[Nerses] said this and other things
like this. He arose and went to his lodging place, leaving the
court tachar and following him were all the grandee naxarars
of Armenia, the sparapet of Armenia, Mushegh, and Hayr
mardpet, indeed, all the people who were there followed
[Nerses] to his lodging place. When they entered his dwelling
[he] opened up his tunic and revealed a blue swelling over his
heart, the size of a roll [i veray srtin c'uc'aner kaputakeal
k'an zch'ap' nkanaki mioy]. The grandee naxarars offered
him theriacs and antidotes to save him [Isk mecameck' naxararac'n
matuc'anein nma t'iwrakes ew andegheays vasn apreloy]. But
he did not want it, and rejected it, saying: "For me it was
a great thing that I be allowed to die for expounding the commandments
of Christ. You yourselves know that what what I said [241] to
you I said publicly, so it is fitting to be killed by you publicly,
for that is what I had been longing for. In goodness I received
[g221] my portion along with the chosen, and am pleased with my
inheritance. I bless the Lord Who let me attain this portion of
inheritance, and I am extremely happy that soon I will be freed
from this impious and profane world". [Nerses] said many
things to them and told them to be careful, he beseeched all of
them to watch out for themselves and to keep the Lord's commandments.
After this for about two hours, globules
of blood started to ooze from his mouth. Then he arose to pray.
He kneeled and asked forgiveness for his murderers. After this
he recalled everyone in his prayers, those near and far, the dishonored
and the honored and even those whom he never recognized [ew
zaynosik angam, zors erbek' och' chanach'er znosa]. Upon completion
of the prayers he lifted his hands and eyes to Heaven, and said:
"Lord Jesus Christ, accept my soul". Having said this,
his soul was released. The body of Nerses, the blessed man of
God, was taken by the Church clerics, bishop P'awstos, the head
of the clerics, Trdac, sparapet Mushegh, Hayr mardpet
and all the azatagund banak of the court. They took him
from the village of Xax, where the deed had been committed, to
his own village in T'il awan. They buried the saint with
psalms, [242] blesing, lit candles, great worrship and muoh commemoration.
Howerer, belore the saint's body was covered, king Pap himself
went, took the body and buried it in a heroic sepulcher [pateac'
ew t'aghec' i martirosakan i bnakut'iwn]. Although king Pap
was guilty, he pretended that he was not, as though he had not
committed that deed. [g222]
There were two hermit clerics who at
that time were residing in the mountains. One was named Shaghita,
a Syrian by nationality who lived up on Arhewc mountain. The other
was named Epip'an, a Greek by nationality, who, dwelled on the
great mountain, in the place of the gods, called the Throne of
Anahit [ew nster sa i meci lerhinn i teghi dic'n zor koch'en
at'orh Anahtay]. Both of them had been students of the beloved
Daniel, whom we recalled above. At the hour that saint Nerses
died, while each [of the hermits] was in the mountains, each one
saw with open eyes during the daytime, Nerses, the man of God
as though being taken to the clouds. For the angels of God were
taking him upward, and the hosts were coming before him. When
the hermits saw this vision, they were astonished. Shaghita,
however, who was on [243] Arhewc mountain, since he was a sagacious
man, realized that the holy Nerses had died and that it was his
spirit which had appeared to him. Epip'an, on the other hand,
thought that [Nerses] had been taken corporally. Each descended
from the mountain and hurried to the district of Ekegheac', where
they investigated and saw that the blessed patriarch Nerses was
in fact dead. They went to T'il village and saw the place where
he was buried. It was here that these two believing men encountered
each other, and narrated before the people what they had seen.
Those were men of angelic faith, nourished and living in the wilderness.
