In 650 a large army was sent by the Arab governor of Syria, Mua'wiya, penetrating most of Armenia.
In 654... with the sudden death of Rshtuni and the looming crisis in the caliphate, which resulted in the split between the Sunni and Shiite sects in 656, provided an opportunity for Byzantium to reassert power over Armenia. The Armenian nakharars of the time were also divided in their loyalties and were exploited by both sides. Rshtuni's successor, Hamazasp III Mamikonian [ruled 655-658], sided with the Byzantines*, but in 661 Arab suzerainty was reestablished.
* Indeed, he was created curopalate by the Byzantines; the curopalate was entrusted with the civil adminstration of the country... 2
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At the end of the second fitna (civil war) in 661 Mu'awiya removed [Byzantine Emperor] Constans' principal client Hamazasp Mamikonean, whom Mu'awiya replaced with his brother Grigor. 3
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Hamazasp became governor of Armenia in 104 of the [Muslim] Era.*
*hramanatar, governor. This date suits the context of his appointment as prince of Armenia recorded in Sebeos 52... In a previous passage in the same chapter..., Hamazasp is described as ayr arak'ini yamenayn dems, virtuous in every respect, and ent'erc'aser ew usumnaser, a lover of reading and learning. 4
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Sebeos of Armenia (ca. 600–post 661 CE) is usually credited as the author of an Armenian text that offers a wide-ranging overview of Near Eastern history between 572 and 661. In fact the longstanding identification is unproven. Nevertheless, to avoid potential confusion, the text retains this attribution. Given the biblical imagery employed in the text, and its apocalyptic expectations, it is highly likely that the author was a cleric. We do know of one Sebeos, bishop of the Bagratunik', who was active towards the middle of the seventh century, but the text increasingly focuses attention upon the rival Mamikonean princely family, describing Hamazasp Mamikonean, the leading Armenian figure in the 650s, as “a lover of reading and learning.” This short eulogy, at the very end of the composition, suggests that Hamazasp may have been the author's sponsor or benefactor. It is possible that the author was none other than the anonymous bishop who defied the emperor Constans II when he visited Dvin in 653. It is otherwise hard to explain why the text contains a vivid, apparently first-hand account of a private audience between them. 5
Research Notes: