Ghazar P'arpec'i
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Ghazar Parpetsi ( hy, Ղազար Փարպեցի, translit=Łazar P῾arpec῾i) was a 5th to 6th century Armenian chronicler and historian. He had close ties with the powerful
Mamikonian Mamikonian or Mamikonean ( Classical hy, Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Mamigonian'') was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th c ...
noble family and is most prominent for writing a history of Armenia, ''History of Armenia'', sometime in the early sixth century.


Life

Ghazar was born in the village of Parpi (near the town of Ashtarak in Armenia, then under Sasanian rule), and was raised by a princess of the Mamikonian family. Melik-Bakhshyan, Stepan. ''«Ղազար Փարպեցի»'' (Ghazar Parpetsi). Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. vol. vii. Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1981, pp. 19–20. Owing to the close ties he held with the Mamikonian family, following the defeat of the Armenians at the battle of Avarayr in 451, Ghazar moved to the Mamikonian Prince Ashusah's castle in Gugark, where he received his primary education. Studying under the auspices of Aghan Artstruni, he befriended Vahan Mamikonian; he was an excellent student and from 465 to 470 he attended school in Constantinople, learning new languages, studying religion, literature, and classical
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
.Hacikyan, Agop Jack, Gabriel Basmajian, Nourhan Ouzounian and Edward S. Franchuk. ''The Heritage of Armenian Literature: The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age, vol. 1''. Detroit: Wayne State University, 2000, . Returning to Armenia, Ghazar busied himself with educational and spiritual activities in the town of
Shirak Shirak or Širak may refer to: Places *Shirak Province, administrative division of Armenia *Shirak, Armenia, village in Shirak Province, Armenia *Shanbarak, village in Qazvin Province, Iran, formerly known as Shīrak *Shirag, village in South K ...
, then part of the domains of the
Kamsarakan Kamsarakan ( hy, Կամսարական) was an Armenian noble family that was an offshoot of the House of Karen, also known as the Karen-Pahlav. The Karens were one of the Seven Great Houses of Iran and were of Parthian origin. In the Byzantine-S ...
family. From 484 to 486, he lived in Syunik until Vahan Mamikonian, who had been recently appointed the head of
marzpan Armenia Marzbān, or Marzpān (Middle Persian transliteration: mrzwpn, derived from ''marz'' "border, boundary" and the suffix ''-pān'' "guardian"; Modern Persian: ''Marzbān'') were a class of margraves, warden of the marches, and by extension militar ...
, invited him to oversee the reconstruction of a monastery being built in Vagharshapat. Vahan appointed Ghazar an abbot at the monastery, although the education that Ghazar had received as well as his educational and spiritual policies did not suit well with the more conservative elements of the church. Accusing him of heresy, he was forced out of the monastery in 490, taking up residence in the city of Amida in
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
. According to Armenian tradition, it is said that Ghazar was buried near the ruins of an Armenian church in Parpi Canyon, south of a village named Lazrev in Armenia.


Works

Ghazar is best known for writing the ''History of Armenia''. After returning from Amida in 493, Vahan Mamikonian asked his friend to write a new history of Armenia, starting from where historian Faustus of Byzantium left off; that is, with the reign of king Arsaces II (Arshak II). ''History'' is composed of three parts: the first is about Armenian history from the mid-fourth century and life in Armenia under Sasanian rule until the deaths of Sahak Partev and Mesrop Mashtots in the mid-fifth century; the second concerns the events leading up to the battle of Avarayr as well as its subsequent consequences; and the third follows up on the Vartanank wars and the 484 signing of the
Nvarsak Treaty The Treaty of Nvarsak (also spelled Nuarsak) was signed between the Armenian rebel leader Vahan Mamikonian and the representatives of the Sasanian King of Kings (''shahanshah'') Balash () at Nvarsak in 484. Overview The Nvarsak Treaty was concl ...
. The main sources he uses in ''History'' are the primary works of other historians, Agathangelos, Koryun, and Faustus, although he apparently made use of other historians' works, including
Eusebius of Caesarea 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 Christia ...
's '' Historia Ecclesiastica''.


Translations


English translations

The ''History of Armenia'', translated into English by Robert Bedrosian (1980).Archive.org
/ref> The ''History of Armenia'', translated into English by Robert W. Thomson (1991).


References


Sources

*


External links


Translator's Preface to the English translation of History of the Armenians
– ''mirror if main site unavailable'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghazar Parpetsi 5th-century Armenian historians 6th-century Armenian historians Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire