Yovhannēs Drasxanakertc'i's

History of Armenia


Continued from Previous Page [74]

V

The Reign of Tigran II and His Works; The Rule of Artawazd and Arjam

1. After Artashes, his son the second Tigran reigned; 2. he levied numerous troops to confront the Greeks who had come against him, and [75] forced the latter to turn back. Having entrusted Mazaka (Mizhak) and the rest of Asia Minor to his brother-in-law Mithridates, he returned to his land. 3. The same Mithridates also went and occupied the city of Amaseia, which Amasia, the nephew of Nectanebo (Nek'tanib) had built a long time ago at the order of Alexander son of Nek'tanib, and fortified it with extensive bastions. Having annexed the city to Armenia, Mithridates adorned it, calling it a border town. 4. Here he built a palace on the northern bank of the Ris river, 5. and erected on the eastern facade of the cavern monuments built with polished stones and houses with firm foundation, which resembled the structures that Shamiram had raised in Van and Xaznat'geghp'a. 6. Be it as it may, Tigran, after setting many laws and regulations, launched an attack on Palestine, and took captive many Jews. 7. At that time the Roman Pompey came upon Mithridates; even though the latter had gathered a massive body of troops against him, he suffered defeat at the hands of the multitude [of the Roman forces], and took flight in the region of Pontus. 8. Then Pompey conquered Mazaka (Mizhak) and seized the son of Mithridates, the younger Mithridates, who was named after his father. He had the elder Mithridates, who had fled, poisoned through the treachery of Pilate's father, and entrusted the younger Mithridates to the Roman Gabianus (Gabiane) who sent the youth to Tigran, his maternal uncle. 9. A short time later, Mithridates, being scorned by his uncle Tigran, left him and found asylum with Caesar, who gave him the city of Mazaka, (Mizhak) which he enlarged and endowed it with magnificent buildings, and called it Caesarea in honor of Caesar. From that time on the city was no longer under Armenian domination. 10. But Tigran, who had been afflicted with an ailment, designated Barzap'ra, the nahapet of the Rshtuni as sparapet of Armenia, who sent a certain Gnel of the Gnuni house with a large army to Palestine and Jerusalem. 11. There they displayed numerous deeds of bravery and valor, and putting Herod to flight, they made Antigonos king in his place.

They took captive Hyrkanos, the high priest of the Jews, and with a great number of others brought him to Tigran. 12. After this, Tigran lived only for a short time, and died after a reign of thirty-four years.

13. After Tigran's death, Antony (Antoninos), the king of the Romans, sent numerous forces to Jerusalem, which they instantly besieged and conquered. They put Antigonos to death and once again made Herod king of all Palestine. 14. Subsequently, Artawazd, the son of Tigran, ruled over Armenia, but unlike his father's illustrious glory displayed no valiant deeds of gallantry. But rather being a glutton and a slave of the belly, he gave chase to the hunt, and onager, and enlarged the dumps. 16. For this he was admonished by his own people. As if aroused by the prick of the word and awakened from his sleep, he gathered a large army and marching into Mesopotamia, which Antony (Antoninos), the king of the Romans, had taken from him, he defeated [76] and drove out the Roman armies. 17. But when Antony [Antoninos] was made aware of this, he personally gathered the multitude of his forces and ferociously attacked not only our Artawazd, but also other nations and kingdoms, all of which he deprived of their lords. Along with them he also seized our Artawazd in Mesopotamia, and totally wiped out the Armenian and Persian forces. 18. He presented to Cleopatra, who was in Jerusalem, Artawazd and the many riches from the spoils of war. 19. Subsequently, the Armenian forces gathered together at the order of Artashes, the king of Persia, and set Arjam, the son of Artashes brother of Tigran, as their king. 20. The partial payment of tribute to the Romans by the Armenians was started by him. When Artashes, the king of Persia, died, his son Arshawir reigned; being a young child he could not come to Arjam's aid, and the latter was left without allies. 21. At this time Enanos Bagratuni was stripped of his honor and put to prison, because he had released and sent back to Palestine Hyrkanos, whom Tigran had taken captive and brought [here]. Since Zoray, the Nahapet of the Gnduni, had calumniated him before Arjam, and as there was reason to believe [the calumny], Arjam gave orders to torment him with all kinds of instruments of torture, so that he would either foresake the Judaic faith and adore the idols, or be hung on a cross and perish [together] with his family. 22. They put to death one of his relatives, and brought his sons to the place of execution. But being unable to endure the death of his son, he yielded to the will of the king with his entire family and was reinstated in his former position.

