Timeline – Russia's Periphery

870 BC: Kingdom of Uratu emerges under King Aramu I
780s BC: Argisht I leads a successful campaign against the Hatti and Dsopk
782 BC: Erebuni (modern Erevan) built as a fortress town by King Argishti I
590 BC: Collapse of the Uratian Kingdom, territory taken by the Median empire
585 BC: Ervanduni dynasty come to power in historic Armenia, rule as satrap in the former capital of the Uratian Kingdom
550 BC: Collapse of the Median Empire due to rebellious vassals (including the Ervandunis) led by Cyrus II of Persia
546 BC: Cyrus II conquers Armenia
521 BC: Armenians rebel against Persian rule
480 BC: Armenians serve in the Persian army sent against Greece
368 BC: 10,000 Armenians serve in the Persian campaign against Cilicia
333 BC: Armenians fight in the Persian army in the Battle of Issus against Alexander the Great
331 BC: Armenians fight in the Persian army at the Battle of Gaugamela against Alexander the Great
331 BC: Collapse of the Achaemenian Empire; First independent Armenian State
323 BC: Death of Alexander the Great. Armenian territory nominally inherited by General Seleucus
281 BC: Death of General Seleucus; Ervandunis consolidate power in Greater Armenia
200s BC: Artashesian-Ervanduni War breaks out after the Seleucid king Antiochus III encourages Artashes and Zareh to rebel against the Ervanduni
200 BC: End of the Ervanduni Kingdom. Antiochus III makes Artashes I king of Greater Armenia and a Seleuid vassal
188 BC: Seleucids forced to withdraw from Asia Minor by the Peace of Apamea. Romans grant Artashes and Zareh sovereignty over Greater and Lesser Armenia
187 BC: Death of Antiochus III
180 BC: Artashes I signs a security treaty with Zareh I, but Lesser Armenian troops refuse to fight for Artashes
168 BC: Artashes I launches invasion into Mespotamia, beginning war against Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes
165 BC: Antiochus IV’s final attempt to invade Armenia and Parthia fails
160 BC: Death of Artashes I; succeeded by his son Artavazd I
110s BC: Persian Army defeats Artavazd I; succeeded by his brother Tigran I
100s BC: Persian Army defeats Tigran I; Armenia forced to pay tribute
96 BC: Rome and Parthia divide Seluecid territories and Armenia
94 BC: Tigran II conquers Lesser Armenia
92 BC: Tigran II allies with Mithradates VI against Kingdom of Cappadocia
90 BC: Tigran II conquers territories he had previously surrendered to Parthia in exchange for his freedom
69 BC: Roman Army conquers Lesser Armenia; During the Battle of Tigranakert Tigran II’s sons rebel against him. The Romans defeat Tigran II and he is forced to withdraw from Syria and Mesopotamia
66 BC: Tigran II signs the Peace of Artashat, making himself a symbolic ruler and vassal to Rome
55 BC: Death of Tigran II
54 BC: Artavazd II succeeds his father and establishes closer ties to Rome; Roman General Marcus Licinius Crassus arrives in Syria intending to destroy Parthia
50s BC: Parthians invade Armenia, intending to remove the Armenian Army as the last barrier between them and Rome. Artavazd II lends substantial military support to Crassus
53 BC: Artavazd II allies with Orodos of Parthia against Crassus in the Battle of Carrhae
36 BC: Artavazd II enters into a secret alliance with General Marc Antony
34 BC: Marc Antony joins with the King of Media against Artavazd II
33 BC: Marc Antony attacks Artashat and returns to Egypt with Artavazd II as a hostage. Artashes II escapes to Persia
30 BC: Parthia supports Artashes II’s campaign to retake Armenia, but Parthian forces withdraw abruptly, allowing for the Roman Army to take control of the Armenia situation
