Pap of Armenia
| Pap of Armenia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| King of Armenia | |
| Reign | 370–374 |
| House | Arsacid |
Pap, also known as Papas (Armenian: Պապ; Latin: Papes or Papa; 353–374) was a Prince who served as the Roman Client King of Arsacid Armenia from 370 until 374.
Pap was the son born to the Arsacid monarchs Arsaces II (Arshak II) and his wife Pharantzem (P'arandzem), who was his third known wife. Prior to his father’s Armenian kingship, Arsaces II married an unnamed woman who appeared to have died before the year 358 by whom he had a son called Anob, thus was Pap’s older paternal half-brother. The father of Pap served as Roman Client King of Armenia from 350 until 368. Pap is the only known child born to Arsaces II during his Armenian Kingship.
He was born and raised in Armenia and little is known on his early life. Armenian historian of the 5th century Faustus of Byzantium in his writings History of the Armenians (Book IV, Chapter 15), states that the parents of Pap nourished him during his childhood and when he reached puberty he became robust.
Pap was named in honor of Pap, a brief Catholicos in 348 who was Pap’s late paternal relative and the first son of Saint Husik. Saint Husik was the grandfather of the Catholicos, St. Nerses I.
During Sassanid King Shapur II's invasion of the Kingdom of Armenia, Pharantzem and Pap were holed up with the Armenian treasure in the fortress of Artogerassa defended by a troop of Azats. According to Ammianus Marcellinus, the Persian invasion force was commanded by two Armenian defectors, Cylaces (Glak) and Artabanes (Vahan). Shapur II's intention was to replace the Armenian Arsacid monarchy with a non-Arsacid but still Armenian nakharar diarchy. Faustus of Byzantium in his Epic Histories also mentions two Armenian nakharars, Meruzhan Artsruni and Vahan Mamikonian in leadership positions under Shapur II's suzerainty as well as Zik and Karen who carried Persian noble titles. This also implies that Shapur II might have intended to combine Sassanid administrative rule (Zik and Karen) with that of nakharar rule (Artsruni and Mamikonian).
...
Wikipedia