VI

The Reign of Abgar: His Conversion to Christianity; His Works and the Enlightenment of the Armenian Nation

1. After twenty years of reign, Arjam was succeeded by his son Abgar, 2. whom the ancients called Awag ['noble'] Ayr ['man'] because of the excellence of his wisdom. But as the Syrians could not pronounce it properly in our tongue, they called him Abgar. 3. At this time, that is in the days of the census when our Lord Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, all of Armenia became tributary to the Romans at the order of the emperor Augustus. 4. There rose great dissention, discord, and confusion of war between Abgar and Herod, but the latter could not personally carry out the task since he had been afflicted with unbearable [77] agonies due to his insolence towards Christ and the massacre of the children in Bethlehem. 5. Subsequently, he sent a nephew (brother's son) of his with a large army. Upon reaching Mesopotamia, the latter gave battle to Abgar and was killed by him. 6. Soon after that Herod died, and his son Archelaus occupied his place. 7. Then, Arshawir, the king of Persia, also died and discord prevailed among his children as to whoever among them should rule in place of their father. 8. As a wise man Abgar went to reconcile them, and having persuaded them, he restored harmony in their midst, and made Artashes king. 9. He separated [the families of] the remaining brothers and the sister into three houses with the following names: Kareni Pahlaw, Surenay Pahlaw, (and the sister's) Aspahapeti Pahlaw. Subsequently, at a later time, the blessed Enlightener Grigorios, the living twig of the vine of Christ, [was descended] from the Sureni Pahlaw, and K'amsar, whose progeny were the Kamsarakans, [traced his lineage] from the Karenay Pahlaw. Thus, these men were regarded as sprouts of royalty.

10. Abgar's body was infected by a severe malady. 11. Since Marixab, the bdesx of Aghdznik', Shamshagram, the nahapet of the Apahuni, and Anan, the confidants of king Abgar had gone to Jerusalem and witnessed the wonderful healing of our God Christ, and upon their return had told the king [about this], the latter wrote a letter of supplication [to Christ], and begged Him to come and heal him from his ailment which no man could ever cure. 12. Having received the letter, our Savior considered it worth answering and wrote to him that those who believe without seeing him are more blessed [than those who believe after seeing him]. He also said, "To fulfill the Will of Him Who has sent me, I shall dispatch one of my disciples to cure your ailments and grant life to you and to those who are with you." 13. The messenger Anan brought the letter of the Savior to Abgar and with it he also carried the impression of the divine image which is still to this day preserved in Edessa. 14. Then, after the ascension of our Savior, in the thirtieth year of Abgar's reign, the apostle Thomas, one of the twelve, sent Thaddeus, one of the chosen seventy,* [seventy JM] twelve J1] so that in accordance with the promise of our Lord Jesus Christ he might cure Abgar, whom He had considered worthy of receiving the evangelical tidings in writing. 15. [The apostle] came to the house of Tubia Bagratuni who had abided by his ancestral laws until that time. 16. Prince Tubia took the Apostle before the king, who noticed a miraculous sign on his face, and falling on his knees, prostrated himself before him. 17. The apostle put his hand on Abgar and cured him. He also healed all the sick and the ailing, both those in the court of the king, and those in the entire city. Abgar himself and the entire population of the [78] city were baptized, and the numbers of the believers in the Lord increased day by day. 18. The blessed Thaddeus ordained a certain Adde, a mitre maker, and having left him in his place at Edessa, he came to Sanatruk, the nephew (sister's son) of Abgar, in order to preach to his subjects the divinity of Christ.

VII

The Apostasy of Sanatruk and the Armenians; the Martyrdom of Thaddeus, Sanduxt, the Blessed Oskeank' and Suk'iasank'

1. [King] Abgar, who had entrusted himself to a great hope and partaken in the glory of God by professing the immovable hope, died and ascended to the upper tower of Sion.

