[9] In the year 432 A.E. [983] the blessed patriarch Vahan died. By order of the two kings, Yovhanne's and Ashot, a mild and meek man named Step'annos [III, Sewants'i, 969-972] was ordained [as kat'oghikos of the Armenians] by Yovhanne's, the kat'oghikos of the Aghvanians. In this period Mamlan, the impious emir of the Iranians, came against the Armenians with an awesome host and, through fire and the taking of captives, he subjected the land and churches of the Armenians to looting. He reached the land of the curopalate David in the district of Apahunik' and [g16] wrote these threats to David: "Give me ten years' worth of taxes and enroll your sons as my servants, or else I shall come against you with many troops and then we shall see if God saves you from my hands." When David heard this, he assembled his forces, taking [auxiliaries also] from the Georgians and Armenians and, in the name of the Lord, went before the infidels. [David] descended into the borders of Apahunik' and he and all the monastics prayed together. He appointed the valiant man Karmrakel as a night guard with seven hundred horsemen. Early in the morning someone from the infidel army arrived with one thousand horsemen and, before daybreak, Karmrakel and the foreigners engaged. At that time of day there was still dew [on the ground], and the moon was still shining down brightly on all the mountains round about. So when the foreigners viewed the scene, they thought [that the reflections caused by the dew] were all Christian troops and, terrified, they turned in flight, with Karmrakel pursuing and destroying them. He captured Mamlan's wife and then informed David who quickly arrived with his troops and wrought a great slaughter. Mamlan escaped by a hairsbreadth and departed in disgrace. However after several years some impious men from David's House plotted to kill this God-loving man. As an assistant they had the impious [g17] bishop Hilarion (Vrarion). He committed an evil, like unto Mrjunik' [in P'awstos' History of the Armenians, IV.15] by mixing poison into the life-giving [wine] of communion, and giving it to the God-loving David. But [David] did not falter and it was a great miracle that the poison acted as a medicine which cured all his aches and pains. The impious bishop, however, was not satisfied with this wickedness. Rather, one day when the God-loving [David] was sleeping in his chamber, [Hilarion] entered and, taking a pillow from [David's] bed, put it over his mouth and held it down. David suffocated. But after a few days, Basil seized [Hilarion] and his wicked advisors, tied stones to their necks, and threw them into the sea.

[10] In 434 A.E. [985] the blessed patriarch Step'annos died. Lord Xach'ik [I, Arsharunets'i, 973-992], a wise man fully versed in Divine Scripture, was ordained to occupy [the kat'oghikosal] throne. The metropolitan of Melitene wrote a letter to [Xach'ik], and he and vardapet Samue'l wrote a reply [g18].

In the year 437 A.E. [988] severe earthquake(s) occurred throughout the world, causing [the church of] St. Sophia in Constantinople to collapse. The same year Emperor Basil sent [a message] to Ali Osman (Alo'sian), king of the Bulghars, to come to him in submission. However [Ali Osman] did not agree to this. Thus Basil attacked him with numerous troops, was defeated by [the Bulghars], and returned in disgrace. But two years later [Basil] again went against the Bulghars, seeking vengeance for his [previous] losses. However he was unable to accomplish anything of a[n important] military nature, except for capturing some villages; and so he returned to Constantinople.

In the year 440 A.E. [991] Lord Xach'ik died and Lord Sargis [I, Sewants'i, 992-1019] was ordained [kat'oghikos] in his stead. During the same year the Arabs arose from Egypt and went to the district of Antioch, seizing much booty. The Byzantine troops went to fight with them but were defeated and fled. The Arabs captured [some of] their princes and took them to Egypt. Two years later a Byzantine duke came to the land of the Armenians with many troops and, like the infidels, began destroying Christ's believers [g19]. The forces of the Armenians rose against them, putting [many of] them to the sword, while the rest returned to their own land in shame. During the same year a Tachik emir, called "Long Hand" (Erkaynadzer'n), came with many troops, crossed the Euphrates River, captured the land of Edessa and [territories including] the borders of Armenia, and then triumphantly returned to his own land.

In the year 443 A.E. [994] a comet appeared in the heavens.

In the year 449 A.E. [1000] friendship was established between Emperor Basil and Senek'erim, [a] king of the Armenians. In the same year marzpan Sahak, lord of the Varazhnunik', died.

