They reached the borders of Armenia.
And Mushegh was the general sparapet of Armenia in place
of his father, Vasak. Then all the dispersed, fugitive, hiding
[people] in the country of Armenia, all people in the land of
Armenia, the king, grandees, holders of districts and lords of
districts, assembled in one place and inquired about [g191] the
blessed and great patriarch Nerses [Ew gayin i mi vayr zhoghovein
amenayn c'ruealk' p'axuc'ealk' t'aguc'ealk', or ein yerkrin Hayoc',
gayin ew i mi vayr bovandakein, ew linein i xndir arboyn meci
hayrapetin Nersesi t'agaworn ew amenayn mardik ashxarhin Hayoc',
mecameck' gawarhakalk' ew gawarhateark']. Those who had assembled
[203] For they knew that he was able to pray and beseech God
for the cultivation of the entire land of Armenia, to save it
from enemies, and that God gave him whatever he requested of God.
Furtherrnore, with his wisdom he would be able to offer them useful
advice. Consequently [the whereabouts] of this man were of no
small concern. For he could grace them with his wise advice, and
as events would unfold, he could give his useful opinions about
which road they should travel.
So king Pap hinself went and found the
archbishop Nerses with the nobility of Armenia [gtaner zepiskoposapetn
Nerses handerj awagaynovn Hayoc']. [Pap] beseeched [Nerses]
that he become the father and leader in beneficial advice for
the Armenians, and that he beseech [God] for them. With great
effort, they were barely able to persuade him to go with them
to the court banak. For from the time of the death of Gnel,
until the time of Pap's reign, [Nerses] did not go to the court
banak. But this time, with great entreaties, they took
him along with them to the court banak. He was their supervisor,
advice-giver, arranger, and leader [ew na er noc'a verakac'u
ew xratatu, gargich' ew arhajnord]. He was always beseeching
God for them. He led with wisdom, always shared their cares, eliminating
sorrows with his prayers. For everyone, he appeared to be the
father, in everything.
[204] Then the sparapet Mushegh
arranged and organized all the brigades of the Armenian troops,
and held a review of all the troops of the brigade. He had 10,000
[men] available. In the presence of king Pap, the great chief
priest Nerses, before Terent and Ade the Byzantine military commanders,
Mushegh, sparapet of Armenia, conducted a military review
of the Armenian troops, organized, prepared and armed for warfare,
with banners fluttering and emblems waving [zdroshs p'oghp'ogheals
ew nshans arjakeals]. Pap, king of Armenia, was very greatful,
and bestowed very great [g192] gifts on general Mushegh [ew
mecamec pargews shnorher zoravarin Musheghi]. The Byzantine
military commanders were also very greatful to him, and archbishop
Nerses blessed general Mushegh saying: "May the Lord Christ
bless you and your successors, and grant you the grace of victory
all the days of your life. May He save the country of Armenia
by your hand and the hand of your azg, for eternity".
The general of Armenia, Mushegh, organized
and prepared a brigade and then advanced with the Armenian brigade.
They went as a vanguard before king Pap and the Byzantine troops
of the imperial brigade. In the district of Daranaghik', Mushegh,
like a wolf attacked, [205] and as the advance-guard reaching
the interior of Armenia, Mushegh killed the Iranian military commanders
Karen and Zik [Apa i Daranagheac' gawarhin lkneal yarjakec'aw
Musheghn, ibrew gayr arharhapahn hasaner i mijnashxarhn Hayoc',
spananer Mushegh zzoragluxn Parsic' zKarenn ew zZikn... The
editors 193 n. 1 note that four mss. read Mushegh ibrew
gayl. The word lkneal is not well attested. Arharhapah
appears to be a missprint.]. He put everyone of the troops to
the sword, sparing no one. To the natural borders of Ganjak in
Atrpatakan, he seized the country and held it forcibly [minch'ew
i bun i sahmansn i Ganjak Atrpatakani zerkirn yiwr vtareal, brhnac'eal
uner].
