| Revision as of 06:15, 18 April 2009 editGazifikator (talk | contribs)2,060 edits do not remove, explain your revert at the talk and listen what others say otherwise it is a POV-pushing← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 21:27, 5 January 2014 edit undoMarshallBagramyan (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers7,780 edits Previous title anachronistic and little used, inaccurate in transliteration and unfamiliar with modern readers, See talk page | ||
| (208 intermediate revisions by 69 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| {{Infobox Person | |||
| | image = Movses_Khorenatsi_Matenadaran.jpg | |||
| | imagesize =175px | |||
| | caption = Movses Khorenatsi's statue in front of the ] in ]. | |||
| | birth_date = ] 410 AD <sup>1</sup><br> | |||
| | death_date = 490s AD | |||
| | birth_place = ], ]<sup>2</sup><br> | |||
| | death_place = Armenia | |||
| |known_for = '']'' | |||
| |occupation = ] | |||
| |religion = ]<sup>3</sup><br> | |||
| |footnotes = | |||
| <sup>1</sup>Some scholars have dated him to the seventh to eighth centuries.<br> | |||
| <sup>2</sup>It has also been suggested that Movses was born in ].<br> | |||
| <sup>3</sup>See Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', pp. 13-14.<br> | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Movses Khorenatsi''' ({{lang-hy|Մովսես Խորենացի}}, {{IPA-hy|movsɛs χoɹɛnɑtsʰi}}, '''Movses of Khoren'''; also written ''Movsēs Xorenac‘i'', ''Movses Khorenats'i''; ] 410 – 490s AD<ref>{{hy icon}} Sargsyan, Gagik Kh. "Երկու Խոսք" ("Two Words") in Movses Khorenatsi's ''History of Armenia, 5th Century'' (''Հայոց Պատմություն, Ե Դար''). Gagik Kh. Sargsyan (ed.) Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1997, pp. 332-334. ISBN 5-5400-1192-9.</ref><ref>Hacikyan, Agop Jack, Gabriel Basmajian, Edward S. Franchuk, and Nourhan Ouzounian. ''The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age, Vol. I''. Detroit: Wayne State University, 2000, pp. 306-307. ISBN 0-8143-2815-6.</ref>) was an ] ] and author of the '']''. He is credited with the earliest known historiographical work on the history of Armenia, but was also a ], or ], and a ]. Although other Armenians, such as ], had written histories of Armenia, Movses' work holds particular significance because it contains unique material on the old oral traditions in Armenia during its pagan era and, more importantly, traces Armenian history from Movses' day to its origins. For this, he is considered to be the "father of Armenian history" (''patmahayr''), and is sometimes referred to as the "Armenian ]."<ref>Chahin, Mack. ''The Kingdom of Armenia: A History''. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2001, p. 181 ISBN 0-7007-1452-9.</ref> | |||
| Movses identified himself as a young disciple of Saint Mesrop, although many scholars have noted internal discrepancies in his work which lead them to assign later dates (see below).<ref>Robert Benedetto, James O. Duke. The New Westminster Dictionary of Church History. Westminster John Knox Press, 2008. ISBN 0664224164, 9780664224165, p. 448 | |||
| </ref> He composed his work at the behest of Prince Sahak ]. The book has had an enormous impact on Armenian historiography and was used and quoted extensively by later medieval Armenian authors. | |||
| ==Biography== | |||
| ===Early life and education=== | |||
| Movses' biographical details are given at the very end of the ''History of Armenia'' but additional information provided by later medieval Armenian historians have allowed modern scholars to piece together additional information on him. Movses was believed to have been born in the village of Khorni (also spelled as Khoron and Khoronk) in the Armenian province of ] sometime in 410.<ref>For this reason, some have also referred to him as Movses of Taron.</ref> However, some scholars contend that if he was born here, he would have then been known as Movses of '''Khorneh''' or '''Khoron'''.<ref>{{hy icon}} ]. "Introduction" in Movses Khorenatsi's ''History of Armenia, 5th Century'' (''Հայոց Պատմություն, Ե Դար''). Gagik Kh. Sargsyan (ed.) Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1997, p. 7. ISBN 5-5400-1192-9.</ref> They instead move the location of his birth from Taron to the Armenian province of ], in the village of Khorena in the region of Harband.<ref>Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', p. 7.</ref> | |||
