After all of this, general sparapet
Manuel went to the district of Karin taking along the Arsacid
tikin, the two youths Arshak and Vagharshak and all the
Armenian banak with the grandee nobility of naxarars,
and all the tanuters. Sparapet Manuel married his
own daughter Vardanduxt to the youth Arshak Arshakuni, making
him his son-- in-law [ew p'esa iwr arhner zna]. He also
held a wedding for [Arshak's] brother Vagharshak, marrying him
to the daughter of the Bagratid aspet from the Sper district.
[The Bagratids] were coronants of the kings of the azg
[281] of the Arsacid kingdom, from the beginning. The entire country
of Armenia celebrated the wedding in delighted exuberance. After
this, once again all the people of the country of Armenia gathered
and enthroned the youth Arshak as king of the country of Armenia
and Vagharshak as his second. At this, the entire country of Armenia
rejoiced yet more. [g258]
After this Manuel, the sparapet
general of Armenia, became sick with a fatal illness. He called
his son Artashir and gave him his terut'iwn, sparapetut'iwn
and generalship and ordered him to be an obedient and loyal subject
of king Arshak: "Try and labor and give your life in warfare
for the land of Armenia just as [your] brave ancestors were ready
to die for the land. To God that righteousness is great and acceptable,
and He will not abandon you when it is so. Leave a name for bravery
on earth and you will be granted righteousness in Heaven. In no
way fear death; rather, place faith in Him Who made and confirmed
everything. Stand clear of duplicity, abomination and evil, and worship the
Lord God with sanctity and loyalty. Die courageously for the pious
land, for that itself represents death for God, for His Churches,
His covenant and for the natural Arsacid lords of the land".
After this [Manuel] wrote a hrovartak
to the Byzantine emperor entrusting the land of Armenia and king
Arshak to him. Manuel lay sick [282] on his bed, surrounded by
king Arshak and Vardanduxt (the king's wife) all the awags
and naxarars of Armenia, men and women, generally all the
prominent people. In the presence of all of them Manuel exposed
all of his limbs to them, revealing that there was not an area--even
the size of a dram--which had not been wounded in battle.
There were more than fifty scars, including on his male member,
which he displayed to all of them. He began to weep, saying: "From
my childhood onward I was always nourished on battle and bore
all of my wounds with great bravery. Why was I unable to die in
battle, but rather am dying the way an animal dies? For it would
have been better if I [g259] had died fighting for the land so
that neither the churches nor the covenant of God be trampled
underfoot. However I did not manage to die for the Arsacids, the
native lords of the land, for our women and children, for the
pious people, for the brotherhood of comrades and intimate friends.
Though I deported myself boldly, a bad death comes to me in my
bed".
[Manuel] said this and much more in
the same vein before king Arshak and everybody. He beseeched king
Arshak further, saying: "I lived through God and devout Christianity.
Let no one hopelessly lament and mourn excessively for me, contrary
to the rule, as a pagan. For those who have faith in resurrection,
a second life, and the coming of Christ should not weep. Thus
far I have lived with the [283] expectation of piety. Do not stray
from God's commandments. Be more concerned with righteousness
and mercy, for the great patriarch Nerses was always urging us
to do this. Every hour of his life he himself behaved so, and
taught others the same. He had mercy on the poor, the indigent,
captives, the devastated, foreigners and exiles [oghomer aghk'atac',
tnangac' gereac' amayeac' otarac', pandxtac'], saying: 'There
is nothing greater and more honorable before God than dispensing
alms or giving gifts'. He regarded it a bitter sin to lament or
mourn excessively for the dead. During his day he had stopped
this [practise] in the country of Armenia, and no one dared to
do it. But after his death, stupid people dared to do it. Now
let no one mourn me excessively, otherwise he will be condemnable.
After my death I lack the authority to punish those who do as
I do not want. Let those who love me remember me. In warfare--where
I did not die--do not fear death. For without God there is nothing".
[Manuel] said this and other similar
things. With his own [g260] hands he distributed an unlimited
amount of treasure to the poor and the needy. He gave many parts
of his belongings to the Church and the martyria, and much treasure
to the chief priests. Then he died. Now when the great sparapet
Manuel died, no one heeded the order he had given about not mourning
excessively. On the contrary, everyone in the country of Armenia,
azats and shinakans alike mourned excessively [284]
with great weeping and lamentation. For everyone regarded the
well-formed constructive Manuel as a father because of his goodness,
humanity, mildness, tranquility and concerned benevolence. With
their mouths open, everyone wailed and sighed longingly for their
brave general, their savior, their victorious, renowned, productive
[sparapet], who had gone and been separated from them.
