When the principal citizens of Ani saw that Gagik was confined in Byzantium they thought to give the city either to Dawit' or to the one from Duin, since Dawit''s sister was his wife, or to Bagarat, king of Abkhazia. When the patriarch Petros understood [61] that the city would be given to somebody, he sent [g62] to the man who held sway over the Eastern part(s) and resided in the city of Samusat (which they say was built by Samson, in antiquity). He wrote [as follows]: "Inform the emperor [about what is going on and find out] what he will give us in return if I give up the city and other strongholds in this land." [The Byzantine official] hurriedly informed the emperor, and the emperor satisfied [Petros] with treasures and authority. And thus did they rule Ani, and the entire land.

Meanwhile Gagik remained with the emperor, unconsolable. [The emperor] out of compassion had given him the place which he himself wanted [but] which was greatly inferior in value to Ani or the other lands [he was deprived of]. Rather, [the Byzantines] recompensed the kat'oghikos [Petros] from whom they had taken the city, with thanks and rewards. Furthermore by the emperor's order, Gagik married the daughter of Dawit', son of Senek'erim, and ruled that sector, since when Dawit' died he had left no other heir.

[62] Now there was a certain prince named Asit who previously had held lordship of the East. The emperor sent him to be lieutenant of the city of Ani. Upon arrival he elevated the patriarch Petros with incomparable honor, subdued the land under his control, and then went in person with numerous troops against the city of Duin. Now Apusuar, lord of [that] city warred with [Asit] and an inestimable number of men were killed by the city gate [including] the great prince of Armenia, Vahram and his son, something which caused the Armenians great mourning. Asit remained [in control] of the lordship of Armenia until the year 493 of our [Armenian] calendar [1044] when a certain Kamenas replaced his authority. But when the latter arrived he did not honor the patriarch in accordance with the previous dignity. Instead he commenced writing accusatorial letters to the emperor about him and deceitfully removed [Petros] from the city, saying: "The emperor has commanded that your habitation be at Arcn awan in the Karin district." So the patriarch arose and came to our populous, shahastan city filling with joy the beholders who wanted him [there]. The time for the [g63] feast of the Holy Revelation of God neared. When the feast-day itself had come, [Petros] together with [63] a vast multitude, descended to the churning waters which coursed down from the mountains located in the northern part of the plain. There he gloriously and appropriately celebrated the sacrament of the day. Now when the moment came for releasing the Lord's oil [chrism] upon the waters, a Tachik man came forth from the crowd and requested baptism in the water. [Petros] inquired of him why he wanted this, learned that he desired to become Christian, and so ordered him to get into the water. The chrism-bearer stood near him, took the bottle in his hand, but broke it by striking it, causing the chrism to plentifully pour on the neophyte and the water. However a fragment of glass seriously wounded his hand, and blood copiously flowed to the ground. Many who saw this prophesied: "That is not the sign of anything good," and indeed [the prophecy] was fulfilled on that very day. For while they were seated at the dinner table, men arrived who seized and took [Petros], placing him in the fortress called Xaghtoy Arhich. Subsequently they brought from Armenia [Petros'] nephew (sister's son), named Xach'ik, whom they placed in the fortress called Seaw K'ar (Black Rock). They remained [in confinemement] until it was almost Easter. Then they were removed thence and taken before the emperor in Constantinople. Prior to this, Xach'k's senior brother, Anania, had been taken there by a certain eunuch who held sway over half the kingdom.

[God] poured His wrath down upon us by means of a foreign people, for we had sinned against Him. But once again He regretted this and ceased visiting His evils upon us, for He is merciful. But He did not grow totally angry nor did He hold His grudge forever. He was obliged to try us, since He is the righteous judge; yet He hastened with His mercy, since He is the forgiving Father. He regretted the evils visited upon us since He is the God of mercy. Indeed He [g65] displayed both [wrath and forgiveness] toward us: first requiting us with a deserved vengeance, then His anger would pass so that we would not be completely exterminated. We became infected with the disease of [66] pharaoh and his partisans—foolish callousness. For when [pharaoh] was tormented he would confess: "This is the finger of God" [Exodus 8.19], yet when the frightful wrath had passed, filled with impiety, he would say: "I do not recognize the Lord, nor will I let Israel go" [Exodus 5.2]. When he received the final punishment, becoming an inhabitant of the deepest abyss, the senseless one correctly said: "This is the finger of God." Just as the hand performs a complete work with ten fingers, so it was there that the punishment, commencing with one finger, ended with ten. Then he released Israel.

