Tovma Artsruni ( hy, Թովմա Արծրունի; also known in English-language historiography as Thomas Artsruni; precise birth date and date of death unknown) was a ninth-century to tenth-century

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 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 st ...

and author of the ''History of the House of Artsrunik'' ( hy, Պատմություն Արծրունյաց Տան). Contrary to the given title, the four-volume work not only relates the history of

Artsruni The Artsruni ( hy, Արծրունի; also transliterated as Ardzruni) were an ancient noble (princely) family of Armenia. Background and history The Artsruni's claimed descent from Sennacherib, King of Assyria (705 BC–681 BC). Although ...

royal family, of which he was a member of, and its origins near

Lake Van Lake Van ( tr, Van Gölü; hy, Վանա լիճ, translit=Vana lič̣; ku, Gola Wanê) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the far east of Turkey, in the provinces of Van and Bitlis in the Armenian highlands. It is a saline soda lake ...

but also comprehensively covers the history of Armenia. Vardanyan, Vrezh M. ''«Թովմա Արծրունի»'' (Tovma Artsruni).

Soviet Armenian 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. iv. 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 ...

, 1978, p. 201.

''History of the House of Artsrunik''

Tovma began writing ''History'' sometime in the 870s. Much like other histories composed by Armenian historians, the first volume starts at the beginning of the Armenian nation and ends in the middle of the fifth century. However, Tovma's most valuable contributions are found in the second and third volumes which accurately detail Armenian life under the rule of the

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

Caliphates A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

and in particular the 851 Arab military expedition led by the Turkic general

Bugha al-Kabir Bugha al-Kabir (), also known as Bugha al-Turki (), was a 9th-century Khazar general who served the Abbasid Caliphate. He was of Khazar origin, and was acquired along with his sons as a military slave (''ghulam'') by al-Mu'tasim in 819/820.Gordo ...

, its subsequent consequences, and the establishment of the independent Bagratid state north of Lake Van. Tovma was a relative of the king of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

Gagik I, and wrote a detailed account in ''History'' about the famous palace and church Gagik constructed on Akhtamar Island. The precise date that Tovma completed his work is unknown although some historians have determined that it was composed sometime after 905. Sebeos. ''The Armenian History Attributed to Sebeos''. Trans. and edited by Robert W. Thomson, James Howard-Johnston, and Tim Greenwood. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1999, p. xxxv, n. 23. . Tovma's work ends with an incomplete 29th chapter yet several unknown authors (referred to as "Anonymous"; hy, Անանուն) took it upon themselves to continue ''History'' down to the 1370s and added an appendix and colophon. Tovma's ''History'' was first published in 1852 in

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 Armenian and was subsequently translated into French by

Marie-Félicité Brosset Marie-Félicité Brosset (24 January 1802 – 3 September 1880) was a French orientalist who specialized in Georgian and Armenian studies. He worked mostly in Russia. Early life and first works Marie-Félicité Brosset was born in Paris in ...

in 1862.

''History of the House of Artsrunik''

References

Further reading