Sebeos

By Sebeos

When publishing the English-Russian translation of the manuscript by Sebeos, we adhered to the same principles that guided us in translating "History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatsi. We considered it our duty to convey the most accurate meaning of the original, retain its expressions, and present our readers with a translation that, if possible, would replace the original for them.

About Sebeos himself, we have the most insufficient information. Chamchyan (II. 345) and O. Shakhatuni (Description. I.285) called him "a bishop in the domain of Bagratuni", and they claimed that Sebeos was present at the Dvin Council, convened by Nerses III in 645. O. Sallantian, in his chronological table, called him a writer of the 7th century. This fact is confirmed by the very work of Sebeos, describing the events that took place in the 7th century, where the author notes: "We heard this all from the men captured by the Tajiks. They, as eyewitnesses, themselves told us about this all." (part III, ch. 30)

His entire work is divided into three parts. The first part speaks of the Babylonian origin of the Armenians and their founder Haik, the firstborn in Babylon. The second part provides a synchronistic table of the Armenian, Persian, and Greek kings until the annihilation of the Persian kingdom. The third part consists of 38 chapters. Along with a brief description of the deeds of the Persian kings and the destruction of the Persian kingdom, it reports the constant power struggles among the Armenians that split them into two main sections: one serving the Greeks (Byzantines), and another – the Persians. There were also the Armenians who left both to serve the Turkic Khagan, and later – the Arab invaders.

Like Movses Khorenatsi, Sebeos was very honest in relaying the historical matters and did not sugar-coat the facts pertaining to the Armenian people. He noted that, due to their short-lived allegiances and love-hate relationships with the Greek, Persian, and Turkic powers, the Armenians were deemed to be troublemakers. In his letter to the Persian king, the Greek king suggested getting rid of the Armenians by sending them away from their lands: "This is a stubborn and rebellious people. (They) live among us and stir up trouble. Let us (do this –) I shall assemble mine and send them to Thrace; you, too, gather yours and order them to be taken to the east. For if they die, then the enemies will die, and if they kill anyone, they will kill the enemies; and we will live in peace. As long as they remain in their own country, we cannot rest until then." (part III, ch.6)
Sebeos did not mince the words about the Armenians who escaped "the Ismailite slavery" in lieu of "their slavish obedience to the Greeks".

The Armenian historian revealed a little-known fact about the Turkic mother of the Persian King Ormizd: "After the death of Khosrow, the son of Kavat, his son Ormizd reigned over Persia. His mother Kaen, the wife of his father Khosrow, was the daughter of the khagan, the great king of the Tetals." (part III, ch.3) The Tetals were a Turkic nation, known as the Khazars, who later resettled to the territory currently known as Ukraine, established the kingdom of Khazaria, and converted to Judaism. The word Khagan means "the great king" in Turkic.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Scholarly Press
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9798223379539

Book preview

Translated into English and Russian by Troy Azelli.

Перевод на английский и русский языки Троя Азелли.

Copyright © 2023 Troy Azelli, AS.

All rights reserved.  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

For feedback, please email at [e-mail]

Imprint — World Scholarly Press. Los Angeles, USA.

Title: Armenian History, Narrated by the Armenian Historian of the 7th Century.

Author: Sebeos.

Translator: Troy Azelli.

Digital distribution | 2023

Все права защищены. Никакая часть этой книги не может быть воспроизведена или передана в любой форме и любыми средствами, электронными или механическими, включая фотокопирование, запись или любую систему хранения и поиска информации, без письменного разрешения издателя.

Электронный адрес для связи: [e-mail]

Издательство — World Scholarly Press. Лос-Анджелес, США.

Название: Армянская история, поведанная армянским историком 7 века.

Автор: Себеос.

Переводчик: Трой Азелли.

Цифровая дистрибуция | 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

СОДЕРЖАНИЕ.

FROM THE TRANSLATOR.

WHEN PUBLISHING THE English-Russian translation of the manuscript by Sebeos, we adhered to the same principles that guided us in translating History of Armenia by Movses Khorenatsi. We considered it our duty to convey the most accurate meaning of the original, retain its expressions, and present our readers with a translation that, if possible, would replace the original for them.

About Sebeos himself, we have the most insufficient information. Chamchyan (II. 345) and O. Shakhatuni (Description. I.285) called him a bishop in the domain of Bagratuni, and they claimed that Sebeos was present at the Dvin Council, convened by Nerses III in 645. Sebeos was known to medieval Armenian writers, who often mentioned him, but in expressions that were not well defined. Asogik (p.15) mentioned Bishop Sebeos, who wrote about Heraclius and placed him between Faust of Byzantium (4th c.) and Giewont (8th c.). Kirakos (Preface.3) said the same about him. Mkhitar Ayrivanksky (p.23) put Sebeos between Shapsukh Bagratuni (9th c.) and Moses Kagankatvatsi (10th c.). O. Sallantian, in his chronological table, called him a writer of the 7th century. This fact is confirmed by the very work of Sebeos, describing the events that took place in the 7th century, where the author notes: We heard this all from the men captured by the Tajiks. They, as eyewitnesses, themselves told us about this all. (part III, ch. 30)

The creation of Sebeos was considered completely lost for a long time. The Armenian Archbishop Shakhatuni was the first to find it in the dusty cellars of the Echmiadzin library. The first European who used this work was Mr. Brosset. In 1848, while in Echmiadzin, he got a hold of the manuscript by Sebeos, and in his Rapport (pp. 49-55), he gave a detailed account of the content of this story. Since 1851 when the book by Sebeos was published as History in Constantinople, it has become available to all Armenists, some of whom had already used it in their writings. Other scholars also employed it, citing quotations from it, so that the work by Sebeos in a short time became indispensable for students of the history of the East of the 6th – 7th centuries.  