They were able to work very great miracles and their deeds were
known and familiar to everyone. [g223]
[Translator's note: This chapter contains
an account of the healings and other miracles performed by Saghita
after Nerses' death. He operated in the Korduac' district. He
prayed to God that when he died the people would not find his
body (which they wanted to preserve). This wish was granted when,
one day as he was walking on the water of a river, he sank.] [g224]
[This chapter contains an account of
Epip'an's wonders. After Nerses' death, he went to the wilderness
of Greater Cop'k', to [244] a place called Mambre and lived in
a cave above the Mamushegh river. He converted many pagans and
filled the Cop'k' country with monasteries. Then he went to the
Aghjnik' country which he also filled with monasteries. He built
martyria in an awan of the city of Tigranakert. [g225]
He tests one of his pupils concerning
a beautiful woman. Epip'an departs for Byzantium. [g226]
When Epip'an departed he left in Cop'k'
many hermit clerics with a chief over them. Many of them were
vegetarians who never drank wine. [g227] [g228]
A certain hermit did not want to drink
the wine of communion. He was punished by God and for penance
was to live in a well. He decided to remain there for his entire
life.[Translator's note: The above chapters are summaries of the
text which we do not translate] [g229]
After the death of the partriarch Nerses,
king Pap appointed bishop Yusik, who was a son [or descendant]
of Aghbianos, bishop of [245] Manazkert [or er i zawake Aghbianos
episkoposin Manazkertoy]. [Pap] ordered that he occupy the
position of patriarch and rule in place of [the man] he had killed.
And he did. But the archbishop of Caesarea heard that they had
slain the great patriarch Nerses and in his place had established
Yusik. This had been done without his command, for they had been
accustomed to take the patriarch to Caesarea for ordination.
Surprised at this turn of events, the
patriarch of Caesarea becamed enraged. A synodical council of
bishops took place in the state of Caesarea without the patriarch.
They wrote a letter expressing great anger. [Translator's note:
The text, which may be corrupt, reads: ew eghew zhoghov episkoposac'n
siwnhodosin nahangin Kesaru aranc' hayrapetin. ew grec'in t'ught'...Malxasyanc'
emends this to read "they wrote a letter expressing great
anger to the patriarch [Yusik]"]. They also wrote a letter
to king Pap dissolving the authority of the kat'oghikosate
[and saying that] whoever was the patriarch of Armenia could bless
bread at court but should not dare to ordain bishops for Armenia
as had initially been the custom [orpes sovorut'iwn er i bne].
Subsequently the Armenians lost the authority to ordain bishops.
Rather those who would be bishops for all the different districts
and regions of Armenia--bishops for [areas within] the boundaries
of Armenia--would have to go to the city of Caesarea and become
bishops there. For after this, the authority was removed from
the country of Armenia and [the Armenians] did not dare to ordain
bishops. [246] However [the one] who was the senior of the bishops,
only sat above [the others] and blessed bread for the kings. [g230]
But [Yusik] did not dare to reprimand anyone; or he was timid
and compliant. He held the dignity only through the wishes of
the king and for all the days of his life he remained in silence
and complacency.
After Pap had killed the blessed patriarch
Nerses, everyone grew extremely saddened. Everyone in the country
of Armenia agreed and said: "The glory of Armenia has departed,
for the just [man] of God has gone from this world". The
princes and naxarars spoke: "We know now that our
country is lost. The blood of a just man, unjustly condemned was
shed, especially since he was killed for God". Mushegh, the
sparapet of Armenia spoke: "The blood of God's saint
was unjustly shed. Henceforth I cannot go against the enemies
or aim a spear at anyone. I know that God has forsaken and abandoned
us, and we will be unable to raise our heads. I know that there
will be no victory over enemies for the country of Armenia. The
prayers of the man who died and [those] of his azg caused
the victories". All the azats, and shinakans
from every nook and cranny of all the borders of the country of
Armenia was mourning, the azats, shinakans [and]
generally all the inhabitants of the tun of T'orgom, [speakers]
of the Armenian language [azatk' ew shinakank' amenayn banakich'k'
tann T'orgomay, hay lezun arh hasarak].[g231]
Now Pap, the king of Armenia, although
he had killed the patriarch of the land of Armenia, Nerses, nonetheless
was not satiated by his death. Rather he tried to corrupt and
obstruct the correct arrangements which Nerses had introduced
into the Church. He began to act with jealousy regarding the canons
established by him previously. He began to clearly order that
the [homes] for widows and orphans which Nerses had built in the
different districts of the land be destroyed, and that the walled
residences for virgins which Nerses had built in the different
districts and awans, built to protect securely from kidnapping,
be destroyed [ew awerel zkusastansn i gawarhs gawarhs ew yawans
yawans parspeals ew amrac'eals, or norin Nersisi er shineal vasn
amrapahs arhangoc'n zgushut'ean]. During his lifetime the
venerable Nerses had built these residences in all the districts
for virgins who were believers so that they could be gathered
there for fasting and praying, to be fed from the land and from
each family. King Pap ordered that these [institutions] be destroyed
and that the believing virgins be subjected to abominable copulation.
