Aristakes Lastivertsi (; 1002 – 1080) was a medieval

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

historian and chronicler. The author of many works, Aristakes' most valuable contribution in the field of the historiography was his ''History: About the Sufferings Visited Upon by Foreign Peoples Living Around Us'' (''Պատմություն: մեր շրջապատի այլացեղ ազգերից մեզ հասած արհավիրքների մասին''), which described

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

's relations with the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and the devastating

Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...

invasions of the 11th century and the torture of Christians by the Seljuks.

Biography

Once thought to have been born in a village with either the name Lastivard or Lastivert, scholars now believe that Aristakes was born in a village, possibly near the city of Artsn, called Lastiver. Details about his life are fragmented. As a

vardapet A vardapet or vartabed ( hy, վարդապետ, in Western Armenian or aɾda'pεtin Eastern Armenian) is a highly educated archimandrite in the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church traditions who holds a Doctorate in Theol ...

, he was well versed in Christian theology and knew

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and probably several other languages. He wrote his history from 1072 to 1079, without the support of a patron, recounting contemporary history of which he was an eyewitness. Composed of 25 chapters and a unique colophon, Aristakes describes the Seljuk invasions in 1047-48 through the capture of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

in 1064 and the Battle of Manzikert (1071).Manukyan. "Introduction", pp. x-xi.

References

Lastivertli Aristakes'in Tarihi, Bizans ve Türkler Arasında Ermeniler, çev: Engin Öztürk, Istanbul: Urzeni, 2020.

External links

Full online translation of Aristakes' History
by Dr. Robert Bedrosian

- ''mirror if main site is unavailable''
Aristakes Lastiveratsi at the Digital Library Of Armenian Literature
11th-century Armenian historians 1002 births 1080 deaths {{armenia-historian-stub