[g261]
After the death of Manuel, Armenia's
general, no one was able to establish the reign of Arshak over
the land. Rather, many of the Armenian naxarars went in
a body to the king of Iran to whom they betrayed the land of Armenia.
They requested from him an Arsacid king. With great delight [the
Iranian king] consented [to find a candidate] from the same Arsacid
tohm as the Armenian kingdom, and through him he would
get hold of the land of Armenia. He found a youth named Xosrov,
from that same tohm, put the crown on his head, and married
him to his sister Zruanduxt. [The Iranian king] also sent all
the forces at his disposal along with king Xosrov [265] and gave him the nuncio Zik as
a tutor [ew Zik nuirak dastiarak et ark'ayin Xosrovay].
They arrived in the land of Armenia. When king Arshak saw them,
he gave way and departed, going to the Byzantine border. [The
Byzantines] supported Arshak [as] king of Armenia, while the Iranian
king supported Xosrov.
Then the troops of the Byzantine emperor
came to help. King Arshak was in the vicinity of Ekegheac' district,
while the Iranian troops and king Xosrov were in Ayrarat district.
Emissaries and [286] messengers of the two kings, Byzantine and
Iranian, were going back and forth to each other. Then the two
kings decided upon peace. They thought it would be a good thing
first to divide the land of Armenia into two parts, between themselves,
saying: "It would be good to try to obstruct and destroy
this mighty and wealthy kingdom which is in our midst. First we
divide it into two, under two Arsacid kings whom we installed.
Later through them we shall try to destroy and impoverish [the
Armeniansj and put them into service so that they will be unable
to raise their heads between us".
They confirmed this plan, and divided
the land into two. The Iranian sector went to king Xosrov, while
the Byzantine sector went to king Arshak. But there were many
districts which had been shorn away here and there and only a
small part of the lands remained to the two kings. Nonetheless,
between the few remaining districts ruled by the two Arsacid kings,
Arshak and Xosrov, they established borders peaceably, while each
of them was obedient to his own monarch. Xosrov's sector was larger
than Arshak's. But many districts had been cut away from both
of them and the greatness of the Armenian kingdom waned then and
subsequently. [g266]
Zawen was a descendant of the celebrated
bishop Aghbianos from Manazkert village. He was a man with a wicked,
severe and jealous nature. The innovation of his time was that
he taught all the priests to dress as the soldiers did. They had
forsaken the religion of the Apostolic churches and began to behave
as they pleased. For the priests did not wear a long robe descending
to the heals, as is proper for clerics, rather, they started wearing
a tunic that went only to the knees. They decorated their clothing
with various ribbons, and strutted about in a way that was unbecoming.
The priests were indiscriminately wearing the skins of animals,
which was not becoming. Zawen himself wore ornate clothing adorned
with ribbons and embroidery, a sable, an ermine, and wolf-skin
[Ew ink'n Zawen at'ineals ew ztapakeals zzhapawineals narotok'
aganer, zsamurenis ew zkngmenis ew zgaylenis aganer]. He even
sat on the bema wearing fox-skin. Zawen passed all the
days of his life in gluttony and licentiousness. He held the position
for three years.
Then after Zawen's death Shahak Korchei
became head of the bishops for two years. He was a Christian man,
but in no way altered [288] Zawen's arrangements. He led for two
years and died. [g267]
After the death of bishop Shahak, a
certain Aspurak, a descendant of bishop Aghbianos became head
of the bishops. He was Christ-minded, pious and rightous, and
led Xosrov's court. But he followed the arrangements of Zawen
concerning religious clothing.
Bishop P'awstos had a brother, a marvellous,
religious,cenobite of the mountain retreats. [g268] Both of them
were of Roman nationality. All the days of his life this man wandered
about with great piety. He dwelled in the Arayratean district
and acted in accordance with the Holy Spirit. Until the day of
his repose, he wandered the wildernesses as a vegetarian in the
mountains, wearing skins. Then he died. They brought his body
from the wilderness and buried it at the bun village of
the patriarch Nerses, at a place called Amok'. Every year they
commemorated [his death].
In that period, among the prominent
bishops, was Artit', bishop of Basen, who was a venerable and
useful old man. He behaved with sanctity and righteousness, as
though worthy of the Holy Spirit. He travelled around with great
power for many years accomplishing very great miracles. [Artit']
had been a student of the great Daniel who lived in the years
of king Tiran. He was still alive during the years of Xosrov and
Arshak, the two kings of Armenia.
