13 Facts About Vardan Mamikonian

Vardan Mamikonian was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of, the supreme commander of the Armenian armed forces.

Vardan Mamikonian is regarded as a national hero among Armenians and venerated as a martyr and a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church.

Vardan Mamikonian was born in approximately 387 in the settlement of Ashtishat in the Taron region to Hamazasp Mamikonian and Sahakanoysh, daughter of Patriarch Sahak of Armenia.

Vardan Mamikonian was educated in Vagharshapat at the school founded by Patriarch Sahak and Mesrop Mashtots.

Vardan Mamikonian retained this title after the abolition of the Kingdom of Armenia in 428.

Vardan Mamikonian's forces won a major victory over the Persians in the summer of 450 and secured an alliance with the northern Huns; however, an embassy to Byzantium asking for aid was unsuccessful.

Vardan Mamikonian was opposed by a significant pro-Persian party of Armenian nobles, and marzpan Vasak Siwni refused to follow him out of Armenia to meet the Persians in battle.

The supporters of Vasak Siwni deserted during the battle and Vardan Mamikonian's forces were defeated, with Vardan Mamikonian and most of the Armenian nobility dying in the fighting.

Vardan Mamikonian's surviving supporters were imprisoned in Iran, although many of them were eventually released in the following years.

Vardan Mamikonian was the father of Vardeni Mamikonian, known as Shushanik, born around 439 AD.

Vardan Mamikonian is as a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Vardan Mamikonian is revered by the Armenian Catholic Church and Armenian Evangelical Church.

The actual feast day of Saint Vardan Mamikonian is a moveable feast, as it is on the last Thursday before Great Lent.