In all the awans and regions
Nerses had also built hospitals, setting up stipends and provisions
and he had left reliable overseers [248] for the sick and poor,
people who feared God and were awaiting the eternal judgements
and the coming of Christ. The king chased the overseers from their
superintendency and totally destroyed the places. Those who had
been appointed overseers for the indigent and [g232] poor [Pap]
persecuted completely. And he commanded every land under his sway:
"Let the poor go out begging, let no one take food to them
there [in the poor houses]. If they do not go forth beseeching
and begging, they will hardly find anything". As for the
arrangments for the ptghi and tasanordi which had
been stipulated from [the time of] the ancestors as customary
for giving to the Church, [Pap.issued] this order throughout the
land: "Let no one give them".
During the days of patriarch Nerses
no one dared to remove from himself or abandon his wedded wife
throughout the entire country of Armenia, [a wife] he had taken
with the blessing of the nuptial veil or crown. Nor in Nerses'
day did anyone dare to take another's [wife]. If someone died
unexpectedly no one dared to weep for the deceased without hope,
beyond the established canon of the Church, nor to lament excessively
nor to make noises over the deceased. They would merely bury the
deceased with tears, fitting psalms, blessings, lamps and lit
candles. But after [Nerses'] death, everyone boldly took the king's
command and left their wedded wives, [to the point] that [249]
one man changed women ten times. And simultaneously they all turned
to impiety. But after Nerses' death, when [the people] mourned
the dead, they wept, they danced mourning [to the accompaniement]
of horns, p'andirs and vins, blowing on the tig,
tearing their faces, men and women committing monstrous abominations
as they faced each other in the dance, or, clapping their hands,
they buried the dead [yorzham zmerhealsn layin, p'oghovk' ew
p'andrhok' ew vnok' zkocsn paruc'n kak'awelov, ztigsn hateals,
zeress patarheals, ark' ew kanayk' pghcut'eamb chiwaghut'eamb
paruk' dem enddem harkanelov, ew kam ap's harkanelov, zmerhealsn
yugharkein].
Now during Nerses' day, the poor were
never seen begging throughout all the borders of Armenia. Rather,
everyone remained in their places of repose, that is, in the leprosaria,
and everyone took them everything they needed. Thus were they
satiated, not needful of anyone. But after the death of the chief
priest, if anyone did anything to give ease to the poor, he would
bear great punishment from the king. [g233]
During Nerses', day the orders of worship
of the Church were especially radiant and [there was] a multitude
of blessed canonical clerics and commemoration of the blessed
witnesses were always glowingly being conducted everywhere in
Armenia in huge assemblies, and the patiw of the father-bishops
grew in accordance with their worth in all [250] the districts
of Armenia while the orders of monastics flourished both in the
shen and the non-shen places. But after his death,
all of this was corrupted, polluted, and obstructed.
During the days of the chief priest
Nerses, by his order [people] had built in all the shens
and villages of all parts of the districts of Armenia, dwellings
for foreigners, hospitals, otaranoc'k', and everyone in
the country of Armenia gave ptghi and alms, remembering
the poor, the exploited, those in tribulation, foreigners, the
exploited, rebels, exiles, guests and transients [arh i yishel
zaghk'ats ew znegheals, ztarhapeals ew zotars, zharstahars, znshdehs,
zpanduxts, zhiwrs, zanc'awaros]. For them the blessed Nerses
set up superintendents and provisions everywhere. But after his
death king Pap destroyed all of this and dishonored the patiw
of the Church. Furthermore many correctional arrangements and
canons which the patriarch Nerses instituted were overturned and
forgotten. After [Nerses'] departure from the world, many districts
of Armenia and many people returned to the ancient worship of
the gods, and they erected idols in many places of Armenia because
of the boldness of king Pap [Yet nora elic'n yashxarhes bazum
gawarhk' Hayoc' ew bazum mardik i hnut'iwn diwapashtut'ean darjan
ew end bazum teghis Hayoc' kurhs kangnec'in i hamarjakut'ene t'agaworin
Papay]. For there was no one to reprimand them, no one from
whom they felt embarassment. Whatever they wanted to do they did
[251] brazenly. After erecting many images, they worshipped them.
