The ''History of Armenia'' ( hy, Պատմություն Հայոց, ''Patmut'yun Hayots'') attributed to

Movses Khorenatsi 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 ...

is an early account of

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 ' ...

, covering the legendary origins of the

Armenian people Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

as well as Armenia's interaction with

Sassanid The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

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

Arsacid 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 conquer ...

empires down to the 5th century. It contains unique material on ancient Armenian legends, and such information on pagan (pre-Christian) Armenian as has survived. It also contains plentiful data on the history and culture of contiguous countries. The book had an enormous impact on Armenian historiography. In the text, the author self-identifies as a disciple of Saint Mesrop, and states that he composed his work at the request of Isaac (Sahak), the Bagratuni prince who fell in battle in 482.

Authorship

Scholars have generally accepted Movses's History as an authentic script. For example, Gibbon in his ''

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' is a six-volume work by the English historian Edward Gibbon. It traces Western civilization (as well as the Islamic and Mongolian conquests) from the height of the Roman Empire to th ...

'' (ch. 32) accepted the 5th century date of Movses, on grounds that "his local information, his passions and his prejudices, are strongly expressive of a native and contemporary."Robert K. Thomson, "Armenian Literary Culture through the Eleventh Century", in R.G. Hovahanissian (ed.), ''Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times'' (Volume 1, 2004)

The book is divided into three parts: * "Genealogy of Armenia Major", encompassing the history of Armenia from the beginning down to

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

; * "History of the middle period of our ancestors", extending from Alexander to the death of

Gregory the Illuminator Gregory the Illuminator ( Classical hy, Գրիգոր Լուսաւորիչ, reformed: Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, ''Grigor Lusavorich'';, ''Gregorios Phoster'' or , ''Gregorios Photistes''; la, Gregorius Armeniae Illuminator, cu, Svyas ...

and the reign of King Terdat (330); * the third part brings the history down to the overthrow of the Arshakuni Dynasty (428); and * the fourth part brings the history down to the time of the Emperor

Zeno Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...

(474-491), during this time there were three wars: a. the Armenian Independence War headed by Vasak Syuni (450), b. the civilian war between Vardan Mamikonyan and Vasak Syuni (autumn of 450 - May 451), inspired by Romans, Persians and Armenian clergy, c. the 2nd independence war headed by Sahak Bagratuni (who ordered Movses Khorenatsi to write the "history of Armenia") and then by Vahan Mamikonyan (after the death of Sahak Bagratuni in 482).

Patriarchs

This first book contains 32 chapters, from Adam to Alexander the Great. List of the Armenian patriarchs according to Moses: * Hayk (Haig) (grandson of

Tiras Tiras ( he, ''Ṯīrās'') is, according to the Book of Genesis () and 1 Chronicles, the seventh and youngest son of Japheth in the Hebrew Bible. A brother of biblical Javan (associated with the Greek people), its geographical locale is sometime ...

), Armenak (or Aram), Aramais, Amassia, Gegham, Harma, Aram * Ara Geghetsik, Ara Kardos, Anushavan, Paret, Arbag, Zaven, Varnas, Sour, Havanag *Vashtak, Haikak, Ampak, Arnak, Shavarsh, Norir, Vestam, Kar, Gorak, Hrant, Endzak, Geghak *Horo, Zarmair, Perch, Arboun, Hoy, Houssak, Kipak, Skaiordi These cover the 24th to 9th centuries BC in Moses' chronology, indebted to the ''

Chronicon In historiography, a ''chronicon'' is a type of chronicle or annals. Examples are: * ''Chronicon'' (Eusebius) * ''Chronicon'' (Jerome) *'' Chronicon Abbatiae de Evesham'' *''Chronicon Burgense'' *'' Chronicon Ambrosianum'' *'' Chronicon Compostellan ...

'' of

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Chris ...

. There follows a list of legendary kings, covering the 8th to 4th centuries BC: *Parouyr, Hratchia, Pharnouas, Pachouych, Kornak, Phavos, Haikak II, Erouand I, Tigran I,

Vahagn Vahagn or Vahakn ( hy, Վահագն), also known as Vahagn Vishapakagh ( hy, Վահագն Վիշապաքաղ, lit=Vahagn the Dragon-reaper, label=none), is a warrior god in Armenian mythology. Scholars consider him to be either the thunder, or s ...

Aravan Aravan may refer to: * Aravan, Kyrgyzstan, a large village in Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan * Aravan District, a district of Osh Region, Kyrgyzstan *Aravan or Aravansay, a river in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan * Aravan (legendary), a legendary ruler of 5th ...

, Nerseh, Zareh, Armog, Bagam, Van, Vahé. These gradually enter historicity with Tigran I (6th century BC), who is also mentioned in the

Cyropaedia The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of Soc ...

of Xenophon (Tigranes Orontid, traditionally 560-535 BC; Vahagn 530-515 BC), but Aravan to Vahé are again otherwise unknown. :chapter 1: letter to Sahak :chapter 5: from Noah to Abraham and Belus :chapters 10-12: about Hayk :chapter 13: war against the

Medes The Medes ( Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, ...

:chapter 14: war against Assyria, 714 BC :chapters 15-16: Ara and

Semiramis ''Samīrāmīs'', hy, Շամիրամ ''Šamiram'') was the semi-legendary Lydian- Babylonian wife of Onnes and Ninus, who succeeded the latter to the throne of Assyria, according to Movses Khorenatsi. Legends narrated by Diodorus Siculus, who dr ...

:chapters 17-19: Semiramis flees from

Zoroaster Zoroaster,; fa, زرتشت, Zartosht, label= Modern Persian; ku, زەردەشت, Zerdeşt also known as Zarathustra,, . Also known as Zarathushtra Spitama, or Ashu Zarathushtra is regarded as the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. He is ...

to Armenia and is killed by her son. :chapter 20: Ara Kardos and Anushavan :chapter 21: Paruyr, first king of Armenia at the time of Ashurbanipal :chapter 22: kings from Pharnouas to Tigran :chapter 23:

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...

and his sons :chapters 24-30: about Tigran I :chapter 31: descendants of Tigran down to Vahé, who is killed in resistance against

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

:chapter 32: Hellenic wars

Middle Period (332 BC - AD 330)

92 chapters, from

Tiridates III of Armenia Tiridates III ( Armenian: Գ ''Trdat III''; – c. 330), also known as Tiridates the Great ( hy, Տրդատ Մեծ ''Trdat Mets''), or Tiridates IV, was the Armenian Arsacid king from c.298 to c. 330. In 301, Tiridates proclaimed Christiani ...

Arsacid period 330-428

68 chapters, from the death of Tiridates III to

Editions and translations

Under Soviet rule the book was published many times. * R. W. Thomson, English translation, 1978 (Harvard, ). *G. Kh. Sargsyan, Russian translation, 1991 (). *R. W. Thomson, English translation, rev. ed. 2006 (Caravan Books, {{ISBN, 978-0-88206-111-5).

References

* Robert H. Hewson, ''"The Primary History of Armenia": An Examination of the Validity of an Immemorially Transmitted Historical Tradition'', History in Africa (1975).

External links

Movses Khorenatsi, "The History of Armenia"
(in Armenian)
Movses Khorenatsi, "The History of Armenia"
(in English) Medieval literature Armenian literature History books about Armenia