Yovhannēs Drasxanakertc'i's

History of Armenia


[Page 63] 1. Although the Word verily said of the Father that He held within His own control the ceasing of the ages, times and seasons, thus depriving us humans of the knowledge of what is very reliable and ever feasible, men, however, assisted by God and emboldened a little in small things with wonderfully moderate enthusiasm bequeathed to us with reasonable excellence the sequence of historical events of the revolving seasons that were either fixed or had passed, composing not pompous and imaginary epics, but making known [to us] the sound state of their souls. 2. Then they guided us in various matters of past bygone times so that we, who are removed [by time], may easily be able to question the fathers who teach us and the elderly who narrate to us. 3. Thus with their native intelligence they tried to do good to the world by readily fulfilling the needs that men have, and with a true understanding of thoughts they composed and set in writing the histories of the ancient times which I consider to be worthy of much respect, desirable and useful. 4. Thus I also have at this time gone into this subject matter, which I must say I undertook not with presumptuous pride in accord with my whim, but because I recognized the ceaseless stirring of the Holy Spirit in the understanding of those who asked me [to write]; thenceforth, as if forced by a certain captain, I rapidly sailed by means of oars in the skiff of this treatise and took the trouble of hastily composing this history. 5. However, I have not repeated like ignorant peasants events of historical value that the well versed poets, those wonderful and amazing men who lived before our time, recorded from the beginning, namely the transactions of kings that were narrated, the succession of princes, the circumstances of wars, the prospering of cities, districts, villages and households [gerdastanac'], and the works of the Aryans and non-Aryans, or the confusions and peace, lest childishly emboldened, I might duplicate what was already written and reject the art of the poets and make it look ridiculous to the readers. 6. And now, let me not waste more time on other matters in this introduction, since wretched old age holds death ready at the door, and my anxiety hastens me to narrate the disastrous calamities and the terrible turmoils that came upon and overwhelmed us.

7. Now then, with the usual shallow aptitude of my mind, I shall [64] precede to write with the swiftness of an energetic scribe. 8. First of all, turning to the books of the Fathers, in accordance with their earlier presentation, I shall make known in summary the ancient expansion of all the races and peoples that were descended from the sons of Noah, and then I shall separate from the other two our own Japheth and single him out. 9. [I shall show] that not only our nation is descended from him but that he was known as the ancestor of many other races. 10. Then, after surveying the entire genealogy of the Japhethids to our own Togarmah, and leaving the rest out of my narrative, I shall briefly compose a genealogy (of his generations): namely who among them devoted themselves to building activities, or political affairs and decent conduct, and who were the first to rule over us as kings; or else [how] after them Vagharshak the Parthian ruled over the house of Togarmah, and subsequently his descendants governed us. 11. During their time, the holy Christian order of faith was spread throughout the world and especially among the Armenian people by the Apostle Bartholomew, who was one of the twelve, and by the Apostle Thaddeus, one of the seventy,* who were both assigned by Christ our Saviour to our land as preachers and doctors. 12. After them I shall briefly speak about our holy enlightener Gregory who completed their apostolic mission by leading to the light the race of Togarmah from the wickedness of extreme idolatry. 13. Then I shall add [an account of] his sons and grandsons who became worthy of occupying his holy throne, and also of the rest of their successors until today, and of the deeds that were accomplished by them or by other people during their lifetime. Also [I shall comment on those] in whose days the glorious crown of the Armenian people was completely destroyed, and [narrate] how once again, through the coronation of the great prince Ashot as our king, we witnessed the renewal of the kingdom which had ceased long ago. 14. Although before us Shapuh Bagratuni, a historian of our times, has written an account on his works, behavior, wisdom, contests, building activities and peacemaking, you will notice that I have utilized this [history] only to improve the present work so that the sequence of my narrative may not be disrupted, and show the reliability of this composition. The subsequent [section] shall be elaborate, wherein I shall dwell on the story of Smbat son of Ashot, who ruled over Armenia instead of his father, and on his courageous contests, vigorous trials, and well-regulated conduct. 15. [I shall show] how wisely he regulated the prosperity of our country. Besides him, we shall also tell you about the other naxarars: who among them displayed themselves in his days as illustrious, famous, magnanimous, well known and valiant men. 16. Again, [I shall describe] the turmoil, the universal persecutions that came from the southern region of Hagar, the destruction by sword, the trembling, famine, captivity and extermination of the wretched land [65] of Armenia. 17. Moreover, [you will read about] the painful death of King Smbat who died like a martyr by means of the Ishmaelite sword, which slaughtered many. 18. [You will also see] how before the king's death, through cunningness and subtlety the ostikan implanted enmity between king Smbat and the great prince Gagik, his nephew [sister's son], by crowning and making the latter rule as anti-king, 19. and how after the death of king Smbat there were three kings that ruled at the same time: Gagik Arcruni, Ashot son of Smbat, and his namesake, [Ashot] son of the Sparapet Shapuh, who were all in conflict with one another. [You will also learn] how Ashot, the son of the king, went to visit the Emperor Constantine, and in an elegant manner receiving a throne from him, was properly laden with eminence and an abundance of gifts, and sent back to his country. 21. [I shall tell you] how because of the hostility among the three title holders of "king", wicked deeds, turmoils, trembling and destructive confusions as well as unworthy works, unexpected devastation and fear of death were provoked.

