Now when the next year had come, once
more the king sent other troops who arrived wlth [seige] machinery.
Putting the engines of war into place, they commenced demolishing
the stronghold's wall. When those who were in the fortress saw
that there was no way out for them-indeed since many of them had
died--they beseeched the military commanders to permit them to
depart unharmed to their own land, [so that] they (=the Byzantines)
could occupy the stronghold and its estates. When [the Byzantines]
heard this, they did as they were requested, and from that day
forth the domination of the Persians over that place was ended.
At the begining of [Michael's] reign,
there was an eclipse of the sun during the month Arac', on a Friday
evening (i darhnal awurn), in the year 482 of our
[Armenian] era (=1033). Many learned people, seeing [the eclipse]
believed that the birth of the anti-Christ had occurred on that
day, or that it presaged very great evils. Indeed such [disasters]
did occur in our day, and this narration is leading to [a description]
of them. [42] With our own eyes we saw the divinely incensed blows
and the unheard of punishment directed against Armenia (tans
Hayoc') because of our sins. Previously yet another sign
had been revealed which greatly astounded viewers. This was similar
to the signs [preceding] the final destruction of Jerusalem, about
which the Savior had spoken, threateningly: "For in those
days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the beginning
of the creation which God created until now, and never will be"[Matthew 13.19].
For [the people] had grown frenzied with regard to their lord
and creator, thinking Him to be a man. A man named Ananias stood
in the midst of the city of Jerusalem crying out this lament in
a loud voice: " Alas Jerusalem, woe city of blood, days of
revenge have befallen you", and so forth, as the great Eusebius
indicated in his Ecclesiastical History. Likewise
here in our times, a man similar to him appeared, unknown by anyone,
destitute and homeless. He came from the eastern part, crossed
[g49] through the districts of Apahunik' and Hark', descended
into Mananaghi and Ekegheac', [intending] never to return to the
[East], and saying in a loud voice day and night without cease
"Woe is me, woe is me"! He said no more than this. Should
anyone ask him: "Whence comest thou"? or "From
which [43] district"? or "Why are you saying that"?
[the man] would give no reply, but only repeat endlessly what
he had said. Senseless people, seeing him thought that he had
gone out of his wits. The wise, however, said: "That 'Woe'
will be for the entire country". Let us leave this matter
here as it stands, and return to the course of the narration,
concerning the afore-mentioned king.
[Michael] named his sister's son Caesar
(kesar). Then, after reigning for 7 years and 8 months,
he grew ill and died. Now the queen adopted the Caesar and enthroned
him in her husband's stead. However, [this Caesar,(Michael V Calfat)],
rather than being grateful to the queen for the good turn she
had done him, plotted with his relatives to send the queen to
a distant island in exile, so that the authority would belong
to them alone. Indeed, they did just that. Now the queen's sister,
who was named Theodora (T'eodorhay), summoned the chiefs of the
city and informed them of what had transpired. When they learned
about it they notified the Western army to assemble there. Then
forcibly going against [Michael V], they demanded: "Show
us our imperial (ciranap'ar) queen who has inherited
the kingdom from her fathers [44] and grandfathers". For
many people believed that she had died. Now [Michael V] as soon
as he observed their strenth and unity, became frightened and
hastily ordered that the queen be brought back out of exile. Seeing
her sister, Theodora instantly ordered that the king, his relatives,
and their intimates be seized. [g50] The king took to flight,
wanting to enter the senior church and save himself by hiding
under the altar. However he was unable to reach [the church],
for pursuors quickly caught him, turned him back, and, at an unholy
spot they threw him to the ground and blinded him. [The same thing
was done] to the one styled demeslikos, and to numerous
others. And she ordered that their homes be plundered, pillaged,
and destroyed. The entire city struck out and effected great pillaging,
demolishing to the foundations very large and beautiful mansions,
and destroying them. But the agitated mob, thirsting for booty,
had grown so large that it even breached the wall of the palace,
and excavated numerous precious items from the royal treasuries.
The principals of the city were barely able to stop the mob, and
[in this] the sun helped them, by setting.
