Military history of Armenia

The early military history of Armenia is defined by the situation of the Armenian Highland between the Hellenistic states, and later the Byzantine Empire, in the west and the Persian Empire to the east. The Kingdom of Armenia had a series of repeated struggles for independence from Persia or Rome, followed by renewed conquests into either of the neighboring empires. The period after the Muslim conquests in the 7th century, up to the late 15th century, was mostly marked by domination by other empires, such as by the successive Arab Caliphates, the Seljuk Empire, the Ilkhanate, the Timurid Empire and the Ak Koyunlu and Kara Koyunlu, amongst others. Some periods of greater military independence were, intermittently, achieved under the Bagratids and, albeit located outside the Armenian Highlands, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.

From the early 16th century, Eastern Armenia came under the rule of the successive dynasties of Iran, namely the Safavids, followed by the Afsharids and Qajars. In the course of the 16th century, and decisively with the Treaty of Zuhab (1639) Western Armenia came under Ottoman rule. Between the 16th century and mid 17th century, nevertheless, many of the frequent Ottoman-Persian Wars razed over both parts of Armenia as both rivals tried to expand their territories. Many Armenians fought in the Ottoman-Iranian armies for centuries.

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