Hrach Mikayeli Bartikyan ( hy, Հրաչ Միքայելի Բարթիկյան; russian: Грaч Миха́йлович Бартикян, also transliterated as Hratch Bart'ikyan; July 7, 1927–August 17, 2011) was an

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 ...

academician and specialist on

Byzantine 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

Armenian studies Armenian studies or Armenology ( hy, հայագիտություն, ) is a field of humanities covering Armenian history, language and culture. The emergence of modern Armenian studies is associated with the foundation of the Catholic Mechitarist o ...

. The author of over 200 books, articles and monographs, he was a full member of the

Armenian Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետության գիտությունների ազգային ակադեմիա, ՀՀ ԳԱԱ, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri az ...

and headed its Medieval Studies department. He was also a member of several academic institutions, including the Greek Academy of Sciences, the Tiberian Academy of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, the Byzantine Studies Association of Greece, and is an honorary member of the Greek Civilization Establishment.

Life

Education

Born in

Athens, Greece Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Bartikyan received his education at a Greek '' gymnasium'' and graduated from there in 1945. A year later, his family repatriated to the

Soviet Republic of Armenia The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

. He applied and was granted admission to

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; hy, Երևանի Պետական Համալսարան, ԵՊՀ, ''Yerevani Petakan Hamalsaran''), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919 ...

. Bartikyan received his degree in history in 1953 and subsequently found work at the Institute of History at the

. Anon. ''«Բարթիկյան, Հրաչ Միքայելի»'' (Bartikyan, Hrach Mikayeli).

Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia The ''Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia'' ( hy, Հայկական սովետական հանրագիտարան, ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) publishing house was established in 1967 as a department of the Institute of History of the Armeni ...

. vol ii. Yerevan:

, 1976, p. 316. In 1972, he received his ''

Doktor nauk Doctor of Sciences ( rus, доктор наук, p=ˈdoktər nɐˈuk, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; uk, доктор наук; bg, доктор на науките; be, доктар навук) is a higher doctoral degree in the Russi ...

''.

Career

Bartikyan's studies have tended to focus on the social movements and political and cultural relations between Armenians and 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 ...

during the Middle Ages. A number of his articles have centered on the

Paulician Paulicianism ( Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...

and

Tondrakian Tondrakians ( hy, Թոնդրակեաններ) were members of an anti-feudal, heretical Christian sect that flourished in medieval Armenia between the early 9th century and 11th century and centered on the district of Tondrak, north of Lake Van ...

heretical sects and on the level of Armenian influence found in the Byzantine epic poem,

Digenis Acritas ''Digenes Akritas'', ) is a variant of ''Akritas''. Sometimes it is further latinized as ''Acritis'' or ''Acritas''. ( el, Διγενῆς Ἀκρίτας, ) is the most famous of the Acritic songs and is often regarded as the only surviving epic ...

). In the 1960s, he initiated a translation project which aimed to translate important medieval Byzantine sources that related information about Armenia and Armenians (known under the entire series name of ''Otar Aghbyurnere Hayastani yev hayeri masin'', ''Օտար աղբյուրները Հայաստանի և հայերի մասին'') into Armenian. From 1967 onwards, Bartikyan translated and wrote the introductions of select parts of

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

's (''The Wars of Justinian'', 1967; ''The Secret History'', 1987),

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Kar ...

's (''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'', 1970),

John Scylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

's (''Synopsis of Histories'', 1979) and

Theophanes the Confessor Theophanes the Confessor ( el, Θεοφάνης Ὁμολογητής; c. 758/760 – 12 March 817/818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking u ...

's (''Chronicle'', 1984) histories. Bartikyan also translated the twelfth century chronicle of the Armenian chronicler

Matthew of Edessa Matthew of Edessa (, Matevos Uṛhayetsi; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa (, ''Uṛha''). Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank' (Red Convent), near the town of Kaysun ...

from classical to modern Eastern Armenian. In addition to being the author of several articles and chapters in the eight-volume work ''History of the Armenian People'' (1970-1984), he wrote numerous entries on notable Byzantine and late medieval Armenian political and military figures, events, regions and cities in the 12-volume

(1974-1986). Along with fellow Soviet Byzantine scholars such as

Alexander Kazhdan Alexander Petrovich Kazhdan (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Кажда́н; 3 September 1922 – 29 May 1997) was a Soviet-American Byzantinist. Among his publications was the three-volume ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', a comp ...

, Bartikyan regularly attended and delivered papers at the International Byzantine Congresses. In April 2005, Bartikyan was awarded the Armenian President's Prize, which is "granted to successful candidates of art, culture and science," in the category of humanities.THE PRESIDENT'S PRIZE NOMINEES
Hayastan All Armenian Fund. Retrieved March 14, 2009.

Selected publications

* ''Источники для изучения истории павликианского движения''. Yerevan, Armenian SSR:

, 1961. * "Замeтки o Византийскoм эпoce o Дигeнce Aкpитe." ''Византийский временник'', т. 25, 1964. * "La généalogie du Magistros Bagarat, Catépan de l'Orient, et des Kékauménos." ''

Revue des Études Arméniennes ''Revue des Études Arméniennes'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles relating to Classical and medieval Armenian history, art history, philology, linguistics, and literature.Patma-Banasirakan Handes ''Patma-Banasirakan Handes'' ( hy, Պատմա-Բանասիրական Հանդես (ՊԲՀ, ''PBH''); russian: Историко-филологический журнал, ''Istoriko-Filologicheskii Zhurnal''; "Historical-Philological Journal") is a ...

''. № 2 (49), 1970. * ''Hellenismos kai Armenia''. Athens: Hidryma Goulandre-Chorn, 1991. *"Armenia and Armenians in the Byzantine Epic," in ''Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London)''. David Ricks (ed.) Brookfield, Vt.: Variorum, 1993 . * ''Պարթենիոս Աթենացու Պաղեստինի Կեսարիայի մետրոպոլիտի պատմություն հունաց և հայոց տարաձայնության'' (''The History of the Controversy between Greeks and Armenians written by Parthenios of Athens, the Metropolitan of Caesarea of Palestine''). Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 2005.

Notes

External links

Personal Data of Hrach Bartikyan on the AAS Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartikyan, Hrach Soviet historians 20th-century Armenian historians Greek people of Armenian descent Armenian Byzantinists Armenian academics 1927 births 2011 deaths Writers from Athens Scholars of Byzantine history Yerevan State University alumni