Wardan Mamikonjan

2015-05-04T09:15:15Z

Corgame3:

{{Infobox military person
| name = Vardan Mamikonian
| image = Vardan Mamikonyan 3.jpeg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Vardan Mamikonian illustration in 1898 book ''Illustrated Armenia and Armenians''<ref>Vartan Mamikonian illustration in 1898 book «Illustrated Armenia and Armenians» [http://www.archive.org/details/illustratedarmen00gaidrich]</ref>
| birth_date = 393
| death_date = 451
| placeofburial_label =
| placeofburial =
| birth_place = [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)| Kingdom of Armenia]]
| death_place = [[Persian Armenia|Armenia]]
| placeofburial_coordinates =
| nickname =
| allegiance =
| branch =
| serviceyears =
| rank = [[Sparapet]]
| unit =
| commands =
| battles = [[Battle of Avarayr]]
| awards =
| relations =
| laterwork =
}}
[[File:Vartan Mamigonian statue in Yerevan.jpg|thumb|The statue of Vardan Mamikonian in [[Yerevan]].]]

'''Vardan Mamikonian''' ({{lang-hy|Վարդան Մամիկոնյան}}; 393 AD — 451 AD) was an [[Armenians|Armenian]] military leader, a martyr and a [[saint]] of the [[Armenian Church]]. He is best known for leading the Armenian army at the [[Battle of Avarayr]] in 451, which ultimately secured the Armenians' right to practice Christianity.

A member of the [[Mamikonian]] family of Armenia's highest caliber aristocrats (known as ''nakharars''), is revered as one of the greatest military and spiritual leaders of Armenia, and is considered a national hero by Armenians.<ref>{{cite book|title=Armenian literature: comprising poetry, drama, folklore, and classic traditions|year=2007|publisher=Indo-European Pub.|location=Los Angeles, CA|isbn=9781604440003|author=Robert Armot, Alfred Aghajanian|page=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Suny|first=Ronald Grigor|title=Looking toward Ararat Armenia in modern history|year=1993|publisher=Indiana university press|location=Bloomington|isbn=9780253207739|page=4}}</ref> According to [[Arshag Chobanian]] "To the Armenian nation, Vartan [...] is the most beloved figure, the most sacred in their history, the symbolical hero who typifies the national spirit."<ref>{{cite book|last=Tchobanian|first=Archag|others=G. Marcar Gregory (translator); [[James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce|Viscount Bryce]] (introduction)|authorlink=Arshag Chobanian|title=The people of Armenia: their past, their culture, their future|date=1914|publisher=Dent|location=London|pages=[http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b264155;view=1up;seq=28 10-11]}}</ref> Major Armenian churches are named after Saint Vardan. [[Equestrian statue]]s of St. Vardan are found in the Armenian capital [[Yerevan]] and in the country's second largest city - [[Gyumri]].

==Biography==
Vardan Mamikonian was born in 393 AD to Hamazasp Mamikonian (in [[Armenian language|Armenian]] Համազասպ Մամիկոնյան) and to Sahakanoush(in [[Armenian language|Armenian]] Սահականուշ), daughter of [[Isaac of Armenia]].

After Vardan became [[Sparapet]] (supreme commander of the armed forces) in 432, the Persians summoned him to [[Ctesiphon]]. Upon his return home in 450 AD, Vardan repudiated the Persian religion and instigated an Armenian rebellion against their Sassanian overlords.

Vardan died in the [[Battle of Avarayr]] on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan. The also known as the Battle of Vardanants, was fought on May 26, 451 AD on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan, between the Armenian Army under Saint Vardan and the Sassanid (Persian) rulers. While the Persians were victorious on the battlefield itself, with Vardan killed in battle, the [[Battle of Avarayr]] paved the way for the compact between Persians and Armenians that guaranteed religious freedom for Christian Armenians.

After his death, the insurrection continued led by Vahan Mamikonian, the son of Vardan's brother, resulting in the restoration of Armenian autonomy with the [[Nvarsak Treaty]] (484), thus guaranteeing the survival of Armenian statehood in later centuries.

;Family
Vardan Mamikonian is the father of Vardeni Mamikonian (known also [[Shushanik]]), born around 409 AD. She married [[Varsken]]. When her husband, a prominent [[Mihranid]] feudal lord (pitiakhsh) Varsken took a pro-Persian position renouncing [[Christianity]] and adopting [[Zoroastrianism]], he tried to force his wife [[Shushanik]] to convert, but she refused vehemently to submit to his orders to abandon her Christian faith and was put to death in 475 AD on Varsken's orders. Shushanik has been canonized by the [[Georgian Orthodox Church|Georgian Orthodox and Apostolic Church]] and is venerated by the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]]. Known as [[Saint Shushanik]], her [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)|October 17]].

==Veneration==
After his death, Vardan Mamikonian was consecrated as a [[saint]] of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church]].

He is also revered by the [[Armenian Catholic Church]] as a saint of the church and by [[Armenian Evangelical Church]].

His commemoration day in the official Armenian Church calendar is usually in the month of February and on very rare occasions may fall in the first week of March. The actual Saint Vardan day is a moving day, as it always has to fall on a Thursday.

Major Christian Armenian churches are named after Saint Vardan, including the [[St. Vartan Cathedral]] in [[New York City]].

'''[[Vardan]]''' or '''[[Vartan (disambiguation)|Vartan]]''' are both common [[given name]]s for [[Armenian people|Armenian]] males, the female version is Vardanoush or Vartanoush. '''Vardanyan, Vardanian, and Vartanian''' are also common Armenian family names.

==References==
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{{Persondata
|NAME=Vardan, Mamikonian
|SHORT DESCRIPTION=Armenian military leader and saint
|DATE OF BIRTH=393
|PLACE OF BIRTH=
|DATE OF DEATH=451
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mamikonian, Vardan}}
[[Category:393 births]]
[[Category:451 deaths]]
[[Category:Sparapets]]
[[Category:Ancient Armenian generals]]
[[Category:Armenian saints]]
[[Category:5th-century Christian saints]]
[[Category:Mamikonian family]]
[[Category:Rebellions against the Sasanian Empire]]
[[Category:5th-century Armenian people]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Wardan Mamikonjan