20 BC: Augustus sends Tiberius and Tigran (son of Artashes II) to Armenia; Tigran III becomes king
2 BC: Augustus sends his army to conquer Partihia after Musa, Roman slave woman turned queen, poisons Phraates IV of Parthia
10: Decline of the Artashesian dynasty; Rome rules Armenia for the remainder of the first century AD
55: General Domitius Corbulo secures Syria and Lesser Armenia as client states; Vologeses I of Parthia declares Greater Armenia a vassal state
58: Corbulo launches a full-scale invasion of Armenia
62: Vologeses defeats Corbulo and forces him to withdraw from Armenia
64: Rhandeia Compromise establishes joint Roman-Parthian suzereinty over Armenia
66: Nero crowns Trdat, brother of Vologeses, King of Armenia, establishing the Arshakuni Dynasty
72: Vespasian incorporates Lesser Armenia into the province of Cappadocia
88: Death of Trdat I
114: Trajan refuses to install a Parthian to the Armenian throne, violating the Rhandeia Compromise
117: Vagharsh I takes the Armenian throne
216: Roman military command imprisons Khosrov I of Armenia and installs a Roman governor, Theocrates, in Armenia; He is quickly overthrown. Armenian, rather than Parthian, Arshakunis regain control of Armenia. Parthia collapses. Sasanians now control Persia
244: Sasanian king Shapur I defeats the Roman Army at the Battle of Massice; also captures Antioch and Caesarea
250s: Shapur’s son Narseh deposes Trdat II, rules Armenia until 293
278: Roman Emperor Probus and Narseh agree to partition Armenia; Romans install Khosrov II to rule the Western half of Armenia
287: Sasanians assassinate Khosrov II
293: Narseh leaves Armenia to assume Persian throne; Rome installs Trdat III on Armenian throne
296-7: Narseh launches a campaign against Armenia and Rome; defeated by Trdat IV
297: Peace of Nisibis; Sasanians recognize autonomy of Armenia under Roman suzerainty
298-9: Trdat IV installed on Armenian throne
301: Trdat converts to Christianity and makes it the official state religion
313: Edict of Milan establishes religious toleration in the Roman Empire
324: Constantine I founds Constantinople
330: Death of Trdat the Great
365: Council of Ashtashat condemns houses still observing pagan practice
387: Treaty of Ekeghiats divides Greater Armenia between Theodosius I and Shapus II; Armenia ruled by two vassal kings
389: Arshak III dies; Byzantium refuses to replace him with an Armenian; End of the Arshakuni Dynasty
400s: Development of the Armenian alphabet within Persian Armenia
428: Sasanians remove Artashes, ending the Armenian Arshakuni Kingdom
428-652: MARZPANATE PERIOD
428: Sasanans appoint Vehmihrshapuh as first marzpan (viceroy) of Armenia. He replaces Cathilicos Sahak with Syrian patriarchs
447: Denshapuh, plenipotentiary of Yazdgird II, eliminates tax immunity for the church and raises taxes for all Armenians
447: Council of Shahapivan passes resolutions regarding patriarchal domination within the home and responsibilities of the higher clergy
450: Council at Artashat led by Cathilicos Hovsep I and marzpan Vasak Siuni drafts a statement establishing their loyalty both to the Persian king and Christianity. Byzantine Emperor Marcian stops Armenian rebellion before it begins. Serious conflicts between pro-Byzantine and pro-Persian factors in Armenia
451: anti-Persian Vardan is defeated by Vasak Siuni at the Battle of Avarayr
460-480: Armenian rebellions continue led by Varden’s nephew Sparapet Vahan Mamikonian
481: Armenian army seizes Dvin and installs Sahak Bagratuni as governor
485: Sparapet Vahan Mamikonian appointed as marzpan of Armenia; mother see transferring from Vagharshapat to Dvin
527: Justinian reforms establish a military command in Byzantine Armenia
