Vahram

“ Are we the only sinners of all the inhabitants of the world, that we alone should be ruined? or are the Tadjiks the men of righteousness, by whose hands we are killed: those unbelievers, soiled by every wicked deed? ”

“ Hethum was an excellent and gracious king; fine and handsome in body and soul; religious, kind, compassionate, upright, bountiful, and generous. The lawful heiress of the empire, Isabella, governed the country together with her husband, and led a pious, religious life. She was blessed for her [48] good deeds and exemplary life by many children, the numerous offsprings of a famous race. (61) The first was the pious Leon, who is now the anointed king, and after him Thoros, the blessed, who died the death of a hero. ”

“ The Mamalukes did not long remain masters both of Cilicia and of a part of Armenia Proper; but yielded to the fortune and the strength of the descendants of Osman or Othman: when the Armenians again felt, as in former times, all the disasters to which the frontier provinces between two rival empires are usually exposed. The cruel policy of the Sophies transplanted thousands of Christian families to the distant provinces of Persia, and transformed fertile provinces into artificial deserts. ”

“ The Armenians are certainly a tribe of the ancient Assyrians; [69] their language and history speak alike in favour of it. Nearly all the words of Assyrian origin which occur in the Scriptures and in Herodotus can be explained by the present Armenian language. Their traditions say, also, that Haig came from Babylon; and Strabo’s authority would at once settle the question, if he did not affirm too much. The Arabian and the Syriac language, and consequently the people, are radically different from the Armenian. ”

“ The Armenians therefore, like the Jews, were obliged to disperse themselves over the world, and resort to commerce for the necessaries of life. Armenian merchants are now to be found in India, on the islands of the Eastern Archipelago, in Singapore, in Afghanistan, Persia, Egypt, in every part of Asia Minor and Syria, Russia, Poland, Austria, Italy; and even the present patriarch of Abyssinia is an Armenian. ”

“ The Emperor of Constantinople, Alexius, sent also a crown to Leon “the Great.” The king of Cilicia is, as far as I know, the only king who received the crown by both the emperors of the west and the east, and by the consent of the pope. The pope hoped to bring the Armenians under his sway, and the Latins and the Greeks thought Leon a very useful ally against the overpowering Saladin.—See the Letters in the Appendix. ”

“ Some say, Thoros withdrew himself quite alone, went by sea from Antioch to Cilicia, and took possession of his dominions, finding means to gain at first the town of Amouda, and afterwards all the other places. But the emperor’s party say that Thoros, during the time the Greeks stayed in the country, lived with a lady who gave him a great sum of money; with these treasures he fled to the mountains, and discovered himself to a priest as the Son of Leon, the true king of the country. ”

“ The country was fruitful and happy like paradise, and every man sat in peace, as it is said in the scriptures, under his own vine. But the Armenians in Cilicia caused themselves, like in former times, Sodom and Ghomora, by their intemperance and wickedness [50] to be very soon devoured by the wrathful fire (70) of heaven.
1265 The proud slaves who governed Egypt took by force Damascus, very hard pressed the Sultan of Berea or Aleppo, and conquered all the country called by the name of Shem. ”

“ Leon had three sons: Hethum, the first born, learned in the Scripture and clever in every branch of science; the second is called Thoros, and the third Sempad. The spouse of the king, the Queen Ceran, is famous for her fidelity and benevolence. So is our king, who by God’s decree is placed over the country; may the Lord yet grant him a long and a peaceful reign. ”

“ A literary journey to Armenia, undertaken by an active laborious scholar, who unites the knowledge of the Armenian language with classical studies, would prove of the greatest importance to the knowledge of ancient history and to the advancement of general literature. ”

“ After the death of Thoros, his only son and heir was cast into prison by some wicked people, who administered to him a poisonous drug, (23) thus the principality came to Leon, the brother of Thoros, and his equal in reputation. Leon conquered Mamestia and Tarsus; (24) he invited many famous warriors to join him, and allured them by great rewards. Forward in battle, he prepared himself, and often fought against the foreigners or infidels, (25) took their forts and put all the inhabitants to the sword. ”

“ Thoros was of a tall figure and of a strong mind: his compassion was universal; like the light of the sun he shone by his good works, and flourished by his faith; he was the shield of truth and the crown of righteousness; he was well versed in the Holy Scriptures and in [40] the profane sciences. It is said that he was of such profound understanding, as to be able to explain the difficult expressions of the prophets—his explanations even still exist. (43) In a word, he was so accomplished in every thing, that God was pleased to call him to heaven. 1167 He was buried in Trassarg. ”

“ Constantine sent many provisions to the Franks, when they were besieging Antioch. The Armenians were happy to get such powerful allies against their enemies, the Greeks. Alexius could not be very well pleased with the creation of an Armenian Margrave by the Latins, of whom he extorted “an oath of homage and fidelity, and a solemn promise that they would either restore, or hold the Asiatic conquests, as the humble and loyal vassals of the Roman empire”— (Gibbon, iv., 131. London, 1826, published by Jones.) The Armenians translate Margrave by Asbed, that is, Chief of the cavalry. ”

“ The Turks spoke then more freely, and accused us publicly, but they were soon undeceived; for as soon as the union was dissolved, the Moguls came and destroyed them by the sword, sent presents to our king, and behaved in general very kindly to him. By this behavior the king gained courage, made an incursion into Turkestan, (84) took a large booty and returned into his own country with great joy. The neighbouring kings hearing this were much astonished, and longed to be at peace with us. Leon forgot all the mischief they had done, and accepted with a kind heart their offerings of friendship ”

“ The Christian nations have been favoured with the inheritance of God; they have been enlightened by the faith, and had excellent laws; but they strayed from those laws, and were polluted by their bad works. ”

“ That great historian has the following words:—“The inhabitants of the low country began gradually to forget the use of arms, and to become [66] attentive to the arts of peace. But the Highlanders, or the Turkomans, retaining their natural fierceness, averse from labour and inured to rapine, infested their more industrious neighbours by their continual incursions.” (History of Scotland, ad a. 1602.) Some modern authors think it worth their while to take notice of a fault of a copyist (τοῦρκοι for ἰυρκαὶ) , and find therefore the Turks as early as in Herodotus, Pomponius Mela, and Plinius ”

“ Leon benefited the clergy even more than his forefathers, and gave to the Vartabeds their proper rank, (77) for he was a friend of learning; (78) every person who was elevated to the dignity of a Vartabed received a present from the king, and it was registered as an eternal remembrance. The army received higher pay than before, and the king was so kind to every body, so generous, [55] so compassionate, (79) that all were delighted; and the whole nation of Armenians became, as it were, renovated. Satan, the author of all mischief, saw this, and he contrived to fight against the king ”

“ Tired of this oppression, and unable to sustain all the hardships which the barbarians laid on them, the inhabitants preferred being strangers in foreign countries to remaining slaves in their own home; they left the land of their forefathers, and fled to the western and northern regions. Cakig II, the anointed king of Armenia, considering these disastrous circumstances, and the dire necessity of the case, 1045 gave up his country to the Roman Emperor, in exchange for the great and celebrated town of Cæsarea, and other places in Cappadocia ”

“ I think that Trassarg and Trassag is the same word; the names of places seem to be very corrupted in the Madras edition of Vahram’s Chronicle. Chamchean says the king was buried in the monastery Trassarg, which is very probable; but how could he say Thoros left no son? In these monasteries the Armenian literature and sciences in general were very much studied in the course of the eleventh and twelfth centuries; some of the greatest Armenian authors flourished in the time of the Crusades. ”

“ The kings are the different Arabian chiefs who ruled independently of the Caliph of Bagdad; the emperor is the Emperor of Constantinople, or the Roman emperor, as Vahram says, with the other authors of these times. ”

“ Cæsarea has, according to the same authority, from 60 to 80,000 inhabitants, and of these 2,000 are Greeks, and 8,000 Armenians. (Herald, 260.)
Note (14) , page 27.
The origin of this name of the people is not known. The Armenians call themselves after their fabulous progenitor Haig, and derive the name Armen from the son of Haig, Armenag; but I have not much confidence in these ancient traditions of Moses of Chorene. The Armenians are a strong instance that religion and civilization only give a particular character and value to a people, and preserve it from being lost in the course of time. ”

