Shushanik (Shushanika, Vardandukht) Շուշանիկ, ka, შუშანიკი; c. 440 – 475was a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Armenian woman who was tortured to death by her husband Varsken in the town of Tsurtavi,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Since she died defending her right to profess Christianity, she is regarded as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

. Her

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

is described in her confessor

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

’s hagiographic work, the oldest extant work of Georgian language literature. The hagiography details Shushanik's extensive resistance to imprisonment, isolation, torture and cruelty. Shushanik was a daughter of the Armenian military commander

Vardan Mamikonian Vardan Mamikonian ( hy, Վարդան Մամիկոնեան; – 451) was an Armenian military leader who led a rebellion against Sasanian Iran in 450–451. He was the head of the Mamikonian noble family and holder of the hereditary title of ...

and married the

Mihranid The Mihranids were an Iranian family which ruled several regions of Caucasus from 330 to 821. They claimed to be of Sasanian Persian descent but were of Parthian origin. History The dynasty was founded when a certain Mihran, a distant relative ...

ruler (''

pitiakhsh Bidaxsh (''bidakhsh'', also spelled Pitiakhsh; in Roman sources ''Vitaxa'') was a title of Iranian origin attested in various languages from the 1st to the 8th-century. It has no identical word in English, but it is similar to a margrave, toparch an ...

'') Varsken, son of Arshusha II. Varsken was a defiant vassal of Vakhtang I Gorgasali, King of

Kartli Kartli ( ka, ქართლი ) is a historical region in central-to-eastern Georgia traversed by the river Mtkvari (Kura), on which Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, is situated. Known to the Classical authors as Iberia, Kartli played a crucial rol ...

(Iberia), and took a pro- Persian position, renouncing

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and adopting

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheisti ...

. He killed his spouse after she refused to submit to his order to abandon her Christian faith. Varsken himself was put to death by King Vakhtang in 482. Shushanik has been canonized by the

Georgian Orthodox Church The Apostolic Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Georgia ( ka, საქართველოს სამოციქულო ავტოკეფალური მართლმადიდებელი ეკლესია, tr), commonly ...

and is venerated by the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context do ...

is celebrated on

October 17 Events Pre-1600 * 690 – Empress Wu Zetian establishes the Zhou Dynasty of China. *1091 – London tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London. *1346 – The English capture King Davi ...

in Georgia and Tuesday between September 20–26 in Armenia.

References

External links

Martyrdom of Shushanik
440s births 475 deaths Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church Saints of Georgia (country) Late Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian martyrs Mamikonian family 5th-century women Christians in the Sasanian Empire People executed by the Sasanian Empire Women from the Sasanian Empire Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire {{saint-stub