There was also a bishop Yohan, son of
the former patriarch P'arhen--if, indeed, it is proper to style
him a bishop. He was a [290] hypocritical man who passed himself
off as a faster and wearer of sack-cloth, though he never donned
a moygs and in summertime wore hesk and in wintertime
kem. His greed had no limits but he could [g269] not replace
piety for God with greed. He did unworthy and unbelievable things.
One day he happened to be travelling
a certain road seated on a pack animal. He encountered an unknown
lay youth mounted on a horse [ek dipec'aw sma otar patani mi
ashxarhakan heceal i ji], sword at his waist, knife in his
belt, and bow and quiver on his back. He had washed, annointed,
arranged and put an ornament in his hair, and thrown a cape over
his shoulders [luac'eal zhers iwr, oceal merjeal, varsakal
edeal i glux iwr, ew odik (one ms. has yodik)
arkeal zusovk' iwr]. He was riding along the road, perhaps
returning from some brigandage. As for the horse he was astride,
it was large, colored and swift, so much so that when bishop Yohan
saw the horse he was astonished and he wanted it. When the horseman
approached the place where Yohan was waiting [Yohan] grabbed hold
of the horse's bridle, saying: "Get off the horse at once,
for I have something to tell you". The man replied: "Since
you do not know me, and I do not know you, what could you have
to say to me"? The man happened to be drunk, and greatly
resisted dismounting. But Yohan forcibly made him dismount. He
took him away from the road, ordered the man to kneel, and said:
"I am ordaining you a priest". The man replied: "I
am a brigand, murderer, malefactor [291] and libertine, have been
from my childhood onward, and am still engaged in such things.
I am unworthy of such [an office]". The man greatly argued
and resisted, but [Yohan] was even more persistent. Finally Yohan
forced the man to the ground, placed his hand on him (making him
a priest), ordered him to rise, to undo the ties on his cloak
[lucanel zhangoyc's meknoc'in], and put on a priest's frock.
Then [Yohan] said: "Go to your village and be the priest
of the village whence you come". But he did not even know
which village the man was from. Yohan seized hold of the horse
and said: "This [horse] will be my gift [inj koshikk',
lit.: "pin-money"] for making you a priest". But
the man resisted handing over the horse. Finally [Yohan] forcibly
got hold of the horse and sent the man off. All of this happened
because of a horse. [g270]
The man who had unwillingly donned the
cleric's frock went to his tun and entered the midst of
his family. He said to his wife and family: "Arise and pray".
They replied: "Are you crazy, has a dew possessed
you"? But he said: "Arise and pray, for I am a priest".
They were astonished, sometimes reddening, sometimes laughing.
After refusing many times, they finally agreed to pray with him.
But the woman said to her husband: "When you were a child
you were not baptized". The man replied to her: "I was
in a state of [292] shock and did not recall that, and I forgot
to tell him. He made me a priest and took my horse, saddle and
bridle and left". The man's family said to him: "Get
up, go back to the bishop and tell him 'I am not baptized. Why
did you make me a priest?'". He arose and went to the bishop
with that question. But Yohan said to him: "Bring a pitcher
of water". Taking the water he poured it on the man's head,
saying: "I have baptized you. Go". Thus he quickly got
rid of him.
Once Yohan was passing by some vineyard
during the pruning time. A man in the vineyard cried out to him:
"Lord bishop, bless us and the vineyard". Yohan replied:
"May thorns and thistles grow". The man said: "May
thorns and thistles grow on your body for unjustly cursing us".
A sign from God took place. For as soon as the bishop reached
his dwelling place, torments were visited on him. [Protuberances]
resembling thorns appeared on all the limbs of his body. He was
in great, wicked torment and crisis for many days. Finally he
summoned the vineyard-worker [aygordn] and begged him to
pray over him, to save him from the pains. The vineyard-worker
said: "Who am I to be [293] able to bless or curse anyone,
to say nothing of a bishop. [g271] But [Yohan] pressured the vineyard-worker
until he got up and prayed, saying: "Lord God, you know that
I am a sinful and unworthy man and I do not understand the confusion
I am involved in. Save me from evil, for they say that You cursed
the bishop and that this happened because of You. It would be
good if I died, for I do not understand what they say about me".
When he had said this, the bishop was healed. The thorns, which
resembled grass thorns, began to fall off his entire body. He
was immediately cured of the disease.
This bishop Yohan, P'arhen's son, when
he went to the king(s) of Armenia, would entertain them by being
a buffoon for them [xaghakatak liner noc'a]. Through the
clowning he taught himself greed, for which he had an insatiable
appetite, and he used [the buffoonery] to serve his own ends.