22. Now, this should be sufficient for you as an introduction, wherewith you should be able to embrace the truth of the words so that you may lend [your] ears and acquire the story by following my brief summary of the first books of the Divine Scriptures, and also of the chronicles of the reliable pagan historians, and compare them with our genealogical list. 23. They all say that the ancestors of the generations of all the lands are descended from the three sons of Noah, who multiplied and spread throughout the surface of the earth. 24. For even though the pagan writers give the forefathers' names in a different form from ours—for example, they call Noah Xisuthra [K'siwsat'ros], and Shem Xerxes [K'serk'ses]—yet they have identical stories about their lineage. 25. Thus both traditions transmit to us the [following] sequence of events: upon the arrival of the second age the Lord inundated, annihilated and completely cleansed the surface of the earth of the perverted, the impious, the lawless, the wild wanton cannibals and most wicked idolaters, until no rational or non-rational being remained but only the men from the pious families who heeded [the divine advice] to build Noah's ark, which was made out of timber. 26. He [the Lord] made them at once enter the ark into which they brought with them representatives of all the non-rational beings, both those that are pure and those that are impure. 27. Thus, entrusting them to an insignificant piece of wood, He saved them so that through them he might provide for the regeneration of the earth with the likeness of each specie, and in accordance with the former benefaction from the Lord God fill them as well with the blessings so that man might grow, multiply, fill and rule the earth and every thing that is in it.

28. Since you had the opportunity to see these, henceforth, if it [66] pleases you, let me set myself free from discussing the genealogies of Shem and Ham, and write briefly [about the descendants] of our own Japheth, following the sequence of my narrative. 29. For they are not at all necessary for the present treatise, and must be put aside for another time and place.


