【简译】拜占庭与亚美尼亚的关系

2022-09-10 15:27 作者:神尾智代 0人读过 | 我要投稿

The relationship between the Byzantine Empire and ancient Armenia was a constant and varied one with an equal mix of wars, occupations, treaties of friendship, mutual military aid, and cultural exchange. Regarded as a vital defence to the Empire's eastern frontiers, emperors used various means of influence from outright takeover to gifts of titles and lands to Armenian nobles. Influence went in the other direction, too, with several important Byzantine emperors being of Armenian descent, as well as many individuals who held key military and administrative positions in Constantinople and beyond.

拜占庭帝国与古代亚美尼亚之间的关系是一种持续而多样的关系，其中包括战争、占领、友好条约、军事互助和文化交流。亚美尼亚被视为帝国东部边境的重要防线，拜占庭皇帝们利用各种手段在此地施加影响，从直接接管到向亚美尼亚贵族授予头衔和土地。这种影响力也朝着另一个方向发展，历史上几个重要的拜占庭皇帝都是亚美尼亚人的后裔，还有许多人在君士坦丁堡和其他地方担任重要的军事与行政职务。

关系来源

There are several difficulties in assessing the relations between Byzantium and ancient Armenia. Aside from the usual problem of ancient historical sources having an inherent bias towards rulers, noble families, and high politics, account must be taken of the shifting geographical location of Armenia over the centuries and its regular division and redivision by successive empires in the region. There are problems, too, with primary sources which can be coloured by nationalism and left incomplete with deliberate omissions. There are also long silences in the historical record, notably from 730 to 850 CE and 925 to 980 CE. Nevertheless, a reasonable picture of relations between the two states can be drawn and the historian T. W. Greenwood, by way of a summary, highlights three stand-out features of this relationship:

In the first place, relation were continuous…Secondly, they were multi-layered…it seems very likely that lesser lords and individual bishops were also in contact with Byzantium throughout…Thirdly, they were reciprocal. Byzantium was eager to secure its eastern flank and therefore sought to attract Armenian clients into its service. At the same time Armenian princes looked to Byzantium to bolster their own status within Armenia through the concession of titles, gifts and money…It is no coincidence that the Byzantine army - and then the state - came to be filled with men of Armenian origin or descent. (Shepard, 363-4)

在评估拜占庭和古代亚美尼亚之间的关系时，有几个难点。除了古代历史资料对统治者、贵族家庭和高级政治有固有偏见这一常见问题外，我们还必须考虑到几个世纪以来亚美尼亚地理位置的变化，以及历代帝国对该地区的定期分割和重新分割。此外，还有一些问题，如原始资料可能被民族主义思想所染指，并因故意遗漏而不完整。历史记录中也有长期的静默，特别是在公元730年至850年和公元925年至980年。尽管如此，我们还是可以对这两个国家之间的关系做出合理的描述，历史学家格林纳达（T. W. Greenwood）通过总结，强调了这种关系的三个突出特点：

首先，关系是连续的......其次，关系是多层次的......看来，小领主和个别主教在整个过程中也与拜占庭有联系......第三，关系是相互的。拜占庭急于确保其东侧的安全，因此试图吸引亚美尼亚人为其服务。同时，亚美尼亚的王公们也希望拜占庭通过授予头衔、礼物和金钱来提高他们自己在亚美尼亚的地位......从拜占庭军队到社会，充满了亚美尼亚血统或后裔的人，这并不是巧合。(Shepard, 363-4)

战略地位

Ancient Armenia, because of its geographical location and strategic importance in controlling access to Mesopotamia from Asia Minor (and vice versa), had long been a coveted chunk of territory for the empires who dominated the region at any particular time. Whoever controlled the Armenian plain of Ararat could then launch an army to attack either east or west. This situation had not changed by the 4th century CE and the rise of the Byzantine Empire with its capital at Constantinople. Byzantium's first opponent and territorial rival was the Sassanid Empire in Persia (224-651 CE). From 252 CE the Sasanids became more ambitious to rule directly over Armenia and made attacks on several cities. Byzantium, defending the status quo, opposed such incursions.

古代亚美尼亚由于其地理位置和在控制从小亚细亚进入美索不达米亚方面的战略重要性（反之亦然），长期以来一直是统治该地区的帝国所觊觎的一大块领土。谁控制了亚美尼亚的亚拉拉特平原，谁就可以发动军队向东部或西部进攻。到了公元4世纪，拜占庭帝国崛起，其首都设在君士坦丁堡，这种情况并没有改变。拜占庭的第一个对手及领土竞争者是波斯的萨珊帝国（公元224-651年）。从公元252年开始，萨珊王朝变得更加雄心勃勃，它想要直接统治亚美尼亚，并对该地几个城市进行了攻击。拜占庭为了维护现状，反击这种入侵行为。

There followed a century of wrangling over control of Armenia, which came to the boil when Shapur II, the Sasanid ruler (r. 309-379 CE), attacked Armenia in 368 and 369 CE, destroying several cities. A decade later, emperor Theodosius I (r. 379-395 CE) and Shapur III (r. 383-388 CE) agreed to formally divide Armenia between the Byzantine Empire and Sasanid Persia. Henceforth, the Roman-controlled part of Armenia now largely fades from the historical view with only sporadic returns whenever it suited Byzantine historians.

随后，双方围绕亚美尼亚的控制权进行了一个世纪的争斗，当萨珊王朝的统治者沙普尔二世（约309-379 年）在公元368年和369年袭击亚美尼亚，摧毁了几个城市时，这种争斗达到了沸点。十年后，拜占庭皇帝狄奥多西一世（约379-395 年）和沙普尔三世（约383-388 年）同意在拜占庭帝国和萨珊王朝波斯之间正式划分亚美尼亚。此后，拜占庭控制的亚美尼亚部分基本上从历史视野中淡出，只有在适合拜占庭历史学家的时候才会零星出现。

波斯 - 亚美尼亚

To clarify Byzantium's relationship with their part of Armenia, it is perhaps useful to first look over the diplomatic fence at the Persian side. Persia installed marzpan (viceroy) rulers in their half of the country (Persarmenia) from 428 CE in a system that would endure until c. 651 CE. Representing the Sasanian king, the marzpan had full civilian and military authority. There had been rumblings of discontent amongst the Armenian nobility and clergy following Persian cultural imperialism, but matters really came to a head with the succession of the Persian king Yazdgird (Yazdagerd) II in c. 439 CE. Sasanid rulers had long been suspicious that Armenian Christians were all simply spies of Byzantium, but Yazdgird was a zealous proponent of Zoroastrianism, and the double-edged sword of political and religious policy was intended to cut Armenia down to size.

为了澄清拜占庭与亚美尼亚地区的关系，也许我们应该先看看波斯方面的外交围栏。波斯从公元428年开始在波斯-亚美尼亚（Persarmenia）设置marzpan（总督）统治者，这一制度将持续到公元651年左右。marzpan是萨珊国王在该地区的代表，拥有充分的民事与军事权力。在波斯文化进入该地后，亚美尼亚贵族和神职人员中出现了一些不满的声音，但随着波斯国王亚兹德格（Yazdagerd）二世在公元439年左右继位，事情才真正有转机。萨珊王朝的统治者长期以来一直怀疑亚美尼亚的基督徒都是拜占庭的间谍，但亚兹德格是拜火教的狂热支持者，政治和宗教政策的双刃剑旨在将亚美尼亚切割成许多小块。

In May or June 451 CE at the Battle of Avarayr (Avarair) in modern Iran, the Armenians rebelled against oppression and faced a massive Persian army. The 6,000 or so Armenians were led by Vardan Mamikonian, but unfortunately for them, help from the Christian Byzantine Empire was not forthcoming despite an embassy sent for that purpose. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the Persian-backed marzpan, Vasak Siuni, was nowhere to be seen in the battle either. The Persians, greatly outnumbering their opponents and fielding an elite corps of “Immortals” and a host of war elephants, won the battle easily enough and massacred their opponents; 'martyred' would be the term used by the Armenian Church thereafter. Indeed, the battle became a symbol of resistance with Vardan, who died on the battlefield, even being made a saint.

公元451年5月或6月，在阿瓦拉尔（Avarair）战役中（今伊朗），亚美尼亚人反抗波斯的压迫，与一支庞大的波斯军队交战。约6000名亚美尼亚人在瓦尔丹·马米科尼安的领导下；不幸的是，尽管亚美尼亚请求支援，但基督教拜占庭帝国的援军并没有出现。波斯人支持的总督瓦萨克·西维尼，在这场战斗中也不见踪影。波斯人在人数上大大超过了亚美尼亚人，他们派出了一支精锐的 "不死鸟"军团和一大批战象，轻松赢得了这场战斗，并屠杀了亚美尼亚的军队；"殉道者"将是亚美尼亚教会此后使用的术语。事实上，这场战斗成为亚美尼亚基督徒抵抗的象征，死在战场上的瓦尔丹甚至被封为圣人。

拜占庭 - 亚美尼亚

Meanwhile, from 387 CE, the Byzantines had divided their portion of Armenia into two areas: Armenia I in the north and Armenia II in the south. Each area had a governor (praeses) who was in turn responsible to the governor (vicar) of the imperial administrative district or diocese of Pontus, who was himself responsible to the Praetorian Prefect of the East. Aside from paying taxes and performing military service for Byzantium, the control from Constantinople was light, although one legion and extra cavalry units were permanently stationed in each area. The bureaucracy of the empire in the two regions was filled with members of the Armenian nobility but, at least administratively, Armenia was fully absorbed into the Byzantine Empire.

同时，从公元387年开始，拜占庭人将其在亚美尼亚的部分划分为两个地区。北部的亚美尼亚一区和南部的亚美尼亚二区。每个地区都有一个总督（preses），他反过来对帝国行政区或邦都教区的总督（vicar）负责，而总督本身又对东部的禁卫省长负责。除了为拜占庭交税与履行军事服务外，君士坦丁堡对该地区的控制力很弱，尽管每个地区都有一个军团和额外的骑兵部队长期驻扎。帝国在这两个地区的官僚机构拥有许多亚美尼亚贵族的成员，但至少在行政上，亚美尼亚被完全吸收到拜占庭帝国中。

From the 5th century CE, some cities were especially prosperous, notably Artashat, which became an important trading point between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. In 536 CE, when the Byzantine emperor Justinian I reorganised the administration of the region, Armenia was split into four areas or provinces (Armenia I- IV), each with its own capital. Byzantine laws began to be embedded more deeply into Armenian society, too, especially in such areas as inheritance. Previously, Armenian nobles had passed on their land to their sons (or brother if they had none) with daughters being ineligible to inherit. Justinian changed this so that women could legally inherit their parent's property. Rather than a move for women's rights, the change in law was designed to weaken the stranglehold of traditional Armenian clans on landed estates as now women could pass on the family property to their husbands who could be outside the clan structure or even foreigners. There was resistance to the changes from some clans - the governor of Armenia I was murdered in one uprising in 538 CE - but ultimately, they did not have the political power to prevent them and those who continued to resist were deported, especially to the Balkans.

从公元5世纪开始，拜占庭-亚美尼亚的一些城市特别繁荣，特别是阿尔塔沙特，它成为拜占庭帝国和波斯帝国之间的一个重要贸易点。公元536年，当拜占庭皇帝查士丁尼一世重组该地区的行政管理时，亚美尼亚被分成四个地区或省份（亚美尼亚一到四），每个地区都有自己的行政中心。拜占庭法律也开始更深入地融入亚美尼亚社会，特别是在继承权等方面。以前，亚美尼亚贵族将土地传给他们的儿子（如果他们没有儿子，则传给兄弟），女儿没有资格继承。查士丁尼改变了这一点，使妇女可以合法地继承其父母的财产。与其说这次法律改革是为了争取妇女权利，不如说是为了削弱亚美尼亚传统宗族对土地财产的控制，因为现在妇女可以将家庭财产传给她们的丈夫，而她们的丈夫可能是宗族结构以外的人，甚至是外国人。一些部族对这些变化进行了抵制——公元538年，亚美尼亚一世的总督在一次起义中被谋杀；但最终，他们没有政治力量来阻止这些变化，那些继续抵抗的人被驱逐，特别是被驱逐到巴尔干半岛。

Artashat's continued prosperity is evidenced by an edict of 562 CE which confirmed the city as one of only three official trading points between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. A customs post there was overseen by officials known as “commercial counts” or comites commercium. By the end of the 6th century CE Armenia was again a point of dispute between Persia and the Byzantine Empire, and so a redivision was drawn up in 591 CE, which saw Byzantium acquire two-thirds of Armenia. Under the new agreement, the important city and former capital of Dvin became a frontier city between the two spheres of influence and, as a result, disputed territory. Inside Armenia, too, there was a split amongst the nobility as some clans supported Persia (e.g. the Bagratuni) while others favoured Byzantium (e.g. the Mamikonians).

阿尔塔沙特的持续繁荣可以从公元562年的一项法令中得到证明，该法令确认该城市是拜占庭帝国和波斯帝国之间仅有的三个官方贸易点之一。那里的一个海关站由被称为"商业伯爵"或商业委员会的官员监督。到公元6世纪末，亚美尼亚再次成为波斯和拜占庭帝国之间的争端点，因此在公元591年重新划分，拜占庭获得了三分之二的亚美尼亚。根据新的协议，重要的城市和前首都德文成为两个势力范围之间的边疆城市，因此成为双方有争议的领土。在亚美尼亚境内，贵族之间也出现了分裂，一些部族支持波斯（如巴格拉图尼），而另一些则支持拜占庭（如马米科尼）。

A Byzantine army of emperor Heraclius (r. 610-641 CE) attacked Dvin in 623 CE. Worse was soon to come, though. In 627 CE a full-scale war against the Sasanids was carried out by Heraclius and Armenia was caught in the crossfire. This campaign ended the Sassanid control of Armenia but Byzantine rule was to be short-lived following the dramatic rise of a new power in the region, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, which conquered the Sasanid capital Ctesiphon in 637 CE. Armenia was conquered by the Arabs from Damascus from 640 CE. The Byzantine emperors had not given up on Armenia, and in 642 CE, Constans II (641-668 CE) attacked Dvin but without success. By 701 CE, after decades of playing, as so often before, the role of strategic pawn in a battle of Empires between the Arabs and the Byzantine Empire, Armenia was made a province of the Umayyad Caliphate.

赫拉克略皇帝（一世）（公元610-641年）的一支拜占庭军队在公元623年袭击了德文。不过，更糟糕的事情很快就来了。公元627年，赫拉克略一世对萨珊王朝发动了全面战争，亚美尼亚被卷入交火之中。这场战争结束了萨珊王朝对亚美尼亚的控制，但拜占庭在该地的统治是短暂的，因为该地区的一个新势力——阿拉伯倭马亚哈里发，在公元637年攻陷了萨珊王朝的首都泰西封。亚美尼亚从公元640年起被来自大马士革的阿拉伯人征服了。拜占庭皇帝并没有放弃亚美尼亚，公元642年，康斯坦斯二世（公元641-668年）进攻德文，但没有成功。到了公元701年，在阿拉伯人和拜占庭帝国之间的帝国之战中，亚美尼亚像以前一样经常扮演着战略棋子的角色。经过几十年的战争，亚美尼亚成为倭马亚哈里发的一个省。

地图显示了整个公元 7 世纪和 8 世纪的倭马亚阿拉伯（伊斯兰）扩张。中间绿色显示了正统哈里发（公元 632-661 年）的征服；最浅的绿色显示了公元 661-750 年间倭马亚哈里发的征服

曼齐刻尔特战役与倭马亚哈里发王朝

Byzantine emperor Constantine V (r. 741-775 CE) attacked Armenia between 746 and 752 CE, taking advantage of the civil war which preoccupied the Umayyad Caliphate. The Byzantine Empire would assert even more influence over Armenia from the 10th century CE. Notable events include the Byzantines helping the Bagratuni establish their kingdom in 914 CE, the invasion of emperor John I Tzimiskes (r. 969-976 CE) in 974 CE, the annexation of the province of Tayk in 1000 CE, the capture of the Armenian capital Ani and fall of the Bagratuni kingdom in 1074 CE, and the seizure of Kars in 1065 CE.

拜占庭皇帝君士坦丁五世（公元741-775年在位）在公元746-752年期间，利用倭马亚哈里发的内战之机，进攻亚美尼亚。从公元10世纪开始，拜占庭帝国将对亚美尼亚产生更大的影响。值得注意的事件包括：公元914年拜占庭人帮助巴格拉图尼人建立了自己的王国；公元974年皇帝约翰一世·齐米斯基思（约969-976 年）的入侵；公元1000年吞并塔伊克省；公元1074年攻占亚美尼亚首都阿尼和巴格拉图尼王国的灭亡；以及公元1065年夺取卡尔斯。

In August 1071 CE there was the momentous Battle of Manzikert. Fought north of Lake Van on Armenian soil between the armies of the Byzantine Empire and Seljuk Turks (a nomadic tribe of the Asian steppe), the battle was one of the worst defeats the Byzantines had ever suffered, if not in numbers then at least in terms of psychology. The victorious Seljuk army captured the Byzantine emperor Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068-1071 CE), and, with the empire in disarray as generals squabbled for the throne, nothing could stop them sweeping across Asia Minor. The Byzantine Empire would go on for a few more centuries yet but Manzikert is seen by many historians as the beginning of a long and seemingly unstoppable decline.

公元1071年8月，曼齐克尔特战役。这场战役是拜占庭帝国的军队和塞尔柱土耳其人（亚洲草原上的一个游牧部落）在亚美尼亚土地上的万湖以北进行的，这是是拜占庭人遭受的最严重的失败之一。胜利的塞尔柱军队俘虏了拜占庭皇帝罗曼努斯四世-戴奥真尼斯（约 1068-1071 年），由于将军们争夺王位，拜占庭帝国陷入混乱，没有什么能阻止塞尔柱人横扫整个小亚细亚了。拜占庭帝国还将继续存在几个世纪，但许多历史学家认为曼齐克尔特战役是拜占庭漫长而似乎不可阻挡的衰退的开端。

Throughout the 12 century CE, Armenia and Byzantium squabbled over the Cilician plain and its various cities. Several Crusader armies passed through Armenia, and then another group of unwanted visitors, this time even more ruthlessly destructive ones, ravaged the region: the Mongols, who attacked in 1236 CE and caused a mass-migration of Armenians to Russia and the Crimea.

在整个公元12世纪，亚美尼亚和拜占庭为西里西亚平原及其各个城市争吵不休。几支十字军军队经过亚美尼亚，然后另一群不速之客——这次是更无情的破坏者，蹂躏了该地区，他们是蒙古人，他们在公元1236年发动攻击，导致大量亚美尼亚人移民到罗斯和克里米亚。

亚美尼亚的拜占庭皇帝

There were several notable Byzantine emperors actually of Armenian descent as the dynasties of Constantinople came and went with usurpers grabbing their opportunities to oust the incumbent emperor. This was particularly so from the 9th century CE when military threats to the empire ensured that an emperor could be deposed if he proved incapable on the battlefield. One such figure was Leo V the Armenian, who ruled in Constantinople from 813 to 820 CE. Of humble origins, Leo rose the ranks of the Byzantine army to eventually become the strategos or military governor of the province of Anatolikon, the most important region of Asia Minor. When the Bulgar army looked set to attack Constantinople in June 813 CE, the reigning and incompetent emperor Michael I Rangabe (r. 811-813 CE) was ousted and the people looked to Leo to save the day. Paying off the Bulgars with a huge ransom in gold, Leo V did indeed save the city. His glory was short-lived, for just seven years later the emperor lost his throne to his former friend and ally Michael II (r. 820-829 CE) in one of those typical episodes of violence which plagued Byzantine politics. Murdered in church, Leo's body was dragged around the Hippodrome of Constantinople for the public to scorn and ridicule.

有几个著名的拜占庭皇帝实际上是亚美尼亚人的后裔，因为篡位者经常抓住机会赶走在位的皇帝。特别是在公元9世纪，当帝国受到军事威胁时，如果一个皇帝被证明在战场上没有能力，他就会被废黜。亚美尼亚人利奥五世就是这样一个人物，他于公元813年至820年在君士坦丁堡担任皇帝。利奥出身卑微，在拜占庭军队中步步高升，最终成为小亚细亚最重要地区安纳托利亚省的军事长官。公元813年6月，当保加利亚军队准备进攻君士坦丁堡时，在位的无能皇帝米海尔一世（Michael I Rangabe，公元811-813年）被赶下台，人们希望利奥能拯救这一切。利奥五世用巨额的黄金赎金买通了保加利亚人，确实拯救了这座城市。他的荣耀是短暂的，因为仅仅七年后，这位皇帝就在拜占庭政治的典型暴力事件中被他以前的朋友和盟友迈克尔二世（约 820-829 年）夺走了王位。利奥在教堂里被谋杀，他的尸体被拖到君士坦丁堡的赛马场，让公众嘲笑。

Perhaps the most famous Armenian emperor, or more correctly, infamous, was Basil I (r. 867-886 CE). Basil was an Armenian peasant, who, through his friendship with the emperor Michael III (r. 842-867 CE) rose to prominence at court. Basil was ambitious, though, and he murdered his benefactor to take the throne for himself in 867 CE. Strengthening and modernising the Byzantine navy, Basil's reign saw several notable victories and expansion in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Basil also embarked on a massive rebuilding programme in Constantinople and a major overhaul of Byzantine law. His reign would later be regarded as a Golden era, but the emperor lost his throne just as violently as he had gained it - murder disguised as an unlikely hunting accident probably arranged by his successor, Leo VI (r. 886-912 CE).

也许最著名的亚美尼亚籍皇帝，或者更正确地说，是臭名昭著的，是巴西尔一世（约 867-886 年在位）。巴西尔是一个亚美尼亚农民，通过与皇帝迈克尔三世（公元842-867年）的友谊，他在宫廷中崭露头角。不过，巴西尔很有野心，他在公元867年谋杀了他的恩人，夺取了王位。巴西尔在位期间加强了拜占庭的海军并使之现代化，取得了一些显着的胜利，并在地中海和小亚细亚地区进行扩张。巴西尔还在君士坦丁堡开展大规模的重建计划，并对拜占庭法律进行重大改革。他的统治后来被认为是一个黄金时代，但这位皇帝失去王位的方式与他获得王位时一样激烈——谋杀被伪装成一次不太可能的狩猎事故，可能是由他的继任者利奥六世（约886-912年）安排的。

A third notable Armenian on the Byzantine throne was Romanos I Lekapenos (r. 920-944 CE). Another successful emperor, he, like Leo V, had risen through the military ranks to become commander of the imperial fleet in 912 CE. Also like Leo, Romanos took the throne by force after the Bulgars proved the undoing of his predecessors. Easing his way into palace affairs, Romanos first made himself regent for the young Constantine VII in 919 CE and then, declaring himself emperor one year later, he married his daughter to the legitimate emperor for good measure. Once in power, Romanos proved worthy of the position and he reconciled the various factions of the Byzantine Church, made significant land reforms to protect poorer farmers, there was a peace brokered with the Bulgars and, with the gifted general John Kourkouas leading the army, significant victories in Asia Minor against the Arabs. The Rus Vikings did attack Constantinople in 941 CE but the city's Theodosian Walls did their job, and the raiders were repelled. When Romanos died, the throne was returned to the legitimate line but, once again, he had shown that foreigners could rule just as well or badly as those emperors of true Byzantine descent.

拜占庭王位上第三个著名的亚美尼亚人是罗曼努斯·利卡潘努斯（约920-944 年在位）。他是一位成功的皇帝，与利奥五世一样，他也是通过军职升迁，在公元912年成为帝国舰队的指挥官。罗曼努斯也是通过武力夺取了王位。他在宫廷事务中游刃有余，先是在公元919年为年轻的君士坦丁七世摄政，一年后宣布自己为皇帝，并将自己的女儿嫁给原皇帝，以示尊重。一旦掌权，罗曼诺斯就证明自己配得上这个职位，他调和了拜占庭教会的各个派别，进行土地改革以保护较贫穷的农民，与保加利亚人达成了和平协议，并且在天才将军约翰·库尔库阿斯的领导下，帝国在小亚细亚取得了对抗阿拉伯人的重大胜利。罗斯维京人确实在公元941年袭击了君士坦丁堡，但该城的狄奥多西城墙发挥了作用，袭击者被击退。罗曼努斯死后，王位归于正统，但他再次表明，外国人的统治可以和那些真正的拜占庭血统的皇帝一样好（或坏）。

亚美尼亚 - 拜占庭教会关系

Another area, besides politics, rulers, and administrators, which connected Byzantium and Armenia was religion. Armenia's zeal for Christianity, the religion being officially adopted around 314 CE, did bring it closer to the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople being the head of the Christian church in the East. However, the Armenian and Byzantine churches did often differ on matters of dogma. Disagreement with the decrees of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE opened a rift which would never be closed. Then the Council of Dvin c. 554 CE declared the Armenian Church's adherence to the doctrine of monophysitism (that Christ has one nature and not two) thus breaking away from the duophysitism of the Roman Church. As in politics, Armenian Christians were having to find their own rocky road between East and West as the Armenian church broke away from Constantinople in the mid-7th century CE.

除了政治、统治者和行政人员，连接拜占庭和亚美尼亚的另一个领域是宗教。亚美尼亚热衷于基督教，在公元314年左右正式采用该宗教，这确实使它与拜占庭帝国的关系更加密切，君士坦丁堡是东方基督教会的首脑。然而，亚美尼亚教会和拜占庭教会在教条问题上确实经常有分歧。对公元451年卡尔西顿会议法令的异议开启了一道永远无法弥合的裂痕。随后，公元554年左右的德文会议宣布亚美尼亚教会坚持一元论（基督只有一个性质，没有两个性质），从而与罗马教会的二元论决裂。如同政治上一样，当亚美尼亚教会在公元7世纪中叶脱离君士坦丁堡时，亚美尼亚基督徒不得不在东西方之间寻找自己的坎坷道路。

文化交流

From the 6th century CE, Armenians relocated to many other parts of the Byzantine Empire and especially Constantinople. They were perhaps the most assimilated of any ethnic group, although they maintained their own language, literature, art, and religious practices. Armenian traders, scholars, military personnel of all ranks, and mercenaries became part and parcel of Byzantine everyday life.

从公元6世纪开始，亚美尼亚人迁往拜占庭帝国的许多地区，特别是君士坦丁堡。尽管他们保持着自己的语言、文学、艺术和宗教习俗，但他们可能是所有民族中被同化程度最高的。亚美尼亚商人、学者、各级军事人员和雇佣兵成为拜占庭日常生活的重要组成部分。

Where cultural innovations originally spring from is always difficult to pinpoint with accuracy, but some scholars claim that ideas in architecture and illuminated manuscripts, for example, came to Byzantium from Armenia. Indeed, the architect who famously repaired the dome of the Hagia Sophia church in Constantinople after the 989 CE earthquake, one Trdat of Ani, was an Armenian. Undoubtedly, features of Byzantine architecture (e.g. Greek monograms, eagle capitals, and classicising Ionic columns) travelled in the other direction, too. Ideas in art, too, were exchanged and travelled via the manufactured goods which were traded between the two powers such as those made in Armenia (textiles, glazed pottery, glassware, and metalwork) and those made in Constantinople or imported there from around the world by land and sea.

文化创新的最初源头总是难以确定的，但一些学者声称，例如，建筑和泥金装饰手抄本方面的想法是从亚美尼亚传入拜占庭的。事实上，在公元989年地震后修复君士坦丁堡圣索菲亚大教堂穹顶的著名建筑师阿尼的塔尔达特就是一名亚美尼亚人。毋庸置疑，拜占庭建筑的特点（如希腊字母、鹰首和古典化的爱奥尼亚柱）也向另一个方向发展。艺术理念通过两国贸易的制成品进行交流与传播，如亚美尼亚制造的产品（纺织品、釉面陶器、玻璃制品和金属制品）和君士坦丁堡制造的产品或从世界各地通过陆地和海洋进口的产品。