King Pap entered the country of Armenia
and ruled over it. He took back all the very secure fortresses
which the Iranians had seized, including the Daronk' fortress
in the Kog country where an extremely great amount of the Arsacids'
treasures were kept. The fortress-keepers had remained loyal.
For from the time that they took king Arshak of Armenia to Iran,
the Iranians were fighting with that fortress, but could not take
it. So it remained until king Pap came to the country of Armenia;
the treasure had been preserved and went to king Pap in its entirety,
when he returned. The Byzantine troops [which were] at Erand and
Baxish, divided among all of the districts in the country of Armenia
[Ew zorsn Yunac' yErhand ew i Baxishn end amenayn erkirn Hayoc'
bashxein end amenayn gawarhsn]. The malefactor Meruzhan was
the only one to escape, fleeing on a horse.
[206] Mushegh, the general of the Armenians,
circulated about the country, destroying the atrushans
of the Mazdeists. Sparapet Mushegh ordered that all Mzdeists
whom they seized should be roasted over the flames. They killed
wickedly nany fortress-keepers as [g193] well as many respected
lords, who were honored in the presence of the king of Iran [ew
zbazum patuawor tears or patuakanak' ein arhaji t'agaworin Parsic'].
Mushegh had them arrested and had then flayed, stuffed with hay,
and hanged on the walls. He did this in many places to avenge
his father, Vasak.
They [re]built all the places ruined
by the enemy, and rennovated the churches. The kingdom gradually
revived and affairs were gradually put in order. Blessed Nerses,
the wise patriarch, directed, illuminated, advised, arranged,
and built a resting-place for the poor, as he was naturally accustomed
to [arhajnorder ew lusaworer, xrater ew karger ew shiner aghk'atac'
hangist, opes ew ink'n i bne isk sovor er]. [Nerses] even
set out the conduct of the kingdom with the most goodly religion,
as it had been in the days of the ancient kings. He especially
renewed the orders of church worship, of bishops, priests and
deacons, he rennovated the martyriums of the Church renewing,
teaching, facillitating.
[207] Mushegh, the general of Armenia,
arranged his brigade and went to the borders to remain there guarding
the borders of his country, protecting his land by the order of
his king, Pap.
Mushegh, the son of Vasak, the stratelat
of Greater Armenia, selected choice men from the azats
and his relatives (some 40,000) men who were united and of one
will. Organizing them with horses, stipends and weapons, he took
them with him and went to the borders of Atrpatchan to protect
the land of Armenia [endreac' iwr ars entirs miamits azats
azgayins k'arhasun hazar, miaban miakams, ew kazmeac' znosa jiov
ew t'oshakaw ew zinu. ew arheal znosa end iwr, ert'al nstel i
sahmans Atrpatchac'n, ew pahel zashxarhn Hayoc']. At that
time Shapuh, the king of Iran, organized and prepared, and with
the entire organization of his troops, came to the Atrpayakan
country. Meruzhan was the guide of his banak's brigade.
The king's main banak was encamped at T'awresh [ew Meruzhann
arhajnord gndin banaki nora, ew bun banakn uremn t'agaworin i
T'awreshn bnakeal ein]. [g194]
The sparapet general of Armenia,
Mushegh, fell upon the banak with 40,000 [troops], and
put his sword to work. The king of Iran, Shapuh, barely escaped
by a hairsbreadth and fled on a horse, though Mushegh and the
Armenian troops put the entire caravan of the banak to
the sword. They killed many [people], arrested many Iranian nobles,
[208] took as loot the treasures of the Iranian king, and seized
the queen-of-queens along with other women [ew embrhnein ztiknanc'
tikinn handerj aylovk' kanambk'n]. Sparapet Mushegh
captured the entire mashkawarzan and he ordered that all
the nobility, some six hundred men, be flayed and stuffed with
hay. He had this brought to Pap, the king of Arrnenia. He did
this to avenge his father, Vasak.
