[10] Now because there were grandees
in the environs [of Ashot's holdings] they unjustly took many
places from him. He was unable to bear this, and so left [g27]
his land and went to the court of the Byzantine king. Since he
pleased him, [Ashot] requested auxiliary troops. He took them
and came to his own land. God succored him to master many districts
and fortresses and to grow stronger than all who had come before
him. So much so, that many of the grandees left their patrimonial
places to him and voluntarily submitted to him. Up to this point
the narration pleases us.
In 467 of our era (=A.D. 1018) the autocrat
king [of Byzantium] sent a certain Nicomedian prince who came
and placed a capitation tax (mardahark) on the country,
and, assembling a multitude of men, began reconstructing Theodosiopolis
(T'eodosupolis/Karin/Erzerum).
In 468 (=1019) lord Petros was ordained
kat'oghikos during the lifetime of lord Sargis. And in
470 (=1021) once more the autocrat king came to the East with
a large army. He came and encamped in the large plain of Karin,
and sent emissaries to Georgi--who was ruling the Georgians--to
come to him and submit. For a certain bishop of Georgian nationality
who resided in the city of Vagharshakert, had gone to the king
and assured him that "When you come to Ekegheac' or Karin
[Georgi] will come before you". And [Basil] believed him,
and placed his hopes on that [happening]. He awaited [Georgi's]
arrival, moving from lodging place to lodging place. But [Georgi]
did not agree to come at the klng's summons, for many of his people
had frightened him [by saying] that, "When he sees you, either
you will die, or he will shackle you and you shall not receive
your honor". Now the king, crossing over to Bagean, sent
meesengers [to Georgi] two and three times, since he greatly desired
that his journey end in peace and that the land remain [g28] in
a flourishing state (i shinut'ean). However, when
the message-sending had ended in vain, the king, moved to
anger, ordered that the great awan known as Okomi and the
villages and fields (agarakk') around it and belonging
to it be disfigured through fire, sword, and captivity. He ordered
the captives to be taken to Xaghteac' district, while he himself
crossed Basean and reached the Vanand district, Karmir P'orak.
Now Georgi, having found an appropriate time, went against the
city of Uxt'ik' and ordered his troops [12] to scorch its beautiful
dastakerts (estates) with fire, and to loot its goods,
but not to injure a single person. When the [Byzantine] king heard
this he became more and more enraged, and turned back against
him. The two armies met near the little lake called Paghakac'is,
and clashed with a frightful roar. The flashing of swords and
glittering of helmets sent fiery sparks flying about the mountain,
and blazing sparks from the clash of swords fell to the ground.
Looking upon this all, the king himself was astonished at the
bravery of the combattants for, just as the rapids of a river
strike against a rock, ao did the Byzantine army strike against
them, turning them to flight. In that spot there died the great
prince Erhat, whose horse having encountered a swamp, was unable
to pass. They attacked with swords and slew that praiseworthy
individual, [an act] which caused great mourning to the House
of Tayk'. Now Georgi went with his troops and secured himself
into the stronghold of Abxazia. Meanwhile the king sent [g29]
troops to the four directions of the land, commanding them with
a wrathful order not to spare either old or young, neither child
nor adult, neither man nor woman nor anybody. And in this way
he demolished and polluted 12 districts. It was a pitiful scene
there [13] and one worthy of many tears. For the lofty regal palaces
which had been constructed with very great expense and with the
craft of architects [creating] wonder in the beholder and joy
in the occupants, fell down, gutted by flames, while their lords
fell before them, stabbed by awords. Alas this narration, alas,
this wicked deed. How can I, poor in wisdom and more ignorant
than anyone else, put into writing how things were at that moment,
or how can I lament our misfortunes in a fitting way? [This task
belongs] to the spirit of Jeremiah who knew how to fashion laments
to suit the misfortune. But we are recording these lengthy events
in brief for the benefit of the generation coming [after us],
so that when children are born and grow up they will relate this
to their children so that they not forget the acts of God Who
justly requites all that stray from His laws, as Job said: "He
shall requite those who hate Him, and not delay"[II Deuteronomy 7.10]
.
Come now and count for me the numbers
[slain] at that time: the venerable, respectworthy elderly who
fell, their white hairs stained with blood; the youths stabbed
to death with swords, the countless inestimable eyes which were
blinded. It seems to me [14] that these things befell them in
return for removing the nails of the regal Symbol (=the Cross)
from the door of the blessed cathedral and saying insultingly,
"We shall make horse-shoes of it". This bitter
lesson [g30] befell them and those with them, justly. Azat
women, having come forth, their veils removed from their heads,
were shamelessly disgraced in the open sunlight. Those who had
hardly been able to travel on foot to visit the sick or to go
to a plaoe of pilgrimage, now bare-headed and barefoot went
before the captors, stripped of adornments, having fallen from
honor, and subject to 10,000 humiliations. Of the suckling babes,
some were torn from their mothers' embrace and hurled against
the rocks, while others were pierced by lances in their mothers'
arms, such that the mothers' milk mingled with the babies' blood.
Yet others were thrown down at crossroads, trampelled under horses'
hooves, and they died, every one. Oh God, [for] Your forgiveness
at that time! Oh the merciless commands of the king! But despite
all of this, [Basil's] anger did not fade, rather, he continued
to raise his hand and to visit on them yet more evil. And through
this deed he made the well-cultivated (zbareshen)
country devoid of people, a devastated wasteland, until the onset
of winter.
[15] I do not know why all of this befell
them, whether it was a fitting lesson for the excessive impiety
of the country's inhabitants, or whether it resulted from the
fierce behavior of the western troops which had been gathered
from barbaric (xuzhaduzh) peoples. Now the king turned
to hls wintering quarters in temperate Pontus, he encamped in
the Xaghteac' district and passed the night. Patriarch Petros
followed after him and met him on the great feast-day of
the Revelation of God, and was exalted by him.
On the day of the Revelation ("Illumination"),
the day when the Christian kings and princes are pious, making
themselves equal to the directors of the Church, descending to
the waters on foot and performing there the sacrament of the Lord's
baptiam, on that day, the king commanded the patriarch Petros
to bless the waters in accordance with our [Armenian] canons,
while the Byzantine bishops who happened to be there [were to
celebrate] in accordance with their canons. When the patriarch
sprinkled holy chrism on the water, suddenly rays of light streamed
forth from the waters. Everyone saw this and glorified God, and
the horn of our faith [16] was raised up. Then, yet more honored
by the king and the officers, patriarch Petros returned to his
home. But it was there that the destruction of Armenia occured
[through] a written letter. For Yovhannes had ordered the patriarch:
"Give the king a written will so that after my death he shall
inherit my city and country". For he had no royal heir for
his kingdom, since his son Erkat' (Iron) had died prematurely
without succeeding to his father's honor. The [Byzantine] king
went and reached his wintering place at the afore-mentioned spot;
and the troops sold their captives to distant peoples.
In these very times the blessed and
worthy patriarch, lord Sargis, passed from this world. His grave
is at Horhomos monastery.
When springtime came, the king, having
spent the winter in temperate Pontus, turned back upon Tayk'.
Passing numerous lodging stops, he came and camped in the Basean
district. Now many of the Byzantine [17] princes, who at various
times, for diverse reaaons had been deposed from their honor of
rule by the king, [g32] and who [now] were roaring like lions
in cages, finding the time appropriate, assembled in one place.
They made bad counsel, ccunsel which they were unable to actualize.
They planned to rebel against the king unitedly and to establish
whomever they chose as king. When they had confirmed this, they
embellished the plan (? lusac'uc'in zxorhurdan)
and placed an army on the vast plain. A countless multitude of
people were assembled in one spot, and they commenced urging the
royal honor on each other. Then, in unity, they all seized the
son of Phocaa (P'okas) called Crhaviz, who on account of his father's
crimes had long since been removed from the honor of princedom.
But [Nicephor Phocas] did not consent, and did not want [the office].
Nonetheless, those urging him did not slacken, rather, they forcibly
convinced him until he accepted.
