d of the Greek emperor could
not be counted on. But the the popular enthusiasm overleaped all
resistance; everywhere the Christian party rushed to arms, and swore
to free itself; the Persians with their adherents fled the country;
Artaxata, the capital, was besieged and taken; the Christians were
completely victorious, and, having made themselves masters of all
Persarmenia, proceeded to establish a national government, placing at
their head as king, Sahag, the Bagratide, and appointing Vahan, the
Mamigonian, to be Sparapet, or "Commander-in-Chief."

Intelligence of these events recalled the Persian governor,
Ader-Veshnasp, from Iberia. Returning into his province at the head
of an army of no great size, composed of Atropatenians, Medes, and
Cadusians, he was encountered by Vasag, a brother of Vahan, on the river
Araxes, with a small force, and was completely defeated and slain.

Thus ended the campaign of A.D. 481. In A.D. 482 the Persians made a
vigorous attempt to recover their lost ground by sending two armies,
one under Ader-Nerseh against Armenia, and the other under Mihran into
Iberia. Vahan met the army of Ader-Nerseh in the plain of Ardaz, engaged
it, and defeated it after a sharp struggle, in which the king, Sahag,
particularly distinguished himself. Mihran was opposed by Vakhtang,
the Iberian king, who, however, soon found himself overmatched, and was
forced to apply to Armenia for assistance. The Armenians came to his aid
in full force; but their generosity was ill rewarded. Vakhtang plotted
to make his peace with Persia by treacherously betraying his allies into
their enemies' hands; and the Armenians, forced to fight at tremendous
disadvantage, suffered a severe defeat. Sahag, the king, and Vasag, one
of the brothers of Vahan, were slain; Vahan himself escaped, but at the
head of only a few followers, with whom he fled to the highland district
of Daik, on the borders of Home and Iberia. Here he was "hunted upon
the mountains" by Mihran, and would probably have been forced to succumb
before the year was out, had not the Persian general suddenly received
a summons from his sovereign, who needed his aid against the Roushans
of the low Caspian region. Mihran, compelled to obey this call, had to
evacuate Armenia, and Vahan in a few weeks recovered possession of the
whole country.

The year A.D. 483 now arrived, and another desperate attempt was made
to crush the Armenian revolt. Early in the spring a Persian a