Meruzhan Artsruni ( ''Meružan Arcruni'', also spelled ''Merujan'', ''Ardzruni'', ''Artzruni'', ''Artsrouni''; died 371 or 380/1) was a 4th-century ''

nakharar ''Nakharar'' ( ''naxarar'', from Parthian ''naxvadār'' "holder of the primacy") was a hereditary title of the highest order given to houses of the ancient and medieval Armenian nobility. ''Nakharar'' system Medieval Armenia was divided into l ...

'' (

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

n feudal lord) from the

Artsruni The House of Artsruni (; also Ardzruni or Artsrunid) was an ancient princely and, later, royal dynasty of Armenia. Name The name ''Artsruni'' contains the ending , which is widespread in old Armenian family names. The early Armenian historian ...

family. When the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

king

Shapur II Shapur II ( , 309–379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth King of Kings (List of monarchs of the Sasanian Empire, Shahanshah) of Sasanian Iran. He took the title at birth and held it until his death at age 70, making him the List ...

invaded Armenia in the 360s, Meruzhan, his brother-in-law Vahan Mamikonian, and several other Armenian lords renounced Christianity for

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

and defected to Persia. Meruzhan helped Shapur's army capture

Tigranocerta __NOTOC__ Tigranocerta (, ''Tigranόkerta''; Tigranakert; ), also called Cholimma or Chlomaron in antiquity, was a city and the capital of the Armenian Kingdom between 77 and 69 BCE. It bore the name of Tigranes the Great, who founded the city ...

and raid the districts of

Arzanene Arzanene () or Aghdznik () was a historical region in the southwest of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It was ruled by one of the four (''bidakhsh'', ) of Armenia, the highest ranking nobles below the king who ruled over the kingdom's border reg ...

Ingilene Angeghtun () or Ingilene (; ) was a district of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia centered on the city and fortress of Anggh (, ), which gave its name to the district. Anggh is often identified with the modern city of Eğil in Turkey, and may have a ...

, Mzur in

Upper Armenia Upper Armenia ( ''Bardzr Hayk‘'') was the first province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in present-day Turkey, roughly corresponding to the modern province of Erzincan, to the west of the Kura River. Within the borders of the kin ...

Sophene Sophene ( or , ; ) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Roman Empire. The region lies in what is now southeastern Turkey. History The region that was to become Sophene was part ...

and

Acilisene Acilisene (), known as Ekegheats or Yekeghyats () in Armenian, was a region of the Upper Armenia province of historical Armenia. It was a strip of land along the Upper Euphrates or Arsanias roughly corresponding to today's Erzincan Province of Tur ...

, where they captured Ani-Kamakh and desecrated the graves of the Armenian

Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

kings. The Armenian king

Arshak II Arshak II (flourished 4th century, died 369 or 370), also written as Arsaces II, was an Arsacid prince who was King of Armenia from 350 (338/339 according to some scholars) until . Although Arshak's reign opened with a period of peace and stabil ...

fled west to Asia Minor, while ''

sparapet ' () was a military title and office in ancient and medieval Armenia. Under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia, the ' was the supreme commander of the kingdom's armed forces. During the Arsacid period and for some time afterwards, the office was held ...

'' (generalissimo) Vasak Mamikonian was left to defend the central province of

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharsha ...

alone. Arsaces and Vasak would later be captured by Shapur by deception; Vasak was put to death and Arsaces committed suicide or was executed in Anhush Berd. Meruzhan is seen as a traitor in the classical Armenian histories. It is said that he was promised riches and governorship by Shapur and was given Shapur's sister as wife. James R. Russell believes Meruzhan to have been the dynastic ruler of Sophene who saw himself as a ruler exercising his lawful powers to counter the growth of Christianity. According to

Moses of Chorene Movses Khorenatsi ( 410–490s AD; , ) was a prominent Armenian historian from late antiquity and the author of the '' History of the Armenians''. Movses's ''History of the Armenians'' was the first attempt at a universal history of Armenia and r ...

, Meruzhan was put to death by Smbat Bagratuni in Kogovit following the

Battle of Bagavan The Battle of Bagavan (also spelled Bagawan), Battle of Dzirav () or the Battle of Vagabanta was fought in 371 near the settlement of Bagavan, in the district of Bagrevand in Greater Armenia, between a joint Roman-Armenian force and a Sassanid ...

in 371, where the Roman-Armenian army defeated the Persians.

Faustus of Byzantium The name Faustus primarily refers to Faust, the protagonist of the German legend. Faustus may also refer to: * Faustus (praenomen), a Latin personal name * Faustus of Alexandria (died 250), priest and martyr * Faustus of Byzantium, 5th-centur ...

, however, reports that Meruzhan was killed several years later by Manuel Mamikonian's men after attacking Armenia with an Iranian army.P'awstos Buzandac'i, ''History of the Armenians'', 5.43. https://rbedrosian.com/pb14.htm.

Notes

External links

A History of Armenia by Vahan M. Kurkjian Chapter 19
Generals of Shapur II 4th-century monarchs in Asia Artsruni dynasty Armenian Zoroastrians 4th-century Armenian people Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire {{Armenia-noble-stub