Now after [God's] wrath had been revealed, and had been stirred up, and after horrible evils had commenced, we stood trembling in shocked, horrified terror. But God had mercy and closed their road with a fog, and blocked the march of the impious invaders. We regarded that good deed as suspect and were found lacking in our thanks. However we should have come to our senses from the punishment suffered by our brothers, and we should have hastened to learn the prophet's saving advice: "Put an end to your evil ways, and learn to do good" [Isaiah 1.16-17], etc. We should have calmed God with our uprightness, [67] extinguished the blazing flames of Gehenna's chastisement, and lowered that hand upraised in anger to pardon us. But we forgot about this. Nor did a knowledge of Him dawn in our hearts. To those who are iniquitous, [God] is iniquitous, to the unjust He is unjust. We were like the wild boars, throwing ourselves upon the Word [g66] bearing responsibility for everything. It seemed to us that they bore chastisement because they were guilty whereas we were saved because of our justice. But we did not recall the Lord's command and instructive counsel: "There were some present at that very time who told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, 'Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered thus? I tell you, No; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish'" [Luke 13.4-5]. We, however, conducted ourselves according to the words of Amos with which he insulted Israel, drinking strained wine, perfumed with fragrant oils, relaxing on ivory couches, etc., but the misfortune of Joseph did not bother them. God required that when some folk are subjected to torments, those near to them should share their grief: "Weep with the weepers" [Romans 12.15]. But they behaved just the opposite. Although [68] they were of one blood, they were not pained at the capture of Joseph's clan. Thus did the prophet sing out an accusation against them. The same [fate] befell us.

In the year 497 of our [Armenian] calendar [1048] which was the second year of our captivity, once again the dregs of bitterness full of rage moved forth from Persia, surging in gigantic waves. They filled up the vast plain of Basen and Karin. Jets of that flood took hold of the four conners of the country; in the west, as far as Xaghteac' district; in the north, as far as Sper and the strongholds of Tayk' and Arsharunik'; while in the south it stretched as far as Taron, to the Hashtenic' district, as far as the forests of Xorjean. Resting for fourteen days, once more they billowed out and covered mountains and thickets, and seized the entire land [g67]. It seems to me that this resulted from that unadulterated wine which in his vision the young Jeremiah gave in a golden goblet as a drink to kings, nations, cities, princes and their troops, and last of all to the House of Sisak. Behold that prophecy was indeed fulfilled. For Armenia drank of that pure wine, and became evilly drunk. It drank, became numb, and lost [69] its senses. It drank until [it was responsible] for all [chastisements] visited upon it. And now it lies sprawled at the crossings of all roads, naked, disgraced, and trampelled upon with insults by all passersby. [Armenia] quit its home, was alienated from acquaintances, went far away from family and relatives, [becoming] the captive and slave of all peoples.

It is time to repeat the words of the prophet: "What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten" [Joel 1.4]. Such words are likewise my own, since all the prophetic words of the prophets were fulfilled on us. The cutting and swarming locusts have passed, but it is about the hopping and destroying locusts that I speak. For the first time that the Persians and other barbarous pagan peoples arose, sullied many districts with murder, took much booty and captives and returned to their land, they brought the good news to [other] peoples and kingdoms. And they invited them, saying with [70] the prophet: "All you beasts of the field, come to devour—all you beasts in the forest" [Isaiah 56.9]. Upon arrival of the next year, they assembled a countless host of troops of bowmen and swordsmen, assembling as eagles pouncing upon food. In the month of September on Wednesday, the feast of the blessed Cross, they [g68] speedily came to our land in great excitement.