| He received his education in Syunik and was later sent to be taught under the auspices of ], the creator of the ], and ] ]. In having considerable difficulty translating the ] from Greek to Armenian, Mesrop and Sahak felt the need to send Movses and several of their other students to ], ], at that time the center of education and learning, so that they themselves learn the ] and ], as well as to learn ], ], ] and ].<ref name="SAE">{{{hy icon}} Sargsyan, Gagik Kh. ''«Մովսես Խորենացի»'' (Movses Khorenatsi). ]. vol. viii. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: ], 1982, pp. 40-41.</ref> | |||
| ===Return to Armenia=== | |||
| The students left Armenia sometime between 432 to 435. After studying in Alexandria for five to six years, Movses and his fellow classmates returned to Armenia, only to find that Mesrop and Sahak had died. Movses expressed his grief in a ] at the end of ''History of Armenia'': | |||
| {{quotation|While they awaited our return to celebrate their student’s accomplishments , we hastened from ], expecting that we would be dancing and singing at a wedding...and instead, I found myself grieving at the foot of our teachers' graves...I did not even arrive in time to see their eyes close nor hear them speak their final words.<ref>{{hy icon}} Movses Khorenatsi. '']'' (''Հայոց Պատմություն, Ե Դար''). Annotated translation and commentary by ]. Gagik Kh. Sargsyan (ed.) Yerevan: Hayastan Publishing, 1997, 3.68, p. 276. ISBN 5-5400-1192-9.</ref>}} | |||
| To further complicate their problems, the atmosphere in ] that Movses and the other students had returned to was one that was extremely hostile and they were viewed at with contempt by the native population. While later Armenian historians blamed this on an ignorant populace, Persian ideology and policy also lay at fault since its rulers "could not tolerate highly educated young scholars fresh from Greek centers of learning."<ref>Hacikyan et al. '' '' p. 307.</ref> Given this atmosphere and persecution by the Persians, Movses went into hiding in a village near ] and lived in relative seclusion for several decades. | |||
| ] Armenian manuscript.]] | |||
| The ] Gyut (461-471) one day met Movses while traveling through the area and, unaware of his true identity, invited him to supper with several of his students. Movses was initially silent, but after Gyut's students encouraged him to speak, Movses made a marvelous speech at the dinner table. One of the Catholicos' students was able to identify Movses as a person Gyut had been searching for; it was soon understood that Gyut was one of Movses' former classmates and friends.<ref>Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', p. 15.</ref> Gyut embraced Movses and, being either a ] Christian or at least tolerant of them (since Movses was also Chalcedonian), brought his friend back from seclusion and appointed him to be a bishop in Bagrevan. | |||
| ===''History of Armenia''=== | |||
| Serving as a bishop, Movses was approached by Prince Sahak ] (d. 482), who, having heard of Movses' reputation, asked him to write a history of the Armenians, especially the biographies of Armenian kings and the origins of the Armenian '']'' families.<ref>Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', p. 16.</ref> Movses agreed to do so and he finished his book sometime in the time period of 483-485. One of his primary reasons for taking up Sahak Bagratuni's request is given in the first part of ''Patmutyun Hayots'', or ''History of Armenia'': "For even though we are small and very limited in numbers and have been conquered many times by foreign kingdoms, yet too, many acts of bravery have been performed in our land, worthy of being written and remembered, but of which no one has bothered to write down."<ref>Movses Khorenatsi. ''History of Armenia'', 1.4., pp. 70-71.</ref> Movses' history also gives a rich description of the oral traditions that were popular among the Armenians of the time, such as the romance story of '']'' and the birth of the god ]. Movses lived for several more years, and he died sometime in the late 490s. | |||
| ==Literary influence== | |||
| The first reference to Movses by an Armenian historian was in ]’s ''History of Armenia'', where the author details the persecution of several notable Armenian individuals, including the “blessed Movses the philosopher,” identified by some scholars as Movses Khorenatsi.<ref>{{hy icon}} Pogharian, Norayr. ''Յայ Գրողներ, Ե-Ժ դար'' (''Armenian Writers, 5th-10th centuries'') Jerusalem: St. James Printing Press, 1971.</ref><ref>{{hy icon}} Hasratyan, Murad. “Որ՞ն է Մովսես Խորենացու ծննդավայրը.” (“Where was Movses Khorenatsi’s Birthplace?”) ''Lraber Hasarakakan Gituyunneri''. № 12, 1969, pp. 81-90.</ref><ref name="HP">{{hy icon}} Hovhannisyan, Petros. "Review of ''History of the Armenians''." ''Banber Yerevan Hamalsarani''. № 3 (45), 1982, pp. 237-239.</ref> The information by Movses and traces of his writing style was later identified in the works by ],<ref name="HP"/> ], ] and later medieval Armenian authors. | |||
| ==Authorship and works== | |||
| {{main|History of Armenia (Movses Khorenatsi)}} | |||
| The orginal manuscript of Movses' ''History of Armenia'' does not exist and so the oldest extant manuscript of his work comes from the 14th century, which was based on a revised version dating to the seventh or eighth centuries.<ref>Hacikyan et al. ''Heritage of Armenian Literature'', pp. 309-310.</ref> Beginning in the 19th century, as a part of a general trend in those years to critically reexamine the validity of classical sources, Movses' ''History'' was cast into doubt after the discovery of historical inconsistencies and anachronisms. Scholars asserted that Movses used sources that were not available at that time, and referred to persons and places (such as the ] by the Byzantine Emperor ] in 536 and the Persian advance into ] in the early 600s) attested only in the sixth or seventh centuries. The conclusions reached by Alfred von Gutschmidt ushered in the hypercritical phase of the study of Movses' work and many European and Armenian scholars at the turn of the 20th century reduced its importance as a historical source and placed his writing of the work to sometime in the seventh to ninth centuries.<ref>Topchyan, Aram. ''The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movsēs Xorenacʻi's History of Armenia''. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2006, pp. 5-14, notes 21-22, 31-33.</ref> ], an Armenian ] and expert of ] literature, likened this early critical period from the late 19th to early 20th centuries to a "competition", whereby one scholar attempted to outperform the other in their criticism of Movses.<ref>Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', pp. 2-5.</ref> | |||
| In the early decades of the 20th century, however, a more balanced evaluation and approach was taken. The works of scholars such as ], ], and Malkhasyants refuted many of their arguments and reinstated Movses once more into the fifth century. Additionally, ethnographic and archaeological research confirmed information which was only found in Movses's work, and "much of the criticism" leveled against him today has been dismissed.<ref>Hacikyan et al. ''Heritage of Armenian Literature'', pp. 305-306.</ref> Despite these studies, these critical points were revived in the second half of the 20th century and many Western scholars continue to maintain the arguments raised by earlier scholars.<ref>See the points raised by ]. "On the Date of Pseudo-Moses of Chorene." ''Handes Amsorya''. № 10 (75), 1961, pp. 467-471.</ref><ref>Malkhasyants. "Introduction" in ''History of Armenia'', pp. 3-5, 47-50.</ref> Robert W. Thomson, the former holder of the chair in Armenian Studies at ] and the translator of several classical Armenian works, is one of the foremost of modern scholars to expound their conclusions.<ref>See Robert W. Thomson's introduction in his translation of Movses' work, ''History of the Armenians'', Cambridge, Ma.: Harvard University Press, 1978.</ref> Thomson's dating of Movses and his characterization of the author was criticized when the English translation of ''History of Armenia'' appeared in 1978.<ref name="HP"/><ref>{{hy icon}} ]. "Review of ''History of the Armenians''. '']''. № 1 (88), 1980, pp. 268-270.</ref><ref name=VN>]. "Review of ''History of the Armenians''." ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History''. Vol. 30: № 4, October 1979, pp. 479-480.</ref> ], the Curator of the Christian Middle East Section at the ], took issue with many of Thomson’s points, including his later dating of the writing and his contention that Movses was merely writing an apologist work for his Bagratuni sponsor at the height of their glory (in the eighth century): | |||