As soon as the autocrat [Basil] heard
about this, he fell into great uneasiness, and went and secured
himself into a certain strong fortress called Mazdat, for such
was the ancient custom of Greece. Nowever, I do not know whether
this is a divine law--that servants must not arise against their
lords-or [18] whether the king then had some special goodness.
But I do know for sure, and saw with my own eyes, that those who
arose against him died laughable deaths. The same sort of affair
had transpired at the beginning of his reign when Vard [Phocas],
called Scleros (Siklarhos) rebelled againat him, and took with
him almost all the Byzantines, to the point that the king [had
to] request an auxiliary army from the Georgian Curopalate. With
these troops [Basil] struck at the tyrant and made him flee the
land. Then [Vard] went to Babylon, the city of the Chaldeans.
After [Vard Phocas] his homonymous [relative, Nichephor] Phocas
was infected with the same disease, and ruled [g33] the entire
East for 7 years. [Basil] with only 4,000 men crossed the sea
at night and attacked the rebel's thousands of ("ten thousands
of") troops. No one died of that multitude excepting the
rebel himself. Having severed his head, [Basil] commanded that
the trumpet of peace be sounded, and all the troops returned to
their homes. Then the king himself in great triumph went and entered
his city of Constantinople,
Similarly here, their (=the rebels')
childish game was not prolonged, [but was] rather like a structure
[19] built on sand which quickly falls into ruin from the blows
of a flood. For Dawit' who was called Senek'erim, being harassed
by the Persians, gave his patrimonial inheritance, the Houae of
Vaspurakan, to the autocrat Basil, receiving in exchange the city
of Sebastia and the districts surrounding it. Now these events
did not transpire in the distant past, but only two or three years
previous. From then on, up to the present, the Byzantines ruled
the East. [Senek'erim] at that time was united in counsel with
the rebels, and loyal to them. But then suddenly, as a person
awakening from sleep, or as a mighty man coming to himself after
drunkenness, he realized the impropriety of the deed. And because
there was no other way of disrupting the wicked union, one day,
at an unexpected hour, he took the one whom they had styled king
and went away from the army as if to advise him. Suddenly, pulling
out his sword he killed [Nicephor Phocas], beheaded him, gave
the head to his servants and had it speedily taken to the king.
Now when this happened every one of
those assembled scrambled over the next man to quickly, secretly
reach his own home. And all of their plans [20] came to nought
forthwith. [g34]
When the king saw the tyrant's head,
he ordered it raised aloft on a pole in view of the entire army,
for there were many among them who though they followed after
the king with their feet, nonetheless, in word and thought they
were one with the rebels. [Basil] did as he did out of his deep
wisdom, so that seeing [Nicephor's head] they would stand clear
of such vain plots, and [re]direct their hearts toward obedience
to the king.
After these [events], the king and his
troops descended to the large plain of Basen. He sent cavalrymen
of the heathen troops to capture the rebel P'ers (arhak'e heceals
i het'anosakan zorac'n kalanawors apstambin P'ersi), while
he himself went to the border of Basen, to the place called Salk'oray,
dug a deep trench around the army as a barricade, and stopped
there for a month or longer.
Now those who had been sent by the king
seized P'ers and his son-in-law Andronicos (Andronike), who was
his partisan. They brought them as far as the stronghold called
Xaghtoy Arhich at the border of Karin.
[21] Reaching the field (yagarakn)
which is opposite the stronghold, they camped, and bringing forth
P'ers and Andronicos, they beheaded them. For the king had so
commanded them. [This was because] during their rebellion, the
Abxazes had been allies, and they had promised to give him (=
the Abxazes) up to that place as his share. For previously that
[territory] had been ruled by Dawit' the Curopalate, not, however,
as his patrimonial inheritance, but as gifts received from the
king in return for [Dawit's] loyal obedience. [Dawit'] had promised
that after his death, his district would be returned to the king;
but [the conspirators] did not bother about that. On the contrary
they generously gave gifts which were not theirs to give. For
this reason, the king ordered them to be beheaded at that spot.
[g35]
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