However Mushegh, the general of Armenia,
did not allow anyone to dishonor the women of king Shapuh of Iran.
Rather he had palanquins prepared for all of them and then sent
them all after their man, king Shapuh [ayl zhanawars tayr noc'a
kazmel amenec'un, ew haneal arjaker zamenesean zhet arhn noc'a
Shaphoy ark'ayi]. He also dispatched to Shapuh, king of Iran,
some of the Iranians, so that they might go before the king well
and unharrned . Now the king of Iran was surprised by Mushegh's
benevolence, his bravery and freedom that he had not perpetrated
any insults on his women. At that time Mushegh had a white horse.
So when Shapuh, king of Iran, took in hand wine to drink, while
feasting and rnaking merry with his troops, he said: "May
the white horseman drink wine". He had a picture of Mushegh
on the white horse, [engraved] on a cup, and when rejoiclng he
would put the cup before hirn and always recall in the same way:
"May the white horseman drink wine".
[209] Mushegh and all the Armenian troops
filled up with an unlimited amount of loot, treasures and goods
from the Iranian banak. They kept a large share of the
loot for their king, Pap, a share for [g195] those Armenian troops
who had remained with king Pap, [a share] for the Byzantine generals
who were with the king of Armenia, and similarly, a share to all
the troops, from the very great loot they had taken [soynpes
ew amenayn zorac'n tayin bashxish i mecamec awarac'n aceloc'n].
Now when the Armenian troops returned to their own land, many
of the Armenian soldiers accused the sparapet Mushegh
before king Pap, saying: '"Why did he release the women of
the Iranian king, our enemy'"? As a reult of this matter
the king of Armenia, Pap, for a long time felt no small hostility
toward Mushegh.
[People] told king Pap about the way
Hayr mardpet had insulted king Pap's mother tikin
P'arhanjem when she was besieged in the fortress. For [Hayr] had
entered the fortress secretly and dishonored the tikin
as though she were a whore, then he slipped out and fled. They
told this entire story to the king. Now when the mardpet
Hayr was circulating about his principality in the Taron country,
Mushegh, the sparapet of Armenia was in the same district,
at his [210] fortress which was called Oghakan, and was located
on the Euphrates river. An emissary came from king Pap to Mushegh,
the general of Armenia, bearing with him a hrovartak which
contained the order to wickedly kill the mardpet Hayr.
As soon as [Mushegh] had this order in hand he treacherously sent
to the mardpet Hayr for him to come to him at Oghakan,
supposedly to be exalted. This occurred during the winter, and
the Euphrates river was frozen over. So the mardpet [g196]
Hayr, as if going to receive honors, went to the fortress of Oghakan.
General Mushegh ordered the troops to seize, totally strip him,
and to tie his hands below his knees. [He ordered them] to lower
him down to the river and to put him on the frozen ice. So he
perished. The next day when they went to see, they noticed that
his brain had oozed out of his nose from the cold. In his place
as "Father" in the mardpetut'iwn they put a certain
man named Dgghak, who, had been involved in the work of the mardpetut'iwn
during the days of king Arshak, or of his father, Tiran [Ew
p'oxanak i nora teghi hayrut'ean mardpetut'eann karge zDgghak
omn anum, or yawurs Arshakay t'agaworin kam Tiranay hor nora gamu
mioj leal i noyn gorc medpetut'eann].
After this the king of Iran again held
a muster of all of his forces and troops. With all of his troops
he went to the land of [211] Atrpayakan. He himself remained there
with a few people but he sent the entire multitude of the troops
to war against king Pap. When the Iranian troops came, they raided
the interior land of Armenia. Now Pap, the king of Armenia, ordered
that a muster be held at Bagawan. The Byzantine troops which were
at Erhand and Baxish assembled in one place by king Pap, digging
a trench around their banak near mount Npat, close to the
Euphrates river. They were organized and prepared for battle.