2. Subsequently, in Armenia they set up his nephew Sanatruk as king. Although the latter had believed in Christ at the beginning of the preaching of the apostle Thaddeus, yet, adhering to the suggestions of his naxarars,* [*adhering . . . naxarars J ]—M.] he renounced his faith, and after a short period of time put the blessed apostle and (with him) his own daughter Sanduxt to death by means of torments and the sword; they were both transported into the light of everlasting life on the right side of the glory of God. 3. After this, Bartholomew, one of the twelve, whom the Lord had designated for the land of Armenia was at once tortured to death by Sanatruk; he was martyred shedding his blood in the city of Arasbenon in Armenia. His relics were also buried there as a source of pride to the Armenian people and as a cure for all those that were sick. 4. Forty-three years after the death of the blessed apostle Thaddeus, in the days of Artashes king of Armenia, the holy apostle's disciples who lived at the sources of the Euphrates river and whose leader was called Oski proselytized arid baptized certain Alans who were related to queen Sat'enik wife of Artashes. 5. Because the baptized became day by day more resolute in their faith in [Christ] the Word of Life, the son of Sat'enik was irritated by them, and put the blessed Oski and his saintly companions to the sword. 6. Thereafter, the relatives of Sat'enik who had been baptized in [the name of] Christ, disturbed by the death of the blessed men, went away and took refuge on mount Jrabashx, where they satisfied [their [79] dietary needs] with herbs. The nudity of their bodies was covered with hair from heaven's due, and because of that they were called he-goats [k'oshk']. 7. Many years later when Xosrov king of Armenia was killed by Anak, and Armenia was in a state of anarchy, a certain Barlah* [*Barlah M] Barlaha J] came from the court of the Alans and made written inquiries about the martyrs. Finding them on the mountain called Jrabashx, and having cross-examined them about their belief in Christ, he put them to the sword. 8. Thereafter that mountain was called Sukaw after Suk'ianos who was the leader of the saints.

VIII

The Assassination of King Xosrov by Anak. The Origin of Saint Grigor, and the Second Enlightenment of the Armenian Nation

1. After Artashir of Stahr had assassinated Artabanus, the king of Persia, the Arsacids were deprived of the royal crown, and instead Artashir himself ruled. 2. Anak, who was from the house of Sureni Pahlaw and the Parthian Arsacid line, charmed by the numerous attractive promises of Artashir, and pretending to have detached himself from him, came to king Xosrov of Armenia so that through kinship he might reassure [Xosrov] of the cause of his flight and feigning friendship he would carry out his treachery without any difficulty, and attain the fulfillment of Artashir's promises, as the able historian Agathangelos exhaustively informs you. 3. Because of such reasons Anak set out and arrived at the district of Artaz where he encamped for the night. 4. Through divine ordinance the site of his camp happened to be located on the grave of the holy apostle [which was] in the nuptial chamber of the tent. 5. It is said that Saint Grigor's mother conceived him at this place. After the necessary period of time had elapsed, St. Grigor was born at the same location so that he might complete the spiritual work of the same man on whose [grave] he had come to being. 6. But after two years Anak remembering his vow to Artashir, assassinated Xosrov, but he and his entire family were also killed. The grace of God preserved only one soul whom the holy apostle had invested with the grace of his mission while the latter was still in his mother's womb, just as Christ had designated John the Baptist to be his precurser. 7. Subsequently, [80] according to the reliable historian, certain nurses escaping the imminent and wicked attack carried two nursling male infants to the land of the Greeks, where one became versed in the matters of the crown and the other was instructed in missionary work in order to become the cause of our enlightenment. 8. When both of them had reached the age of maturity, the first, in accordance with his disposition, military skill and martial trials, acquired his ancestral crown in the third year of the emperor Diocletian, 9. whereas the other, after numerous and unbearable torments, extremely bitter agonies and fifteen years of confinement in the deep pit in the citadel of Artashat, ascended from the depths of poisonous [reptiles], and became resplendant in our salvation. With the joyful procession of the incomprehensible and ineffable Trinity shining within him like a ray of light, he cured the entire Aramian [= Armenian] race of the malady of idolatry. 10. In the seventeenth year of the reign of Trdat, he [Grigor] occupied the throne of the blessed apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus and thus became [for those of us] here a minister of holiness and our [spiritual] parent in accordance with the gospel, and a forefather.