The entire work is divided into three parts. The first part speaks of the Babylonian origin of the Armenians and their founder Haik, the firstborn in Babylon. The second part provides a synchronistic table of the Armenian, Persian, and Greek kings until the annihilation of the Persian kingdom. The third part is the most extensive. Along with a brief description of the deeds of the Persian kings and the destruction of the Persian kingdom, it reports the constant power struggles among the Armenians that split them into two main sections: one serving the Greeks, and another – the Persians. There were also the Armenians who left both to serve the Turkic Khagan, and later – the Arab invaders.

Due to their short-lived allegiances and love-hate relationships with the Greek, Persian, and Turkic powers, the Armenians were deemed to be troublemakers.

In his letter to the Persian king, the Greek king suggested getting rid of the Armenians by sending them away from their lands: This is a stubborn and rebellious people. (They) live among us and stir up trouble. Let us (do this –) I shall assemble mine and send them to Thrace; you, too, gather yours and order them to be taken to the east. For if they die, then the enemies will die, and if they kill anyone, they will kill the enemies; and we will live in peace. As long as they remain in their own country, we cannot rest until then. (ch.6)

Sebeos also announced the beginning of Islam and interrupted his story in 661, when the Arab conqueror Moaviya, aka Mu'awiya, having defeated his rivals, managed to ascend to the throne of the caliphs and founded a new dynasty of the Umayyads.

THE NARRATION OF THE ARMENIAN BISHOP SEBEOS ABOUT Heraclius.

Part I.

I, UNWILLINGLY, [The author alludes to the fact that he penned his History not on his initiative, but as designated by an outsider. On many occasions, medieval Armenian historians, such as Movses Khorenatsi wrote by order of foreign noble dignitaries. – Ed.]  began to carefully describe the time and set forth the history of ancient heroes, mentioning fables as well. In this work, I shall talk about what happened after that, and briefly show the impact (of the past) on the disasters of the present, mentioning the years and days of the five sovereigns; I shall look into the books by Marabba, the philosopher of Mtsurniy, the inscription that he found in the city of Mtsbina (Nizibina), in the halls of King Sanatruk, opposite the royal palace doors, inscribed on a stone covered with fragments of royal dwellings. When the columns of this palace were in demand at the court of the Persian king, while digging up the ruins to find the columns, they unexpectedly found a Greek inscription engraved on a stone: the days and years of the five kings of Armenians and Parthians. Having found this inscription among his disciples in Mesopotamia, I want to tell you about it. Here is its title:

"I am a scribe – Agathangelos [a Greek by ethnicity, King Trdat’s secretary, the first historical writer of Armenia, who lived at the beginning of the 4th century. – Ed.] who wrote on this stone with my own hand the years of the first Armenian kings, at the behest of brave Trdat, taking the content from the royal archive."

Thou shalt see a copy (from this inscription) a little lower in its (due) place.

I shall begin to tell an epic about a terrible king and a brave man: firstly, the story of the ancients, from where the abundance of the earthly structure came; further, I shall add and graft to it myths of heroes and fabled tales of wild wars. When from the great torments of pandemonium, as if from childbirth, it happened that numerous people scattered in the great wilderness, in places inaccessible to noise, then Titan, who was the first to reign on Earth, raised his sword against his comrades. Bel-Titanide, unaware of his nature, fancied himself superior to the entire human race and called the entire human race into submission.

At that time, Haik-Japhetide did not want to submit to King Bel and did not agree to call him God. Then, Bel went to war against Haik, but the courageous Haik drove him out with his bow.

This is the Haik who begat his son Aramaniac in Babylon. Aramaniac begat many sons and daughters, of whom Aramais was the firstborn. Aramais had many sons and daughters, of whom Amasiah was the eldest. Amasiah begat many sons and daughters; Gegham was the firstborn. Gegham also begat many sons and daughters, of which Garma was the firstborn. Garma had many sons and daughters, the eldest of them was Aram. Aram also begat many sons and daughters, of which Aray the Handsome was the eldest.

These are the names of the ancestral men, the firstborn in Babylon, and they went to the countries of the North, to the land of Ararad. Haik migrated from Babylon with his wife, children, and all his property. He went and settled in the land of Ararad, at the foot of the mountain, in the house that had previously been built by father Zervan with his brothers.

After that, Haik bequeathed this property to his grandson Kadmiy, the son of Aramaniak. He moved from there, and went to the North, and settled in one elevated meadow. This field was named Hark (fathers) in the name of the fathers. On the same occasion, the country received the name Haik, with all the Hais.

With mighty strength, Haik was handsome, skilled in throwing arrows, and was a strong fighter. At that time, reigned in Babylon a hero-hunter, Bel-Titanide, magnificent and ranked among the Gods; he possessed extraordinary strength, and his neck was of great beauty. He was the king of all the nations scattered over the face of the Earth. Having used magical means before their eyes and distributing royal orders to all peoples, in a fit of his bold pride, he created his own likeness and forced everyone to worship him and make sacrifices (to him) as God. And immediately all nations carried out his order; but a certain Haik, from the foremen of the people, did not submit to him, did not put his image in his house, and did not give him divine honors. And his name was Haik, against whom a terrible hatred was born in King Bel. King Bel, having gathered an army in Babylon, rushed to Haik to kill him.

He reaches their fatherly home, built at the foot of the mountain the land of Ararad. Kadm fled to his father in Hark to notify him of this and said:

King Bel rushed at you and reached our house, and now I, with my wife and children, are on the run.

Haik takes with him Aramaniac and Kadm, his sons, warrior-knights, though in small numbers.

Haik met with King Bel and could not stand his ground against the