It is a history for us to lament and mourn. The entire public is invited to sob over this narration. The Ninevehites were so terrified by the threats of the prophet—and he a foreigner who had entered their city, unknown to anyone, insignificant—that everyone from the king down to the miller sobbed together, everyone dressed in melancholy sack-cloth, everyone stopped eating, forcing himself to multiply the laments. Furthermore they summoned professional mourning women, [saying]: "Perhaps God will regret [His deed] and turn His wrath from us" [Jonah 3.9]. How much more deserving of lamentation is our [account], when not merely a threat but the actual chastisement of rage was visited upon us. Wickedly tormented and destroyed, we became a spectacle for the world [to gape at], as the Apostle said of the saints, and we have left behind us [71] for succeeding generations an unhappy history. For [our] cities were ruined, homes burned, palaces transformed into furnaces, regally built chambers reduced to ashes. Men were killed in the squares, women taken from their homes into slavery, suckling babes hurled against rocks, and the beautiful faces of little children withered away. Women were disgraced in public, youths were stabbed to death in view of [their] elders, the respect-worthy white hair of the elderly became blood-stained and their [g69] corpses rolled upon the ground. The enemies' swords grew dull, their hands grew weak, the strings of their bows were broken, their quivers were emptied of arrows, they grew weary—but mercy did not find a way into their hearts.

Oh God, [for] Your mercy! You Who so tolerated the arrogance of the impious inflicted upon the flock of Your pasture, remember Your people whom You received beginning with the coming of Your Only-Begotten [Son] and saved with the blood of Your annointed one. God, why did You completely reject [us], grow wrathful and betray us to the hands of impious, stern and rebellious men? Remember not our sins, and because of our sins turn not Your [72] face from us. Remember, instead, Your mighty hand and forceful lofty arm by which You ruled us and [that] Your name was placed upon us. But now, lo: You became angered, and we sinned. Therefore we roamed in slavery among many peoples and became as if unclean to everyone. The winds dispersed us and there remained none to bless Your name or to remember to take refuge in You. For You turned Your face away from us and betrayed us because of our sins. Remain not eternally angry at us, and, in time, forget our sins.

Alas the dawning of that day! That light, which on the first day [of Creation] came into existence of an incorporeal sort by the Word of God, on the fourth day became possessed of substance and was divided [to create] the luminaries, princes of the day and night, eternal travelers of the world. One [body, the sun], awakens men to work, while the other [luminary, the moon], gives boldness to the wild beasts. But now our noontime became eclipsed and was transformed into night. That bestial pagan people which had long since been growling in its lairs, as the prophet says, sought [73] their food from the flock of God. When our day [g70] turned into night, they came forth and spread over the face of the earth. They found much prey and were satiated with food, and saved the left-overs for their children, [enough] for many years. Now although there was plenty of prey for them everywhere, for the country before them was like a lush garden full of fruit, nonetheless this was more so in the Mananaghi district, on the mountain named Smbatay Berd (Smbat's Fortress), for it was there that a countless multitude of fugitives had assembled [with] an inestimable number of animals. The infidels attacked, broke into the stronhold, and put everyone to the sword.

One could observe there a pitiful spectacle, and one worthy of much lamentation. For some whom they grabbed hold of were dispatched with the sword; some who had secured themselves into craggy places [the Saljuqs] killed with arrows; many who had gone up to a cave were crushed to death by huge rocks [rolled on them], and their corpses tumbled down upon each other resembling heaps of wood-shavings [left] by a wood-cutter, filling the valley in front [of the mountain]. Alas and alack [74] the very bitter light of that day! Brave men armed, and glowering with rage, assembled, while the cowards swooned, women took leave of their senses, and youths scoffed [at the danger]. Yet they could find no way out, for the enemy had blockaded them on all sides. No love for dear ones there, no lament for friends. Father forgot tenderness for his children, mother [forgot] love for her newborn infants. The newly-wed woman could not recall her love for her bridegroom, nor did the man think to caress the wife he longed for. Hymns of the mass ceased [g71] in the mouths of the priests, and the recital of psalms stopped on the lips of the psalmists. Everyone without exception was seized with trembling and dread. Because of the severe crisis, many pregnant women aborted their babies. [The Saljuqs] surrounded that mountain for the entire day, like hunters with nets, until they weakened and were exhausted.