Moreover, king Pap confiscated for the
court the Church land which king Trdat of Armenia had given in
service to the worship of the Church in the entire country of
Armenia, during the time of the great chief priest Gregory [Ew
hat ews yark'unis Pap t'agawor zhogh ekeghec'woyn...]. Of
seven lands, [Pap] confiscated five, leaving only two [for the
Church]. In accordance with the size of the land, he left two
[clerics] in [g234] service, a priest and a deacon, while placing
in service to himself the brothers and sons of priests and deacons
[Ew est hoghoyn t'oghoyr erkus erkus arh gewgh mi erec' ew
sarkawag, ew zayn spasu kac'uc'aner yiwr i carhayut'ean zeghbars
ew zordis eric'anc'n ew sarkawagac'n]. He thought by behaving
in this fashion, to express the hostility he had for [Nerses],
he would move despite [his policies]. But he never thought about
his personal ruination. In that period all the orders of Church
worship declined throughout the entire country of Armenia.
Then king Pap changed his mind and turned
his heart away from the Byzantine emperor, wanting to have unity
and friendship with the Iranian king. He began to support the
king of Iran and to send messengers [252] regarding alliance.
He also sent messengers to the Byzantine emperor saying: "Caesarea
and ten [other] cities belong to us, so give them up. The city
of Edessa was built by our ancestors. If you don't want any disturbance,
give them up. Otherwise, we will wage great warfare". But
Mushegh and all the Armenian princes frequently advised the king
not to destroy the covenant with the Byzantine empire. However,
[Pap] did not heed them and expressed the enmity which he had
with the Byzantine emperor.
Now the Byzantine princes and their
troops were still in the country of Armenia. These princes were
named Terent and Ade. The Byzantine emperor secretly sent an emissary
to the princes of his troops who were in the country of Armenia
and ordered them to kill the king of Armenia, Pap. When the princes
received this command from the Byzantine emperor, they waited
for an opportune moment to [g235] kill king Pap. This moment occurred
when Terent and Ade, the generals of the Byzantine troops, knew
that king Pap was alone, that all the grandees and the Armenian
troops were not there. [At that time] king Pap was encamped at
a place called Xu in a plain of Bagrewand district, while the
Byzantine troops were nearby. So the Byzantine generals prepared
a grand banquet [hac' mecapes gorceal] and invited the
great king of Armenia, Pap, to dinner. This was done grandly,
in accordance with his worth, as [253] was the rule in calling
a king to a banquet. They orgariized and prepared.
King Pap went to the dinner, entered
[the dining area], and sat down to eat and drink. When the king
entered the tent of the Byzantine general Terent [he noticed]
the legion of shield-bearing foot soldiers positioned around the
inside walls of the tent with shields in hand, and battle-axes
at their waist. Similarly, outside stood men ready, heavily armed
under their clothing. King Pap thought that this had been done
to honor him in some way. While he was eating, the troops with
the battle-axes stood behind and on all sides of him. When they
were drinking wine, they offered the first engladdening melody
to king Pap. The drummers, flutists, harpists and horns all began
to play, all making their own different tasteful sounds [arh
hasarak t'mbkahark' ew srengahark', k'narahark' ew p'oghahark'
iwrak'anch'iwr aruestok' pespes yayniwk' barbarhec'an]. There
sat king Pap, holding the wine of joy in his hands, looking at
the diverse crowd of gusans. As he leaned on his left elbow,
he held in his left hand a golden drinking goblet, while his right
hand was fingering the handle of his sabre which was attached
to his right thigh. His cup was to his mouth to drink, and:his
eyes were fixed straight ahead on the diverse crowd of gusans.
With an eye gesture, the order was given to the shield-bearing
Byzantine troops. Suddenly two of the legionnaires who stood behind
[Pap] [g236] bearing shields with gold bosses, raised their battle-axes
and struck [254] king Pap. One cut his neck while the other battle-axe
sliced off the right hand which was on the handle of his sabre.
The hand fell off. King Pap fell on his face then and there. The
wine from the goblet, the blood from his neck and [Pap's] body
fell together onto the table as king Pap perished immediately.
