Then, the king and his father-in-law exchanged many a solemn oath in writing, and sealed their agreement with the sign given by Christ and the intercession of the Holy Cross. 7. After this, the king turned back, and immediately came to the gates of Dvin, where he shed much blood, and completely ransacking the place, reduced the arrogant and brutal rebels to submission. 8. At this time, Smbat, the great prince of the Sisakan house, as well as his three brothers were greatly annoyed by the Hagarite overlord, who tyrannized the district of Goght'n at that time. They demanded that he return to them their hereditary fortress Ernjak and the district at her foot, which had been given to the tyrant of Goght'n by the ostikan Yusuf. The tyrant, however, considering this a gift from the royal court, did not wish to surrender it. 9. Thereupon, the two sides summoned their forces and encountered one another in combat with the din of battle. 10. After the battle lines had been arrayed, the two sides met, and right then, when the forces of the Hagarites had raised an outcry almost at the point of defeat in order to turn on their heels, the Gibeonite forces of prince Smbat which were situated on the left-rear of the latter's brother Vasak, suddenly galloped their horses with wicked intent, and attacking Vasak en masse, knocked the valiant prince headlong to the ground. Then they turned on their heels and came to the city of Naxjawan. 11. The corpse of the handsome youth was recovered from the battle-front by his brothers, who mourned greatly over him, and bearing his body buried him with their ancestors.
12. After king Ashot had forced the city of Dvin to submit to him, he turned his back and went to Iberia, where he took with him Atrnerseh, the king of Iberia, and they both declared war on prince Gurgen in order to exact vengeance on him. With immense wickedness they caused unnecessary terror and utter destruction. 13. Although the other king Ashot and Abas, the brother of Ashot son of Smbat, had come to [the aid of] Gurgen with a multitude, yet, they could not withstand the foe in battle and took refuge in the deep valleys and the densely wooded glens. 14. Nevertheless, even the inaccessible nature of the place could not ward off entirely the assault of the enemy, who raised before them the [210] protective shield of the multitude of their peltasts, and armed with bows as well as swords wounded and felled many of them, until the rebels promised to submit to them, and sought terms of peace. As for the destruction and devastation that they had caused to the land, they agreed to pay for it twice as much as the amount of the damage. 15. While they were thus on the very verge of coming to terms of peace, a messenger suddenly came to king Ashot with ill tidings from the province of Uti, and informed him of the incursion of his father-in-law Sahak, of the latter's vehement ransacking of everything, the seizure of the fortresses in Dzorap'or by his men, as well as the driving of the fugitives of the land to the fortresses of his domain, and his retreat into the mountainous regions of his province.
16. Upon hearing of this, Atrnerseh, the most vigorous and prudent king of Iberia, put aside the task with which he had been occupied at the moment, that is to say, the matter concerning Gurgen, who was his sister's son, and considering this as something that could be settled later at leisure, immediately and willingly sent king Ashot of Armenia to go and settle the affair of prince Sahak. 17. But Ashot left his forces behind, and chose only approximately three hundred men, with whom he quickly arrived at Dzorap'or. Here, they first saw that the fortress of Kayean had been seized by prince Sahak, and Vasak, the lord of Siwnik', who was imprisoned there, had been set free and sent to the house of his father. Also Sahak released the remaining azat women who were held captive in the fortress, and set his own garrison in it. 18. Then in great haste he had also seized the other fortress which was near Kayean, and having put the guards to the sword, had forced the inhabitants of the land to migrate with all their families to the fastnesses of his realm. And as it was near the time of harvest, he had ordered the harvest prematurely reaped with scythes, and had given it to the raging fire, lest the king might struggle to find a foothold there.
