ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION To the north-east of Edessa lay the lands of the Armenians and the Georgians, the latter being sometimes referred to as Iberians. As described by S. C. Malan:
The discernible history of Armenia as a nation runs back to the days of Darius of Persia in 520 BC. From 149 BC to AD 428 it was ruled by the Arsacid dynasty, reaching its widest extent under Tigranes the Great (d. 55 BC). Along the way the Armenians, always more closely related in terms of culture, language, dress etc. to Persia than to the Graeco-Roman world, were at various times a Roman province and a Roman vassal state, or in the same sort of relationships to Persian rulers. Complete autonomy was more the exception than the norm. The succeeding dynasties were the Bagratides to AD 1045 and then the Rubenian from AD 1080-1375. However, from close to the end of the 4th century AD Armenian independence was more often a hope than an actuality, caught as the area was between the pretensions of Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, Turks, crusaders and Mamluks.