The Progeny of Noah

1. After the inundations descending from heaven and the drowning of all the living under the abysmal waters, and after the most unwilling navigation of Noah and his coming out on shore in Armenia in accord with the order of the Lord together with his children, their wives and still others and non-rational brutes, once again the earth began to quicken through divine supervision. 2. To our own Japheth [Yabet'] at first a son was born and was named Gomer [Gamir], and the territory in his possession was named Gamirk' from his name. 3. Then Magog was born, and the descendants of Magog are the Celts [Keghtk'] and Galatians [Gaghatac'ik']. 4. Then came Maday who named the territory of his house Media [Mark'] after himself. 5. Subsequently, came Tubal [Tobel], after whom the Thessalians [T'etaghk'] were named, and Meshech [Mosok'], who ruled over Illyria [Liwrikia]. 6. The sixth son was Tiras from whom were born our very own Ashkenaz [Ask'anaz] and Togarmah [T'orgom] who named the country that he possessed Thrace after himself, as well as Chittim [K'itiim] who brought under his sway the Macedonians. 7. The sons of Tiras were Ashkenaz, from whom descended the Sarmatians [Sarmatk'], Riphath [Rip'at], whence the Sauromatians [Soramatk'], and Togarmah, who according to Jeremiah subjugated the Ashkenazian army and called it the House of Togarmah; for at first Ashkenaz had named our people after himself in accord with the law of seniority, as we shall explain in its proper place. 8. From Javan [Yawan], the ancestor of the Greeks, descended Elisha [Elisa] whose progeny are the Sicilians [Sikilac'ik'] and Athenians [At'enac'ik'], and Tarshish [T'arsis], the ancestor of the Iberians [Virk'] and the Tyrrhenians [Tiwrenac'ik'], 9. and Kitris [Kitiim] whose offsprings are the Romans [Hrowmayec'ik'].

Though the generations descending from Japheth were perforce set out here, yet, this was done only to the extent that a fairly brief description might acquaint you with the affinities of our race, where so many patriarchates and races are descended from one and the same generation. 10. For had nothing been said about these matters, and a clear [67] account of past events not given, you would be driven to doubts, and [in your hesitation] surely hold me in contempt in your thoughts, words and deeds. 11. And now if you, Oh studious Reader, accept my efforts as accomplishments worthy of gratitude, and consider that I should not concern myself with [the history of] other kindred races as being a task in no way relevant to the present treatise and merely wasteful of time, I shall turn the flow of my narrative to our own Togarmah, in agreement with what I have already said.

Tiras who was the third in descent from Japheth begat three sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. And as Tiras ruled alone over the Thracians, he thought that he should divide his own territories into three parts and hand these over to his sons to possess, and thus he carried out his intent. 13. To Ashkenaz, who first named our people Ashkenazian after himself, he gave the suzerainty over the Sarmatians, and to Riphath that over the Sauromatians, 14. whereas Togarmah inherited our own people, over whom he ruled, and called the former Ashkenazian the House of Togarmah from his own name.

15. You now know why we are called Ashkenazian as well as the House of Togarmah and thus can be quite certain of the narration concerning the patriarchy of our people, although there are some who give different accounts, and others who tell allegorical epics. 16. Although the divine Moses did not give the timespans of our patriarchs one by one as unworthy of his narration, yet, comparing the genealogies of our own Japheth with those of Sem, we derive a period of four hundred years to Togarmah and the beginning of the rule of his son Hayk. 17. From Japheth to the first man, Adam, there is a period of 2242 years. 18. But, even though the Divine Scriptures transmitted to us the history [of the period] until the time of our own Togarmah, as was said above, yet they did not consider it worthy to set out in words the record of his generations, that is to say, how, whence, why or who ruled over the land of Armenia, and how her naxarardoms came to power.

19. A certain Mar Abas Katina, a man of Syrian extraction, proficient and well-versed in Chaldaean and Greek letters, was sent at the order of our [king] Vagharshak to the archives of the kings of Persia, and in his search he found there a trustworthy book that had been rendered from Chaldaean to Greek by the order of Alexander, son of Nektanebos. Although this book was extremely rich in historical accounts of many nations, yet, Mar Abas abandoned the histories of other nations as a vain effort, and excerpting only the parts that dealt with our people, he presented them to Vagharshak. 20. Subsequently, from that source the testimony of our authentic stories became known to us and we learned that the handsome Hayk, that valiant and victorious champion, was the son of Togarmah, and the first patriarch and progenitor of our nation. 21. This account likewise maintains that Hayk joined the colossal giants [68] who thought that they could carry out their insolent design to build the enormous and arrogant tower. 22. According to the Divine Scriptures, however, a terrible tempest, which arose seemingly by divine ordinance, toppled and destroyed the great tower, and proved to them the futility of their labor.