19. But when king Ashot noticed the unpleasant distress and the confusion that had been brought upon his land, neither fearing the multitude of the forces of the princes, nor considering the paucity of his troops, he set out to meet them. The foe had pitched camp in the glens of a hill on the western side of the valley of Tawush with the intention to ambush the king and entrap him. 20. There, having found a mound which was surrounded by boulders, the king ascended to the top, where he had pitched his camp that whole day and night. 21. Then, he sent one of the bishops as an envoy to prince Sahak with the following words: "What wickedness or damage did you suffer at my hands, in return for which you deemed me worthy of such severe disaster, such as I have witnessed? Didn't the solem oath that you made force you to regret your [211] actions? Why are you at this time so vainly anxious to shed my blood for no reason at all? 22. But now, supress your anger and turn the vain and vicious snares that you have concealed to good use. Return to me only the two fortresses that you have seized, and restore the captives taken from this province. Thencefore there shall be uniform peace between us, just like that between a real father and his beloved son."
23. When the prince heard the words of the envoy, he considered it perhaps not worthy of an answer, and becoming ever more enraged, told the bishop, "You remain here in my tent, while I go to meet him with my sword and give an immediate answer to his demands." 24. Having said this, he marshalled all of his forces, more than eight thousand men, and driving them forward he advanced them opposite the mound where the king was stationed. He ordered the infantry to seek shelter under their shields, so that the semblance of an impregnable bastion might be created, and in their rear he marshalled the cavalry armed with weapons and ornaments. 25. The advance guard, who were mounted on swift steeds, went from one side to the other in front of the peltasts. 26. When the sun rose, flashes of light sparkled from the multitude of unsheathed swords, helmets, brazen plates, that protect the back and the flanks, and the plates that cover thighs and arms. 27. When the king saw the vastness of the multitude of armed forces that were around him, he left behind the hundreds of men who had been exhausted because of the long journey, and having descended from the mound with only two hundred men, he came to confront the enemy. 28. Thereupon, displaying before God the solemn oath of the prince, the king said to himself: "If I have been in any kind of error, or if I have broken this oath, make amends to me, O Lord, for my wickedness and deception. On the other hand, if it was the prince who refused to abide by this, then compensate him for his wickedness, and save me from the iniquitous death which they have prepared." 29. Then he attached the text of the oath to the mantle of the cross which he was wont to carry before him, and suddenly his two hundred soldiers raised a loud cry in unison and made their horses run at a gallop. 30. The king was the first to distinguish himself in the arena, and like a tempest having dispersed the enemy in the twinkling of an eye, he drove every one away from the battle field, so much so that not even two enemy soldiers could be seen together. They were scattered on the mountaintops, in valleys, in the depths of glens, and in the dense thickets of the forests. Perhaps no one among them from the youngest to the oldest, was at fault except for two people, namely prince Sahak and his son Grigor, who were both seized and taken captive. 31. Then the king also seized the fortress of Gardman, and brought the entire province under his sway.
32. Subsequently, struck with a vain fear of death, the king reasoned [212] as follows: "Should I let go of the prince and his son, this would foreshadow my own death. On the other hand, should I keep such renowned men confined in prison, they would be rescued by others, as the case was with Vasak, and to be sure death would await me on my own threshold." 33. Overwhelmed by such a mindless apprehension, he blinded both of them without considering that the Providence of God, Which saved him on that occasion, would not let him suffer a second time the distress caused by the former menace. 34. The accomplishment of such a wicked deed made everyone lose confidence in him and alienated them.
10. Thus, the incursions of the enemy were stopped, and the domain of king Gagik enjoyed a life of peace and tranquillity, safe from the attacks of outsiders.