531: Sasanian king Khosrov I Anushirvan signs a treaty of “perpetual peace” with Justinian I
578: Khosrov I reestablishes control over Persian Armenia; Byzantine general Maurice attacks Southern Armenia; 10,000 Armenians deported to Cyprus
591: Armenia partitioned with Persian shah Khosrov II Parviz
637: Sasanian Empire collapses after the fall of its capital, Ctesiphon
639: Theodore Rshtuni reunites Byzantine and Persian Armenia
640: First invasion of Armenia by Arabs; capture of Dvin
650: Armenia ruled by the Ummayad caliphate centered at Damascus
652: Peace signed with Vaspurakan and other nakharars
701: Ummayads formally annex Armenia
705: Ummayads invade Tayk,then Nakhijevan, culminating in a massacre of nakharars
719: Ecclesiastical council summoned at Dvin to deal with heresy and the Paulician rebellions
725-6: Ecclesiastical council summoned at Manzikert to reconcile the Armenian and Syrian churches
747-50: Armenians rebel against Abbasids
750: Armenia ruled by the Abbasid caliphate centered at Baghdad
774-5: Armenians rebel against Abbasids; rebels are massacred
806: Ashot Msaker awarded title of “Prince of Armenia
826: After Ashort’s death, his son Bagarat Bagratuni is named “prince of princes”
852: Turkish general Bugha invades Armenia and kills Bagarat
861: Assassination of Caliph Zafar al-Mutawakkil
862: Ashot, Bagarat’s son, named “prince of princes
872: Emperor Basil I attacks Tephike, destroying the Paulician army
884 – 1065: BAGRATUNI MONARCHY
884: Caliph crowns King Ashot I. Basil I also sends him a crown
890: Death of Ashot I; caliphate delivers crown to Smbat I
893: Smbat I signs bilateral treaty with Leo VI, but it did not guarantee military support
895: Ahmad Shaybani, son of a Mesopotamian emir, conquers Amid and Taron
898: Muhammad Afshin leads an invasion of Armenia; Treaty requires heavy taxes and hostages in the court of Azerbaijan
903: Prince Ashot of Siunik rejects the Bagratuni Monarchy; his rights and privileges are nullified; Yusuf ibn Abu Saj Devdad invades Armenia. Peace required acknowledgement of Yusuf’s superiority and direct taxes paid to him
908: Yusuf crowns Gagik Artsuni king of Vaspurkan and “King of All Armenians.” Together they invade Armenia
914: Smbat I surrenders and is beheaded in Dvin
920s: Ashot II retakes Armenian lands lost to Yusuf
961: Ashot III makes Ani the new capital
964: John Tzimisces conquers Cilicia
969: Fatimid Caliphate emerges in Egypt
982: Persian Sallarid emir Abul Haijan attacks Ani
995: Byzantine and Fatimid armies clash over Aleppo
1019: Basil II demands the cities of Ani and Kars, then invades Georgia
1021-2: Cathilicos Petros I Getadardz sent to negotiate peace. Bequeaths the Armenian crown and royal domain to Byzantine Emperor
1041: Hovhannes-Smbat and Ashot IV die. Byzantium demands Armenia, but instead Gagik II succeeds
1044: Gagik II summoned to Constantinople for negoatiations
1045: Cathilicos Petros I Getadardz surrenders Ani and the treasures of the Armenian Church to the Byzantine Army
August 16, 1064: Seljuk Turks capture Ani
1064: Byzantine Army captures Kars
1065: Seljuk Turks capture Kars; Gagik surrenders his kingdom to Byzantium in return for safety
1071: Seljuk Turks decimate Byzantine Army at the Battle of Manzikert
1074: Muslim Armenians begin to play a role in Fatimid Egypt
1079: Gagik II murdered while imprisoned in Cilicia
1080s: Ruben rebels against Byzantine rule and conquers Cilicia
1098: First Crusader State established at Edessa
1099: Fatimid Muslim Armenian forces led by Abu’l-Qasim al-Afdal defeated by Crusaders
1130s: Prince Raymond tries to extend Antioch’s power into Cilicia
1136: Raymond holds Prince Levon captive at Antioch, demanding Mamistra, Adana, and Sarvandikar