[11] In the year 455 A.E. [1006] Emperor Basil once again entered the territory of the Bulghars with numerous troops and waged many battles there for an extended period. In these days there was a great disturbance in Constantinople, for they strayed from [celebrating] the feast of Easter [on its] correct [date], and instead moved it to Palm Sunday. They did the same at Jerusalem and, in their arrogance, divided all the peoples in contention. [The miraculous] flame [in Jerusalem's Church of the Resurrection] did not [spontaneously] light on that Easter. When the infidels who were in Jerusalem saw such confusion, they attacked [g20] the [Christian] houses of prayer killing without mercy, to the point that the blessed Church of the Resurrection was filled with blood. Meanwhile Emperor Basil had subdued the Bulghars and returned to Constantinople. There he learned about the erroneous Easter [controversy] and questioned the Byzantine sages about the causes [of the unrest]. They responded with lies and began to mislead the emperor. When the emperor realized this, he wrote to the Armenians, to King Yovhane's of Armenia, regarding the matter so that he would quickly send to the emperor vardapets and wise men. King Yovhanne's sent to Yovse'p', abbot of [the monastery of] Andzawats'eats', and Yovhanne's Kozer'n, but they did not want to go. Rather they sent a letter explaining the matter. The [Byzantine] clerics, however, did not accept this, so [Basil] wrote a second time, this time insistently and with great entreaty, to Lord Sargis, the kat'oghikos, and to King Yovhanne's, for them to apply themselves to the matter. Thus they quickly sent to him the vardapet Lord Samue'l. [The emperor] was overjoyed by this [g21], and designated [Samue'l] to speak with the Byzantine sages in an investigation. They brought forth all the writings of the Byzantines, but were unable to refute him. Samue'l began [his review] with the first day of Creation and brought it right down to the present [situation], explaining and confirming all the calendrical reasons [for the celebration of Easter on the proper day]. His words were very pleasing to Emperor Basil. When the Byzantine sages had been bested, they told the king about an extremely learned and brilliant Hebrew man living in Cyprus. The emperor had him quickly brought to Constantinople. The Hebrew man attended the deliberations. He listened to the statements of vardapet Samue'l and agreed with them. The emperor greatly praised his wisdom, causing great embarassment to the Byzantine sages. Disenchanted with them, the emperor deprived them of [their] honor, while he sent the vardapet, Lord Samue'l, back to his own land with many gifts. Thereafter the Armenians were praised.

In the year 457 A.E. [1008] during the reign of Basil, a star arose which looked like fire, and there were earthquakes everywhere. After this [manifestation of divine] wrath, a disease called xulik broke out. [The symptoms] clearly manifested themselves on [the human] body and were so severe that people did not have time for communion, but died forthwith [g22], both man and beast. Many people and animals died from it.

In the year 460 A.E. [1011] Basil again entered [the land of the] Bulghars, destroying the West, poisoning to death King Ali Osman, and taking his wife and son back to Constantinople.

[12] In the year 465 A.E. [1016] divine anger was let loose on the Christians. An enormous host of countless barbaric people, known as Turks, came and entered the land of the Armenians in the district of Vaspurakan and began to mercilessly destroy Christ's faithful. News of this [invasion] reached Senek'erim. He sent his son David against them with many troops. When David reached [the Turks] the two sides fought each other in a fierce battle. The [Turkish] bowmen who had [long] hair, like women, began shooting arrows at the Armenian troops, since the Armenian soldiers were not protected against arrows. David, the king's son, was confident of his personal powers and did not want to retreat from battle until his tutor Shapuh, following after him with great anger, removed him from the fray. When they returned and related to Senek'erim [information] about the appearance of the foreigners, [the king] became greatly distraught and would neither eat nor drink, but instead wept and lamented the destruction of the land of the Armenians and the ruination of the Christians. At that point [King Senek'erim] considered giving the land of his patrimony [g23] to Basil, emperor of the Byzantines, and receiving [in exchange] Sebastia. He quickly wrote to the emperor. When Emperor Basil heard about this, he was delighted and gave Sebastia to him. Senek'erim [ceded] the land of Vaspurakan with seventy-two fortresses and four thousand four hundred villages. However [Senek'erim] did not give up [Vaspurakan's] monasteries, retaining one hundred and fifteen monasteries, to pray for him. All this was given to Basil in writing. Emperor Basil sent [to Senek'erim] for him to send David [to Constantinople] in royal splendor, and Senek'erim sent with him four hundred sons of his knights, the bishop Lord Eghishe', three hundred mules to carry the treasure and other goods, and one thousand Tachik horses. With this grandeur David entered Constantinople. The city was roused [by the event]. The streets and palaces were decorated, and numerous treasures were bestowed on him. Emperor Basil was exceedingly pleased when he saw David, took him to Saint Sophia, and adopted him. [People] honored him as the emperor's son. The emperor gave him many gifts and then sent him back to his father, also giving Sebastia with many districts [to Senek'erim]. Senek'erim came to Sebastia with his entire family and [his] common folk. And thus the land of the Armenians became lordless, having neither kings nor princes.