[45] Now the king who yesterday was
seated on a golden throne giving out orders to the whole world,
today, blinded, sat on a chair of futility and insult; and those
who thought to rule in perpetuity over land and sea, in one moment
had lost their own salvation. Indeed it came to pass just as the
prophet had said, that [they were like] the grass on the housetops
which withers before it grows up, with which the reaper does not
fill his hand or the binder of sheaves his bosom, nor were the
good tidings of passersby heard [Compare Psalms 128.6]. Such is the ephemeral history
of the Caesar who reigned for six months.
In accordance with that apparition of
the prophet, this [Constantine] also was part of the crockery.
For his father in the palace had occupied the office of gayiosut'iwn
from which all the [g51] judges of the land were dispatched. Following
the incomplete reign of the Caesar, the lioness (=the queen) was
roaring in her den for a companion (mrhnch'eal matak arhiwcn
i veray enkerin i xshtis iwr). [46] For she was greatly troubled
that none of her own people were worthy of the realm; and as for
the one she had adopted and made lord and king of the lands, she
was requited by him as we described above. So what did she do?
Going outside the canonical stipulations, she called forth this
man (=Constantine) and made him her husband, and enthroned him
on the throne of the kingdom. Many thought that he was her lover.
I do not know whether this is true, or whether it was as she herself
had written in her edict that "For the good of the land and
for peace I have not spared myself, and therefore dared to do
such an unworthy deed".
In the first year of [Constantine's]
reign, the son of Maneak who held sway in the western part, a
brave and renowned man rebelled, and many united with him. With
numerous troops he came as far as the gate of the royal city,
and with the force of his bravery so tyrannized over [the city]
that many involuntarily submitted to him. For they believed that
he would be king, because of the numerous [examples] of good fortune
which attended him. For two and three times the army of the king
had arisen, [47] fought with, and were defeated by him, returning
to the king with great dishonor. During the last battle everyone
was intending that after his triumph they would submit and make
him king. However, since [Maneak's son] did not think to reign
through God but rather placed his hopes on the power of his might
having become infected from afar by Abisoghom, filled [g52] with
impiety, [God] requited him with the verdict [visited upon Abisoghom].
For they found [Maneak's son] fallen in the battle, without having
fought anyone: a powerful angel took his soul. The creator and
lord of all did and does this in the most wise fashion. He who
is more awesome than all kings can harvest the souls of princes
so that "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not
the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory
in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he
underetands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast
love, justice, and righteousness in the earth"[I. Kings 2.10 and
Jeremiah 9.23-24]. Such [a man] truly is worthy of great glories and praise, and a memory
of him will endure until eternity "His horn shall be elevated
in glory"[Psalms 111. 9-10], as is written in Psalms. Such a one was the
great David who was annointed king by the prophet, and received
with that the soul of strength [48] and prophecy, (he could crush
wild beasts as though they were goats' kids). Confident of his
[powers] he battled against the unbeatable giant, crushing his
head with a jawbone, laying him flat on the ground, and putting
to rest the insult against Israel. Nonetheless [even the mighty
David] pardoned Saul who had persecuted him many times, and hearkened
to the caller's order. Not only did he not attempt to rule his
realm with brute force, but two times he let his hands drop, sparing
his persecutor as a benevolent act, and angrily replying to those
wishing to kill: "Do not touch him, for he is the Lord's
annointed"[I Kings 24.7]. For this reason God loved [David] and said:
"I have found a man after my heart who shall do what pleases
me"[Acts 13.22]. However, [Maneak's son] did not think about such
matters, and did not heed God's command. Rather, he wanted to
rule alone, without God, forgetting that divine command which
[God] had said by means of the prophet, in anger against the
kings of Israel: "Woe to those who wish to rule without me"***,
etc.
Now it was not that this monarch was
worthy of any praise and was so pitied by God, but that [God]
wanted to honor the throne and stop the source of impiety. [49]
[It was] just as the Savior said when preaching to the Jews "Scribes
and Pharasees have sat on the throne of Moses"[Matthew 23.2]. Despite
the fact that they were hypocrites, [the Savior] commanded [the
people] to obey them because of the throne. The great Paul, counseled
by such venerable words wrote to the Romans: "Let every person
be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority
except from God"[Romans 13.1]. He was not speaking about a prince, but
about princedom, that is, about the throne, for God did not set
up every prince. [Paul] added: "Therefore he who resists
the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who
resist will incur judgment"[Romans 13.2-3]. This is exactly what befell
[Maneak's son], for he was not punished by any man but by the
righteous verdict of God, which judges all properly and justly.
