Vahan ( hy, Վահան) was a
Byzantine military leader of Armenian origin. He was probably killed shortly after the
Battle of Yarmuk in 636.
Vahan, an
Armenian who had been the garrison commander of
Emesa and served as ''
magister militum per Orientem'' during the
Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, was the overall field commander at the Yarmuk. While Vahan and part of his forces avoided destruction in the battle itself, they were pursued and killed by the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
mobile guard during their subsequent retreat to
Damascus, although other accounts state that a disgraced Vahan may have retired to a monastery in
Sinai.
Arab sources emphasise the "noble and righteous conduct" of Vahan compared to other Roman commanders. Claims that Vahan or his soldiers had rebelled against Emperor
Heraclius
Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
prior to Yarmouk are likely to be smears intended to pin the blame for the defeat on the Armenian.
References
636 deaths
Byzantine people of Armenian descent
7th-century Byzantine military personnel
Year of birth unknown
Arab–Byzantine wars
7th-century Armenian people
Byzantine people of the Arab–Byzantine wars
Byzantines killed in battle
Generals of Heraclius
{{Byzantine-bio-stub