merits preserved -by Moses of Chorene. Al| fthe other
authors cited by this compiler of-history were of much later
date and wrote some considerable time after the Christian
e ra : they wore either Syrians of Edessa or Pagan priests
of Armenia, and some of them are said to have derived
the materials of their works, which were written in Greek
or Syrian, from archives preserved in the temple of Ani in
Great Armenia. Among these writers one is well know
to the Greek fathers of the church, namely, Bardesanes
of Edessa, who lived, according to Moses, in they reigh
of Caraealla. A clearer fight is diffused over the history of
Armenia from the. era of the conversion of the people and
the establishment of a Christian church in their country.
The first patriarch of all Armenia was St. Jjcregory, sur-
named Lusaworitsch, or the Enlightener., who was consecrated
by St. Leon tins j bishop of Caesarea, my>3Q2? t • He
was the author of many theological works, some of?whieb
are said to be still extant in the Armenian language, and>in
various collections of MSS. in the East. Other works on
theology, and some on Armenian history, appeared during
the course of the fourth century. Among them Professor
Neumann enumerates the chronicle of Agathangelus^ a
Roman by birth, who was secretary, to king Tiridates of
Armenia from 286 to 342, and relates the conversion of
that monarch to the Christian faith. Of this there is
extant a Greek as well as an Armenian text. Some doubts
have been entertained of the genuineness of the latter, which
is not surprising, as the writer lived before the invention of
the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop : if, therefore, he wrote
in the Armenian language it must have been in a foreign
which was at first a feudal state subject to the Partbians, but became afterwards
independau t. Kurdistan appears to have belonged to it. The Romans
had possession of it in the third century, and Tiridates, their ally, obtained
in compensation for it Atropatene or Azerbaijan, and is said to have made
Tabriz his capital.—See Mr. Conder’s Essay, page 35, The Armenian history
of Father Michael Ghamicb was translated by Joh. Avdall, an Armenian of
Calcutta, and published in 1827; Later translations of various documents
referring to Armenian history, by M. Neumann, and the work of M. H. St.
Martin open a wide field of information to those who are particularly interested
'in this subject.
character. It is mo're easy to believe that all these earlier
works weir? at a subsequent period translated into the Armenian
laDghh||l3'i -For an enumeration of the Armenian
authors and theifr works! haüst refer the reader to Professor
Netimann’s learried^drssertatiOn above cited, and to M. J.
Saint Martins'collection, entitled “ Mémoires Historiques et
GédgrdpKiqùes sur l’Arinenie??i •'
Erom thé consideration dh at the Haïkanians and the
.ancient Persians; and Medèé have common traditions and
reckon among theiiM ianoestorSEdk# ?fsame mythiea! and
pDetical hèroCS‘ and WarrioVs, we might infer with great
probability that a nfeaiT relation of kindred existed between
these« races'. They had the‘ same religion, namely, the
Worship of‘: firè and thé doctrine of Zoroaster and the
Magi, which they retained üntil their conversion to Christianity*?
This religion prevailed .immemorially in Armenia,
but it > seèihs to have been corrupted1- by the licentious
practices' of the Assyrians. Strabo assures! ns that “ the
MedeS’ and Armenians religiously observe all the same
sacr£#rite33as- the Persians, but that the Armenians more
èspedîâlly adhéré to those-®f the gbddeSs Anaitis, to whom
they have-built temples in other places as well as in* Aci-
iisene, and that in their temples they consecrate to the service
of the goddess inale and female slaves. This, he adds, is
nothing verÿ remarkable or surprising ; but it is also customary
for the most noble of the Armenians to dévote their
own daughters when virgins in these temples, where it is
ordained by law that they shall live a long period as prostitutes
with the goddess, and afterwards be given in marriage,
which no body ever dislikes on this account to contract
with such women.”*
The ancient writers have left Hs no information deserving
of much credit* respecting the origin of the Armenians.
Strabo has thought it worth while to preserve a story cur-*
rent among the Greeks, which derives the Armenians from
one Armenus, said to have been a contemporary of Jason, and
one of the Argonauts. Of this it was thought to .be some
confirmation that the Armenians wore long dresses like
* Strabo, Geog., page 532.
VOL. IV. ^ H