He would go on all fours in front of the kings and imitate a camel,
making a camel's bleating sound. While doing this he would exclaim:
"I am a camel, a camel, and I will bear the king's sins.
[294] King, load your sins upon me, and I will carry them".
But the kings, instead of giving their sins, would put on Yovan's
back written and sealed deeds for villages or fields [Isk t'agawork'n
zmurhaks giwghac' kam zagarakac' greal ew knk'eal]. So Yohan
got villages and fields for imitating a camel, and all the daye
of his life he did such unworthy deeds beoause of his attachment
to greed and avarice. [g272]
There was a bishop of Tayk' named Kirakos,
called Shahap, who was an honest pious man [acting] in accordance
with God's wishes. He led his people with complete honesty and
throughout his life he conducted the episcopacy in accordance
with God's will.
There was Zort'uaz, bishop of the distriot
of Vanand, a blessed, modest man worthy of God who drank of the
Holy Spirit. He worked and led his people in a Christian manner
as God wanted.
There were two bishops of the district
of Basen, Movses and Tirik. They were good men of angelic religion,
blessed, believing, [295] and worthy of the [clerical] calling.
Each of them led his people on the path of God all the days of
his life. [g273]
In that period lived bishop Aharon,
in the midst of the land of Armenia. He was a prominent, renowned,
and very virtuous man who throughout his life led his people in
an enlightened manner.
The chief of the Armenian bishops was
Aspurak, a blessed and devout person, pious toward God and humankind.
But he was unable to reproach anyone, though he himself dwelled
in silence, modesty, sensitivity, and propriety, beseeching God
with fasts and prayers every hour. But as regard clothing, he
follwed Zawen's example. He wore laced and embroidered [garments]
[aganer ghamghayeals ew zhapawineals]. Nonetheless, all
the days of his life he was mild, humble, benevolent, and humane.
Gind was from the district of Taron
and had been a student of the great Daniel. After [Daniel, Gind]
became the head of the abeghas, [296] the vardapet
of cenobites and those leading solitary lives, supervisor of the
monks and teacher of all those dwelling in retreats [ew yet
nora er glux abeghayic', ew vardapet mianjanc', ew arhajnord menakec'ac',
ew verakac'u vanerayic', ew usuc'ich' amenayn anapataworac'].
He was the overseer of everyone who, for the love of God, had
resigned from the world and were living in retreats, [g274] secure
caves and crannies--people possessing but one garment who went
barefoot, eating roots and vegetables, who wandered about like
beasts in the mountains wearing hides and goat-skins, the oppressed,
downtrodden, doubtful, crazed in the wilderness [who roamed] in
cold and heat, in hunger and thirst, for the love of God.
With patience did they do such things
all the days of their lives. For, as was written, the land did
not deserve them. Resembling a flock of' birds, they dwelled in
the crevices of rocks and in caves, possessing no belongings and
never giving their bodies victuals. Their bun head was
saint Gind, for everyone in the country of Armenia called him
vardapet. There were, however, other students of [these
clerics] who resembled their vardapet. They were Vach'ak,
Artoyt, Marax and Trdat (who was their comrade and had been the
chief deacon under the great chief priest Nerses, though after
Nerses' death he had entered the ranks of the aforementioned vardapets
of the retreats). [297] The blessed Gind took the youth Muse as
his student and taught him his ways. But he had many other students
of angelic faith whose deeds no one could relate.
Saint Gind was full of the Spirit of God. Those with him, resembling him, performed very great miracles and healings in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. They circulated around many pagan places and among the pagans here and there, turning many away from error [Ew end bazum hte'anos teghis shrjein yashxarhs herhawors. ew i sp'iwrhs het'anosac' darjuc'anein zmolorut'iwn bazmac'] leading many people to a knowledge of Life and to the road of Truth. The blessed Gind filled all the retreats with cenobites and all the shens with monasteries. He set up many correct arrangements for human living in the land, conforming with divine religion. He took as a portion the wilderness for his dwelling [Bayc' sakayn ink'n arheal vich'ak bnakut'ean uner zanapatn] and lived where the sources of the Euphrates river flow forth. There the [g275] blessed Gind--that great man among the desert-dwellers--resided in the very same cave as the great Gregory [the Illuminator], at the place called Oskik'. The blessed Mushe was always with him. Others circulated around other districts, by order of their chief, Gind. The blessed Trday resided in the district of Taron in a place built by his brothers [Ew srboyn Trdatay kayeank' bnakut'ean er i gawarhn Taronoy, shineal ziwr eghbarc'. The Patkanean edition has eghbayranoc's]. [g276]
Return to Historical Sources Menu