Now when evening fell, they took their loot, captives, and the booty from the slain, and departed. But they left behind them a scene more pitiful and lamentable than it had been before. The death-agonies were of many types: for some who had fallen [75] [fatally wounded] were still alive. From thirst their tongues had dried up, and with weak and soft voices they sought to quench their thirst, but there was no one to give them drink. Others who were terribly wounded, and could not make sounds, were breathing violently. Others whose throats had been slit but were still alive were emitting gurgling sounds in pain. Yet others, who had been badly wounded, were scraping the ground with their feet and clawing at it with their fingernails. There were others whose appearance was so frightful that the very rocks and other inanimate objects were moved to lamentation and sighing. For when the infidels were removing captives from the mountain, they took the children from their parents' embrace, and threw them to the ground, and [the Saljuqs'] place of encampment was swarming with them. Some [of the children] had died when they fell against rocks. The sides of some of them had torn open and their intestines poured out onto the ground. As for those remaining alive, what ear could bear their crying? Those [children] capable of walking were moving about here and there looking for their mothers, and the mountains reverberated with the loudness of their crying. Those who [76] were [to young to be] steady on their feet, were crying as they crawled along on their knees. Those who were even younger than they, thumped the ground with their feet, and, weakened through crawling they could scarcely breath. With their piteous sounds and unceasing cries they resembled lambs newly separated from their mothers, who, being impatient by nature, angrily struck out this way and that, offending the very air with their bleating and weighing heavily upon the listeners' ears.

Such is your wicked history, oh mountain! Mountain whereon God was not pleased to dwell, mountain of blood, of invasion, and loss. It is impossible to call you a mountain. Rather, you were a mud pit in which the entire population of the country was lost. [Now] wild beasts take lodging on you, and kites and vultures have made you their dwelling, and packs of foxes frolic about, filled with meat. Oh mountain! You were not fertilized by the dew of Heaven like [mount] Hermon, but with the fat and blood of the corpses which fell upon you. Oh mountain! You were not, like mount Sinai, a medium through which Moses spoke with God; no, you silenced many priests [77] singing the psalms, [priests] who by their prayers were always conversing with God, When Elia, frightened of death, fled from Jezebel, he went to [mount] Koreb, and lived. But those who took refuge on you were betrayed to the sword and became food for foxes. Oh mountain! I consider you equal to Geghbu mountain upon which the children of Israel perished. Therefore now I shall repeat about you what David said about that [mountain] [g73]. May no rain nor dew fall upon you, mountains of Smbat, for you drank the blood of the believing men and women who fell upon you. Let the evil history of this mountain end here, albeit I have related but little from much [information]. Let us return to the theme of this history. I would gather my energies to writing in such a way that I move all to tears. Together with Jeremiah, I call upon [professional] weeping-women to compose laments with me, for I write not about mountains, caves, and desolate places where beggarly fugitives went to dwell.

But after the Sceptics and Pyrrhonists entered our churches, the reign of justice was transformed into injustice, the love of silver became more honored than the love of God, and Mammon [more esteemed] than Christ. Then all modesty of the orders was perverted and disorder resulted. The princes [of Arcn] became thieves' companions, evil-doers, and servants of silver; its judges took bribes and, for bribes, robbed the just; the case of orphans and widows was not defended. Usury and speculation became law, and [the production] of wheat was multiplied [to such an extent] that the land was ruined [worn out] and did not bear crops at the proper time to feed mankind. He who cheated his friend boasted about being wise, while he who ravished said, "I am mighty." The wealthy (mecatunk'n) ravished the homes of neighboring poor people and expropriated their fields, nor did they think about the divinely-ordained curse written by [80] the Lord's servant, Moses: "Accursed is he who ravishes the fields of his neighbor" [II Deuteronomy 27.17]. [They did not recall] the rebuke of the great Isaiah who in angry protest condemned such people: "Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field, until there is no more room, in order to expell their friends. This reaches the ear of the Lord in all its power" [Isaiah 5. 8-9]. I shall not continue [the passage] to spare you. They did not remember what [g75] Jezebel suffered after ravishing Nabrovth's vineyard, although to this day [that fate] is blared forth by trumpets within everyone's hearing. The piety and holy selection of priests also came to an end. They pushed and crowded toward the altar and officiated at the ineffable mystery [of the mass] which is awesome to the angels, let alone to man, and [they got there] through silver and not through God, forgetting the hymn in Psalms which says "They shall be despised who are chosen by silver" [Psalms 67.31].

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