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The Cult of Saints in Late Antiquity


from its origins to circa AD 700, across the entire Christian world


The Armenian History (8), attributed to Sebeos, recounts the punishment that befell Greeks and Persians for desecrating the church of *Gregory the Illuminator (converter of Armenia to Christianity, S00251) in 571/2. Written in Armenian in the second half of the 7th c.

Evidence ID

E01351

Type of Evidence

Literary - Other narrative texts (including Histories)

Major author/Major anonymous work

Sebēos

The Armenian History attributed to Sebeos, Chapter 8:

Իսկ առ Հայոց երդնոյր թագաւորն Յունաց, եւ հաստատէր զնոյն ուխտ՝ որ ի մէջ թագաւորացն էր երկոցունց, երանելւոյն Տրդատայ եւ Կոստանդիանոսի. եւ տայր նոցա զզաւրսն կայսերական յաւգնութիւն: Եւ նոցա առեալ զզաւրն՝ դիմեցին ի վերայ քաղաքին Դըւնայ եւ պաշարեալ կործանեցին ի վերուստ մինչեւ ի վայր, եւ հալածեցին զզաւրն Պարսից որ ի նմա կային:
Բայց եհաս ի վերայ նոցա յանկարծաւրէն խռովութիւն մեծ, զի զեկեղեցի սրբոյն Գրիգորի, որ շինեալ էր մերձ ի քաղաքն, էին արարեալ համբարանոցս Պարսիկքն, հարին հուր եւ այրեցին. վասն որոյ եղեւ նոցա խռովութիւն մեծ
:


'Then the Greek king made an oath with the Armenians and confirmed the same pact which had been made between the two kings - the blessed Trdat and Constantine. He gave them an imperial army in support. When they had received the army, they attacked the city of Dvin; after a siege they destroyed it from top to bottom, and expelled the Persian troops who were stationed in it.

But suddenly a great tumult fell on them. For the Persians had turned the church of St Gregory, which they had built near the city, into a storehouse. They [the Greeks] had set it on fire and burned it. Therefore a great tumult befell them.'


Text: Abgaryan 1979, 68.
Translation: Thomson and Howard-Johnston, 6-7.

Cult Places

Cult building - independent (church)

Miracles

Punishing miracle

Protagonists in Cult and Narratives

Soldiers

Source

The History attributed to Sebeos is one of the rare extant Christian chronicles from the 7th century. It was written near the end of the first phase of the Islamic conquest, when hopes temporarily rose among the Christians that the Islamic occupation would soon be over. Sebeos' task was to chronicle the events that, according to him, led to the disaster of the Islamic invasions. In a familiar Armenian tradition, he depicts himself as a continuator of earlier history writers, and sets out to connect his History with his immediate predecessor, Łazar P'arpec'i. Sebeos' principal interest lies in the reign of the Sasanian king Khosrow II (590-628).

Sebeos'
History is an important work, as he does not confine himself to a narrow account of affairs purely Armenian, but elaborates on the historical context and the influence of the mutual relations between Sasanian Iran and the East Roman empire on Armenia proper. Contrary to Movsēs Xorenac'i and other hellenophile authors, Sebeos considers Armenia an integral part of the Persian world and choses a Sasanian perspective. Therefore, Sebeos effectively chronicles the demise of the Sasanian empire, with a particular interest in the campaigns of Heraclius and the rise of Islam.


Bibliography

Edition:
Abgaryan G. (ed.), Պատմութիւն Սեբէոսի [The History of Sebeos] (Yerevan: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1979).

Translation:
Thomson, R.W., and Howard-Johnston, J., The Armenian History Attributed to Sebeos (Translated Texts for Historians 31; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1999).


Record Created By

Nikoloz Aleksidze

Date of Entry

05/05/2016

Related Saint Records
IDNameName in SourceIdentity
S00251Gregory the Illuminator, converter of ArmeniaԳրիգորCertain


Please quote this record referring to its author, database name, number, and, if possible, stable URL:
Nikoloz Aleksidze, Cult of Saints, E01351 - http://csla.history.ox.ac.uk/record.php?recid=E01351