In the confusion arising in the tachar, Gnel, lord of the
Anjewac'ik' district, arose from his couch, drew his sword, and
struck and killed one of the legionmaires who had killed the king.
Then the Byzantine general Terent drew his own sword and cut off
Gnel's head [? tarakac' i glxoyn Gneloy zskawarhakn glxoyn
i veray ach'ac'n i bac' engenoyr]. And no one could say anything
about it. Not a thing.
There gathered together all the grandee
princes of Armenia, sparapet Mushegh, and Hayr mardpet.
All of the princes said; "What shall we do, how shall we
act? Should we seek to avenge our king or not"? Then they
confirmed in discussion that: "We cannot enter the service
of the pagan Iranians and make an enemy of the Byzantine emperor,
nor can we make enemies of both of them. But we cannot survive
without the aid of one of them". They reached the conclusion
that what had happened was past. "Let us serve the Byzantine
emperor and remain obedient to the authority of the Byzantine
empire, and do [255] as it says". In no way did they plan
to seek vengeance or to do anything else. Rather, they passed
over it in silence. [g237]
After the death of king Pap of Armenia,
the Byzantine emperor made a certain Varazdat the king. He was
from the same Arsacid tohm. He came with much pomp, entered
the country of Armenia, and ruled as king. He was a youth, full
of bravery, with powerful hands, a brave heart, but light-minded,
with a child's capricious cunning. However when all the azgs
of Armenia's grandees saw him, they gathered around him and were
delighted that he would reign over them.
Mushegh, the sparapet of Armenia,
was leading Armenia, protecting all the borders as was his custom,
and he offered good advice to the young king Varazdat. He was
constantly concerned about the kingdom of the land of Armenia,
how it might be kept/made to flourish. He was always giving good
advice so that the kingdom could remain secure. He also consulted
with the Byzantine princes, and through them with the emperor
that they should build "cities" in the country of Armenia.
[He suggested] that secure, walled military bases [be constructed]
one in every district with a city, and two where there were two
[cities] throughout the entire country of Armenia [t'e part
e noc'a k'aghak' mi shinel yerkrin Hayoc'. i mi mi gawarhsn,
or min mi k'aghak's, or erkus erkus amur parspawors zoranists
hastatel end amenayn erkirn Hayoc'], as far as Ganjak on the
[256] Iranian side, which was the border of Armenia. [He proposed]
that all the Armenian azats should be provided with imperial
stipends as well as the troops of the country of Armenia; thus
there would be full attention directed at their enemy, the Iranian
troops. The Byzantine emperor was overjoyed to do this for in
this way the land would be totally secure and not move away from
him, and the king of Iran would be unable to make the land of
Armenia his own. [g238]
When the great naxarars of Armenia
saw that king Varazdat was a gullible youth, unable to differentiate
good from bad, they began to manipulate the king in accordance
with their wishes. With their words they led him around, any way
they wanted. Varazdat was more attentive to what youths his own
age said, than what wise old people who could have given beneficial
advice offered him.
Bat, the nahapet of the azg
of the Saharhuni tohm, was the dayeak-nourisher
of king Varazdat. He wanted to appropriate for himself Mushegh's
position of general-sparapet. Consequently he began to
slander him to his san king Varazdat, saying: "From
the [time of the] first ancestors onward, the Mamikoneans have
been ruining your Arsacid tohm, for they have been your
adversaries from the start [i skzban i naxneac'n hete... hakarhakordk'
jer dok'a leal en i bne anti]. They have [257] always [257]
been consuming the country of Armenia. This is especially true
of Mushegh, who is a wicked and duplicitous man. Your enemies
love him and those dear to you hate him. In his dealings with
you, he had always acted treacherously, duplicitously, and maliciously.
For is Mushegh not the one who, during the reign of Pap, during
the Iranian battles, could have slain king Shapuh of Iran several
times, but did not; rather, he released the enemy. Once he got
hold of king Shapuh's women, but sent them back to Shapuh in palanquins
with care. Was it not that very Mushegh who got hold of the king
of Aghbania, Urhnayr, and did not want to kill him, but instead
released the enemy? Was it not by Mushegh's order and acting on
his advice that the Byzantine generals killed king Pap? For [Mushegh]
aggrevated the Byzantine emperor [g239] and caused him to have
a grudge against king Pap until he had him killed. It is fitting for him to die
at your hands; he should not live. King, if you do not make haste,
he is planning to fill up the country of Armenia with cities and
make [it] a military base inhabited by Byzantine troops. After
that, either the Byzantine emperor will remove the kingship of
Armenia from you, or Mushegh will kill you and rule himself".