“ He was a friend of the Greeks, and married a lady of that nation, by whom he had two daughters blooming in chastity. He besieged Lampron and pressed its inhabitants [42] very hard; they not being able to withstand him, called the Prince to their assistance; he 1182 invited Rouben to Antioch, and fraudulently held him a prisoner, thinking to conquer Cilicia with ease during his captivity. But his brother Leon and the army behaved themselves very valiantly ”

“ Vahram is too concise; he never gives the reasons of occurrences. I see, in Chamchean, that Leon married, after the death of his first wife, a daughter of Guido, king of Cyprus, by whom he had a daughter, called Sabel or Elizabeth, his only child and heiress of the kingdom. The Sultan of Ionium did not like these intimate connexions of the Armenians with the Latins; he feared some coalition against himself, and he thought it proper to be beforehand with the enemy. ”

“ Wise men looked on this as a sign that the king would soon be gathered to his forefathers, and so it happened. He reposeth in Christ with his father Rouben, and was buried in the church called Castalon. (20)
Constantine had two sons, the elder, who 1100 succeeded his father, was called Thoros, and the younger Leon. Thoros superabounded in wisdom, and his military valour is highly spoken of. He sought to revenge the blood of Cakig the Great, and made war against the sons of Mandal; he reduced their fort Centerhasg, (21) killed the inhabitants, and carried away great booty. ”

“ Being on a hunting party in the valley of Anazarbus, one of his own poisoned arrows wounded him, and he fell dead on the spot; he thus met with his deserved fate. (32) The army buried him on the place where he lost his life, and erected a monument which is even now to be seen, called Kachzertik, that is, The corpse of the Calos, or Beautiful. (33)
The Greek army returned, but Thoros remained in the country ”

“ A few days only after his taking possession of the country, the descendants [43] of Ismael, under the command of one Roustam, advanced and came against Cilicia. (48) 1186 Leon was not frightened, but confiding in God, who destroyed Sanacherib, he vanquished with a few men the great army of the infidels. Roustam himself being killed by St. George, (49a) the whole Hagarenian army then fled and dispersed; the Armenians pursued them and enriched themselves by the booty. The power of Leon thus increased, and being confident in his strength, he chased the Tadjiks (49b) and pursued the Turks ”

“ The Vartabed receives at his inauguration a staff, denoting the power to teach, reprove, and exhort in every place with all authority. (See the Biography of Gregory Wartabed, as the word is spelt there, in the Missionary Herald, vol. xxiv. 140.) It is [95] very probable that this institution came in the fifth century of our era from the philosophic schools in Athens to Armenia; nearly all the classical writers of this age went to Athens for their improvement.
Note (78) , page 54.
Leon III. gave orders to make new copies of all the works of the former classical writers of the nation ”

“ The greatest defect of the following Chronicle is its brevity. Vahram, of whose life little more is known than that he was a native of Edessa, a priest, and the secretary of king Leon III., exhibits almost all the faults of the common Chroniclers of the Middle Ages. He relates many barren facts, without stating the circumstances with which they were connected, and he mistakes every where the passions of men for the finger of God. ”

“ He then made an inroad into the province of Arasu and conquered the place called Balresay; by his excellent wisdom he also gained Lampron.
1201 The great Sultan of Iconium Caicaiuss (55) marched from Camir against the king, and besieged the fort Capan. The unruly Armenian troops attacked the enemy without waiting for [45] an order of the king, and being partly killed and partly taken prisoners, the Turks pressed very hard the fort Capan. Leon did not let his spirits droop by this defeat ”

“ It is said in the preface of the before-mentioned volume, that the work of Vahram, the secretary of Leon III., had been previously printed, though in a very negligent and careless manner. I have never however seen any other than the Madras edition, where the proper names of places and foreign nations [xvi] are often incorrectly spelt. I am sorry to add, that I made the following translation in a place where it was impossible for me to refer to the well known works on the geography of Armenia, of Cilicia, and of Asia Minor generally ”

“ I do not know on what authority Meninski (see Klaproth’s Asia, Polygl. 243) relies, but it is certain [77] that the Chinese distinguish between the Ta she (Arabs) and the Ta yue (the Tadjiks) , of whom, as they say, the Po she (Persians) are only a tribe. ”