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38 The Armenian Church

subjected the small country to their rule,
which lasted for the next two centuries.
Generally speaking, religious, political and
cultural life stagnated during this period.
Although there were a few cases of forced
conversion, this did not become a general
policy; in time, a modus vivendi was estab-
lished between the Armenians and Arabs.
According to Muslim laws, Christian Ar-
menians are dhimmis, i.e., protected people
who are required to pay heavy taxes and
remain unarmed; hence, the Armenians
were allowed to be governed by their own
religious rules, beliefs, and traditions. The
Arab rule was politically oppressive but reli-
giously tolerant. In fact, Catholicos Hovhan-
nes III Otsnetsi-Imasdaser paid a visit to the
Umayyad Caliph Umar II at Damascus in
718 and was received with great honor.
Political loyalty towards the Arabs paved
the way for the Pakradouni and Ardzrouni
Armenian dynasties to enjoy autonomy in
their regions. As the Arab power diminished
in the 9th Century, the Pakradounis enforced
their authority, and in 862 Ashot V Pakra-
douni was formally recognized by the Arabs
and Byzantines as the ruler of Armenia; in
884 he was crowned as king. The Kingdom of
the Pakradounis lasted until 1079.
In the following centuries, due to the con-
tinuous efforts of the Byzantines, Persians,
Arabs, and later on of the Ottomans and