[21] Then Xosrov, king of Armenia and
Vrt'anes the chief priest fell and rolled on the ground beseeching
God with many entreaties and unrestrained tears [to help them].
Then [Xosrov] hurried to assemble troops, some 30,000 and came
before them, [g30] together with general Vach'e and with all his
senior grandee naxarars [amenayn awagaxumb mecamec naxararok'
iwrovk']. The two sides encountered each other by the shore
of the Sea of Bznunik' [Lake Van] in Arhest awan at the
royal fish-reservoir [i jknatesansn ark'uni] located on
a small river. They observed the limitless multitude of Iranian
troops which were as the stars in the sky or the sand by the seashore,
and they had come with countless elephants and troops. But [the
Armenians] went and attacked their army, placing their hopes in
God. They struck, killed, and destroyed and did not leave a single
one of them living. They seized much loot, many elephants and
the entire strength of their force. The sparapet Vach'e
and brave Vahan Amatuni arrested Databe, brought him before the
great king Xosrov, and killed him by lapidation as a man who would
betray his land, brigade, and the troops of his lord. [Databe's]
azg, wife and children were located there in the stronghold
of the prince of Erhshtunik', which was called the island of Aght'amar.
Sparapet Vach'e got into a boat, crossed over to the island,
and left neither male nor female alive. Thus was [22] the azgatohm
of that naxarardom eliminated, and their tun was
seized for the crown [ew ztun noc'a yark'unis kalan].
However after this the Iranians did
not stop warring with king Xosrov. He made a law that the grandee
nobility, the naxarars, holders of lands and lords of lands,
who were ten-thousanders and thousanders would have to stay near
the king [zi mecamec awaganin, naxarark'n ashxarhakalk'n ashxarhateark'n
or ein biwrawork'n ew hazarawork'n, kayc'en arh ark'ayin.]
and circulate around with him, and that none of them should go
with the royal troops. For he feared their irresolution [thinking]
that they might work the same act as Databe and revolt from him.
But he had confidence in the aged Vach'e, the natural sparapet
and general of Greater Armenia and in brave Vahan Amatuni. [Xosrov]
assembled the troops of all the tuns of the nobility together
with the royal troops and entrusted the entire corps to them [ew
tayr zgumartakn amenayn i jerhs noc'a]. And they constantly
warred bravely on the borders of Iran not permitting [the Iranians]
to boldly invade and ruin the country of Armenia, or [even] to
look [at it]. And the king remained in peace and the land was
in cultivation and peace for all the days of their lives. [g31]
In that period there rebelled from the
king of Armenia one of his servants, the great prince of Aghjnik'
who was called the bdeashx, [an individual] who occupied
one of the four senior gahs in the royal chamber [or
er mi i ch'oric', gaherec' barjerec' tacharin ark'uni].
He extended his hand [in alliance] to the king of Iran and betrayed
the royal tun which he himself had supported. The king
of Iran sent troops to support him and [Aghjnik'] was separated
from the authority of Armenia. He warred with the king of Armenia
with the power of the kingdom of Iran. The war became more intense.
Then the king of Armenia sent the following of his honest servants
with many troops [against the enemy]:
the prince of Korduk', Jonn,
the prince of Greater Cop'k', Mar,
the prince of Shahei Cop'k', Nerseh,
the prince of Siwnik', Vaghinak,
the prince of Hashtenk', Dat,
and the prince of Basen, Manak.
They went and conquered the Iranian
troops, putting them all to the sword, and killing the bdeashx
with his brothers and sons. [24] But they brought to the king
the head of Bakur the bdeashx and one of his newborn daughters.
