Armenians in Byzantine Empire

Armenians in Byzantine Empire (Armenian: Հայերը Բյուզանդիայում) were the most significant ethnic minority at some times. Historically, this was due to the fact that part of historical Armenia, west of the Euphrates, was part of Byzantium. After the division of Armenia between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire in 387, part of Greater Armenia was annexed to the Empire. At this time and later, there were significant migrations of Armenians to Byzantine Anatolia, Constantinople and the European part of the Empire. The Armenians occupied a prominent place in the ruling class of Byzantium, with a number of emperors coming from their ranks: Heraclius I (610-641), Philippicus (711-713), Artabasdos (742-743), Leo the Armenian (813-820), Basil I Macedonian (867-886) and the dynasty he founded, Romanos I Lekapenos (920-944) and John Tzimiskes (969-976). According to the calculations of A. P. Kazhdan, Armenians made up 10-15% of the ruling aristocracy in the 11th-12th centuries; taking into account persons and families whose Armenian origin is not entirely certain, this proportion becomes much higher. Due to the fact that Armenia did not recognise the Fourth Council of Chalcedon (451), the relations between Byzantium and Armenia were influenced by the attempts of the official Byzantine Church to convert the Armenian Church to Chalcedonian Armenians [ru]. Many Armenians played an important role in the Greco-Roman world and in Byzantium.^[1]