The Three Kingdoms period was one of the most turbulent eras in the history of the continent and one of the eras of heroes. In this era, there are many famous generals who bravely kill the enemy for their ideals and beliefs, and create countless legendary stories. Among them, there is a famous general, his name is Ma Chao.
He was one of the five tiger generals of the Shu state, known as the "Shenwei Tiansho", and once fought with Cao Cao at Tongguan, Megatron. However, his descendants disappeared from history, and it was not until thousands of years later, in a distant country, that anyone claimed to be his descendants.
Ma Chao was born in the Ma family of Western Liang, a family of generals who had been in the army for generations. Ma Chao's ancestor was Ma Yuan, the founding hero of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and one of Ma Yuan's descendants settled in Longxi and developed into the Western Liang Ma family.
The Ma family had high prestige and power in the local area, and once competed with Cao Cao, Liu Bei and other princes for the world. Ma Chao's father is Ma Teng, and he has three brothers who are Ma Tie, Ma Xiu, and Ma Dai. He also had two cousins, Ma Kang and Ma Yi.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and all the heroes rose together. In order to maintain his local separatist power, Ma Teng fought against Cao Wei for a long time. In order to appease Cao Cao, he took his two sons, Ma Tie and Ma Xiu, to Xuchang to serve, in effect as hostages.
Only Ma Chao was left to hold the base. Later, after Cao Cao formed the Three Kingdoms with Sun Quan and Liu Bei, he wanted to recover the Western Liang region. Under the pretext of attacking Zhang Lu in Guanzhong, he asked Ma Chao to allow his army to pass through Western Liang.
Ma Chao believed that this was a trick of Cao Cao, refused Cao Cao's request, and united with local forces such as Han Sui to raise troops against Cao. Due to a falling out between the two sides, Ma Teng, Ma Tie, and Ma Xiu, who remained in Xudu, were soon executed by Cao Cao.
In the Battle of Tongguan, Ma Chao and Cao Cao engaged in a fierce duel. Although Ma Chao was extremely brave, due to Han Sui's betrayal and the superiority of the Cao army, he was eventually defeated and fled. Since then, he has lost his base and family power.
He successively defected to Zhang Lu, Liu Bei and other princes, and participated in major battles such as the Battle of Hanzhong and the Battle of Chibi. Finally, after Liu Bei established Shu Han, he was made one of the five tiger generals and held Hanzhong. He died of illness shortly after.
The rest of the Ma family had a different fate. Ma Chao's cousin Ma Dai fled with Ma Chao, and later also defected to Liu Bei, becoming an important general of Shu Han. He participated in Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, and after Zhuge Liang's death, he personally captured the rebel general Wei Yan.
Ma Chao's other cousin, Ma Kang, chose to flee west, leading part of the Ma family into the Persian Empire along the Silk Road. There, they changed their names and beliefs and gradually assimilated into local society and culture. They came to be known as the Mamikonian family and became one of the illustrious families of Armenia.
Secondly, we need to understand the historical position and contribution of the Mamikonian family in Armenia. Armenia is a small country located at the junction of Europe and Asia, and its history is very long and tortuous.
It was once one of the first countries in the world to embrace Christianity, and it has also suffered many foreign invasions and oppressions. The worst of these was the mass genocide of Armenians by Turkey in the early 20th century, resulting in the death and displacement of millions of people.
The Mamikonian family made outstanding contributions to the freedom and independence of the Armenian people in such a difficult historical environment.
It is said that after Ma Kang led the Ma family into the Persian Empire, he was appreciated and used by the Persian king because of their bravery and good fighting. They were sent to suppress the Armenian uprising against Persian rule.
There, however, they developed empathy and sympathy with the local Christians. They changed their names and beliefs and became Armenians. They also intermarried with the locals and had children, putting down roots.
From then on, the Mamikonian family began to become one of the leading classes of Armenia. They not only protected the freedom of belief of the local people, but also led and participated in many uprisings against Persian rule. The most famous of these were two large-scale uprisings that took place during the 5th century.
The first uprising was in 451 and was led by Valda Mamikononyan, a descendant of the Mamikonian family. He led more than 30,000 Armenian soldiers in a fierce battle with more than 100,000 Persian soldiers in the Avalar plain.
Although he was eventually defeated and killed, it struck a blow to the arrogance and self-confidence of the Persians against the religious persecution of Armenians. The second uprising was in 484 and was led by another descendant of the Mamikonyan family, Waharam Mamikonyan .
He led more than 50,000 Armenian soldiers in a fierce battle with more than 70,000 Persian soldiers in the Nuwald plain. This time, they triumphed, forcing the Persians to recognize the religious freedom and political autonomy of the Armenians.
These two uprisings were called the "holy war" of Armenia and were heroic struggles of the Armenian people to defend their faith and national dignity. The leader of the Mamikonian family is also considered a national hero and religious saint of Armenia.
In later history, the Mamikonian family maintained a prominent position and influence in Armenia. They not only have outstanding military performance, but also have important contributions in politics, culture and education.
They have held various positions such as king, queen, governor, general, archbishop, bishop, scholar, poet, etc. of Armenia. They also built many churches, monasteries, schools, libraries and other cultural heritage. They competed or cooperated with other Armenian families such as the Arsaks, Baghrations, Rubens, etc., and jointly promoted the development of Armenian history.
It is worth mentioning that according to the research of some historians and geneticists, the relationship between the Mamikonian family and Ma Chao has a certain basis and possibility.
First of all, historically, Ma Chao's cousin Ma Kang did lead part of the Ma family to flee to the Persian Empire, and intermarried with the locals and had children. This is recorded in historical books such as the "Three Kingdoms" and "Zizhi Tongjian".
Second, genetically, members of the Mamikonian family have a high degree of genetic similarity to certain ethnic groups in northwest China. This suggests that they may have shared ancestry or ancient migration relationships.
Again, culturally, members of the Mamikonian family have a unique tradition of surnames and names in Armenia. Their surnames all end with "-Jan", a suffix that means "descendants". Their names often end in "-Val", a suffix for "warrior".
These characteristics have similarities to certain ethnic groups in northwest China. For example, the Xiongnu, Qiang, and Di people all have surnames ending in "-子" or "-氏", and names ending in "-shan" or "-chao".
Of course, these evidences are not absolute, and they cannot completely prove that the Mamikonian family is the descendants of Ma Chao. After all, there are many coincidences and ambiguities in history, many variations and hybrids in genetics, and many references and influences in culture.
Moreover, Ma Chao is not the only Chinese who may have a relationship with the Mamikonian family. In history, there are many other Chinese who have also visited the Persian Empire or Armenia, such as Zhang Qian, Ban Chao, Princess Rest, Guo Ziyi, etc.
They may also have some connection or influence with the Mamikonian family. Therefore, the relationship between the Mamikonian family and Ma Chao can only be said to be a reasonable speculation, not a definite fact.
In conclusion, the Mamikonian family is a family with a long history and outstanding contributions in Armenia. They claim to be the descendants of the famous general Ma Chao during the Three Kingdoms period, although there is no conclusive evidence, but there is also a certain basis and possibility.
In any case, they are a group of people who deserve our admiration and learning. They not only inherited Ma Chao's brave and combative spirit, but also demonstrated the tenacity and freedom-loving qualities of the Armenian people. They are the pride of Armenia and the wealth of the world.