The Valor of Hayk against Bel and His Descendants

1. Then Nimrod [Nebrovt'], who is the same as Bel, became arrogant and haughty, and exalting himself, attempted to impose his rule over all the other giants. 2. But our Hayk most vehemently resisted and liberating himself from the domination of Bel, he immediately came to our land with his son Aramaneak, whom he had sired in Babylon, and also with his daughters, grandchildren, slaves born in the household, and outsiders who had joined him. 3. Nimrod, that is Bel, pursued Hayk with his own forces, composed of men skilled in archery, swordsmanship and the lance; they encountered each other in a glen with a great tumult which was like the clamor of violent torrents streaming down. Assaulting one another in this manner they intimidated each other with great terror. 4. Soon our Hayk shot from his well-bent bow an arrow with three prongs that hit the iron-studded breastplate of Nimrod, and piercing through his back, pinned him down to the ground. Having killed him in this manner, Hayk ruled over the land as his own paternal lot, and named the country Hayk' [= Armenia] after himself. 5. Subsequently, he regulated many civic transactions, and occupied himself with building the land. After a long life he died, having entrusted our land to his son Aramaneak.

6. While Aramaneak ruled over our people, he went and lived in a beautiful plain which was seemingly fortified with tall summits of dazzling whiteness and took possession of the courses of very rapid rivers that cut across and pass through its length, which is hollowed by their gurgling waters. Afterwards he built the valleys of the northern mountain and named the mountain Aragac after his name, while he called the territory at the foot [of the mountain] Aragacotn. 7. Then Aramaneak sired a son, Armayis, and having lived for many years, died.

8. On a hill along the bank of the Erasx River in the same plain Aramayis erected a city as his place of residence. He built it magnificently with blocks of sandstone, and named it Armawir. 9. The writers [69] who preceded me have given sufficient accounts of the latter's valorous deeds. 10. After he had lived for many years, Aramayis sired a son, Amasia, and died shortly after his birth.

11. Amasia lived in the same city of Armawir, and built up the foot of the southern mountain which he named Masis after himself, and called the district situated in the valleys of the mountain Maseac'otn. After a few years he sired Gegham, and then he died.

12. Gegham set out to go around the mountain to the northeast on the shores of a small sea. There he built villages and gerdastans, and named the mountain Gegham after himself, and the settlement by the sea Geghark'uni. 13. Having sired two sons, Harma and Sisak, Gegham ordered the former to live in Armawir and rule over his paternal house. 14. To Sisak he gave for a place of dwelling the southeastern region extending from the shores of the lake to a plain traversed by the river Erasx where it flows in torrents and penetrates the narrow passages of a cavern which is now called k'arawaz by many. 15. Returning from there, Gegham built the great and beautiful dastakert of Geghami, which was later named Garni after Garnik, and died. 16. Harma begot Aram, and died after a few years.

17. There are many accounts concerning the valorous contests of Aram, who is said to have extended by much violence the entire boundaries of Armenia to the four corners of the Earth. Because of the glorious display of his might, the nations who live around us consequently call us Armaneakk' in his name. 18. Through many daring contests he brought under his sway not only those who could easily be subdued but also the Cappadocians [Kaputkec'is], and named that land Armenia Proton from his name. To this day they give the above name to that [part of the] land of the Greeks. 19. He called the country extending from the so-called Armenia Proton to the region of Pontus First Armenia, and the country between Pontus and the limits of the city of Melitene Second Armenia, and the territory from Melitene to the boundaries of Cop'k' Third Armenia, and the region from Cop'k' to the city of Martyropolis, and to the province of Aghdznik' in the west, Fourth Armenia. 20. These [were the territorial subdivisions extending] as far as the borders of his native domain; as for the entirety of his native land, he called it Greater Armenia. 21. After some time, Aram begot Ara the Fair, and having lived many years, he died.

22. Ara regulated the welfare of the land, and named his place of residence Ayrarat from his name. 23. After a number of years, the lustful, passionate and wanton Shamiram, hearing by way of rumor of Ara's comely fairness, through frequent embassies promised him generous gifts and munificent profits, provided that he would be willing either to take her as his wife, or at least fulfill her desires. 24. Upon his refusal, Shamiram hastened [her men] immediately to reach Armenia and [70] encounter Ara not to persecute or kill him, but rather to subdue and seize him in order to carry out the will of her who desired lust. Although she had warned her men to keep the object of her passion alive, Ara was unintentionally killed amidst the warriors who were fighting. He was survived by his son Kardos. 25. The debauchee Shamiram, led by her former lust for Ara, named Kardos Ara after his father, and placed him in charge of supervising matters in Armenia. He also died in war with Shamiram, and was survived by his most clever son Anushawan Sosanuer, an extremely prudent person in words and deeds, who formerly ruled over a part of our land, and subsequently conquered all of it. 26. He died after many years of life.

27. None of his children nor his children's children ruled over their ancestral domain. But certain others imposed their tyranny on the race of Togarmah not according to family lineage, but according to personal achievement. The following are the names of those [rulers]: Paret, Arbak, Zawan, P'arnak, Sur, during whose time Joshua caused the Israelites to take possession of the promised land. 28. Sur was succeeded by Honak, Vashtak, Haykak, Ambak, Arnak, Norayr, Vstam, Kar, Gorak, Hratn, Enjak, Gzak, Horoy, Zarmayr, who died in the Trojan War along with the Aethiopian warriors, Perch, in whose time lived David the king of Israel, Arbun, Bazuk, Hoy, Yusak, Kaypak, Skayordi, and after all of these, one by the name of Paroyr who was of the lineage of Hayk.


The Reign of Paroyr and His Successors until Vahe

1. At this time Paroyr expelled the foreigners, and having renewed the ascendancy of his family he ruled over [his domain]. 2. He was the first among the Armenians to have been magnificently crowned with a diadem, 3. for Varbakes of Media, who had through his generosity won the friendship of valorous men and also drawn to himself along with the others our own valiant victorious Paroyr, granted him royal insignia and honor, and having seized the kingdom of Sardanapalus [Sardanapaghgh] together with these men, ruled over Assyria and Nineveh.

4. My mind, enraptured by that event, prods me to occupy myself with the composition of an encomium praising our people, for henceforth I shall with great pride give the succession of (our) kings and not patriarchs. 5. During his [Paroyr's] time the Arcruni, who were [the descendants] of the children of Sennacherib [Senek'erim], were [71] accorded welcome by him in order to establish their abode in Armenia. 6. Paroyr was survived by his son Hrach'e, whose fame and physical appearance did justice to his name, since to the onlookers he always appeared to be handsome and with sparkles in his eyes. 7. The [Sacred] Scriptures acknowledge the captivity of the Jews by Nebuchadnezzar during his time. 8. Hrach'e asked Nebuchadnezzar [to let him have] a certain Shambat, one of the important captives, whom he settled in our land with great honor and glory; the branches of the Bagratuni family are descended from the generations of the latter.