Then the general sparapet of
Armenia, Mushegh, assembled all the Armenian troops and organized
them in readiness, [g197] more than 90,000 men. Now while king
Shapuh of Iran was deploying his forces against the land of Armenia
and against the Byzantine troops, the king of Aghbania, Urhnayr,
happened to be with the Iranian king. Urhnayr came forward and
requested a favor from king Shapuh of Iran [Apa yarhaj kayr
ew xndrer pargews Urhnayr i Shaphoy ark'ayen Parsic'], saying:
"If you would, oh brave[st] of men [t'e kam lic'i k'ez,
aranc' k'aj], order as a favor to me that I go with my brigade
as a champion against the brigade of Pap, king of the Armenians.
It is appropriate for the Aryan brigade to go against the Byzantine
forces, so let me go against the Armenian [212] princes with
my brigade". King Shapuh consented, thanked him, and so ordered.
But Meruzhan Arcruni replied to Urhnayr, saying: "You have
promised alot, but there will be great amazement if you can do
it" [? Ast arker zgaziw girks. bayc' t'e zhoghovel karic'es,
mec zarmank' ic'en]. Meruzhan secretly sent this intelligence
to Mushegh [Ew gaghtuk xorhrdov zays gushakut'iwn Meruzhann
i jerhn hreshtaki arh Mushegh...], the general of Armenia,
by means of a messenger, and he said: "Be aware and be ready,
Mushegh, for the king of Aghbania, Urhnayr with great boasting
has requested [fighting] you as a favor. So look to what you are
doing".
While the Iranian troops were coming
against the Armenians, having Urhnayr, king of Aghbania, along
with them, the Aghbanian king spoke to the men in his brigade:
"I am telling you something now to remember later. When you
have arrested the Byzantine troops, allow many of them to live.
For we will bind them and take them to Aghbania and put them to
work making bricks, as stone-cutters, and masons [creating] what
is useful for our cities, mansions, and whatever else" [zi
kaleals kapeals tarc'uk' yAghuans i gorc kawagorcut'ean gaghatos
ormashens pitoyic' meroc' k'aghak'ac, aparanic' ew ayloc' pitoyic'].
Now when the two brigades, of the Byzantines and the Iranians
approached eaoh other and were preparing to clash, [213] king
Pap of Armenia himself armed, organized, prepared, and wanted
to go into battle. But Terent the Byzantine general did not permit
him to fight. Rather, he said: "The Byzantine emperor sent
us to come and protect you. Now, should [g198] something happen
to you, how could we face our king, or what answer could we give
him? If we remain alive here, without you, and if we reach our
emperor, we would be criminally responsible before our emperor.
But king, you do as we tell you. Take the archbishop of Armenia,
Nerses, and both of you go up onto Npat mountain to a secure and
safe place. Let ths blessed chief archbishop Nerses pray and beseech
the Lord that He give us the victory. From the height you will
look and see the deternined labors of the battle, the bravery
and cowardice, all of which will be accomplished in front of you".
King Pap was persuaded. He took with
him the great chief priest Nerses and went up onto Npatakan mountain.
All the Byzantine and Armenian troops were descendfng to the place
of battle. Then the general sparapet af Armenia, Mushegh
came up bringing his emblems and weapon to the archbishop Nerses
so that [Nerses] would bless him, and he would descend to the
battle. At that moment king Pap recalled the old stories and said:
"I remember that Mushegh is a friend of king Shapuh of Iran.
Is this not the same Mushegh who released the women of king Shapuh
of Iran, with palanquins and camp soldiers [handerj zhanuarok'
ew vashtkanok'n]? And I have [214] also heard that [Mushegh]
speaks to the lranians [ew lueal ews e im t'e i Parsiks xosi].
Let him not enter the battle"!
The great archbishop Nerses intercedsd
with king Pap on behalf of the general of Armenia, Mushegh. But
king Pap said to the archbishop Nerses: "Do not be a mediator.
For as soon as [Mushegh] descends, he will join the Iranian troops".
