[Page 69]
This margrave—so the veracious Movses tells us—was of the progeny of Mithridates [Miwrhdat], a satrap of Darius, whom, he says, Alexander the Macedonian brought [with him] and installed as prince over the population; this was originally made up of Iberian captives brought over by Nebuchadnezzar. [He had attacked the land of the Iberians and] Libyans with his powerful army and, breaking their resistance, he had subdued them. A part of them he led away and settled on the right-hand side of the Pontus [Black] Sea, [so] says the historian.
This land of Iberia [Spain] lies at the western edge of the world. Now, after they had been settled on the shore of the Pontus [Sea], this race [71] multiplied, growing in great numbers, and it spread to both sides of the seashore; turning to the opposite side it extended as far as the borders of Armenia and Albania [Aghuank]. It became a very populous nation, and the land was called Apkhazk [Abkhazia]. Surrounding it are numerous districts, each one of which has its name; and around the city of Tiflis there are still other districts, which are called Tsanark, Javakhk and Trekhk.
They procreated, multiplied and became a nation, and though known in their former land as the [people] of Iberia, here they became known ethnically as Georgians, [and] became an established nation by virtue of their language, literature, patriarchate and kingdom. Kiwrion of Skurta later alienated and separated them from us, bringing perdition down on this populous nation, and becoming the cause of their damnation; for this he is accounted on a par with Judas Iscariot. But you, O lover of learning, do not think ill of us at this, as if what we have written is unnecessary, for we only wish to acquaint you in a few words with the [72] numerous memories about Tsurtaw. It is necessary and proper not to bypass its line of nobility, since it was once a royal residence and the resting place of Saint Shushan; indeed the sites of her tortures and martyrdom may still be seen there, along with the resting place of her venerable relics. We have visited there on many occasions and kissed the holy site. I shall narrate the circumstances of her martyrdom later at another place.
[73] We have found mention made by the holy fathers and vardapets in the Book of Letters concerning her valor, her adherence to the command of her ancestral religion, her honest and true confession, her determination in faith, and the service inaugurated [in her memory] in the church of Tsurtaw—this last matter is mentioned in all the sources, particularly in the letters [addressed] to Kiwr[i]on, in the earlier epistles written by Vrtanes Vardapet and then in those by Catholicos Abraham of Armenia. For they reproach him and say the following: "You have suppressed Saint Shushan[ik]'s service, which had been fixed and established in the church of Tsurtaw."
As stated [above], we have so far refrained from delving into the references about her in these letters, because they lay outside our primary topic of discussion; instead we have deferred speaking about them to a more appropriate place, so as not to disrupt the orderly arrangement and line of thought in these letters. Again, we stated this very idea above; namely, that we would write after [74] considering the proper order suggested to us by the context.
But now, had I the means, I would set aside my limited faculties and take upon myself greater strength and power over and above me, so that thus supported my weak self would be emboldened to narrate the story of the holy martyr Shushanik, and my tongue would be transformed to write words of praise about the miracles that happened to her in Tsurtaw after her tortures. Before she died, she entered the contest [of martyrdom] with great labor, and [while] in the flesh she displayed a likeness to the incorporeal beings. While she wasted with hunger and thirst, she remained vigilant with constant psalmody, ceaselessly blessing God day and night, not as if someone had imprisoned her and put her in chains, but as if she herself had willingly entered prison. For she lived for six years in fetters and in the confinement of the fortress called Upret. Besides the tortures, which were accompanied by excessively harsh torments inflicted on her by the impious and wicked margrave, she was first dragged [75] through the streets and alleys, beaten with clubs and struck in the face and chin, so that for several days she could not see anything because of her swollen eyes. Furthermore, [while she was] in iron fetters in prison, the stench and the dampness of the sites was even more annoying. I omit writing about the grief she suffered from fleas and worms, which are described in her Life. But the blessed martyr considered these tortures as nothing, because of the present hope, love and faith that she had in God. Being a good scion from a good root, she had inherited piety from her ancestors. For a [good] tree produces good fruit, and the tree is known by its fruit. She tolerated and endured all of these tortures, but felt nothing. She applied herself more than ever to an ascetic life to which she clung with all manner of virtue—abstinence from food and water, vigilance, tears and ceaseless psalmody over day and night. She had in her possession a small book with which to offer her devotions and psalmody, and she preached the way of piety to all who came to her. She became [76] an apostle like Nune, so that her fame was spread throughout the land of Georgia. And those who came to see her learned from her example the meaning of piety; and many who were sick and feeble came to her and were cured.