Since there were no other survivors of that azg, the king
gave the girl in marriage to his favorite Vaghinak Siwnik', and
also gave him the tun of Aghjnik' making him bdeashx
and inheritor of [Bakur's] tun [arar zna bdeashx ew
payazat tan norun]. The heir increased and the bdeashx
Vaghinak remained in service to the king constantly with the land
and all its might. however, a certain small son of Bakur the
bdeashx [Bayc' yordwoc'n Bakur bdeshxi pataneak mi]
fled and landed by Vach'e, the general of Armenia where he was
concealed and spared in his tun. Subsequently [the child]
returned and seized his own tun. His name was Xesha. [g32]
In that time the great bishop of Mcbin,
a marvellous old man who loved to work deeds of truth (despite
the fact that he was of Iranian nationality) who was named Yakob,
a man chosen by God, left his city and came to the mountains of
Armenia. He came to Sararad mountain which was in the borders
of the Ayraratean lordship, in the district of Korduk'. He was
a man full of Christ's graces and miracles were achieved by his
hands. [25] He came with the desire of seeing the saving ark built
by Noah and with great fervor he beseeched God [to grant this],
for after the flood it had rested on this mountain. Everything
that he requested the Lord granted him. Now while he was ascending
over the difficult, waterless and rocky parts of the Sararatean
mountain, [Yakob] and those who were with him became weary and
thirsty. So Yakob kneeled on the ground and prayed to the Lord,
and from the spot where he had placed his head a fountain gushed
forth, and he and those with him drank. To this day that fountain
is called the fountain of Yakob. Then he continued along on the
same difficult mission praying to the Lord that he see what he
desired without delay.
When he reached a difficult place near
the summit, he became very tired and slept. And an angel of God
came and spoke to him, saying: "Yakob, Yakob". And he
replied: "I am here, Lord". The angel said: "The
lord has accepted your entreaties and fulfilled your request.
That which is beneath your head is part of the wood from the ark.
I brought it for you from there. Do not climb any higher, for
this is how the Lord wants it". With great joy [Yakob] arose
and with great thanksgiving he worshipped the Lord. He saw the
board which appeared to have been split from a large piece of
wood by an axe. Taking the favored gift, [Yakob] and those with
him turned back and went on their way [Translator's note: we omit
the passage which follows, to the words "shnorhk'n matakararein"
which was taken from Koriwn].
[26] When the man of God arrived bringing
the wood from the saving ark of Noah (an eternal symbol of the
punishment which was visited upon all species, a symbol of their
fathers' deeds) the entire city and the districts surrounding
it came out before [Yakob] with limitless matchless joy and delight.
They regarded him as an Apostle of Christ, a heavenly angel, and
surrounded him, embracing and kissing his meritorious and beneficial
footprints, considering him their shepherd and as a man who had
spoken with God. They joyously accepted the gifts he brought as
though they were favors for themselves, and to this very day that
miraculous symbol is preserved by them--wood from the ark of Noah
the patriarch.
After this the marvellous bishop Yakob received news from the country of Armenia. He went to the great
prince, the lord [g34] of the land, the great servant of the king
of Armenia, to Manachirh Erheshtuni, whose land he entered. For
he had heard that [Manachirh] was a wicked and unfeeling and crookedly
unjust man who from the wrath of the bitterness of his soul had
killed countless people [t'e ayr ch'ar ew anzgam e, ew zur
tarapart i c'asmane darhnut'ean srtin iwroy kotore ant'iw mardik].
[Yakob] had come to teach and advise him so that, out of fear
of the Lord, his nature would become mild [27] and he would put
to one side his animalic and bestial frenzy.
But when the impious Manachirh saw that
man of God, bishop Yakob, he scorned, ridiculed and derided him.
And because of [Manachirh's] savage behavior, to spite [Yakob],
he had 800 men (whom he had in bondage for no offense) brought
before him, and ordered that they be hurled into the sea by one
executioner [i dahche mioje. Malxasyanc' emends this to
i gahe mioje "from a promontory"]. Having destroyed
so many souls without offense, he then ordered that [Yakob] be
ridiculed and chased out of his land. And he said: "Do you
see how much I have exalted you for your good words? I relieved
them from their bonds, and they are still swimming in the sea".
Now [Yakob] departed with great sorrow and in accordance with
his Lord's commandment he shook the dust from his feet upon them.