[People] were constantly provoking the king with such words secretly,
until [Varazdat] agreed with their wishes, to kill the sparapet
general of Armenia.
[258] So they plotted how they could
seize [Mushegh], for they were greatly afraid of him. They said:
"If he should realize what is happening, he will conduct
a great war. No one can withstand his bravery; the only possible
solution is through artifice". Thus they were waiting for
him. One day king Varazdat of Armenia commanded that a great dinner
be readied, and they made great preparations. [Varazdat] ordered
that all the senior honorable [men] , the grandees and general
Mushegh be called to the dinner. Varazdat prepared select, powerful,
mighty men capable of the job of falling upon Mushegh at an unsuspected
moment. [Varazdat] made [the invitees] very merry, gave them alot
of wine to drink and made much happy diversion. Prior to this
king Varazdat had given this signal to the one prepared to do
the killing: "When you know that sparapet Mushegh
is out of his mind with drink, I will arise on the pretext of
going to the bathroom and you surround him". They passed
to the drinking and had passed the limit, but king Varazdat kept
himself away from the wine. When Varazdat believed that [Mushegh]
was incapacitated from drunkeness, he got up on the pretext of
going to the privy, and all the nobility stood up as if to honor
him. Then suddenly, the twelve men to whom the order had been
given, seized Mushegh, six on one side of him, and [g240] six
on the other. When the king got up, [Mushegh] looked at him [inquiringly]
and said: "What is this"? The king replied, saying:
"Go to king Pap and ask him what it is". The king went
outside and Mushegh said: "Is this my reward for my many
labors of blood and sweat, and [259] for the sweat that I wiped
away with the blade? Death should have come to me while I was
mounted on a horse,.." He had time to say this much and no
more, for king Varazdat's dayeak Bat Saharhuni removed
the sabre he had affixed to his thigh, and slit general Mushegh's
throat, cutting off his head. [People] picked up his body and
took it to his village.
When they had taken the body of sparapet
to his tun, to his family, his family did not believe
his death, despite the fact that they could see his head separated
from his body. They said: "He has been in countless battles
and never received a wound. No arrow has ever struck him, nor
has anyone's weapon pierced him". Half of them expected him
to resurrect, so they sewed the head back onto the torso and placed
it on the roof of a tower, saying: "Because he was a brave
man, the arhlezk' will descend and cause him to arise".
They guarded [Mushegh] expecting his resurrection, until his body
putrified. Then they brought him down from the tower, and wept
over and buried him, as was the proper way. [g241]
King Varazdat put his dayeak
Bat, nahapet of the Saharhunik' tohm, Mushegh's
slanderous tale-bearing murderer, in the work of [260] generalship-sparapetut'iwn.
[Bat] was sparapet in place of him, general of all Armenia.
The king made tanuter nahapet of the azg
of the Mamikonean tohm a man named Vach'e, of the same
tohm [Ew azgin mamikonean tohmin tanuter nahapet kac'oyc'
t'agaworn Vach'e anun i nmin tohme].
In that period two brothers of the Mamikonean tohm returned from captivity in Iran, where they had been taken by king Shapuh. One [brother] was named Manuel; the other Koms [The editors note, p. 242 n. 2 that in all the mss. the second brother is Kon. They add "we emend this based on the suceeding text".]. At that time the Sasanian king of Iran was warring with the great Arsacid king of the Kushans, who resided in the city of Bagh. When the Iranian troops went to the Kushan war, those people whom the Iranian king had taken captive from Armenia were sent along. Manuel also went there with his brother Koms. When the two brigades clashed against each other, the Iranian troops were defeated by the Kushans, and as they turned in flight [the Kushans] came upon them, raining incredible blows. They did not let a single Iranian soldier survive, including the newsbearer [banber], although Manuel (son of Artashir of the Mamikonean tohm] and his brother Koms did in fact survive, on foot. After displaying much bravery in that battle, of all the Iranian troops only these two reached the Iranian king safe and sound. [g242]
Return to Historical Sources Menu