Sahak II Bagratuni (

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

: Սահակ Բ Բագրատունի), was an

nobleman from the

Bagratuni Dynasty The Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty ( hy, Բագրատունի, ) was an Armenian royal dynasty which ruled the medieval Kingdom of Armenia from c. 885 until 1045. Originating as vassals of the Kingdom of Armenia of antiquity, they rose to beco ...

. He served as the

marzban Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension milita ...

Persian Armenia Sasanian Armenia, also known as Persian Armenia and Persarmenia ( hy, Պարսկահայաստան – ''Parskahayastan''), may either refer to the periods in which Armenia ( pal, 𐭠𐭫𐭬𐭭𐭩 – ''Armin'') was under the suzerainty of ...

briefly in 482.

Biography

Sahak II was the son of Tirots I Bagratuni, an Armenian '' aspet''. When Tirots died in 451, Sahak II was given the aspet title. In 475, the Mamikonian princess

Shushanik Shushanik (Shushanika, Vardandukht) hy">Շուշանիկ, ka, შუშანიკი; c. 440 – 475was a Christian Armenian woman who was tortured to death by her husband Varsken in the town of Tsurtavi, Georgia. Since she died defending he ...

, was murdered by her husband Prince

Varsken Varsken (Middle Persian: ''Vazgēn'') was an Iranian prince from the Mihranid family of Gugark, who served as the (margrave) of the region from 470 to 482. He was the son and successor of Arshusha II. Upon the death of his father, Varsken wen ...

, who was a convert to

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ont ...

, and was related to the Mihran family. The reason for this murder was because she had refused to convert to Zoroastrianism and wanted to stay

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. Varsken, because of his actions was in 482 executed by Vakhtang I, king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a la ...

. The

Sasanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...

shah Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...

Peroz I Peroz I ( pal, 𐭯𐭩𐭫𐭥𐭰, Pērōz) was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 459 to 484. A son of Yazdegerd II (), he disputed the rule of his elder brother and incumbent king Hormizd III (), eventually seizing the throne afte ...

shortly sent an army to punish Vakhtang for intervening. However, Vakhtang was joined by the Armenians, and a revolt broke out in Armenia, led by Vahan I Mamikonian and Sahak II. Vahan and Sahak managed to defeat the marzban Adhur Gushnasp, and Sahak was shortly declared by Vahan and the other Armenians as the marzban of Armenia. However, in 482, Peroz sent an army under

Shapur Mihran Shapur Mihran ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 𐭬𐭲𐭥), known in Armenian sources as Shapuh Mihran (Armenian: Շապուհ Միհրան), was a Sasanian nobleman from the House of Mihran. He served as the marzban of Persian Armenia briefly ...

, which defeated the Armenian rebels, killing Sahak. Vahan then fled to the mountains, while Shapur regained control of Armenia. Sahak had a son named Spandiat, who was given the title of aspet after his death.

Sources

* * * * * {{Marzbans of Persian Armenia 5th-century births 482 deaths Sasanian governors of Armenia 5th-century Iranian people Bagratuni dynasty Rebellions against the Sasanian Empire 5th-century Armenian people 5th-century rulers in Asia 5th-century rulers in Europe Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire