UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Connected Histories in Late Antiquity: Study of a Peace between the Roman and Sasanian Empires and Its Diverging Impacts on Christianity in Greater Armenia and Iran A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures by Ani Honarchiansaky 2018 © Copyright by Ani Honarchiansaky 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Connected Histories in Late Antiquity: A Study of a Peace between the Roman and Sasanian Empires and Its Diverging Impacts on Christianity in Greater Armenia and Iran by Ani Honarchiansaky Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Peter S. Cowe, Co-Chair Professor Michael G. Morony, Co-Chair The dissertation examines the impact of the peace Yazdgerd I (r. 399-420) maintained with the Roman emperor Theodosius II on the conditions of Christians in the Sasanian Empire and Greater Armenia under Sasanian suzerainty. The objective of this study is to create a broad, inclusive reconstruction of the situation of Christians in the Sasanian Empire during the fourth and fifth centuries. The developments of Christianity in Greater Armenia were parallel and interconnected with the situation of the Church in heart of the Sasanian Empire. It is my goal here to study the consequences that followed the peaceful reign of Yazdgerd I for the Christian communities of the Sasanian Empire and Greater Armenia over the next centuries into the early Islamic period. ii Previous studies have represented the policies of the empire towards Christians as part of a deliberate, systematic plan to promote imperial centralization by defining Christians as a distinct religious group with related policies on their taxation, legal rights, and political status, a precursor to the millet system. Challenging this idea, this dissertation argues that even though Yazdgerd I permitted the Christians of the empire communion with the Roman Church and Roman centers of learning, it was the institutions which were organized during this peaceful juncture that helped the Christians of the empire retool themselves to weather the crisis that emerged in the fifth and sixth centuries. The history of Christians in the Sasanian empire is diverse and complicated. It is not possible to trace a continuous line of policy, strategy, and ideology to understand the many narratives presented to us in our sources. However, by using both hagiographical and historiographical accounts in Armenian, Syriac, Arabic, and Greek I have tried to weave together a comprehensive account of the events preceding and following the reign of Yazdgerd I. The texts discussed in this dissertation reflect a decentralized empire that tried to achieve a level of unity especially at the time of war by constraining Christianity with heavy taxations, embarking on teaching/conversion projects led by the magi and sometimes by violence. The narratives about the encounters of the Sasanian authorities with the ecclesiastical leaders and military nobles of Armenia reflected in these accounts defined and distinguished the concepts of loyalty to the Empire and faith. In the case of the Church of the East, we encounter a Christianity that marks its place in the Sasanian Empire by rejecting the Christology of the Roman Church. The synods which were assembled to align the Church in the Sasanian Empire with the Roman Church were used to re-orient and distance itself from the “Western Fathers,” and established themselves as the acceptable form of Christianity belonging to the Sasanian Empire. iii The dissertation of Ani Honarchiansaky is approved. Yona Sabar Touraj Daryaee Peter S. Cowe, Committee Co-Chair Michael G. Morony, Committee Co-Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 iv To my mother, Anoush For my daughter, Mira v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION ..................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................................ vii VITA .................................................................................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................ 1 CHAPTER I-Taxing Christians and Belonging to the Land of Iran .................................................... 25 CHAPTER II-Peace between the Two Empires ...................................................................................... 59 CHAPTER III-Literacy and Learning Culture in Greater Armenia: Christianity and Zoroastrianism ................................................................................................................................................. 90 CHAPTER IV-Attempts for Religious Unity and its Aftermath ........................................................ 124 EPILOGUE .................................................................................................................................................... 154 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................................ 172 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Institutes that funded this dissertation and my long years of studies are the following: The Near Eastern Languages and Cultures Department, Program in Armenian Langauge and Culture, and the Center of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at UCLA; Roshan Foundation; Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU); Metghalchi Fund; National Association of Armenian Studies and Research (NAASR); HMML; and Dumbarton Oaks. I am indebted to my late advisor Professor Hossein Ziai for my first marvelous year at UCLA as a student of Iranian Studies, and for encouraging me to incorporate Armenian sources to my study of classical Persian poetry. If it were not for the love and care he showed me that first year, the rest of my time as a graduate student at NELC would have been impossible. His wonderful advice was to become versatile in Classical Armenian, leading me to the classes of Professor Cowe, who became my advisor as soon as I left the Iranian Studies program. Both Professors Cowe and Morony played a great role in furthering my understanding of the historical thinking, the methods, and tools of a historian, and in cultivating curiosity about the world of Late Antiquity. Professor Cowe thank you for believing in me and for being the true Doctorvater to me. Your passion and insight shaped this dissertation. For years, I met with Professor Morony weekly and wrote reviews of the books that he recommended. I learned more than I could be thankful for from his teaching. Both Professors Yona Sabar and Touraj Daryaee were extremely kind to me from the beginning of my days at UCLA until they agreed to be part of my dissertation committee, for which I am forever grateful. Their advice has been invaluable to me. vii During my time at UCLA I was fortunate to take classes and enjoy talks in the Department of History; especially I am especially grateful to Professor Ra’nan Bustan for his LAMAR class, which left a significant mark on my research and teaching. I have to thank Professor Zrinka Stahulijak for being a true inspiration for me and helping me in any way possible. I was lucky enough to be selected among the first group of students who were taught Syriac at HMML St. John University. My teachers Scott Fitzgerald and Adam McCollum were extraordinary in their efforts and love for teaching. I am also grateful for the company of friends and colleagues from whom I learned immensely, to think critically and to ask more questions. Marine Aykazyan, thank you for being such an inspiration. Shushan Karapetian, thank you for being my first guide and role model to teaching languages. Sahba Shayani, for all the kindness you have shown me and everyone in the department. Cristina Politano, for reading and commenting on many stages of preparation for this dissertation. Your feedback and show of support meant a world to me. Afaf Nash, for our long discussions and for all the wisdom you shared with me. Amy Cromartie and Reem Mehdoui thank you for your friendship and kindness. Most of all I am indebted to a rising scholar in our field, Khodadad Rezakhani, for his patience in reviewing my work, giving me feedback, and being my unofficial advisor. I was finishing this dissertation when our family moved to Chicago, where I had the chance to meet and learn from Richard Payne and Frank Lewis, and from my dear friend and an amazing scholar Dr. Kate Franklin. The burden of finding resources to do my research from afar fell on the librarians at UCLA and David Hirsch specifically, who did not rest until he found me a copy of the most obscure subjects for me. I am grateful to the administration at UCLA, viii especially Isamara Ramirez, for showing constant support and care and solving every imaginable hiccup on my way. I have to thank my late advisor’s wife Mahasti Afshar, a strong dedicated soul I have the pleasure of knowing. Her words of encouragement and her love for my late advisor kept me going. Anahit Cowe opened her house as we held our many meetings with Professor Cowe there, and made my life so easy. Any nursing mother of a sixth-month old will know how incredible her gift was to me. This dissertation