11. After that, Grigor accompanied by Trdat visited Constantine, the emperor ordained by God, who honored the holy patriarch like a living martyr with gracious and befitting veneration, and falling on his knees sought votive supplications and blessings. After having honored him thus, Constantine had him and Trdat mount on a gold plated cart and saw them off on their journey amidst great splendor.

IX

The Council of Nicaea; Concerning Arius; and the Retirement of Saint Grigor

1. At about this time there appeared Arius of Alexandria who was deceived by the demon and maintained that the Son was not consubstantial with the Father, not equal with Him and not born of Him before infinity, but rather created and begotten after time. 2. For this reason a council of bishops met in Nicaea of Bithynia at the order of Constantine and among those who were summoned was also our own Aristakes. 3. There three hundred and eighteen church fathers through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit anathematized and rejected Arius from communion with the church in order to destroy his sect. The penalty that he paid was worthy of his impiety, since he died [as a result of] his bowels gushing out with his excrement. 4. Then our Aristakes returned [81] from there bringing with him the twenty chapters of the canons of Nicaea which were worthy of acceptance. Greatly rejoicing at this, Saint Grigor added other chapters for the protection of the flock that was allotted to him. 5. Subsequent to the return of the blessed Aristakes from the Council of Nicaea, Saint Grigor no longer appeared until his death; he quietly retired to the Mane caves in accordance with what is written, namely that a chaste person seeks solitude as a ship in trouble hastens to her haven. 6. The period from the time when the blessed Grigor, the author of our enlightenment and the precursor of [those who sat on] the apostolic throne, ascended the patriarchal throne to the time when he no longer appeared to anyone is thirty years.

X

The Death of Saint Aristakes and King Trdat

1. The blessed Aristakes, the heir to the paternal throne, pursued in every way a holy and a righteous course by trying to subject his flock to the Will of Christ through the course set by Christ, and made an effort to keep them within the fold [of the church], some by their own will and others by force. He always held the power of the Holy Spirit girded like a sword upon his thigh and admonished those who were engaged in wicked acts against the Holy Spirit. 2. Among them was a certain Ark'eghayos, the prefect of the province of Cop'k', who had been chided by Aristakes for his wicked deeds. The latter chanced upon the saint on a certain highway in the province of Cop'k' and nursing rancor ventured to kill the blessed man by sword and fled to the region west of the Taurus. 3. Then the disciples of Aristakes carried his body and buried it in the village [awan] of T'il in the district of Ekeghik'. 4. He had occupied the patriarchal see for a period of seven years. Perhaps I should not consider his internment a burial but an assumption from this world to that of the living where joyful bliss prevails eternally and one hears of no tidings of death.

5. Aristakes was succeeded to the throne by his elder brother Vrt'anes, even as it pleased the Holy Spirit. 6. But our spiritual radiance Saint Grigor, having lived for many years in the cave of Mane, was deceased, and was unknowingly buried by shepherds who had found him in a state of poverty. 7. Then, after many years, a certain hermit by the name of Garnik found his holy relics as if by divine ordinance and bringing them to the village of T'ordan buried them in the garden of [82] Saint Grigor's resort. 8. After a few years the blessed king Trdat was treacherously deceived by people of unpleasant and disobedient nature, and was given a deadly drink. His body was also buried in the same awan and the same garden near the grave of Saint Grigor, with whom he had equally struggled to turn away all the people from the ways of wickedness, thus becoming the second author of our enlightenment. 9. But while Vrt'anes the Great was still in the district of Taron, in the chapel of John the Baptist and the martyr At'anagines, he was secretly threatened with death by the inhabitants of Mount Sim whom he constantly chastised for their unjust and perverse deeds. 10. When he perceived this, he yielded to the wickedness, and escaped to the district of Ekeghik', where he established his place of habitation.

