Meruzhan Artsruni

Meruzhan Artzruni (Մերուժան Արծրունի Meružan Arcruni, transliteration differs; can also be spelled Merujan, Ardzruni, Artsruni, Artsrouni) (ruled c. 355-369 CE) was a Nakharar (Armenian feudal lord) from the Artzruni family. He lived in the decades following the official conversion of Armenia to Christianity, but himself remained a Zoroastrian. When the Persian king Shapur II invaded Armenia in the 360s, Meruzhan and several other Armenian lords defected to Persia, a Zoroastrian state, joining Shapur in raiding the districts of Sophene and Akilisene. The Armenian King Arsaces II (Arshak II) fled, and the Persian attack was successfully repulsed by the sparapet (general) Vassak Mamikonian. In many Armenian histories, including that of P'awstos, Meruzhan is seen as a traitor, and it is said that he was promised riches and governorship by Shapur. Some, however, contend that he saw himself as a ruler exercising his lawful powers to counter the growth of Christianity. He was killed by Arsaces II's successor King Papas (Pap).