In the year 470 A.E. [1021] Basil came to the East with an incalculable number of troops and demanded [the cities of] Ani and Kars. Gagik's son Yovhanne's thought to cede them because of his weak heart [g24]. Meanwhile Basil returned to his own land and wrote to King George [I, Gorg, 1014-1027] of Georgia for him to come forth in submission, something he refused to do. So Emperor Basil went against him in battle. R'at and Zoyat, brave men and brothers of Liparit, forcefully struck Basil's troops, though R'at was slain when his horse got stuck in the mud there. The Georgian forces turned in flight while the troops of Basil pursued and destroyed them. Basil remained there for three months, until he had pacified them, then he wintered in Trabizond. Lord Petros, the kat'oghikos of the Armenians, and Yovhanne's Kozer'n came to Emperor Basil with numerous religious items. The emperor received them with honor. When the great [feast] day of the baptism of our Lord arrived, the emperor honored Lord Petros and the vardapet of the Armenians and seated them above the Byzantine prelates. Moreover, he ordered Lord Petros to bless the waters. When [Petros] had poured out the miwron of blessed oil and touched the water with the cross an intense flame appeared over the water and the river locked up and would not flow. When the emperor and the troops saw this they were terrified. Basil bowed down and, under the guidance of Petros, poured the blessed water over his head. Then Lord Petros returned to the land of the Armenians with great gifts. After a while Basil came to Antioch covertly with three trusted men to visit [g25] a place called Paghkts'eak on Black Mountain to receive baptism from the [spiritual] father of the place. Thereafter [Basil] was like a father to the land of the Armenians.

[13] In the year 471 A.E. [1022] Lord Sargis, kat'oghikos of the Armenians, died and Lord Petros [I, Getadardz, 1019-1058] was seated on the patriarchal throne. In the same year a certain powerful Byzantine prince named Nicephorus, nicknamed "Crooked Neck," arose against Basil, calling on King George of Georgia and the sons of Gagik to unite with him. Out of fear of him, David also went to him with Armenian troops. Basil was horrified. He sent entreaties to David, begging him to find some way to destroy [Nicephorus]. However, "Crooked Neck" liked David a lot and promised to seat him on the throne of the Armenian kingdom. Yet David did not want to break the treaty he had with Basil. So one day David went to [Nicephorus'] home on the pretext of [inquiring about some] disturbance. Nicephorus arose alone and embraced [David], beseeching him to turn back. David gave a signal to his men, killing "Crooked Neck" on the spot, and [Nicephorus'] men took to flight. When Basil heard about this he was truly delighted and gave to David as gifts [the cities of] Caesarea and Tsamndaw, and all of Xawatane'k with its borders. Then, in a great rage, Basil went against George, the king of the Georgians, with many troops. A great battle took place in front of Dzion fortress. George fled to some secure fortresses where he enrolled himself as Basil's vassal and sent him his son [g26] as a hostage. After this Basil went to the land of the Persians, encamping at the gates of the city of Her, in summertime. One day a great deal of snow fell on the cavalry and, not knowing what to do, they fled in panic. The land flooded from so much water, causing them to get inextricably stuck in the mud, and they did not know what to do. The emperor killed thirteen thousand men of his own infantry, filled the swamp with [their corpses], and crossed over. He came to winter at Melitene and thence went on to Constantinople.

During the reign of Basil, in the year 478 A.E. [1029], a frightful omen appeared in the sky when the heavens split apart and an intense light descended to the ground. Everyone was terrified at the outpouring of light. Then [people] gathered by Yovhanne's Kozer'n, a vardapet of the Armenians, and made inquiries about the frightening portent. In tears [Kozer'n] began to tell them about the evils about to be visited upon the country in the future.

[14] In this year Basil died, after a reign of forty-eight years [976-1025] and the throne was occupied by his brother, Constantine [VIII, 1025-1028] to whom he entrusted the land of the Armenians.

[Basil also entrusted to Constantine] Senek'erim's sons, Atom and Dawit', and Apusahl and Kostand, and all the princes and lands of the Armenians.

In the same year [1027] King Senek'erim died and was buried at the monastery of Varag. Then David sat on his throne. And in the same year George, king of the Georgians, died and the throne was occupied by his son Bagarat [Bagrat IV, 1027-1072] [g27]. As for the Byzantine emperor Constantine, he was a goodly man who was merciful toward all. He released everyone held in prison and shut down all those places of destruction where Basil had hanged by the neck on iron hooks the Byzantine grandees [and whose bodies were] still clothed. When Constantine observed them, he wept and ordered them buried, and he blamed his brother, saying: "If a person has been condemned to death why commit crimes such as these in this transitory life?" Constantine himself, after ruling for four years in peace and with proper conduct, passed to Christ. While he was still alive, he had married his daughter to a certain prince named Romanus [III, Argyrus, 1028-1034], for [Constantine] himself had no son. Everyone submitted to him.

In the year 479 A.E. [1030] Romanus came against the land of the Tachiks with many troops. He reached [the fortress] of 'Azaz, near Aleppo, and besieged it. The Tachiks assembled and came against him in battle, which frightened him so much that he fled in terror during the night. The foreigners pursued and slaughtered a huge number [of Constantine's troops], while the survivors fled in disarray wherever they could. After fourteen days a certain man from [the town of] Cyrrhus came upon the emperor hiding in the trees [g28], numb from the cold and [almost] dead from hunger. He brought him to his home, healed and restored him to life and then released him, without knowing who he was. [Romanus] went to Marash where his dispersed troops gathered and took him back to Constantinople. These things had befallen him because he was a weak and evil-doing man who cursed the blessed faith. As for the man who had revived him, [Romanus] summoned him and gave him gifts and then returned him to his own home. In this period, in the city of Edessa there were two emirs who were plotting to destroy each other. As a result there was disturbance in the city and so troops of Tachiks from many districts arrived and began to attack each other, placing the city in a great crisis. Meanwhile the man who held the fortress realized the impossibility [of holding out] and summoned the Christian [Byzantine commander] Maniaces to come from Samosata. Then secretly, at night, he let [Maniaces'] troops into the fortress and surrendered it to him. When this had occurred, the Tachiks assembled at the city of Edessa from all quarters, battling against the fortress, and putting Maniaces in great straits. When [the Tachiks] were unable to take the fortress in any way, they planned to burn down the city and leave. The citizens set fire to some of it but they entreated them not to burn it down. [The Tachiks] left and returned to their own districts. Maniaces and his troops were in danger of starving and were unable to find any food. The emperor ordered that sacks of wheat be brought into the city at night on the backs [of imperial troops]. But the Tachiks found out about this, killed them [g29], and took the wheat. Maniaces remained in grave danger until the emperor made peace with [the Tachiks]. Then there was great peace and the city filled up with bread. This occurred during the reign of Romanus, in the year 480 A.E. [1031].

[15] In the year 481 A.E. [1032] there was a severe famine in all the countries, and in the same year Romanus died [d. 1034], poisoned to death by his wife, Zoe (Ker'azo'e'), the daughter of Emperor Constantine. The queen took Michael [V, the Paphlagonian, 1034-1041] and seated him on the throne. In the same year Senek'erim's son, David, died and his brother, Atom, sat on his throne. He was a man full of virtue, piety, and benevolence, a maintainer of orphans and widows, who was merciful toward all.

In the year 484 A.E. [1035] many Tachik troops arose and crossed the Euphrates River, and destroyed the district of Edessa and Sewerag and all their borders. Michael, the emperor's brother, came with troops against the Tachiks. But when he reached Melitene, he did not dare to engage in battle. The troops of the Tachiks disengaged and returned to their own land. The Byzantine troops did likewise.

In the year 485 A.E. [1036] a certain prince [g30] of the Armenians, called Gandzi, assembled numerous troops and went against the city of Berkri. He took it, killed the Persians, then harried its fortress with a siege, while he encamped with his troops, eating and drinking without a care. When the lord of the fortress learned about this, he took his auxiliary forces and came upon them unawares, killing Gandzi and slaughtering his forces in Berkri. Tachat, the son of Gandzi from his patrimonial House, remained in his father's place.