11. After the death of Saint Trdat, the impious second Sanatruk of the Arshakuni house, whom Trdat had set up as nahapet in the city of P'aytakaran, rose in insurrection and crowned himself king. At his ungodly order the barbaric tribes of the north put the wonderful youth Grigoris, who had been appointed bishop of Albania from the house of Saint Grigor, to death in the Vatnean plain by means of the trampling hoofs of horses. They buried his saintly body in the village of Amaras in Lesser Siwnik'.

XI

The Reign of Xosrov and Tiran and the Pontificate of Saint Yusik

1. After this Vrt'anes the Great set out and went to the emperor Constantius son of Constantine and earnestly begged him to make Xosrov rule as king over the Armenians in place of his father Trdat, and pleaded as follows: "Let your sovereignty which is established by Christ prevail over us, and let not the godless Persians rule over us." 2. The emperor received the blessed man in a proper manner and carrying out his wishes set Xosrov as king over the Armenians. 3. After Xosrov's death Vrt'anes the Great took Tiran, the son of Xosrov, and went to the emperor Constantius so that the latter might set him as king in place of his father. 4. Like the first time, the emperor greatly honored Vrt'anes, and having readily complied with his wishes, gloriously crowned Tiran king, and sent him to Armenia. Upon his arrival the latter ruled over his ancestral domain. 5. Subsequently, Vrt'anes the Great, the chosen vessel and the minister of the mysteries of God and the preacher of the apostolic tradition, completed the span of his life, and departing from [83] this world he went to the land of the living, having occupied the patriarchal throne for fifteen years. 6. He was buried with his ancestors in the village of T'ordan. 7. His son Yusik, who imitated the virtues of his ancestors and distinguished himself in every discipline, succeeded him.

8. After Constantius' death, the impious Julian ruled in Rome, and arrogantly turning against the knowledge of God, became an idolater and forsook Christ, and raised persecutions against the churches. 9. Thereupon, having taken hostages from our own Tiran, he made him condescend to his will. Then he ordered him to place in his church his variegated image which was designed in the likeness of those of demons. For out of fear Tiran had taken the image and at his own will placed it in his church in the district of Cop' (sic). Because of that the blessed Yusik came to that place and tried to dissuade Tiran from his wicked thoughts through spiritual instructions. 10. But when he shut his ears [and refused] to listen to him, Yusik snatched the image [of the emperor] from his hands and throwing it to the ground trampled it under his feet and destroyed it. 11. Thereat Tiran went into a wicked rage and ordered Yusik beaten with clubs until he gave up his ghost. 12. Moreover, he also ordered the elderly Daniel who had cursed the king for such a wicked knavery suffocated. He was buried in the Hac'eac' Monastery. 13. But the body of the blessed Yusik was buried with his ancestors in the village of T'ordan. He had occupied the patriarchal throne for six years.

14. But the sons of Saint Yusik, Pap and At'anagine, contrived a horrible destruction for themselves because of their foolishness which had darkened their hearts. For ignescent flashes [of lightning] glided down and destroyed both of them at the same place. At'anagine alone was survived by a small child called Nerses who was then in school at Caesarea. 15. Subsequently, since there was no one from the family of Saint Grigor, they chose a certain P'arnerseh from Astishat and set him on the patriarchal throne. 16. The latter lasted for no longer than three years and died.

XII

The Pontificate of Nerses the Great and His Banishment. The Council of Constantinople

