Armenian soldiers salute their commander.
Illustration from the book: Byzantine Armies 886-1118 by Jan Heath (2004). Note the salute sign adopted by the modern military.
These details on a medieval ivory box depict the Armenian infantry in Byzantium.
Most of the military aristocracy in the Byzantine Empire was formed from Armenians, and during the Middle Ages, Armenians made up about twenty-five percent of the military forces of the Byzantine Empire, or perhaps even more.
