Anak Anak (; he, , homophone to a word for "giant, long neck, necklace"; ) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. His descendants are mentioned in narratives concerning the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. According to the Book of Numbers, Anak was a ...

the Parthian, also known as Anak Pahlavi (flourished 3rd century, died 258), was a

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

n noble who lived during the time of

Arsacid Armenia The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք '; la, Armenia Maior), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC ...

Biography

Anak was an Armenian Parthian nobleman, who was a prince said to be related to the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia or was from the

House of Suren House of Suren or Surenas.. (Parthian: 𐭎𐭅𐭓𐭉𐭍 Surēn, Middle Persian: 𐭮𐭥𐭫𐭩𐭭) is one of two Parthian noble families explicitly mentioned by name in sources dateable to the Arsacid period.. History The head of Suren ...

, one of the seven branches of the ruling Arsacid dynasty of

Sakastan Sistān ( fa, سیستان), known in ancient times as Sakastān ( fa, سَكاستان, "the land of the Saka"), is a historical and Sistan Basin, geographical region in present-day Eastern Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan Province) and Southern A ...

. Little is known of the life of Anak. According to

Elishe Yeghishe (, , AD 410 – 475; also spelled Eghishe or Ełišē, latinized Eliseus) was an Armenian historian from the time of late antiquity, best known as the author of ''History of Vardan and the Armenian War'', a history of a fifth-centu ...

, he was the uncle of Tiridates III. He married a Parthian noblewoman called Okohe, who bore him sons. Among their children was Gregory.

Ardashir I Ardashir I (Middle Persian: 𐭠𐭥𐭲𐭧𐭱𐭲𐭥, Modern Persian: , '), also known as Ardashir the Unifier (180–242 AD), was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He was also Ardashir V of the Kings of Persis, until he founded the new emp ...

and his son,

Shapur I Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...

, incited Anak to murder King

Khosrov II of Armenia Khosrov II ( hy, Խոսրով Բ, known in Roman sources as Chosroes, died 258) was an Armenian king from Arsacid dynasty. Khosrov II was the son of Tiridates II, King of Armenia, and followed his father on the Armenian throne. He was the name ...

, promising to return his own domain as a reward. Ardashir I was alarmed by the military victories that Khosrov II with his late father,

Tiridates II of Armenia Tiridates II ( hy, Տրդատ Բ, flourished second half of the 2nd century - died 252), known in Armenian sources as Khosrov, was an Armenian Parthian Prince who served as a Roman Client King of Armenia. Tiridates II was the son and heir of the ...

had won against him, as he wanted to expand the

Sassanid Empire 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 ...

and to annex Armenia. Anak had won the trust of Khosrov II and had travelled to

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( hy, Վաղարշապատ ) is the 4th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is comm ...

. When Anak arrived in Vagharshapat he pretended to take refuge in the Armenian dominions from the persecution of Ardashir I. Anak was hospitably received in Vagharshapat by Khosrov II and then stabbed the king in the heart, also killing Khosrov's wife. Anak was furiously pursued by Armenian soldiers, until he drowned in the

Aras River , az, Araz, fa, ارس, tr, Aras The Aras (also known as the Araks, Arax, Araxes, or Araz) is a river in the Caucasus. It rises in eastern Turkey and flows along the borders between Turkey and Armenia, between Turkey and the Nakhchivan excl ...

Family

The Armenian army and nobles were outraged by the death of the reigning King and in turn wreaked their vengeance on the family of Anak. The only child to survive from Anak’s family was his infant son Gregory, who was taken to

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

by his former caretakers Sopia and Yevtagh, who had escaped the slaughter of Anak’s family. Ardashir I took possession of Armenia for himself and it became a part of his empire. Troops loyal to Khosrov II, had his son, Tiridates III, taken to

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 ...

for protection where Tiridates III was raised and his daughter Khosrovidkuht was taken to be raised in

Caesarea Mazaca Caesarea ( /ˌsɛzəˈriːə, ˌsɛsəˈriːə, ˌsiːzəˈriːə/; el, Καισάρεια, Kaisareia) also known historically as Mazaca ( el, Μάζακα) was an ancient city in what is now Kayseri, Turkey. In Hellenistic and Roman times, the ...

. The foster parents of Khosrovidukht were Awtay, a nobleman from the family of the

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 ...

, and Awtay’s wife, a noblewoman whose name is unknown, who was from the family of the Slkunik.Dodgeon, ''The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226-363'', p.270

References

{{reflist, 2

Sources

* H. Hart Milman & J. Murdock, ''The History of Christianity, from the birth of Christ to the abolition of paganism in the Roman Empire'' (Google eBook), Harper & Brothers, 1841 * Agat’angeghos, ''History of the Armenians'', SUNY Press, 1976 * B. Eghiayean, ''Heroes of Hayastan: a dramatic history novel of Armenia'', Armenian National Fund, 1993 * M. H. Dodgeon & S. N. C. Lieu, comp. & ed. ''The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226-363: a documentary history'', Routledge, 1994 * J. G. Ghazarian. ''The Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia During the Crusades: the Integration of Cilician Armenians with the Latins, 1080-1393'', Routledge, 2000 * M. Chahin, ''The Kingdom of Armenia: a History'', Routledge, 2001 * R. G. Hovannisian, ''The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century'', Palgrave Macmillan, 2004 * A. Terian, ''Patriotism and Piety in Armenian Christianity: the Early Panegyrics on Saint Gregory'', St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2005 * V. M. Kurkjian, ''A History of Armenia'', Indo-European Publishing, 2008 Arsacid dynasty of Armenia 258 deaths Year of birth unknown House of Suren 3rd-century Iranian people