For His eye is alert and our secrets are revealed before His all-seeing
wisdom. Just as the blessed David confessed to God in a Psalm
"You knew of my actions and my deeds"[Psalms 138.5]. The Apostle
wrote to the Hebrews in a similar vein: "And before Him no
creature is hidden"[Hebrews 4.13]. And the children in the fiery furnace
said in praise of Him: "You Who sit among the cherubim and
gaze at the void are eternally praised and yet more glorified"[Daniel 3.54].
For from the elevation of [His] place [50] they revealed [His]
accurate knowledge, as the Psalm [g54] states: "The Lord
looked from Heaven to earth"[Psalms 13.2]. Thus did the great Isaiah
say: "The haughty looks of man shall be brought low and the
pride of men shall be humbled; and the Lord alone will be exalted
in that day"[Isaiah 2.11]. Such things occurred at the outset of Constantine's
reign, which was the year 490 according to our [Armenian] calendar
(=1041).
Now three years later, Armenia's life
came to an end. For in one year the two brothers Asot and Yovhannes
who held the kingship of our land, died. Thereupon their throne
of stability was moved and never more came to rest; thereupon
the princes arose and departed from their patrimonial inheritances
and became wanderers in a foreign (yotar) country; thereupon
districts were destroyed, looted by the Greeks. Cultivated (shinanist)
awans became the dwellings of wild beasts, and their fields
(andastank') the pastures of deer. Houses, desirable, many-storied
and grand, became the habitations of sirens and centaurs (hambareac',
yushkaparkac'). Thus did the blessed prophets lament the
desolation of Israel: "The porcupine shall bear her young
there and raise them without fear"[Isaiah 34.15].
[51] The solemn places in the monasteries
became [dwelling-places] for robbers as did the churches in them.
[These churches] with their glowing structures, their gorgeous
adornments, their ever-lit candles and candel- abras whose light,
mixing with the air, flickering here and there was like the waves
of the sea at rest when gentle zephyrs cause them to ripple gently
embracing each other. The generously donated incense, whose [g55]
smoke rose fragrantly up from the power of the fire resembled
the spring mists settled around the summit of a mountain which
blocks and covers the sunbeams . As for [the clerics] who dwelled
in [the monasteries], what language is sufficient to describe
them? Their sweet songs and ceaseless singing of psalms, their
reading of Scripture, their commemorations of the Lord's feast-days
and of the martyrs, their united will, and their enthusiasm for
the divine, and much else.
Things were this way at one time. But
now, [the churches] are stripped and denuded of everything, devoid
of all glories, sacked. In place of those mellifluous songs, now
we have [the cries] of owls and screech-owls who have become the
choirmasters. In place of psalm-singing, the dove and turtle-dove
are [52] singing, as the prophet said: they sweetly summon their
young. The candles have been extinguished, the sweet fragrance
of incense has passed. The holy altar which at one time had been
adorned and embellished like a new bride wearing a crown of glory,
has now become a pitiful spectacle, one worthy of many tears:
stripped of adornments, covered with dust, and a perching place
for crows. A description of all of this would lengthen the narration
and require the aid of grace from on high to complete it. It is
time now to move forward in [g56] our narration.
When the great Constantine had fallen
sick with the illness that killed him, he ordered those close
to him to go forth and find someone from Armenia and to bring
him there. Those who went out found a cer- tain elder named Kiwrakos
who served as superintendant of the guest apartments (hiwratean)
at the kat'oghikosate. They led him before the king. When
the king saw him he gave him a letter regarding the land of Armenia
and said: "Take this document and give it to the king of
Armenia and say, 'Since that invitation for death which is sent
to all earth-born has also come to me, take your letter and give
you realm to your son, and [53] let your son give it to his sons,
for all time!'" Then, lying on his bed, [Constantine] died,
Now [Kiwrakos] took that letter and kept it until the time of
Michael's reign, when he sold it to him for much treasure. Oh
that bitter deal! Responsible for the blood of how many people?