But [Nerses] redoubled his intercession. Since at that time the
king did not stray from what [Nersesa said, he responded: "Let
your will be done. But first administer an oath to him by your
right hand, that he will not deceive us, and then release him
to the battle". So they called Mushegh before the king, and
he came and prostrated himself for the king [ew ekn epag erkir
ark'ayin]. Then, holding ths right hand of archbishop Nerses,
he swore. [g199] He also held king Pap's hand and swore: "I
shall live and die for you as my anesetors did for your ancestors,
as my father did for your father Arshak, so I will do for you.
Only do not give ear to slanderers".
Then Nerses, the chief priest of Armenia,
blessed him with many blessings. Pap, king of Armenia, ordered
that his own steed and spear be offered to that brave man, general
Mushegh. However, he did [215] not accept them. "I will use
my own, king," he said, "whatever you give, I am on
your side". Then [Mushegh] offered his emblem and weapon
to Nerses for him to bless. He mounted his horse with his brigade
taking the Armenian front to the right of the Byzantine troops,
and he moved the right wing forward.
Now king Pap and archbishop Nerses were
up on Npat mountain. Blessed Nerses, raising his arms to Heaven
asked the Lord to protect His covenant and His holy Church, which
He had received through His venerable blood, and that He not give
over the people to the hands of godless pagans, so that the pagans
never ask: "Where is their God"? While he was praying
to God, the entire Armenian force went against the Iranian troops
like a fire. The Musheghean brigade was out in advance of the
other brigades and was moving swiftly. The king was watching but
the emblems of Mushegh were not discernible by him. When he did
not see those emblems, king Pap began to shout to Nerses, saying:
"You deceived and burned me [Du xabec'er ayrec'er zis.
The editors, p. 200 n. 1 has xlec'er]. For I told you
not to send that man into battle. Now, lo, he had joined the Iranian
troops and is doing very great harm". Archbishop Nerses replied:
"No, king, do not think that. For that man will not betray
us. You yourself will see the bravery which your servant works
before you".
[216] Now king Pap greatly pressured
the archbishop Nerses, saying: "Keep praying [g200] and beseech
the Lord since they are still fighting". When archbishop
Nerses was very fatigued, he said to king Pap {Translator's note:
Nerses, in a lengthy passage which we omit, urges Pap to pray
and mend his ways] [g201]
While [Nerses] was on the mountain,
he spoke these words, and many others to the same effect to king
Pap who was with him. Until evening, till sunset, till the battle
ended [Nerses] offered many and diverse prayers.
During the battle, God's aid had come
to the Byzantines, and the Hayastan brigade was victorious while
the brigade of the Iranians turned and fled, dispersing over the
plain, high mountains and deep valleys. But the Byzantine and
Armenian troops pursued them and when they caught up, they killed
great and small alike. However a few [Iranian] braves fled. They
were pursued by the Armenian troops as far as Ganjak in Atrpayakan,
as far as the borders of Armenia. Many of the fugitives were killed
on the road. Mushegh, the sparapet of Armenia, struck the
Iranian troops with incredible blows. Then he encountered the
Aghbanian brigade [spas arareal ew diper gndin Aghuanic']
and generally killed all of the troops. He caught up with Urhnayr,
the king of Aghbania, who was fleeing [217] and with the shaft
of his spear [Mushegh] struck [Urhnayr] on the head many times
[ew nizakabnawn i karhap'n matuc'eal cecer bazum], saying:
"Be grateful that you are a king and have a crown. I will
not kill a king even if I am put into great straits". And
[Mushegh] permitted him to flee to the land of Aghbania, with
eight cavalrymen.
When all the Armenian troops returned,
there was no limit to the [number of] heads of champions [och'
goyr ch'ap' glxanoyn axoyenic'n] which the general of Armenia,
Mushegh, brought before the king of Armenia, Pap. Similarly, in
accordance with each one's level, all the naxarars and
grandees and and all the troops [brought heads][Soynpes est
iwrak'anch'iwr ch'ap'u amenayn naxarark'n ew mecameck'n ew bovandak
amenayn zork'n ]. There was great triumph in the country of
Armenia and among the Byzantine troops. They filled up with much
loot of treasures, of weapons and ornaments, with gold, silver,
and much equippage [karaseaw], with the horses, mules and
camels which they took. There was so much of it that there was
no number or measure for describing it.