[Yakob] and those with him reached the mountain of iron mines
and lead mines which divided [the district of] Erheshtunik'. This
was a lofty mountain named Enjak'isar from [whose summit] all
the districts were visible [Translator's note: According to John
Kat'oghikos and Vardan, the mountain was named Encak'isar. One
ms. has Encak'iars]. When they reached the base of the
mountain, having gone without any food for many days, [Yakob]
became extremely thirsty. He prayed to the Lord, kneeled, and
laid his head upon the ground. And a fountain gushed forth from
which he and those with him drank. [28] This was similar to what
happened earlier on Sararat mountain, and so it was also that
at the foot of Enjak'isar mountain on the shores of the Sea of
Erheshtunik', this fountain has been called Yakob's fountain to
the present day.
God's chief priest Yakob ascended to
the top of Enjak'isar mountain and cursed that [g35] land so that
disturbances would never be absent there, since they had not listened
to the Lord's words of peace. Then the blessed evangelical bishop
returned to his place. Two days after his departure Manachirh's
wife and seven sons died in that district. Then [Manachirh] also
departed the world suffering from wicked torments [ew ink'n
ch'aramah cakoteal elaner mecaw tanjanok' yashxarhe]. And
in accordance with the word which had been spoken there was no
peace in that land from that time onward.
Yakob accomplished very great miracles.
He was present at the great synod of Nicea which occurred during
the years of Constantine emperor of the Romans. There 380 bishops
assembled to curse the sect of Arianos the Alexandrian who was
from that state of Egypt. Now all the bishops were seated before
Constantine. Present from Armenia was Aristakes son of the miraculous
Gregory, the first kat'oghikos of Greater Armenia. The
amazing secret affairs of the king began to be revealed to Yakob
through [29] miraculous signs of the holy Spirit. He saw that
the emperor Constantine was wearing a hair-cloth underneath his
purple [garments] and robe, and that an angel was protecting and
serving him. The astonished bishop Yakob mentioned the matter
of the angel to the other multitude of bishops assembled, but
they did not believe it. But he insisted and said: "Since
you know about secret things, first reveal what it is that the
king is wearing underneath his robe". Standing in their midst,
by means of the holy Spirit he revealed the symbol of king Constantine's
humility, his pious clerical garb. And he showed everyone that
beneath the purple [robe, the emperor] was wearing a hair-cloth
for the love and fervent faith of Christ. After this, the emperor
Constantine saw the attendant angel, thanks to Yakob and he fell
at his feet and exalted him with great honor and great gifts.
And he placed [Yakob's] chair above many of the others present
at the synod. [Yakob's] bones were granted to the city of Amida.
During the time of the wars between the Byzantine kings and the
Iranian king, his bones along with those of other folk of Mcbin
were transferred [to Amida]. [g36]
After this there was an even more intense
war between the Iranians and Armenians, for [the Iranians] had
massed and arrived to take the land of the country of Armenia.
Then Vach'e, sparapet and general of Greater Armenia assembled
the azataxumb army of naxararakoyt troops. He arose
and did battle with the Iranian troops and there was unbelievable
destruction on both sides, including the destruction of many grandee
nobles. In this battle Vach'e the great sparapet of Armenia
fell and there was incredible mourning throughout the entire land
for many times the Lord had saved the Armenians through him. Archbishop
Vrt'anes assembled and consoled everyone, including king Xosrov
himself and all the troops who were taken with heart-rending sorrow,
tearful laments, burdensome care, great sobbings and unbelievable
mourning. Considering the departed and the survivors, they mourned
[? zgnac'eloc'n karis mnac'eloc'n hamareal sgayin]. The
great Vrt'anes comforted them, saying: "Be consoled in Christ. For those
who have died [died] for our land, churches and God-given faith,
so that our land not be enslaved or demolished, so that the churches
not be polluted, that the martyrs not be dishonored, the [church]
vessels not fall into [31] the hands of foul, unbelieving men,
that the blessed covenant not be corrupted, that the baptised
people not be taken captive or be subjected to the various obscenities
of the religion of the unbelievers. Should the enemy capture our
land they will implant here their impious, unbelieving godless
orders. We [g37] hope this will never happen. Our pious martyrs
waged war for this and died chasing out and expelling evil from
our land, so that faithlessness not enter this pious and God-loving
land and that it not turn to serving the will of evil, and that
many souls which are bound together with fervent, sincere love
not be separated from each other. While they were still living,
they labored with just labor for these things. In death, they
held firmly their faithfulness and sacrificed their lives for
the divine truth, churches, martyrs, the religion of the blessed
covenant, orders of the faith, priestly covenant, for the countless
new baptisms in Christ's name and for the army of the lord of
the land [The editor notes that one ms. reads bnak teranc'
Arshakuneac' which might translate "for their natural
Arsacid lords", a formula met elsewhere in P'awstos. Malxasyanc'
accepts this reading]. Those who did not spare their lives for
all of this must be exalted together with those who sacrificed
themselves for Christ. So let us not mourn them but revere them
worthily with the martyrs. Let us stipulate an eternal order throughout
our entire land so that everyone will commemorate their good memory
without fail as Christ's martyrs. We shall celebrate [32] the
feast and be glad that through them God has found us agreeable
and hereafter will grant us peace".
The great chief priest Vrt'anes issued
a law throughout the land that [the martyrs] should be remembered
every year [on a specific day] and he made a canon that the people
who (as the slain) had died for the salvation of the land should
be remembered at the blessed altar of God during the mass after
the names of the saints were recited, and that the survivors of
the fallen should be cared for [? ew mnac'eloc'n ankeloc'n
gut' ew xnam kalc'in]. For, he said, they fell in battle like
Juda and Matathia Maccabee and their brothers. General Vach'e
had a son who was a very little boy [p'ok'rik mangik mi],
named, after his grandfather Artawazd. They placed him on the
pillow of [g38] his patrimonial gah [i hayreni barj gahun matuc'anein],
and in the presence of the king they placed his father's patiw
on his head and put him in the sparapetut'iwn of his father.
For [Artawazd] was the son of a very meritorious [individual],
and of a very meritorious azg; and [furthermore] there
was no other [individual] in that azg who was robust, since
they had died in the great war [zi ayl yazgin och' gtaw hozhku,
zi i mec paterazmin merhan]. The affairs [33] of the generalship
were assumed by Arshawir Kamsarakan, prince of Shirak and the
district of Arsharunik', and Andovk, prince of Siwnik', since
they were brothers-in-law of the tun of the Mamikonean
tohm. The great archbishop Vrt'anes and the king ordered
Arshawir and Andovk to raise the lad Artawazd so that he might
occupy the position of his ancestors and of his father and accomplish
deeds of bravery for Christ (the Lord of all) and for the brave
men of his natural physical Arsakuni lords, for their tun
and lives [ew gorc k'ajut'ean gorcesc'e amenatearhnn K'ristosi,
ew arhaji iwroy marmnawor bnak teranc' arshakuneac' k'ajaranc',
ew tan ew kenac']; and so that throughout the entire course
of his life he would look after widows and orphans and succeed
to the acts of bravery of the sparapetut'iwn and the renowned
generalship.
After this the world-building brave
Xosrov, king of Greater Armenia died. [People] assembled from
all the lands and districts of Greater Armenia to mourn and weep,
and they transported [Xosrov] to Ani of Daranaghik', in the district
of Ekegheac', by his ancestors. Following him, the great chief
priest Vrt'anes departed this world. Then the entire land of Armenia
assembled and with great service, with psalms and spiritual songs,
with lamps, candles, fragrant incenses, and royal wagons [ark'unakan
karhok'], those who were left orphaned of their natural lord
and their spiritual [34] vardapet accompanied [Vrt'anes'
body] with sorrowful weeping to the village of T'ordan in Daranaghik'
district. It was there, by the [tomb of the] great patriarch Gregory
that they laid his holy bones to rest. After celebrating his perpetual
living memory, they returned home. [g39]
After king Xosrov passed from this world,
his son Tiran [339-350] took the authority of the kingship of
the lands of Greater Armenia. With him the venerable, blessed
lad Yusik succeeded to the position of the patriarchs of Armenia.
