Tea at Trianon: Armenia Was the Most Important Buffer State Between Rome and Persia

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Thursday, July 16, 2026

Armenia Was the Most Important Buffer State Between Rome and Persia

From The Collector:

The Roman Empire fought for centuries with powerful Persian dynasties in the east, which prevented it from establishing a fixed eastern frontier. The Parthian Empire and then the Sasanian Empire were among Rome’s greatest and most powerful rivals, and their conflicts often took place in the lands between their territories. One of those lands was Armenia, a kingdom situated between Anatolia, Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus. Control of Armenia provided a key defensive barrier and control of important trade routes. The Kingdom of Armenia became one of the most important buffer states between the two mighty empires.

Armenia is located in what has always been a geographically sensitive region. In ancient times, it was located between the eastern Roman provinces and the western territories of the Parthian and, later, the Sasanian Empire. Armenia forms a natural bridge between Anatolia, the Iranian plateau, and Mesopotamia. It is also close to an important transregional route connecting the Black Sea basin to the Near East.

The territory of Armenia is defined by rugged highlands, making the Armenian plateau rich in mountains and deep valleys, with limited passes. These passages were crucial because they directed armies and traders along predictable routes. These vast mountain ranges gave Armenia a great advantage because it was almost unconquerable. Consequently, the major powers like Rome and Persia, instead of conquering, often sought to secure the allegiance and loyalty of the Armenian crown. (Read more.)