1137: Antioch recognizes Byzantine supremacy
1138: Byzantine Army captures Vakha, takes Levon prisoner
1142: Levon’s son Toros escapes captivity to organize Cilician Armenians against Byzantium
1144: Zangi seizes Edessa
1146: Nur al-Din, Zangi’s son, defeats Antioch
1147: Catholicosate seat transferred from Tsovk to Hromkla, within territory governed by Edessa
1152: Toros defeats Andronicus Comnenus and Prince Oshon of Lampron at the Battle of Mamistra
1154: Zengids advance towards Damascus and Egypt
1155-6: Toros allies with Reynald of Chatillon against Byzantine forces in Cyprus and Cilicia
1158: Manuel I Comnenus captures parts of Cilicia
1169: Salah ad-Din removes the last Fatimid Caliph; Death of Toros
1170: Mleh, Toros’ brother, emerges as leader of Cilicia
1172-3: Mleh defeats Byzantine Army at Adana, Mamistra, and Taurus; Establishes Sis as the political center of Cilicia
1174: Death of Nur al-Din
1175: Mleh assassinated by the Hetumians
1185-7: Salah al-Din expands Ayyubid territory to Damascus, Aleppo, Diarbekir, Mayyafarqin, Hattin, Acre, Galilee, Samaria, and Jerusalem
1187: Salah al-Din defeats King Guy de Lusignan at the Battle of Hattin
1194: Levon forces an agreement for Bohemund III’s withdrawal from Baghras and the return of Rubenian territories
1198: Levon I crowned first king of Armenian Cilicia; accepted crowns from Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus and HRE Henry VI
1204: Crusaders sack Constantinople
1215: Fourth Crusade attacks Ayyubid power in Egypt
1216: Levon I places his grandson Raymond in control of Antioch
1219: Raymond overthrown by Antiochene nobility; Seljuk Turks invade Armenian Cilicia; Death of Levon I
1224: Philip of Antioch (husband of Levon’s daughter Zabel) is murdered
1233: Seljuk Turks invade Cilicia
1243: Mongolians defeat the Seljuks at the Battle of Kose Dagh
1245-6: Seljuk Turks invade Cilicia
1247: Hetum I begins negotiations for an alliance with the Mongols
1248: Hetum I sends a delegation to the Crusaders at Cyprus to discuss Cilicia’s role in the upcoming effort to liberate Syria and Egypt from Muslims
1250: Mamluks overthrow Ayyubid Dynasty
1254: Qaraqorum treaty between Hetum I and Great Khan Mongke
1259: Mongol empire weakens with the death of Mongke
1260: Mamluks defeat Mongels under Hulago at the Battle of Ayn Jalut
1269: Hetum I abdicates the throne after several military and diplomatic disasters
1274: Levon II requests military aid against the Muslims at the Council of Lyon; His request is ignored
1274-6: Mamluks invade Armenian Cilicia
1285: Treaty between Levon II and Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Qalawun; Levon must pay huge sums of money
1289: Death of Levon II
1292: Mamluks attack Hromkla and capture the Cathilicos
1293: Hetum II abdicates the throne
1295: Hetum II returns to power
1297: Smbat usurps the throne while Hetum II is in Constantinople; Imprisons his brothers in Caesaria
1298: Constantine of Gaban removes Smbat from power; Malik al-Mansur invades Cilicia
1302: Mamluks resume attacks on Cilicia
1307: Hetum II and Levon III are murdered en route to Anazarba
1317: Oshin confiscates Hospitaller property in Cilicia
1320: Murder of Oshin
1323: Levon IV signs a treaty with the Mamluks at Cairo
1331: Levon IV sends envoys to Europe, hoping to revive crusader missions
1336: Collapse of the Mongol Ikhanate; Sultan Nasir orders the invasion of Cilicia
1375: Mamluks capture the last Lusignan kings of Armenian Cilicia, ending the kingdom
1386: Timur Leng’s forces march on Georgia
1399: Timur Leng invades again
1405: Death of Timur Leng
1441: Cathilicosate returns to Echmiadzin