How many churches were destroyed by reason of that sale? How many
districts were depopulated and became desolate? How many populous
(mecanist) awans became uninhabited! We shall speak
about all of this in the [proper] place, but now let us procede
in the order we commenced.
Now when the Byzantine autocrat heard
news of the kings' deaths, he found that document-letter dealing
with Armenia, and became concerned with acquiring the city of
Ani and the land as though it were his own inheritance. A certain
one of the principal azats of Armenia, named Sargis, intended
to rule over Shirak and the districts surrounding it, for he had
gathered up all the treasures found in the home of king Yovhannes,
since upon [Yovhannes'] death [Sargis] was his executor(hogabarju).
Now Vahram Pahlaw, a man mighty, renowned, and sublimely pious
[g57]--to the point that no one was his equal-together with his
relatives, sons and nephews(brothers' sons) [54] some 30 azats
refused to unite with [Sargis]. Instead they called to themselves
Gagik son of Ashot, made him their king, then wisely and with
strategems they brought him to the city,
When Sargis saw what had developed,
he took the royal treasures and entered the citadel of impregnable
Ani, Gagik descended to see him alone, with manly brave-heartedness,
and using beseeching words he was able to persuade him. [Sargis]
quit the stronghold . and went to the fortified city called Surmarhi.
However he gave to Gagik neither the stronghold [of Ani] nor the
other strongholds under his sway. Having gone [to Surmarhi] once
again [Sargis] thought up a futile scheme; to give whatever he
possessed to the Byzantines, and to go to them. Now Gagik with
a few men went amidst the army to the tent where Sargis was. He
arrested him and entered his capital city ("the city of his
realm"), The rebel should have been killed . But Gagik, thinking
like Saul , spared that second Agag, seating him in his own carriage,
Therefore, like Saul he was requited with a life more bitter than
death.
[55] In these days Byzantine armies
entered the land of Armenia four times in succession until they
had rendered the whole country uninhabited through sword, fire,
and captive-taking. When I think about these calamities I take
leave of my senses, my brain becomes befuddled, and terror makes
my hands tremble so that I cannot continue my composition. For
it is a bitter narration, worthy of copious tears .
Before, this land appeared to travelers
as a paradise with vegetation dense, green, leafy, fruit-bearing,
gorgeous and happy. For princes occupied their princely stations/thrones
with beaming countenn ances, and their troops stood before them
resembling spring gardens in their blazing colors. And [military]
reviews were but occasions for joyous songs and words, where the
sounds of trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments (?
ergec'oghakan aruestic'n) thrilled listeners with delight.
At that time too the elderly sat in the squares resplendent with
their venerable white hair. Mothers, babies in arm, displaying
maternal compassion, and because of their great joy having forgotten
the sad period of labour, like doves constantly fluttered about
their newly-feathered chicks. What shall I say about brides in
[the wedding] chamber [56] about grooms on the nuptial-couch,
about passionate, fiery, unrestrained desires and propensities.
But let us ascend, to the patriarchal throne and the royal dignity.
For [the patriarchal throne] was like thickening clouds laden
with spiritual gifts which their by means of doctrinal grace rained
their life-giving waters, fertilizing the Church's fruitful garden,
and [for protection, the patriarchal throne] had set up alert
guards, ordained by it, poised on the walls. As for the king(=royal
dignity), at dawn when he came forth from the city he resembled
the bride-groom arising from his nuptial-couch, or the sun which,
rising over the heads of all creatures, arrests everyone's gaze.
The king too glittered in resplendent clothing and in a crown
adorned with pearls, capturing everyone's attention and astonishing
them. The white steed adorned with golden ornaments which went
before [the king], returning the sun's rays dazzled the eyes of
beholders. [g59] The dense multitude of the people which went
in advance were like waves of the sea, piling upon each other.
The retreats were crowded and filled with theclerical orders,
to the point that villages and fields, motivated by good envy,
became abodes of clerics. Our land had many such things [in the
past]. I have written down this [description] so that when I explain
what befell [the country] all shall be moved to tears.
