Arakel Davrizhetsi or Arakel of Tabriz (; 1590s–1670) was a 17th-century Armenian

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

and clergyman from

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

. His ''History'' is an important and reliable source for the histories of the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

and Ottoman empires, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia for the period 1602–1662.

Background

Arakel was born in Tabriz (''Davrēzh'' in Armenian) in the 1590s. He received his theological training at the seminary at Echmiadzin, the seat of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, where he was ordained 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 ...

'' (celibate priest/

archimandrite The title archimandrite ( gr, ἀρχιμανδρίτης, archimandritēs), used in Eastern Christianity, originally referred to a superior abbot (''hegumenos'', gr, ἡγούμενος, present participle of the verb meaning "to lead") who ...

). In 1636 he was appointed abbot of the monastery of Hovhannavank Monastery․ He was later sent on various mission to Isfahan, Urfa, Aleppo, Jerusalem, and Athens as a nuncio of

Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...

Pilippos. Within his life he was already called "the Historian Arakel" and had a reputation of being a very competent and inquisitive person. In 1662, he completed his ''History'', also known as the ''Book of Histories'' (''Girkʻ Patmuteantsʻ''), a unique work on the history of Armenia and adjacent countries and peoples in the seventeenth century. He witnessed many events and described them in the book. Notably, his work contains an account of the mass deportation of Armenians under the Safavid shah Abbas. Arakel’s work is Arakel Davrizhetsi was the first Armenian historian whose work was printed. In 1669, Arakel's ''Book of Histories'' was published in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. Arakel Davrizhetsi died in 1670 at

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

and was buried, as he desired, in the cemetery of

's Gayane monastery.

References

Sources

* * Aṛakʻel Davrizhetsi, ''Patmutʻyun'', 1988, Yerevan: Sovetakan Grogh. Writers from Tabriz Persian Armenians Ethnic Armenian historians Safavid historians 1590s births 1670 deaths 17th-century Iranian historians 17th-century Armenian writers 17th-century writers of Safavid Iran {{iran-historian-stub