THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
partly later forgeries. The orations of Gregory the Illuminator (Venice, 1838; ed. Ter Mikelian, Yagharshabad, 1896; German, by J. F Schmid, Regensburg, 1872) belong to a much i. Begins later time. To his contemporary, in the Zenop Glak, a Syrian bishop and Fourth afterward abbot of the monastery Century. Surp Garabed in Taron, a history of the conversion of his province is ascribed, said to have been originally written in Syriac. It is extant in an Armenian translation, " History of Taron," and is continued by Bishop John the Mamikonian, said to have lived in the seventh century. Both works are historically worthless, legendary writings of the eighth and ninth centuries. Under the name of Agathangelos, secretary of the Armenian king Trdat, a history of the conversion of the king and the introduction of Christianity is extant in Armenian and in Greek translation. It consists of independent writings relating to St. Gregory, united after 456 (cf. A. von Gutschmid, Kleine Schriften, in., Leipsic, 1892, 394 sqq., 420). Of great value is the historical work of Faustus of Byzantium, containing the history of Armenia from 317 to 390 and written in Greek. Fragments are extant in Procopius (De bello Persico,i. 5), and the entire work — four books — in an Armenian translation.
The founders of the Armenian national literature are the catholicos Sahag (d. 439) and his friend and helper, Mesrob (d. 440), the in- 2. The Ar- ventor of the Armenian alphabet, menian Till their time there existed no Arme- Alphabet. nian translation of the Holy Scrip- Translations, tures, and the Bible lessons and prayers were read either in Syriac or Greek. Mesrob's plan for a special alphabet for the Armenians was favored by Sahag and by King Vramshapuh (395-416). With the help of the Greek hermit and calligrapher Rufinus, the alphabet, mostly following the Greek, was produced (cf. H. Hiibschmann, Ueber Aussprache und Umschreibung des Altarmenischen, in ZDMG, xxx., 1876, 53 sqq.; V Gardthausen, Ueber dem gricchischen Ursprung der armenischen Schrift, ibid. 74 sqq.). For the Iberians and Albanians, two neighboring nations but dependent upon Armenian culture, Mesrob also invented alphabets. The Armenian alphabet was first applied to the translation of the Bible. But as all Greek books had been destroyed, and the study of Greek was interdicted in the schools, the translation was made from the Syriac version, and not from the original text. Men were sent, however, to Constantinople to study the Greek language and examine authentic copies of the Scriptures; and the result of these exertions was a truly admirable translation, produced after 432 (see Bible Versions, A, VI.). The liturgical books for the church service, the church history of Eusebius, and the life of St. Anthony by Athanasius, were also translated into Armenian. Of translations, the Greek text of which has perished, the following may be mentioned: Certain treatises of Philo; the chronicle of Eusebius; the apology of Aristides;
homilies of Severianus of Gabala; the commentaries of Ephraem Syrus on the Bible; and certain writings of Basil the Great, Chrysostom, Cyril of Jerusalem, Athanasius, and others. All these works belong to the golden period. To the later school of translators are attributed translations of Plato's works, Aristotle's categories, and Porphyry's commentary on them, Ignatius' shorter epistles, writings of Hippolytus, Epiphanius, Gregorius Thaumaturgus, Euthalius, and others.
The original literature of the Armenians is almost exclusively historical and theological. To Mesrob's pupil, Eznik of Kulb, is due a work 3. Original against heretics, and Mesrob's biog- Armenian rapher, Koriun, wrote an authentic Literature, record of the beginnings of Armenian Moses of literature. More famous is Moses of Chorene. Chorene (Moses Chorenensis), author of a history of Armenia to the death of Mesrob (440), the only native source for the pre- Christian period of the country. It probably originated in the seventh or early eighth century and was first published at Amsterdam, 1695, and with a Latin translation by W and G. Whiston, London, 1736; the best edition is that of the Mekhitarists (Venice, 1843) in the complete edition of Moses's works; French transl., in Langlois, ii. 45 sqq., German by M. Lauer (Regensburg, 1869). To Moses is also ascribed a rhetoric and geography, edited with the history by the Whistons; a better recension is offered by A. Soukry, in his French and Armenian edition (Venice, 1881 ; cf . von Gutschmid, ut sup., 282 sqq., 322 sqq.; A. Carriere, Moise de Khoren etles genealogies patriarcales, Paris, 1891, and Nouvelles sources de Moise de Khoren,Vieima., 1893). One of the most eminent of Armenian historians is Eghishe (Elis*us) Vartabed, author of a history of the religious war of the Armenians against the Persians under Yezdigerd II., 439-451 (Eng. transl., by C. F Neumann, London, 1830). His junior contemporary, Lazar of Parpi, wrote a history of Armenia from 388 to 405. John Mandakuni, catholicos 480-487, wrote homilies and prayers. To the seventh century belongs Bishop Sebeos's history of Heraclius. Toward the end of the century the church history of Socrates was translated into Armenian, and an orthodox Armenian wrote in Greek an important but partial sketch of Armenian church history from Gregory the Illuminator to his own time.
To the eighth century belong John of Odzun, surnamed the Philosopher, and Stephen, archbishop of Siunik, who translated the 4. The writings of Dionysius Areopagita, Eighth and Cyril of Alexandria, Nemesius, Atha- Succeeding nasius, Gregory of Nyssa, and others; Centuries, also the epistle of the patriarch Germanus to the Armenians. In the same century Armenian translations were made of the writings of Georgius Pisida, Ilesychius of Jerusalem, Theodore of Ancyra, Evagrius, Antipater of Bostra, Johannes Climacus, and Titus of Crete. Toward the end of the century Levond (Leontius), " the great Vartabed," wrote a history of the Arabian inroads into Armenia and the wars with the Empire, 661-788