| {{quotation|If so, how does one explain then Moses’s complete preoccupation with the events preceding A.D. 440 and his silence regarding the events leading up the Arab incursions and occupation of Armenia between 640-642? Moreover, if the definite purpose of the ''History'' was for “boosting the reputation of the Bagratuni family” then these events should have been central theme of his history; the skilful handling of which brought the Bagratid pre-eminence….The ecclesiastical interests do not point to the eighth century. There is no echo of the ] which engaged the Armenians from 451 to 641 when the ecclesiastical unity formulated by the council of Theodosiopolis was renounced.<ref name=VN/>}} | |||
| Gagik Sargsyan, a leading scholar and biographer of Movses, admonished Thomson for anachronistic hypercriticism and for stubbornly rehashing and "even exaggerating the statements once put forward" by the late 19th and early 20th century scholars, and in particular, those of Grigor Khalatyants (1858-1912).<ref>Sarkissian, Gaguik . ''The "History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatzi''. Trans. by Gourgen A. Gevorkian. Yerevan: Yerevan University Press, 1991, pp. 58-59.</ref> Sargsyan noted that Thomson, in condemning Movses' failure to mention his sources, ignored the fact that "an antique or medieval author may have had his own rules of mentioning the sources distinct from the rules of modern scientific ethics."<ref>Sarkissian. "History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatzi'', p. 76.</ref> Thomson's allegation of Movses' ] and supposed distortion of sources was also countered by scholars, who contended that Thomson was "treating a medieval author with the standards” of 20th century ] and that numerous classical historians, Greek and Roman alike, engaged in this practice.<ref>Sarkissian. ''"History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatzi'', p. 80.</ref><ref name=VN/> Aram Topchyan, a Research Fellow at the ] of Armenian Studies, concurred with this observation, and noted that it was odd that Thomson would fault Moves for failing to mention his sources because this was an accepted practice among all classical historians.<ref>Topchyan. ''Problem of the Greek Sources'', pp. 33-35.</ref> | |||
| The following works are also attributed to Movses:<ref name="SAE"/> | |||
| *Letter on the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary | |||
| *Homily on Christ's Transfiguration | |||
| *History of ] and Her Companions | |||
| *Hymns used in Armenian Church Worship | |||
| *Commentaries on the Armenian Grammarians | |||
| *Explanations of Armenian Church Offices | |||
| ==Notes== | |||
| {{reflist|2}} | |||
| ==Further reading== | |||
| *{{ru icon}} ]. ''Истории древнеармянской литературы''. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1975. | |||
| *]. ''Armenia in the Period of Justinian: the Political Conditions Based on the Naxarar System''. Translated with partial revisions, a bibliographical note, and appendices by Nina G. Garsoïan. Lisbon, 1970. | |||
| *] "The Date of Moses of Khoren." ''Byzantinische Zeitschrift''. № 10 (1901). | |||
| *{{hy icon}} ]. ''Խորենացու առեղծված շուրջը'' (''About the Enigma of Khorenatsi''). Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armfan Publishing, 1940. | |||
| *{{hy icon}} Sargsyan, Gagik Kh. ''Հելլենիստական դարաշրջանի Հայաստանը և Մովսես Խորենացին'' (''Armenia in the Hellenistic Age and Movses Khorenatsi''). Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1966. | |||
| *{{hy icon}} ______________. ''Մովսես Խորենացու «Հայոց Պատմության» ժամանակագրական համակարգը''. (''The Chronological Structure of Movses Khorenatsi's History of Armenia'').Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1965. | |||
| *Sarkissian, Gaguik . ''The "History of Armenia" by Movses Khorenatzi''. Trans. by Gourgen A. Gevorkian. Yerevan: Yerevan University Press, 1991 | |||
| *Topchyan, Aram. ''The Problem of the Greek Sources of Movsēs Xorenacʻi's History of Armenia''. Leuven: Peeters Publishers, 2006. | |||
| *]. "On the Date of Pseudo-Moses of Chorene." ''Handes Amsorya''. № 10 (75), 1961, pp. 467-475. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * (in Armenian) | |||
| * (in Russian) | |||
| * | |||
| *{{ru icon}} | |||
| {{Navbox | |||
| |name = Medieval Armenian Historians | |||
| |title = ]n Historians and Chroniclers | |||
| |list1 = <div><!--(reduces gap between lines if wrapped)--> | |||
| {{nowrap begin}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ]{{•w}} | |||
| ] | |||
| </div> | |||
| }}<noinclude> | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 21:27, 5 January 2014
Redirect to: