Aristakes Lastivertc'i's History

Translated by Robert Bedrosian Aristakes Lastivertc'i's History is one of the five gems of medieval Armenian literature that marks the start of Sophene’s Dual Language Series. In this series, we aim to make the most important works of ancient Armenian literature accessible to the broadest possible audience by placing the original Armenian text on the left-hand side and the corresponding English translation on the right-hand side. Aristakes Lastivertc’i was an eleventh century Armenian cleric and historian. His History was written between 1072 and 1079, and describes the events of 1000-1071, including information about Byzantine-Armenian relations, the Seljuk invasions, and the Tondrakian movement in the Armenian Church. The work opens with a poetic summary of the disasters befalling the Armenian people in the eleventh century. Subsequent chapters describe Byzantine attempts to subjugate the Armeno-Georgian district of Tayk’ (1000 to 1022); conflicts and cooperation among Armenian and G