as kings of Armenia under the formal regency of their mother, Zarmandukht. Manuel also married his daughter Vardandukht to Arshak III and accepted the suzerainty of the Sasanian Empire, as Roman power had effectively ended in the East following the defeat at Adrianople in 378. Armenia was to retain its autonomy but be overseen by a marzpan (governor) appointed by the Persian king. Manuel's death c. 385 precipitated the partition of Armenia between the Sasanians and the Romans. Pavstos writes that Manuel was succeeded by his son Artashir as sparapet. Hamazasp Mamikonian is recorded as the family patriarch in 393. He married Sahakanush, daughter of Patriarch Isaac (Sahak) the Great. She was a descendant of the Arsacid kings and Saint Gregory the Illuminator. Through this marriage, the Mamikonians gained the western part of Taron centered on Ashtishat, as well as Bagrevand and Ekegheats (Acilsene). Hamazasp and Sahakanush's eldest child Vardan Mamikonian is revered for his leadership of the Armenian rebellion against Persia in 450/451 (called Vardanantsʻ paterazm in Armenian, meaning "the war of Vardan and his companions"). After Vardan became sparapet in 432, the Persians summoned him to Ctesiphon. Upon his return home in 450, Vardan repudiated the Persian (Zoroastrian) religion and instigated a great Armenian rebellion against their Sasanian overlords, provoked by Yazdegerd II's attempts to impose Zoroastrianism on Armenia and other outrages. The rebellion was opposed by a party of pro-Persian Armenian nobles led by marzpan Vasak Siwni. Although Vardan and many other leading Armenian noblemen died at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, the continued insurrection led by Vardan's nephew Vahan Mamikonian and the death of Peroz I resulted in the restoration of Armenian autonomy and religious rights with the Treaty of Nvarsak (484). Vahan was confirmed as sparapet by the Persians and appointed marzpan of Armenia in 485. Vardan Mamikonian, immortalized by the histories of Ghazar Parpetsi and Elishe, is venerated as a saint by the Armenian Church and commemorated by many churches in Armenia and an equestrian statue in Yerevan. After the country's subjugation by the Persians, the Mamikonians often sided with the Eastern Roman Empire, with many family members entering Byzantine service, most notably Vardan II Mamikonian in the late 6th century after his failed revolt against Persia. Vardan's failed revolt marked the beginning of the decline of the Mamikonian dynasty in Armenia. The power of the Mamikonians waned further with the Arab conquest