Sanesan () or Sanatruk () was the king of

Maskut The Maskut (also spelled Mazkut) were a group of Massagetaen-Sarmato-Alanian tribes located in the eastern part of the Caucasus, along the western coast of the Caspian Sea. They lived between Derbent and Shaporan, which corresponds to present-day ...

in the early 4th century. Sanesan's people, the Mazk'kut'k, have variously been identified as the

Massagetae The Massagetae or Massageteans (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ), also known as Sakā tigraxaudā (Old Persian: , "wearer of pointed caps") or Orthocorybantians (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ),: As for the term “Orthocorybantii”, this is a translati ...

or as the

Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე) ( Moschia in ancient sources), is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mossynoeci) were t ...

Life

According to both Faustus Byuzand and

Moses of Chorene Movses Khorenatsi (ca. 410–490s AD; hy, Մովսէս Խորենացի, , also written as ''Movses Xorenac‘i'' and Moses of Khoren, Moses of Chorene, and Moses Chorenensis in Latin sources) was a prominent Armenian historian from the late a ...

, when St.Grigoris arrived in the principality of Maskut (located along the northeastern

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...

i and south Dagestani shore of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

) to preach Christianity, its ruler of the local branch of

Arsacids The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conqueri ...

ordered him killed. Grigoris was trampled to death by mounted Maskut soldiers in the Vatnean Valley, near the present-day village of Nughdi 37 south of

Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It i ...

in . However, according to Faustus it was Sanesan, while Moses describes him as Sanatruk. Accorting do Murtazali Gadjiev, both Sanesan and Sanatruk are different figures, latter being a noble, former a king. According to the history of Faustus Byuzand, after death of Tiridates III and accession of

Khosrov III the Small Khosrov III the Small ( hy, Խոսրով Գ Կոտակ, ''Khosrov III Kotak''; ''Kotak'' means "little, short, small") was the king of Arsacid Armenia . Khosrov was the son and successor of King Tiridates III. Khosrov received the epithet ''K ...

to the throne, he invaded

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 ' ...

with an army of various peoples including

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

and

Alans The Alans (Latin: ''Alani'') were an ancient and medieval Iranian nomadic pastoral people of the North Caucasus – generally regarded as part of the Sarmatians, and possibly related to the Massagetae. Modern historians have connected the A ...

in 335, trying to usurp the throne. After occupying Armenia for most of a year, he was defeated and killed by the Armenian general Vatche Mamikonian. Slightly differing from Faustus and Moses,

Movses Kaghankatvatsi Movses Kaghankatvatsi ( hy, Մովսէս Կաղանկատուացի ''Movses Kaġankatvac’i''), or Movses Daskhurantsi ( ''Movses Dasxuranc’i'') is the reputed author (or authors) of a tenth-century Classical Armenian historiographical work on C ...

names the king as Sanatruk and mentions him as king of "Albanians of

Paytakaran Paytakaran ( hy, Փայտակարան, translit=Pʻaytakaran) was the easternmost province ( or ) of the Kingdom of Armenia. The province was located in the area of the lower courses of the Kura and Arax rivers, adjacent to the Caspian Sea. It ...

" as opposed to

Urnayr Urnayr (attested only as Old Armenian Ուռնայր ''Uṙnayr'') was the third Arsacid king of Caucasian Albania from approximately 350 to 375. He was the successor of Vache I (). Biography The Treaty of Nisibis in 299 between the Sasanian ...

, who was king of Albania which was located more to the north-west of Paytakaran. According to his history, the king allied with

Shapur II Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The longest-reigning monarch in Iranian history, he reigne ...

and invaded then Roman client Khosrov, taking about 30,000 soldiers with him. Kaghankatvatsi links Sanesan's killing to Vahan

Amatuni Amatuni ( hy, Ամատունի) is an ancient Armenian noble family, known from the 4th century in the canton of Artaz, between lakes Van and Urmia, with its center at Shavarshan (latter-day Maku), and subsequently also at Aragatsotn, west of ...

, another general of Khosrov. Georgian author

Zaza Aleksidze Zaza Aleksidze (, also transliterated as Zaza Alexidze; 18 October 1935 – 24 January 2023) was a Georgian historian and linguist who specialized in Armenian and Oriental studies. He is best known internationally for deciphering the Caucasian ...

tried to reconcile three versions, saying that Grigoris arrived at Sanesan's camp when he was preparing for his invasion of Armenia. He captured

in 334 and started to gather troops for invasion of Armenia later.{{Cite book, url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/319126785, title=The Caucasian Albanian palimpsests of Mt. Sinai, date=2008–2010, publisher=Brepols, others=Jost Gippert, isbn=978-2-503-53116-8, location=Turnhout, pages=xv, oclc=319126785 According to Moses of Chorene, Sanesan died near

Oshakan Oshakan ( hy, Օշական) is a major village in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia located 8 kilometers southwest from Ashtarak. It is well known to historians and pilgrims of the Armenian Apostolic Church as the site of the grave of Mesrop Mas ...

fortress in 336.

References

Sources

* Faustus of Byzantium, ''History of the Armenians''
Third Book
Chs 6–7. 4th-century monarchs in Asia 4th-century Iranian people az:Sanatruk 336 deaths Massagetae