Պատմություն Հայոց

by Kirakos Gandzakets'i, Կարապետ Մելիք-Օհանջանյան (Commentary by), Karapet Melik-Ohanjanyan (Commentary by)

Kirakos Gandzaketsi's History of the Armenians is a primary source for the study of the Armenian highlands in the 13th century. This lengthy work, which has survived in 65 chapters, is divided thematically into several sections. Part one is a summary of Armenian church and political history from the 4th through the 12th centuries. This section, which describes the lives and times of the heads of the Armenian Church (kat'oghikoi), is based on earlier Armenian sources, many of which have survived. The second section describes political and military events in the 12th century both in Eastern (or Caucasian) Armenia and in the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia on the Mediterranean. The next section (chapter 10), resembling the first, contains a biographical list of the kat'oghikoi of Caucasian Albania (also known as Aghwank or Aluank). In chapter 11 and subsequent chapters, Kirakos described the events of his own day: the period of the Zak'arids, the Mongol invasions and domination, and their impact on the Armenians and other peoples of the Middle East. As the author himself was aware, this was by far the most important part of his History, and he devoted much of the work to it.

426 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1270

About the author

Kirakos Gandzaketsi (Armenian: Կիրակոս Գանձակեցի) or Kirakos of Gandzak (b. circa 1200/02, d. 1271) was an Armenian historian and ecclesiastical figure of the 13th century, who authored the History of the Armenians historiographical work, which describes Armenian history from the 4th to 12th centuries up to his own time.

Notably, it also records the Mongol invasions as a primary source. In 1236, Kirakos and his teacher were taken captive by Mongol forces. During his time as a captive he acted as a secretary for the Mongols and learned the Mongolian language, which he later compiled into a list of 55 words with their Armenian translations, the first such written record of Mongolian words.

After escaping in the same year, Gandzaketsi returned to the monastery of Nor Getik (later known as Goshavank', after its founder Mkhitar Gosh), where he had received his initial education. He is said to have assumed the duties of his mentor at Nor Getik after the latter's demise in 1251. Engaged in scholarly activity for the remainder of his time, Gandzaketsi died in the autumn of 1271 and was buried in Nor Getik.

Reviews

[Ջոն (John Goolvart) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential 1950s critical study, supplied with ample commentary, of this brilliant 13th-century work. Gandzaketsi's History is a significant historiographic source chronicling the political, cultural, economic, and religious tidings of Armenia, both Great and Cilician (also Aghvank and Georgia, among other entities), but at the same it also imparts a memoir-like contemplation heavy on ethical and Christian-allegorical themes. These are obviously accentuated by Kirakos's time and place... This was written in light of the Seljuk Turkic and Mongol invasions (dubbed the 'nation of the archers') and the resulting devastation of Armenian statehood. Where it isn't documentary, autobiographical or horribly graphic, some of the passages read straight like an eschatology, and other parts serve as a guide of dos and don'ts for future generations of readers.

This edition has the original text in Classical Armenian (grabar) which was pieced together from several manuscripts, so it is not a translation but rather an aggregate purporting to be the most faithful reconstruction possible – which for the most part it is (that is, of course, save for the telltale Soviet-era mandatory lowercase for all mentions of 'God', 'Father', 'Son', and 'Holy Spirit'... Ironic, considering the context of the work). A translation into modern Eastern Armenian was published in the 1980s (excerpt). The Robert Bedrosian translation to English is the only one I am aware of.