However [some people] went to the great
king Pap with slanderous accusations about general Mushegh, saying:
"Be aware, king, that [g203] [218] [Mushegh nurses] great
treachery toward you and awaits your death. He is always releasing
your enemies. He has laid hands on many of them, numerous times
but is accustomed to releasing the enemies. He released king Urhnayr,
an adversary of yours whom he had seized, and allowed him to live".
Because of this incident, on many occasions there was ill-will
[gzhtut'iwn]between king Pap and general Mushegh, and [Pap]
frequently reprimanded him. But general Mushegh answered king
Pap as follows: "I killed all those who were my peers. Those
who wear a crown are not my peers, but yours. Come, just as I
killed my [peers] do you kill yours. I have never, do not, and
will not lay my hands on a king. If you want to kill me, do so.
But should a king fall into my clutches as has happened many times,
I will not kill him, even if I am slain".
When king Pap heard these words, be
began to cry, got up from his chair [yaruc'eal i gahoyic'n],
embrached Mushegh, and wept upon Mushegh's neck, saying: "Worthy
of death are those who dare to speak ill of Mushegh, a brave and
honorable man. By azg he is as honorable as we, his ancestors
as our aneestors. For his ancestors left the kingdom of the land
of Cenk', and came to our ancestors here. They lived and [219]
died for our ancestors; his father died for my father. He has
loyally labored to the point of death. Often God has given us
victory through the prayers and requests of our father, the miraculous
Nerses, and we were favored with much peace through [Mushegh]
. So why do they tell me 'Mushegh awaits your death'? Behold,
he is a judicious man, who spared foreign kings
out of friendship. Then why would he harm his natural lords"?
Then Pap favored general Mushegh with many gifts, honors, and
villages [bazum pargews ew patiws ew bazum gewghean zoravarin
Musheghi Papn shnorher]. [g204]
Urhnayr, the king of Aghbania, sent
some information to Mushegh via messanger: "I have great
thanks for you for not putting me to death. God put me in your
hands, and you spared me. For the rest of my life I will not forget
your affection. However, I am informing you that the king of Iran,
Shapuh, with all of his troops is coming to fall upon you unawares".
Then the stratelate of the Byzantines organized the troops
which were with him, and headed toward the borders of Armenia,
from the side of Ganjak in Atrpayakan tun. Similarly the
sparapet Mushegh assembled all the Armenian troops. There
were 90,000 well-armed, select men, spear in hand, to say nothing
about the shield-bearers [zsparakirs]. According to the
tip, they hastened [220] quickly to their border. Only
the king remained in the land of Armenia. Archbishop Nerses also
remained in the land and ordered everyone throughout the land
to pray for the troops fighting in the war.
Now king Shapuh of Iran came with all of his troops to the place of battle, and found the Byzantine troops and the Armenian brigade organized and prepared to fight. [The armies] clashed. The Iranian troops were defeated. The brigades of spearmen attacked especially ferociously, hurling to the ground champions, seated upon their horses, with bravery, and this in the presence of king Shapuh of Iran. And as [the Iranians] fell, all of the forces of the Armenian warriors would shout excitedly, [g205] constantly: "Take him, brave Arshak". Indeed all the champions, when they killed someone in fighting would dedicate him to their brave king Arsak, saying, with regard to the slain person: "Be a sacrifice to our king Arshak". When the champions, the noble Armenian spearmen attacked and threw down the Iranian spearmen, they would say in encouragement: "Take him, brave Arshak"! But when they sacrificed and beheaded the champion, they would say: "Be a sacrifice for Arsak" [Arh Arshak k'aj: Isk yorzham zeneal glxatein zaxoyeansn, asein. Arshak zoh lijir:].
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