1. Then King Arshak, the son of Tiran who had been deservedly blinded by the king of Persia, sent Nerses, the son of At'anagines son of [84] Yusik, to Caesarea in accordance with the former practice so that he might be ordained patriarch. They say that wonderful portents appeared while Nerses was standing with the clergymen [participating] in the ordination; the grace of the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove descended on his head and astounded all the clerics of the church. 2. Thus adorned with light he returned and being zealous in spiritual matters he befittingly set all the rules of righteousness. 3. First he eradicated all the roots of cruelty and instead implanted mercy. He built houses for the poor, leprosoria for lepers, hospitals for invalids and all those that were disabled so that the ailing bodies of men could be comforted. For them he set a pension [that was collected] from the villages and the estates so that they might not be compelled to get out of their places of habitation. 4. He also founded inns, hotels, hospices and asylums in the towns and the villages. Moreover, in the hermitages he built cloisters and scetes for the celibate priests and the anchorites. 5. He prohibited marriage between close relatives and suppressed the indecent lamentations over the dead. Thereafter the people of our land appeared [to the onlooker] not as wild barbarians, but rather as modest city dwellers. 6. When the king and the naxarars of Armenia beheld the nature and the scope of his reforms and also took note of his austere ascetical behaviour, they decided with certain others to elevate him as well to the rank of patriarch. 7. For a short time before this Constantius, the son of Constantine the Great, had had the relics of Saint John the Evangelist transported from Ephesus to Constantinople, and emboldened by this, he had set up a patriarch in Constantinople. 8. Subsequently, because of this precedent the Jerusalemites were likewise encouraged to establish their own see, since they considered [the elevation of their bishopric] to the patriarchal rank their privilege, because their city had witnessed the birth of the Word of the Father, as well as His coming among men, His baptism at the hands of John, and His crucifixion, burial and resurrection on the third day. 9. Until that time there were throughout the world only four patriarchates after the four evangelists: the see of Matthew at Antioch, that of Mark at Alexandria, that of Luke at Rome and that of John at Ephesus. But after these events, the total number of the patriarchates rose to six. 10. Subsequently, in like manner our king Arshak, and the naxarars of Armenia also took the liberty of setting Nerses the Great as patriarch over the house of Togarmah, and deservedly presented as an authentic proof the holy apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus, whom the Lord had designated as the missionaries and evangelists of the race of Ashkenaz. Their relics are to be found among us, and the living martyr Grigorios received their throne. 11. After they [the Armenians] had carried out their intention, the total number of the patriarchal sees became seven. This is still so and shall remain to be so unto the ages of ages. 12. Thus, the hierarchy of the [85] Church was entirely completed in our country as well, since it was altogether invested with nine ranks, and the chief bishops of the Iberians and the Albanians were placed under Nerses's jurisdiction as archbishops. 13. In Sebastia, Melitene and Martyropolis metropolitans were set up. Bishops, priests, deacons, sub-deacons, lectors and psalmodists were appointed to the several jurisdictions. The latter were dispersed throughout and befittingly adorned all of the Armenian churches to the glory of God.

15. The Emperor Valentinian was greatly enraged at Arshak who had rebelled against him and ordered his brother Trdat, who was a hostage, to be put to death. Subsequently, having been informed of this, Nerses the Great hastily came to the emperor and appeased his wrath. He was honored by Valentinian in a manner befitting patriarchs and receiving from the emperor the son of Trdat who had been put to death and the other hostages whom he had requested, he returned to Armenia with great peace.

16. Upon Valentinian's death his brother, the impious Valens, ruled and immediately sent the great general Theodosius with a large army against King Arshak.The latter was forced to beseech Nerses the Great to go [to Theodosius] and beg for peace. Nerses, not neglecting the holocaust threatening his flock, immediately took Pap, the son of Arshak, as hostage to the great general Theodosius. The latter heeded Nerses's words and taking with him the patriarch as well as the hostage returned to the emperor. 17. However, the impious Valens did not even consider it worth seeing the holy man of God and gave orders to banish him with his clerics to a distant island where no provisions were to be found even for a day's survival. Nevertheless, at the order of God the sea threw out fish with the ebbing tide and fed them for eight months. 18. There is a rumor about the impious Valens that at the order of the mighty hand of God the holy martyr Georgios killed him in an incomprehensible manner and justly rendered him what he deserved for his wicked thoughts.

19. After him Theodosius the Great, a pious and a godly man, took over the kingdom. He repelled all the shady snares and established the foundations of stainless faith. Subsequently he ordered those whom Valens had banished in fetters to return to their respective places. Together with them he also fetched Nerses the Great whom he kept with him until he had with his help converted the sacrilegious blasphemy of Macedon to the direction of true faith. 20. And then a council of altogether one hundred and fifty bishops met in Byzantium and pronounced anathema on Macedonius and all the pneumatomachoi.

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