[57] Now the king, fallen from honor,
sits like a captive in a distant place. Similarly the patriarchal
throne devoid of occupants, displays the sad face of a new bride--newly
widowed. The cavalry (hecelazorn) wanders about lordlessly,
some in Persia, some in Greece, some in Georgia. The sepuh
brigade of azats (sepuh gundn azatac') has left
its patrimony and fallen from wealth; they growl wherever they
happen to be, like lion cubs in their lairs. The royal palace
has become an uninhabited ruin. The populated land has become
stripped of its inhabitants. I hear not the sound of joy when
the vineyards [were] harvested, nor praise for the tramplers in
the wine presses. Children do not play before their parents, nor
do the elderly sit in chairs in the squares. I hear no sound of
weddings, nor are bridal chambers embellished. All of this has
become reduced and then lost as the psalm says: "It shall
not return"[Psalms 40.9]
Our everything has turned to lamentation,
our robe of gladness has become melancholy sack-cloth. What ear
can bear the narration of our misfortunes? What heart of stone
is there which does not turn to sighing, and break into sobs?
It is time to mingle our sighs with Jeremiah's laments: "Zion's
roads are mourning because [g60] there is none to cross over them"
[Lamentations 1.4]. Such things were said when Jerusalem was ruined, but [the same
words] were fulfilled in these [present] days.
[58] Now all of this [calamity] was
visited upon Armenia because of that sale which we recalled a
little earlier. It seems to me that this sale was more inhuman
than the one effected by Judas, for in that case although the
seller was subjected to indignities, nonetheless that sale became
the price of salvation for the entire land. Thus did the great
Peter write in his catholic letters: "You know that you were
ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not
with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious
blood of Christ"[I Peter 1.18-19]. But in this case, the seller was extremely
inhuman and cruel since he became the cause of so much evil. For
the vineyard which the Lord had planted and which our Illuminator
tended with 15 years of his fatiguing labor, [this merchant] deprived
of its fence and he destroyed its towers, making of it a place
for passersby to trample on, to the point that "The hog of
the forest sullied it, and the wild boar grazed in it"[Psalms 79.14],
as the Davidic psalm states. Let the news of all of this reach
the Lord, and may justice be meted out to him(=the perpertrator).
We shall now return to our narration.
[59] In the year 494A.E. (=1045), Ani
was taken not through warfare, but through treachery. For [the
Byzantines] by the king's order succeeded in convincing Gagik
using an oath and the Cross that "I need but to see you,
then shall return your kingdom to you and shall write a document
giving you your land and city in perpetual inheritance".
As the learned say: "The wise man swears, and the fool believes",
or, similarly, "The words of liars are as succulent as cheese(lor),
and fools gulp them down". I do not know why [Gagik] believed
them, whether [g61] because of the oaths and the Cross, because
of immaturity, or because of a timid nature, but [in any case]
he gave the keys of the city [of Ani] to Petros who then occupied
the patriarchal throne of our Illuminator; and [Gagik] with great
conditions and oaths entrusted [Petros] with all the concerns
of the land. [Gagik] did not heed Vahram and the other azats
who had put him on the throne, but rather listened to the deceitful
support of Sargis and so left the city and went to the Greeks
on a one-way journey, like a fish caught on the line, or a bird
ensnared in a trap. Now when the [Byzantine] king saw [Gagik],
he forgot about his oath and the intercession of the Cross. No,
[60] he obliged [Gagik] to remain with him and demanded: "Give
me Ani and I shall give you in exchange [the city of] Melitine
(Malatya) and the surrounding districts". But [Gagik] did
not consent.
As the demand [for Ani] was being prolonged,
Grigor, son of the brave Vasak, went before the king. [Grigor]
wae a sagacious man, so learned in theology that he was without
equal. When he realized that they would not permit Gagik to return
to his country, [Grigor] went before the [Byzantine] king and
gave him the key to Bjni and to all of his patrimonial inheritance.
He was honored by the king and received from him the dignity of
magister and a place to dwell including villages and cities in
the Mesopotamian borders. [This was given] in writing and stamped
with a golden seal , and [the territory] was to be [Grigor's family
property] from generation to generation until the end of time.
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