6. While prince Gurgen made preparations for war against the men of the fortress, the guards immediately informed the shahanshah [of their condition], and the latter came in haste to settle the matter. 7. Upon the arrival of Ashot at that place, Gurgen was driven away from the gates of the fortress. Yet, the guards were unwilling to turn over the fortress even to Ashot, before he had restored Vasak to them. At this point, the king laid siege to the fortress and waited for the opportune time. 8. Meanwhile, Gurgen persuaded the guards with many oaths that he would return Vasak to them, and he was invited by them to send forces, so that [214] they might surrender the fortress to the latter. 9. The prince sent three hundred vigorous archers, peltasts and swordsmen, and as soon as they had arrived, the guards opened before them the door of the secret passageway and they all entered the fortress. 10. But when the men of the fortress learned of the guards' deadly and insidious treachery, which they were about to commit, they abandoned the lower fortress and en masse rushed to the citadel, from where they fought fiercely against the forces of Gurgen in the hope that they might be able to drive them out. 11. But Ashot, being unaware of these circumstances, thought that the men of the fortress had turned against each other. Thereupon, even he aimed his attacks from below at the citadel. 12. However, the men of the fortress, raising their voices from above, made the king aware of the circumstances, namely that they were fighting against the forces of Gurgen seemingly on his [Ashot's] behalf. 13. Thereupon, Ashot cried out to them in a loud voice and said: "If you are struggling on my behalf, why don't you open the gates before me, so that I may enter and easily putting an end to the contest give you many wonderful prizes?" 14. Subsequently, the gates of the fortress were opened before him, and as soon as he had entered, he had all the forces of Gurgen taken into custody, and after a few days deprived all of them of their eyes, nose and ears. 15. Thereafter, these northern nations were subdued by Ashot and became his subjects. By means of the propitious Providence of God he gradually became more powerful.
4. King Ashot also being of the same mind, accepted the dispatch with friendship, and immediately both of us set out to meet the so called shahanshah. 5. Then, on my suggestion and advice, whereby I appealed to them, they cleansed themselves of the mist of the shadowy confusion of wicked thoughts, and agreeing with one another in all matters, they came to a complete understanding, which they confirmed by an oath. 6. Soon both of them arrived at the gates of the capital city of Dvin, where they put an end to the aberration of the heathen officers, and brought them to submission. After much merrymaking and festivities held in honor of one another, the so called shahanshah took leave and went to his beloved province of Uti. 7. While he was still on his way, he was confronted by sad tidings brought from that very same region. For [the governor of the land] whose name was Amram, but the people had nicknamed him C'lik ['Little Bull'] for his robust physique, and whom the shahanshah had placed in charge of the transactions of the province, stumbled into darkness because of his wicked thoughts, and having revealed his true colors, renounced his allegiance to the shahanshah. After having deserted and disgraced his own domain, he decided to enter the service of Gurgen, a foreigner [anbnikn] who was the presiding prince of the land of Gamirk'. He also won over to his side the entire naxarardom in that province and instigated them to rise in rebellion. 8. Subsequently, making the fortress of Tawush ready for immediate use, he placed his family in the security of its fastness, so that unoccupied [with such concerns], he and his men might be able to carry out their task and easily lay the snares. 9. But when Ashot came to the province of Uti, he saw that the majority of the people had abandoned and turned their backs on him. Thereafter, there was no one that would help him except for a very small number of unimportant men. 10. Thus, when the catastrophe became clear to him, he withdrew and came to the king of Egrisi, giving him the assurance that he could with absolute confidence count on their former treaty of friendship, whereby he could expect to acquire desirable results. 11. The king of Egrisi received Ashot with friendship, and bestowing on him bounteous gifts, gave his consent with all his heart, soul and power in regard to all matters.
