Matthew of Edessa (, Matevos Uṛhayetsi; late 11th century – 1144) 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 ...

historian in the 12th century from the city of

Edessa Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...

(, ''Uṛha''). Matthew was the superior

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of Karmir Vank' (Red Convent), near the town of Kaysun, east of

Marash Marash (Armenian: Մարաշ), officially Kahramanmaraş () and historically Germanicea (Greek: Γερμανίκεια), is a city in the Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean Region of Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş ...

(Germanicia), the former seat of Baldwin of Boulogne. He relates much about the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia, the early

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

, and the battles between Byzantines and

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...

for the possession of parts of northern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

and eastern

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Bartikyan, Hrach. ''«Մատթեոս Ուռհայեցի»'' (Matteos Urhayetsi).

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. vii. Yerevan, Armenian SSR:

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 ...

, 1981, p. 289.

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 ...

authors such as

Joannes Zonaras Joannes or John Zonaras ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Ζωναρᾶς ; 1070 – 1140) was a Byzantine Greek historian, chronicler and theologian who lived in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey). Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held th ...

and

Anna Comnena Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

were well versed in their particular spheres, but uninformed regarding Edessa and neighboring lands which are treated by Matthew.

Biography

A man of strong convictions, Matthew was born in

sometime in the second half of the 11th century and was a member 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 ...

. He was a determined opponent of the Greek church as well as the

Latin church , native_name_lang = la , image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran , caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...

. Matthew was especially bitter against

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

settlers, whose avaricious and imperious rule and ingratitude he condemns in his work. He was probably slain during the siege of Edessa by Zengi,

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...

in 1144.

''Chronicle''

Matthew's work, ''Zhamanakagrutyun'' ( hy, Ժամանակագրութիւն), or ''Chronicle'', which he probably began writing in 1113 and completed before 1140, is written in a dialect of

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based ...

and is rather chronological, covering two centuries from the second half of the tenth through the second half of the twelfth. In an article published in 1971 by Armenian academician Levon Khachikyan, the author established that one of the sources Matthew used to write his work was that of an 11th-century ''

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 ...

'' named Hakob Sanahnetsi (Hakob of

Sanahin Sanahin () is a village in the northern province of Lori in Armenia, now considered part of the city of Alaverdi (a cable car connects it with Alaverdi). The village is notable for its Sanahin Monastery complex, founded in the 10th century and ...

). He remains the only primary source of certain information about the political and ecclesiastical events of his time and area. The literary and historical knowledge of Matthew was limited, and some of his chronological data is disputed by modern scholars. Matthew was also a fervent Armenian patriot, lamenting the martyrdom of his people and exalting their heroic deeds. To him, scholars and readers are indebted for the record of two documents of importance — a letter from the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

John I Tzimisces John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

, to Bagratuni king

Ashot III Ashot III ( hy, Աշոտ Գ) was a king of Armenia, ruling the medieval kingdom of Armenia from 952/53–77. Known as Ashot III the Merciful (Աշոտ Գ Ողորմած) and acknowledged by foreign rulers as the ''Shahanshah'' (king of kings) o ...

and a discourse delivered in the cathedral of

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

, in the presence of the Emperor Constantine X Ducas by

Gagik II Gagik II ( hy, Գագիկ Բ; c. 1025 - May 5/November 24, 1079) was the last Armenian king of the Bagratuni dynasty. Known as Gagik II King of Ani ( Ani being the capital of the kingdom at the time) he was enthroned as Gagik II and ruled for a br ...

, the exiled Bagratuni king, concerning the doctrinal divergence between the Greek and

churches. According to some scholars, Matthew was intolerant towards both Greeks and Latins,See Runciman. ''History of the Crusades'', p. 334. as well as unsympathetic towards

Syrians Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...

, judging by allusions made by Abul-Faraj at a later date.

Notes

External links

Mattʿēos Uṙhayecʿi and His Chronicle: History as Apocalypse in a Crossroads of Cultures
/ Tara L. Andrews. — BRILL, 2016. {{Authority control Crusade literature 12th-century Armenian historians 1144 deaths Year of birth unknown