In accordance with custom, king Tiran assembled [the following]
grandee naxarars: the great hazarapet from the
tohm of the hazarapetut'iwn of all of Greater Armenia,
Vagharsh, prince of Anjit [Bayc' gumareac' end nma t'agaworn
Tiran zmecamec naxararsn est sovorut'ean orinakin, zmec hazarapetn
i hazarapetut'eann isk, i tohme amenayn Hayoc' mecac', zVagharsh,
or er ishxan Anjtay],
prince Zareh, nahapet of Greater
Cop'k',
Varaz, prince of the land of Shahuni
Cop'k',
Gnit', prince of Hashtenic' district,
of the Kaminakan tohm,
Vorot' prince of the district of Vanand,
Shahen, prince of the Anjewac'ik' tohm,
Atom, prince of Goght'an,
[35] Manawaz, prince of Koghb,
Gorut', prince of the land of Jori,
Manasp of the Xorxorhunik', prince of
the Maghxazunean tun,
and of our tohm, the prince of
the Saharhunik' azg,
and Aba, prince of the Gnunik' [Ew
zmeroy tohmi azgi ishxann saharhuneac', ew zAba ishxann gnuneac'].
[Tiran] ordered all of these [lords]
to go with the great hazarapet Vagharsh to seat the venerable
Yusik in the royal wagon take him to their borders, to the capital
city of Cappadocia, Caesarea, and to have the lad Yusik attain
the Apostolic throne of the patriarchs. They reached the city
of the Caesareans and had Yusik, son of Vrt'anes, ordained to
the kat'oghikosate. They seated him on the throne of the
Apostle Thaddeus, on the throne of his grandfather the great Gregory.
Then they returned thence with great rejoicing and arrived in
the Ayrayratean land, in [g40] good health. They sent in advance
to the king the two princes of the [two] Cop'k's, to bring the
glad tidings.
When the king himself heard about this,
he and the entire multitude of the army went before [Yusik] through
the plain to the other side of the river [over] Tap'er bridge.
After giving [36] each other the desired greeting, they crossed
the Tap'er bridge and entered the great city of Artashat, went
to the church, and seated the amiable lad Yusik on the patriarchal
throne. As his father Vrt'anes, he inherited the kpostolic [throne],
and he, the son, became like his father in his qualities. In everything
he showed himself to possess angelic conduct, and implemented
everything with God-given grace. He shepherded Christ's rational
flock and counseled according to the message of the Gospel. Though
he was but a lad, he was robust and tall, was extremely handsome
and attractive, to the point that he had no equal throughout the
country. With a soul clean and radiant he did not occupy himself
at all with mundane things. Rather, he was like a brave warrior
of Christ, like a champion hero who, from his boyhood onward scorned
and threatened the invisible enemy with victory. He never showed
partiality or bias toward anyone, but rather bore the message
of the holy Spirit like a sword fixed to his waist. The grace-giving
Spirit filled him with knowledge with which, like a fountain,
he irrigated the ears and souls of all listeners of the country.
However king Tiran, the other grandee
noble naxarars [ew ayl mecamec awaganin naxarac'n]
and the entire land did not behave according to the wishes of
God, or act wisely. Especially the king and the princes wrought
indiscriminate [37] killings, shedding the blood of innocent people
in vain and carrying out many other sinful things. They paid no
attention to the heavenly commandments, despite the fact that
[Yusik] ceaselessly advised and reminded them of God's wishes.
For this reason the venerable patriarch Yusik continually reprimanded
[g41] them with experienced words, with modesty, according to
Christ's counsel, and to their faces he reprimanded, reproached,
and blamed, telling of [God's] anger and the eternal torments
of the inextinguishable fires of judgement, and he protested .
Although in years he was but a lad, in wisdom he displayed the
seniority of old age, and with great bravery he implemented advisory
work and the work of patrimonial virtue. From his youth onward
he had [his] patrimonial wisdom, the dignity of honorable old
age, and reflected happy genius as a fragrant flower. For the
sake of truth, he battled until death, first, to save himself,
and then, he wanted to accomplish the same for the souls of others.
He had such piety toward the Lord that he cared nothing for the
king's affection or awesomeness. He was full of the knowledge
of God and skill in reading Scripture. He threatened and chastised,
and prevented the king and the grandees from entering Church.