12. Subsequently, he gave Ashot much assistance, and having gathered numerous forces with winged steeds, iron-studded armor, and fearful helmets, iron-studded breastplates and strong shields, weapons, [216] ornaments and spears, he handed them over to him, so that with their help he might exact vengeance on his enemies. 13. Ashot immediately reached his destination together with his cavalry forces, and thought that by encouraging the numerous troops with him to fight like one man he might be able to find an immediate solution to the problem, and turn their arms ready at hand against the enemy. 14. Amram, however, who was called C'lik (Little Bull), as well as the rest of the rebellious brigands with him, summoned great numbers of forces to their succor from all parts, and took refuge in the thick pine forests along the bank of the River Kur. 15. As Ashot could not engage in combat with the enemy, he led away his forces and carelessly brought them into the narrow defile of a fortress, where there was no exit other than the one single narrow and difficult passage that they had taken, because precipices covered with mulberry bushes surrounded the place. 16. Thus, as if being confined in prison by their own will, they neither could bring in provisions from the outside, in order to satisfy their hunger, nor acquire water to quench their thirst, or obtain straw for the steeds. The entire army was distressed and annoyed by the thought of their insecure state. 17. Consequently, growing weak in their determination, they sent secret word to the enemy, and promised to hand over Ashot to them in fetters, provided that they would all go to their homes without suffering any harm. 18. When Ashot became aware of this, he was struck with great fear, and secretly affirming by oath the allegiance of his kinsmen and advisers, prepared steeds as swift [as birds], and mounting on them unexpectedly in the middle of the night, cut through the cavalry, and set forth to the fortress called Kak'awak'ar, in order to go from there wherever he could. 19. Upon seeing this, the enemy besieged the gorge at the entrance of that place, and subjected all the forces to plunder, so much so, that no one from among them could escape. They spared only their lives as the Christian canons demand, namely that no Christian should perish, not even one.
20. Unlike his previous campaigns, ever since that time the outcome of Ashot's invasions were not successful. 21. It seems to me that he turned his mind, which was formerly sound, to impure thoughts, and abandoned the sweetness of divine worship. Following the manner of the Pharisees, he enforced his arrogant will [on people]. It was perhaps for this reason that he brought upon himself this condemnation and could not attain the conclusion of his salvation.
5. At that time the Hagarite tyrant, called the caliph, was confronted by a great confusion, for rebellious adversaries appeared in the province of Egypt, which is in the region of Arabia. Also many horsemen, brigands and swordsmen rose on the borders of T'urk'astan, and together tried to exact vengeance on the tyrant in retaliation for the distress that he had caused them. 6. Subsequently, they stormed the royal city of Babylon, as well as almost the entire extent of the caliph's realm, and fought many fierce battles. They sprinkled the entire lower region with the blood of those that were killed, took many captives and turned the prosperous provinces and villages into deserts. 7. Yet, the leading men and the advisers at the royal court, in view of the advent of such calamities, attempted to attribute the cause of the disaster to one [218] another, whereupon one side would raise their fists against the other. Ramik agitators also appeared and raised an uproar. After this every one tied his sword to his side, and they shed a great amount of one another's blood. To be sure the ecstasy of their evil wickedness crushed them like bitter clusters under the press of Sodom.
8. At this time, a certain adviser at the royal court, who was called Mu'nis in their tongue, cunningly advised the caliph to dismiss from confinement Yusuf, the ostikan of Persia, Armenia, Georgia, and Albania, whom he himself had seized and brought to the caliph, and asked him to reestablish the latter in his former position of authority, because, he argued, Yusuf was an ingenious man, a mighty warrior, one who was feared by those who had either heard or seen him. He also maintained that Yusuf had been set right by his (caliph's) instructions, so that he would not commit any error or go astray again by rising in rebellion, and that he was the man who could put a stop to the attacks and incursions of the enemy within the confines of his own province. 9. Thus he persuaded the caliph, who gave orders to release Yusuf, and sent him with a detachment of forces to his former post as governor. 10. Thus Mu'nis made Yusuf his protege, one who would concur with him, obey and fulfill his wishes, as well as assist him in pouring on his enemies the venom of wicked vengeance.
11. Yusuf, however, like a whirlwind hurried out impetuously and flying through Syrian Mesopotamia, passed through many places until he quickly reached the province of Korduk'.
12. But as king Gagik had been informed of his coming, he anticipated it by forcing all the people of his land to flee, and taking the refugees with him, he sheltered them in the secure mountain glens of Kogovit and Caghkotn, whereat he consoled himself as follows: "Although we are terrified and shaken by catastrophies, yet, there is a chance that the people of Christ may not fall into the hands of the conquerors, and may escape becoming victims of the beastly Ishmaelite sword, and that the Christian laws may not be shattered by the disorderly faith of Hagar.
