- Ghazar Parpetsi
Infobox Person
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birth_date =circa 442
death_date = Earlysixth century
birth_place = Parpi (current dayAshtarak )
death_place = Parpi1
known_for = "History of the Armenians", "Letter toVahan Mamikonian "
occupation =Historian ,Chronicler
religion =Christian
footnotes = 1It also has been suggested that he was buried at the St. Apostles monastery in Mush.Ghazar Parpetsi ( _hy. Ղազար Փարպեցի, Ghazar of Parpi, alternatively spelled as Lazar Parpetsi and łazar Parpetsi;
circa 442 - early 6th Century) was a fifth tosixth century Armenianchronicler andhistorian . He had close ties with the powerfulMamikonian noble famiily and is most prominent for writing a history of Armenia, "History of Armenia", sometime in the early sixth century.Life
Ghazar was born in the village of Parpi (in what is now current day city of
Ashtarak in Armenia).hy icon Melik-Bakhshyan, Stepan. "«Ղազար Փարպեցի»" (Ghazar Parpetsi).Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia . vol. vii. Yerevan:Armenian Academy of Sciences , 1981, pp. 19-20.] Owing to the close ties he held with the Mamikonian family, following the defeat of the Armenians at thebattle of Avarayr in451 , Ghazar moved to the Mamikonian Prince Ashusah's castle in Tsurtav (in Georgia), where he received his primary education. Studying under the auspices of Aghan Artstruni, he befriendedVahan Mamikonian ; he was an excellent student and from465 to470 he attended school inConstantinople , learning new languages, studyingreligion ,literature , and classicalphilosophy . [Hacikyan, Agop Jack, Gabriel Basmajian, Nourhan Ouzounian and Edward S. Franchuk. "The Heritage of Armenian Literature: The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the Oral Tradition to the Golden Age, vol. 1". Detroit: Wayne State University, 2000, p. 213. ISBN 0-8143-2815-6.] Returning back to Armenia, Ghazar busied himself with educational and spiritual activities in the town ofShirak , then part of the domains of theKamsarakan family. From484 to486 , he lived inSyunik until Vahan Mamikonian, who had been recently appointed the head of marzpan Armenia, invited him to oversee the reconstruction of a monastery being built inVagharshapat . Vahan appointed Ghazar anabbot at the monastery, although the education that Ghazar had received as well as his educational and spiritual policies did not sit well with the more conservative elements of the church. Accusing him ofheresy , he was forced out of the monastery in490 , taking up residence in the city of Amida inByzantium . [Ibid., p. 214.]According to Armenian tradition, it is said that Ghazar was buried near the ruins of an Armenian church in Parpi Canyon, south of a village named Lazrev in Armenia.
Works
Ghazar is best known for writing the "History of Armenia". After returning from Amida in
493 , Vahan Mamikonian asked his friend to write a new history of Armenia, starting from where historianFaustus of Byzantium left off; that is, with the reign of kingArshak II . [Ibid., p. 215.] "History" is composed of three parts: the first is about Armenian history from the mid-fourth century and life in Armenia underSasanian rule until the deaths of Sahak Partev andMesrop Mashtots in the mid-fifth century; the second concerns the events leading up to thebattle of Avarayr as well as its subsequent consequences; and the third follows up on the Vartanank wars and the484 signing of theNvarsak Treaty . [Ibid., pp. 215-216.] The main sources he uses in "History" are the primary works of other historians,Agathangelos ,Koryun , and Faustus, although he apparently made use of other historians' works, includingEusebius of Caesarea 's "Historia Ecclesiastica". [Bedrosian, Robert. [http://rbedrosian.com/gpintro.htm Ghazar P'arpec'i's History of the Armenians: Translator's Preface] . Robert Bedrosian’s Homepage. New York, 1985. AccessedJune 9 ,2008 .]References
External links
* [http://rbedrosian.com/gpintro.htm Translator's Preface to the English translation of History of the Armenians]
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