Bagratuni was in the Byzantine imperial court in Osroene, he entered into a plot against emperor Heraclius organized by his illegitimate son John Athalarichos. David was also part of this plot. The attempt ultimately failed and Varaztirots was deported to an island near the coast of North Africa. David Saharuni was attacked by the general and ruler of Byzantine Armenia, Mzhezh Gnuni but managed to evade capture and killed Mzhezh Gnuni, with the help of Gnuni's own troops,Walter Emil Kaegi. Heraclius, Emperor of Byzantium. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 260.{{cite web |date= |url = http://rbedrosian.com/seb9.htm|title = Sebeos History:A History of Heraclius|publisher = History Workshop| accessdate = October 22, 2009 | last= Sebeos | author-link= Sebeos |quote=Chapter 29}} many of whom were Armenians sympathetic to Saharuni.
David quickly obtained support from the local feudal lords, as a result, Heraclius was forced to nominate David as curopalates around 635.J. R. Martindale (editor). The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire 2 volume set: Volume 3, 527-641 (Vol 3). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992, p. 389.{{sfn|Avdoyan|2018|p=458}} The historian John Katholikos adds that the Armenian nobles also gave him the title of Ishkhan of Armenia. He also founded the Cathedral of Mren in order to commemorate the return of the True Cross to Jerusalem.{{sfn|Avdoyan|2018|p=458}} In 639, David undertook a counteroffensive against the Muslim invasion of Syria, but was beaten and retreated to Armenia. According to Dionysius of Tell Mahre, David was killed with many of his men, but Sebeos wrote that he was expelled by the nobility, though he does not mention that the defeat was the reason.{{sfn|Syvänne |2022|pp=300–302}} After him, Theodoros Rshtuni took his place as ruler of Armenia. The most detailed source covering the events of these years is historian Sebeos in his History of Heraclius.
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book |author-last=Avdoyan |author-first=Levon| editor1-last=Nicholson |editor1-first=Oliver |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity |date=19 April 2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-256246-3 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Oxford_Dictionary_of_Late_Antiquity/A09WDwAAQBAJ|access-date=5 February 2025 |language=en |chapter=David Saharuni}}
- {{cite book |last1=Syvänne |first1=Ilkka |title=Military History of Late Rome 602–641 |date=29 December 2022 |publisher=Pen and Sword Military |isbn=978-1-3990-7570-1 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Military_History_of_Late_Rome_602_641/ka2ZEAAAQBAJ |access-date=6 February 2025 |language=en}}
External links
- [http://rbedrosian.com/seb9.htm Primary source: Sebeos' History of Heraclius, Chapter 29. Translated from Old Armenian by Robert Bedrosian]
{{Marzbans of Persian Armenia}}
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Category:Year of birth unknown
Category:Year of death unknown
Category:7th-century monarchs in Asia
Category:7th-century Armenian people
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