13. Thus, having placed the caravan of the refugees at the rear [of his army], the king and his brother Gurgen along with the azat contingents and the cavalry clad themselves in armor, ornaments and spears. They kept constant and careful watch. 14. Likewise the great prince of Andzewac'ik', Atom, with ingenious prudence, anticipation, and thoughtful care led the people of his province to the mountain fastnesses of his realm, and sheltered them in the security of the depths of valleys, mountain gorges and the glens in the hills, and also guarded the refugees with his numerous armed men.
15. After having stopped within the confines of Korduk' for a few days, the ostikan Yusuf marched down from there and having reached [219] the province of Andzewac'ik' pitched camp there. He did not raise any wicked turmoil in that place, but like a serpent that releases its venom, he sent envoys to prince Atom and asked him to pay the royal tributes, as well as to bestow the usual gifts upon him, so that receiving these he might go away and leave the land exempt from ruin and destruction. 16. Then, the prince assumed that through prudence he could turn the oncoming oppressive defeat to the advantage of the people and not sparing his riches and money, immediately paid as much as he could, twice the amount that he owed. He also gave him copious gratuities. As for the taxes that remained unpaid, at his strict demand, hostages were given as surety from among the members of the azat class. 17. Having taken these, he marched in the direction of the Akanik' mountain and came to the district of Aghbak, where he saw the whole country deserted by its inhabitants. 18. But when he realized fully that he could not carry out the wicked plans which he had devised (in his mind) for king Gagik, like an Indian divesting himself of the dark color of his complexion, and having covered the true color of his soul, he assumed the familiar white complexion, and sent envoys to the king for an immediate and compassionate reconciliation. 19. However, as he was avaricious and greedy, he demanded the royal tributes for many years, as well as personal gratuities for himself. He also reminded Gagik of the gratitude that he owed him for his coronation, and gave him leave to rule over all the Armenians.
20. But the king recognized the intention behind Yusuf's thoughts and realized that there was no reason for him to be prone to baseness, nor to correct in any way the course of Yusuf's wicked thoughts. With suitable prudence he kept wicked thoughts out of his mind, and with some hesitation chose the second course, namely that of paying two or three times the amount of the tribute, and all of the royal bekar, so that they might not clash and cause carnage in vindictive retaliation, for he maintained that "the outcome of wars was death, and an invitation to death meant the bottom of hell." Subsequently, he put unsparingly at Yusuf's disposal his own possessions, and having gathered from all of his relatives, the azats, the ramiks and the non-ramiks silver, gold and great amounts of money, as well as horses and mules, he gave these to him together with bounteous gifts. 22. Having accepted these presents with much gratitude, Yusuf immediately marched forth and came to the region of the districts of Her and Zarewand in the province (sic) of Rotakk'. 23. But as he himself was headed for the great city of Ray, which is in Persia, he sent a certain man by the name of Nasr, who was called Subuki by the people, as ostikan to Armenia. He himself remained [in Rotakk'], until he had set up ostikans, deputies and officials in the region of Albania and Atrpatakan.
24. In this same year, those rebellious races about whom we spoke above found the chance to exact vengeance and closed the passes of the [220] Hagarite desert, which they falsely call 'the house of Abraham', until the travelers were all cut down. The numbers of the slain were estimated to be over thirty thousand. 25. They took captive the wives of the caliph as well as other people of renown, who were wont to travel futilely by the toilsome and unrewarding route. Having taken great amounts of money, gold and silver as booty, they all went to their respective lands. 26. A short time before the events narrated above, one of Yusuf 's venerable servants, whose name was Subuki—the same man who held the post of ostikan after Yusuf's confinement to prison, and made [the land] prosperous—died in the city of Ardabil. Wherever there was the opportunity, Yusuf took possession of his treasures and riches to the satisfaction of his avarice.
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