1453: Ottomans capture Constantinople
1461: Mehmed II appoints Bishop Hovakim of Bursa as patriarch for all Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire
1547: Cathilicos Stephanos pleads with the papacy and HRE Charles II to help free Armenia from Muslim domination
1590: Safavid Shah Abbas gives eastern Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia to Sultan Murad III in a peace treaty
1639: Treaty of Zuhab between Sultan Murad IV and Shah Safi I grants Iraq and the Armenian plateau to the Ottomans
1641: First Armenian book printed in New Julfa
1660: Armenian merchants present the Almazi Throne to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. In return he grants them a silk monopoly
1666: Oskan prints the first Armenian Bible in Amsterdam
1678: Cathilicos Hakob Jughayets solicits papal aid in freeing Armenia from Muslim domination
1722: Fall of the Safavid Empire, emergence of the Qajars; Peter the Great launches a military campaign into the Caucasus
1724: Partition of Transcaucasia; Ottomans control Armenia
1735: Peter the Great abandons his Caucasus troops
1768-74: Russo-Turkish War
1771: First press in Armenia established in Echmiadzin
1783: Treaty of Georgievsk establishes Russian protectorate over Eastern Georgia
1787-92: Russo-Turkish War
1794: Persian Army launches attack to reclaim Tiflis and Eastern Armenia
1796: Persia regains Tiflis and Eastern Armenia after lots of bloodshed
1800: Paul I declares Georgia’s annexation to the Russian Empire
1801: Alexander I proclaims direct incorporation of Georgia and Northern Armenia
1804-13: Russo-Persian War; Armenians fight alongside the Russians
1804: Russian Army takes Erevan and Gumri
1806-12: Russo-Turkish War
1807: Finkenstein treaty between France and Persia against Russia
1813: Persia surrenders everything North of the Arax and Kura rivers under the Treaty of Gulistan
1826-8: Russo-Persian War
1827: Russia seizes Sardarabad, Nakhijevan, Erevan and Tabriz
1828: Treaty of Turkmenchai establishes Russian control over all of Eastern Armenia
1828-9: Russo-Turkish War
1829: Mass migration to Russian Armenia follows the Treaty of Adrianople; establishment of the Armenian Oblast’
1836: Nicholas I requires that the Armenian Church conduct foreign business through the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
1839: Sultan Abdul Mejid declares equality within the Ottoman Empire in the Hatt-I Sherif of Gulhane
1847: Armenian Spiritual Council and Supreme Council established
1856: Sultan Abdul Mejid continues reforms with the Hatt-I Humayun
1862: Zeitun Rebellion
1863: Ratification of the Armenian National Constitution
1876: Ottoman Constitution reinforces democracy
1877-8: Russo-Turkish War
1878: Sultan Abdul-Hamid suspends the Ottoman Constitution; Treaty of San Stefano grants more Armenian land to Russia, but that land is returned to the Ottomans by the Treaty of Berlin
1894: massacres of Armenians begin in the region of Sasun
1895: massacres continue in Trebizond, Urfa, and Erzerum
1896: massacres continue in Diarbekir, Arabkir, Kharpet, and Kayseri
1903: Nicholas II confiscates Armenian Church property
1905: Armenian revolutionary movements join in the first Russian Revolution; Nicholas II returns the confiscated church property
1909: Young Turk revolution forces Abdul-Hamid to abdicate and reinstates the Ottoman Constitution
1912: persecution of Armenian revolutionaries in Russia
1913: military regime established in Ottoman Empire

[Compiled by Annie Mosher; source: Simon Payaslian, The History of Armenia (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007); Razmik Panossian, The Armenians (New York: Columbia University Press, 2006)]