With words of priestly authority [Yusik]
threatened and reproached them for impiety, adultery, homosexuality,
the shedding [38] of blood, dispossession, ravishment, hatred
of the poor and numerous other sins such as these [vasn anorenut'ean
porhnku'teann ew aruagitut'ean ew arenheghut'eann, zrkut'ean,
yap'shtakut'ean, aghk'atatec'ut'ean ew ayloc' bazum meghac'].
He himself, out of awe of the severe commandments of the Lord
regarded as enemies those who perpetually transgressed the orders
of Christ and broke the holy word of God. Throughout the entire
course of his life he waged a war of reproach against everyone.
On one of the annual feast days [Or ibrew or mi yawurc' tarekanac'],
king Tiran and others of the nobility came to enter Church. But
[Yusik] cried out, saying: "You are unworthy. Why have you
come? Do not come inside"! Therefore they dragged him into
the church, and clubbed and crushed God's [g42] chief priest,
the blessed venerable lad Yusik. After beating him, they left
him there, half-dead. Officiants of the court church took him
from the royal Bnabegh fortress in the district of Greater Cop'k'
to the village of T'ordan in Daranaghik' district. There, not
many days later, he died and was placed near Gregory and his fathers.
Some time after the venerable Yusik
was beaten to death, the country of the land of the T'orgomean
language was leaderless, and was like the blind, groping. They
were given the soul of erring: eyes which do not see, ears which
do not hear and hearts which do not understand and do not turn
to atonement. Benighted, they reached the abyss of distruction,
having cut their own road, they were ruined and fell, and there
was no one to be shamed by their acts and sins of frenzy, since
they remained without a leader. They boldly travelled the road
of ruin, and by their own will fell into sin, by their will they
became the sons of anger, and without God they travelled about
the land of the crooked azg of the tun of the country
of Armenia [Zkorstean chanaparhn hamarjakein I ch'aris komok'
gnac'ealk', ew kamok' lealk' ordik' barkut'ean. Ew arhanc' Astuc'oy
shrjein yashxarhi kamakor azg tann Hayoc' erkrin]. They resembled
that flock of sheep which made its own protecting and guarding
dogs depart, and by its own will was betrayed to the enemy wolves.
Like the great city of Athens, they became their food.
In that tine [people] took their wicked
example from the king and started to behave like him, and to do
as he did. For long since, when they accepted Christianity, they
[g43] took that faith by obligation, as though it were a human
error, and not [40] in fervent faith. [They accepted the faith]
not knowledgably with hope and faith, as is necessary. Only a
few who were to some extent familiar with Greek or Syriac education
partially understood that [faith]. But those who were devoid of
literacy, namely the people--the motley multitude of naxarars
and shinakans-were teachers to sit day and night and drench
them with learning like clouds pouring down heavy rain, none of
them would be able to understand or remember a single word, half
a word, or any bit of what they had heard. For their minds were
occupied with useless, vain matters, like little boys prepossessed
with their childish toys [zor orinak mankuk' tghayk' end mangut'eann
ew end tghayut'eann zaghalik xankarealk'], and they took no
notice of useful or important things. Similarly, [the Armeniansj
with their weak minds were attached to undirected learning, to
the old pagan customs, since they possessed rough, barbaric intellects
[soynpes ew degereal mashein yanughghay krt'ut'iwn end ch'k'oti
mtac'n i hnut'iwn het'anosut'eanc' sovorut'eanc' barbaros xuzhaduzh
mits unelov]. They loved their songs, legends, epic-tales,
and were enthusiastic about learning them, and believed in them,
and persevered in them. Toward each other they manifested spite
and envy, hostility, grudges. They nibbled at each other, and
a man would betray his comrade and his brother. Lovers tried to
scandalize their loved ones, relations their relatives, families
their families, members of the same azg other members,
and in-laws, their inlaws [Sirelik' sireleac', ew merjawork'
merjaworac', ew entanik' entaneac' azgakank' azgakanac', xnamik'
xnameac' dnein gayt'akghut'iwn].
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