Then Dmawund Vsemakan of the Kawosakan
tohm came with 900,000 troops, sent by king Shapuh of Iran
to come to the country of Armenia and make war with them. But
the troops of the country of Armenia were organized and prepared.
With Vasak as their general, they arose to war against [the Iranians].
The Iranian troops were defeated before them and turned to flight.
Vasak caught up, struck, destroyed and killed them such that no
one was spared. He killed Vsemakan among the troops, while the
dregs [of the fugitives] were chased beyond their boundaries.
[g154]
Then came Vahrich [son of] Vahrich with
4,000,000 Iranian troops sent by king Shapuh to loot and destroy
the country of the troops of the Armenian kingdoms [Apa gayr
hasaner Vahrich i Vahrichay, ew zork'n Parsic' ch'orek'hariwr
biwrun arhak'eal i Shaphoy ark'ayen i veray Hayastan ashxarhin,
awar arhnul ew korusanel zerkirn zorac'n t'agaworut'eanc'n Hayoc'].
They arrived at a place called Maxazean. But then general Vasak,
with 40,000 [troops] rose against him. He struck and killed his
troops, killed Vahrich, destroying the Iranian troops leaving
none of them alive. And he protected the borders of his country
[ew zgushanayr zsahmanok' erkrin iwroy].
Next came Gumand Shapuh, sent by Shapuh
king of Iran (before whom he had boasted) with 900,000 [troops].
He reached the land of Armenia, having as a guide the notorious
Meruzhan of the Arcrunik' tohm, who was from the country
of Armenia. Finding the border-guards who protected Armenia's
boundaries negligent, [the Iranians] filled up and spread throughout
the entire country of Armenia, looting, demolishing, and ruining
the country of the entire land of Armenia. Then the general of
Armenia, Vasak, organized and prepared, reached and fell upon
the royal brigade [hasaner ankaner i veray ark'ayagndin].
First he killed Gumand Shapuh. After this the Armenians spread
around, exterminating all the Iranian troops [ew nax zGumand
Shapuhn spananer: Ew apa end c'irn aspatak sp'rheal hayac'ik'n,
zamenayn zorsn Parsic' kotoreal, anmi arareal aparhec'in].
Only the malefactor Meruzhan escaped, by a hairsbreadth, fleeing
on a horse to the country of Iran.
After all of this Shapuh, the king of
Iran, mustered troops assembling countless, numberless troops,
resembling the sand by the seashore--well-armed men with spears
in hand, many troops, 4,000,000 of them. And the Iranian king
Shapuh sent Dehkan nahapet who was a tohm-member
by azg of the tohm of the generals of Armenia, [163]
that is, of the Mamikoneans [or tohmik isk er azgaw tohmin
zoravarac'n Hayoc', ays ink'n Mamikonenic'] to the country
of Armenia against king Arshak of Armenia.
He arrived at the borders of the country
of Armenia. But [this time] the Armenians were in no way found
napping; rather, they were organized and ready to wage war [apa
ew zhayac'isn och' inch' culac'eal i k'un gtaner, ayl kazm patrastk'
kayin nmin gorcoy chakatun paterazmi]. General Vasak arose
before them with 70,000 [troops]. He struck and killed all the
Iranian trcops, including his own relative Dehkan nahapet
[spananer ziwr zazgayin zDehkan nahapetn], and chased out
before them all the fugitives on horseback. However, Meruzhan
Arcruni, who guided them, fled and survived. [g156]
But once again Shapuh the king d men. He laid an
ambuscade in the area of the banak and at night fell upon
the entrenchment, [The Armenians] fell upon them and did not spare
anyone, Only Meruzhan, who happened to be outside the brigade,
fled [bayc' miayn Meruzhann i tachik ji nsteal p'axch'er.
The editor p. 164 n. 1 notes that one ms. lacks "mounted
on a tachik horse".]. [g164]
A certain great military commander of
the Iranians [named] Mrhikan came with 400,000 [troops] to war
against king Arshak of Armenia. But the Armenian troops, together
with their general Vasak were defiant [zork'n Hayoc' xroxtac'eal]
and attacked like ferocious lions. They killed the Iranian troops,
including Mrhikan. But on this occasion too, Meruzhan fled. [g165]
For thirty-four years the country of
Armenia did battle with the king of Iran, and after this, both
sides grew weary, defeated, forsaken, and exhausted, And [the
naxarars] began to leave the banak of the Armenian
king [Ew sksan sorsorel gnal i banaken Hayoc' t'agaworin],
they abandoned their king Arshak. The grandee nobility began this
departure. The first to rebell against king Arshak of Armenia
and to go before king Shapuh of Iran were:
the bdeashx of Aghjnik',
the Noshirakan bdeashx,
Mahkertan,
Nihorakan,
Dassentrei,
and all the naxararut'iwn of
Aghjnik', and the force and the tun of [174] of the tohm
of the Aghjnik' area. They made a wall in a place called Joray,
they put doors, and separated their land from the Armenians [ew
parisp acein i Hayoc' kuse or Jorayn koch'en, druns dnein. ew
zatuc'in ziwreanc' ashxarhn i Hayoc'].
Then [the following individuals] and
those near and about them all rebelled from Arshak, king of Armenia,
and went before king Shapuh of Iran:
the bdeashx of Gugark',
the ter of the district of Koghb,
the ter of Gardmanajor.
[Also] rebelling from king Arshak of
Armenia were:
the secure district of Arjax,'
the secure district of Tmorik',
and the secure land of Korduk',
and then the lord of the district of
Korduk' went before the king of Iran [apa ew ter gawarhin Korduac'
ch'ogaw...In the list immediately preceding, the text speaks of
amur ashxarhn Kordeac'].
[175] After this the personal principality
of the tun of the Armenian king, in the land of Atrpayakan
rebelled from the king of Armenia, [g166] the Marac' land withdrew,
the Kazbic' land withdrew [Yet aysorik apstambeac' i t'agaworen
Hayoc' ew jerhin ishxanut'eann tann Hayoc' t'agaworin, or er zAtrpayakan
ashxarhawn, yets ekac' i t'agaworen Hayoc' amur ashxarhn Marac'.
yets ekac' yark'ayen Hayoc' ew ashxarhn Kazbic']. Saghamut,
ter of Anjit and with him the prince of Greater Cop'k'
abandoned the king of Armenia and went to the Byzantine emperor.
Those remaining in the interior of the land [Mijnashxarhn mnac'ealk'n]
wavered [in allegiance] from the king, did not want to heed him
or do anything he wanted. And the kingdom was greatly debased
[Ew gjjec'aw t'agaworut'iwnn mecapes] .
Vahan, brother of sparapet Vasak,
of the Mamikonean tohm, fell for the enticing words of
his nephew (sister's son) Meruzhan Arcruni. He too rebelled from
king Arshak of Armenia and went before Shapuh, king of Iran. He
complied with [Shapuh's] wishes and apostasized the Christianity
which he had held during his life, agreeing to revere the faith
of magianism, that is, to worship the fire, water, and sun, and
to apostasize the Christianity into which he had been born. He
complied with the king's wishes and furthermore increased the
accusational aggrevation against king Arshak of Armenia and against
his own tanuter Vasak. Recalling the death of Vardan, he
[176] remenbered: "He died because of you". Thereafter
Vahan became dear to king Shapuh who gave him his sister Ormizduxt
for a wife. He bestowed upon him barj and patiw
which had been theirs ancestrally [or noc'un leal er naxneac'],
and the king made him his intimate son-in-law [p'esa, here
meaning "brother-in-law"]. He exalted him among his
troops and promised to give him very great properties [ew xostac'aw
nma keans mecamecs arhnel]. After this, the number of Armenians
began to decline.
Then people of all the land of the authority
of the Armenian kingdom assembled and came to the great archbishop
of Armenia, Nerses. [They were]:
the grandee naxarars,
lieutenants,
governors,
lords of districts,
officials,
and the dasapets of the shinakans
[mecameck' naxarark', kusakalk' koghmakalk' gawarhateark' gorcakalk'
ew dasapetk' shinakanac'].
[177] They assembled in one place and
began speaking with Nerses, saying: [g167] "You yourself
know, lord, that this is thirty years that our king Arshak has
given us not one year's rest from warfare. We have wiped the sweat
from our brows with sword, sabre, dart, and lance tips [srov
ew suserok' ew i slak's ew i tegs nizakac']. We are unable
to withstand it anymore, nor are we able to fight anymore. It
is better that we leave [Arshak] and go to the king of Iran as
our comrades who are serving him, have done. We shall do this,
because we are unable to fight further. If king Arshak would fight
with Shapuh, let him fight with Vasak and with Andovk his father-in-law.
But hereafter none of us from the land of Armenia will go to his
assistance. Let him fight or not as he feels the need, we are
leaving him and do not care".
Now the blessed Nerses spoke with them
as was necessary, saying: "Think well and remember the Lord's
commandment about unity, that servants should obey their lords.
You are all testifying that you will leave the Arsacid azg.
Because of them, some of you became lords of districts, some the
grandees of lands, some the lords of very senior awan villages
and treasures and of diverse dastakerts [omank' i jenj
gawarhateark' lealk' i noc'anen, ew omank' mecameck' ashxarhac',
omank' awag awag awanac' geghic' ew ganjuc' teark' leal ek', ew
pespes dastakertac'n]. Although the abominable azg
of the Arsacids is guilty [178] before God the Creator, nonetheless
they supported all of you and removed you from the garbage-heap
giving some work , some patiw, some authority, some office
[sakayn zjez kec'uc'eal zamenesean ew yaghboy t'ot'ap'eal e,
zomn gorcov, zomn patuov, zomn ishxanut'eamb, zomn gorcakaut'eamb].
For although king Arshak is guilty before God and must give a
percent to his creator, and suffer vengance, nonetheless because
of God's abundant and limitless love of humanity, He has spared
him, and because of him, you.
"You, lo, want to go and serve
the pagans, to lose your life in God, to reject your bnik
lords whom God gave you, to serve foreign lords, [g168] and you
long for their godless religion. But it would be better for you
to love [God], accept and consent to Him and not to reject your
God-loving king. For though Arshak is extremely wicked, nonetheless
he is pious; though he is guilty, nonetheless he is your king.
You yourselves have said in my presence how many years it has
been that you have been fighting for yourselves, your souls, your
land, your women and children, and, what is chief of all, for
your churches, for the covenant of the faith which you have through
the name of Jesus Christ, and [you said] that the Lord has always
granted you the victory for His name. But now, in place of Christ
your creator, you want to serve the godless impieties of magianism
and to follow their clerics, abandoning our Creator and His commandments
that one must remain faithful to one's physical Iords [179] whom
He created. Perhaps the Lord God too will get angry at you and
uproot you, betray you to the hand of the pagans so that you slavishly
serve them for eternity, and [perhaps He] will never remove the
yoke of servitude from you. And if you protest to the Lord, He
will not hear you, because you yourselves entered into the service
of pagan lords and godless, ignorant men, and so will be delivered
over to pagans and hard-hearted lords. Many many evils will arise
before you and you will be unable to escape".
But those who were assembled there raised
a clamor, shouted to each other, creating commotion and crowding
and saying: "Come on, let's go each to his own place, for
we cannot heed such words". And they all dispersed to their
own tuns. [g169]
Then with great entreaties, gifts and
hrovartaks, Shapuh, the king of Iran, summoned Arshak to
him with affection so that thereafter they could make peace, great
friendship and affection between themselves. Now although king
Arshak wanted to make war, all of the troops of the land of Armenia
did not consent. So, willy-nilly, he took heart to send a hrovartak
in humility to Shapuh, king of Iran, as suited a servant to his
lord. And he sent him gifts of reconciliation.
Subsequently Shapuh, king of Iran, once
more sent to king Arshak of Armenia, saying: "If we are in
agreement with each other, come so we may see each other, and
henceforth let us be as father and son. But if you do not come
to see me, you are asking for war between us". Now Arshak
requested from him a reliable vow with an oath, so that after
that he might go to him without suspicion. In accordance with
the reliable vow[ing procedure] of the Iranian kingdom, [Shapuh]
had brought to him salt, to seal with a signet-ring bearing a
wild boar, and he sent this [Ew na et berel est orinac'n hawatarim
erdmanc' t'agaworut'eann Parsic' agh, knk'el varaz nkaragir mataneaw,
ew ygheac'] [to Arshak, saying]: "If , after receivng
this oath you still do not come, then be prepared for war".
[g170]
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