9. After Hrach'e P'arnawaz succeeded to the leadership of our people. 10. He was followed by Pachoych, and then by Kronak, after whom came P'awos. 11. P'awos's successor was the second Haykak, and after him came Eruand, who begot Tigran the Great shortly after the commencement of his reign. 12. Should the reader be curious to find out the source of so many names and stories, let him know that the books of the Chaldaeans, which were written at the time of Tiberius and are to be found in Nineveh and Edessa, were delivered to our hands. 13. Now, Tigran, who seemed to be by virtue of his wisdom more soberminded than any of our kings, surpassed them all. 14. After accomplishing numerous deeds of valor, and regulating many civic transactions, he took away the power from the Medes, and took charge of it. 15. He also subordinated the Greeks in submission for a long period of time. 16. Then, having killed Astyages (Azhdahak), he took the latter's court captive, and assisted by Anoysh, the mother of dragons, and holding Cyrus, he seized and annexed the domains of the Medes and the Persians 17. thus extending the borders of his own people to the ancient limits of our abode. More and more he exalted our people and endowed her with riches. He made all of those who had been under the yoke of certain others subservient and tributary to himself. 18. It is said that the [social] order of the ostanik azats, which has been preserved to this day under the same name, derives its origin from him, and is assumed to be of royal lineage. 19. Thus he was a very wise, virtuous, and assiduous man, praiseworthy in his ways and works, who conducted his life honestly. Moreover, since he kept himself in equipoise by treating everyone with equity, 20. the evidence of his noble contests was thus more complete than that of others. Numerous treatises would be necessary in order to praise him, but the great urgency of my anxiety does not allow me to spend time to glorify him; it rather forces me to turn to other matters that lie before us.

21. Tigran sired Bab, Tiran and Vahagn. In [sagas sung to the tune of] the plectrum and the lyre the latter is said to have fought against the vishaps and vanquished them. 22. They compared his toils with those of the hero Herakles. The tradition about Vahagn holds that his life-size statue stood in the province (nahang) of Iberia, and was worshipped with [72] sacrifices. 23. From his line descend the Vahuni, [for] Vahagn had children, and the Araweneank' traced their lineage from his youngest son Arawen. 24. Arawen begot Nerseh, and Nerseh was the father of Zareh from whom the Zarehawanean family descended. 25. Zareh begot Armog, Armog begot Baygam, Baygam begot Van, Van begot Vahe. 26. The latter was killed by Alexander the Macedonian, because he was indignant with him. 27. After this you will find no authentic account of the patriarchs that ruled until the time of Vagharshak the Parthian, since [our princes] rose against one another in barbaric confusion and resisted each other until they adopted the foreign-born [prince = Vagharshak-], who had easily come in as a native, and relinquished their own stories. 28. At this point do not enhance my labors, for I* [[gitem J] gites M. [you . . .]] have always respected brevity, authenticity and compression of style. 29. Be it as it may, the timespan from our own Hayk to the coronation of Vagharshak is 2297 years.


The Reign of Vagharshak the Parthian and His Reforms; His Successors until Tigran II of Noble Birth

1. Henceforth, I shall briefly narrate about Vagharshak ruling over us as king and about his descendants who succeeded him on the throne and were called Arsacids (Arshakuni). As for the rest that is narrated by certain others, if it is a must for you to know, then I refer you to them [for further information]. 2. After Alexander son of Philip had conquered the world, he willed his domain to many with the understanding that the empire would be named after him, since he had ruled over all. 3. After his death, Seleucus ruled over Babylon, subordinating also the Parthians through a violent war. 4. Upon his death Antiochus, surnamed Soter (Sovter), succeeded him. 5. These sovereigns ruled for a period of approximately sixty years, at which time the Parthians rose in rebellion against the Macedonians. 6. Arshak the Brave, a descendant of Abraham through the line of the progeny of Keturah (K'etura)—whom Abraham had married after the death of Sarah—ruled over the Persians, Medes and Babylonians, and was called Parthian, that is, 'Vehemence'. 7. Invincible in numerous contests with heroes, Arshak took possession of all the kingdoms, and since he had despotically undertaken [73] the task of conquering the world, he crowned his brother Vagharshak, a prudent, wise and valiant man, as king of the Armenians. 8. After numerous victorious contests with his enemies, the latter properly regulated many civil transactions and works that were beneficial to the public. 9. First, he displayed on himself the splendor of royalty with all of its pomp. Subsequently, establishing naxarardoms under his immediate supervision, he stationed them in the royal court, and through the entire extent of his dominion; he appointed men that were honorable and helpful, descendants of Hayk and other valiant men. 10. First he designated as his coronant Bagarat, a descendant of the Jewish Shambat, who, they say, was of the family of David, since he had willingly offered his services to him before most of the others, Vagharshak also appointed him sparapet [and put him] in charge of thousands and myriads of soldiers. 11. After this, having valiantly driven out the Greek forces, Vagharshak also took possession of Pontus and Caesarea, which is called Mazaca (Mizhak), with the regions surrounding them. 12. From there turning toward the people living on the shores of the sea along the foot of the Caucasus mountains, he ordered the wild tribes of that region to refrain from plundering, pillaging, and indulging in other vile habits [such as these], and submit to the royal commands and tributes, so that the royal court might consider them worthy of the dignity of cushion and princedom.

13. Having properly taken care of matters outside of the royal court, Vagharshak adapted elegant court ceremonies such as were befitting royalty and useful in uniting the kingdom. 14. First of all, in accordance with the principles mentioned, Vagharshak appointed his coronant, and then the chamberlains, bodyguards, and the supervisors of the hunt to pursue deer and fowl for victuals, and servants as well as guardians of the throne, stewards of temples, cupbearers, eagle and falcon bearers, officers responsible for providing the summer quarters [of the king] with snow, and others who supplied the winterquarters [with provisions], the legion of shielded men, porters of the royal court, and eunuchs. He set as viceroy of his kingdom one of the descendants of the Mede Astyages (Azhdahak), whose family is now called Murac'an.

15. Regulating in this manner the details of court procedure, he subsequently appointed prefects (koghmnakals), governors (kusakals), nahapets, spasalars, and commanders. He also set bdeshxs, one in the north, in the land of Gugark', and the other in the southeast, in the province of Aghdznik'. 16. He also arranged the hours of access to the royal court as well as the times for councils, assemblies, and festivities, and also designated two mentors, of whom the first had the task of calling to the king's memory his benevolent deeds, and of reminding him of what was right and philanthropic in case of unjust orders given by the king, the second monitor's duty was to prompt the king to the fulfillment of the laws and the exacting of penalty on the wicked. 17. He ordered the city dwellers to be held in higher esteem than the peasants. Yet, he decreed that the [74] former should not despise or lord over the latter, so that they would live together in harmony and brotherhood, which is the source of prosperity and peace. 18. Now, after having established such a proper order, and having left a good and notable name for himself, he died in Nisibis, having ruled for twenty-two years.

19. He was succeeded by his son Arshak who always followed his father's wonderful ways. 20. He immediately waged war against the people of Pontus and defeated them. It is reported that he plunged his lance, which according to rumor was dipped in the blood of snakes, deep into a rock, and left it there to be observed as a symbol of his might. 21. During his time certain Jews who had dwelled among the Bulgars in the valleys of the Caucasus settled down at the foot of Kogh. 22. Two of them who had been tortured for not worshipping the gods were put to the sword over their ancestral laws, like the blessed Eleazar and the sons of Simeon. 23. Arshak ruled for thirteen years. He was succeeded by his son Artashes. 24. The latter contrary to former custom did not concede primacy to king Arshakan of Persia, and reduced the latter to subjection by force, so that Arshakan conceded to Artashes the primacy, and he himself held the second (= junior) throne. 25. With a large army Artashes marched forth to the west against the Lydians, and taking captive king Croesus, ordered him to be placed on an iron cauldron to be tortured. 26. Croesus instantly recalled the words of Solon: "One should not count his blessings until the time of his death." 27. Subsequently, Artashes, reaching land by marching over the sea, conquered Pontus and Thrace. 28. He destroyed the Lakedaimonians, put to flight the Phokians, and accepted the submission of the Lokrians. Hellas offered sacrifices for the heroes. 29. But above all, he did not grow insolent; instead he shed tears saying: "Alas to this fading glory." 30. Subsequently, he decided to subjugate all the peoples of the west and filled the ocean with numerous boats to sail against many nations. There, suddenly a great confusion rose among his forces, who began to cut down one another, and Artashes, who had vanquished so many nations, was slain with others by his own forces. He reigned for twenty-five years.

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