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Long History in Brief 37

east-west religio-political relations. While
Christendom was caught up with christolo-
gical and jurisdictional disputes, the Ar-
menian people, under the leadership of Var-
tan Mamikonian and priest Ghevont Erets,
were defending the Christian faith against
the Sassanid Empire, which attempted to im-
pose Mazdaism on Armenia.
In the ensuing centuries, political pres-
sures, military threats, and even great pro-
mises by the Byzantine Empire failed to con-
vince the Armenian Church revise its attitude
regarding Chalcedon. Along with theological
factors, each side’s position was influenced
by political considerations. The Greeks be-
lieved that the acceptance of the Council of
Chalcedon by the Armenian Church would
greatly facilitate their ultimate objective,
which was the subjugation of Armenia. The
Armenians feared that accepting the Council
of Chalcedon would compromise the inde-
pendence of the Armenian Church and
would also lead to the assimilation of the Ar-
menian people into the Byzantine Empire.

The Arabs in Armenia
In the middle of the 7th Century, the Per-
sian and Byzantine politico-military presence
in Armenia was threatened by the forceful
emergence of the Arabs. The Arabs invaded
Armenia for the first time in 654 and easily