Classical Armenian Online

The Yervanduni Dynasty

Yervanduni is the name given to a family whose members were appointed by the Medes and Persians as governors in Armenia over the period 585 - 200 B.C. At least four of these governors were named Yervand. Their ethnic background is not clear. Most now believe the Urartuan and Armenian ethnicities to have been distinct, and it is not certain from which culture the Yervandunis originated. The Yervandunis were related somehow to the Persians, if not by blood, at least through bonds of marriage.

By roughly 610 B.C., the Medes and Babylonians had divided the remnants of the Assyrian empire, and the Medes began to consolidate their power in the north. Having captured portions of Urartu and Mesopotamia, by 585 B.C. the Medes were a dominant force in the region. They appointed a Yervanduni family member to administer the Urartuan province.

Median hegemony did not last long. A number of the subjugated states rose in rebellion under the leadership of the Persian Cyrus. Among those rebelling were the Yervandunis. By 550 B.C. Cyrus had overthrown the Medes and established the beginnings of the Achaemenid dynasty, one which would greatly expand Persian influence through the exploits of Cyrus' son Cambyses, and later those of Darius I.

The reasons are not clear, but somehow, after the fall of the Urartuan kingdom, Armenian culture gained in prestige and was eventually recognized as one of the important satrapies listed by Darius I on the Behistun rock (ca. 520 B.C.). This is the first record of the name Armenia. Darius had apparently campaigned against the Armenians when they rose in revolt against his taxes. To quell such rebellious tendencies, Darius may have installed a governor from another family, since there is no mention of the Yervandunis until the next century.

Under Achaemenid rule, the Armenians were free to live according to their own cultural dictates, as long as they paid tribute to the Persian empire. Most of our knowledge of Armenia during this period comes from the Anabasis of Xenophon, who travelled through the region with Greek troops in 401 - 400 B.C. Xenophon tells of a ruler Yervand, who was son-in-law to the Persian king Artaxerxes I. The Armenian satrapy evidently consisted of a non-Armenian enclave in the highlands, perhaps remnants of the Urartuan culture, and whom some believe to be the ancestors of the modern Kurds. Xenophon mentions underground winter quarters in some towns, an abundance of food, and a type of beer drunk through a reed straw.

Persian culture left an indelible imprint in Armenia. Although Aramaic seems to have been the language of administration during this period, Armenian is infused with several words borrowed from Persian. Armenians also seem to have adopted many Persian social practices, as well as something of the Zoroastrian pantheon. The Armenians dedicated several temples and festivals to Anahit, goddess of fertility and wisdom.

By the middle of the fourth century B.C., the Achaemenid dynasty had fallen into decline, allowing the Yervandunis to consolidate their power and create a nearly autonomous Armenian province. Darius III, supported in battle by another Armenian satrap named Yervand, finally fell before the onslaught of Alexander the Great in roughly 330 B.C. Under Alexander, and, after his death in 323 B.C., under Seleucid reign, Greek culture began to impose itself on the region.

Alexander's conquests did not take him through Armenian territory, however, and so the fall of the Persian empire left the Yervandunis an opportunity for consolidating a completely independent rule over the Armenian region. Initially Alexander appointed governors over Armenia, but the Yervandunis led a revolt and refused taxation. They reasserted their autonomy later in the face of the Seleucids. In the end, three distinct regions opened up in the Armenian region. There was a western region, Lesser Armenia, which periodically fell under Seleucid rule and was never completely annexed by the Yervandunis. To the east of this was the region of Dsopk, which acted as a buffer region between Lesser Armenia and the third region, Greater Armenia, in which the Yervanduni foothold was firm. Yervanduni rule finally came to an end in roughly 200 B.C., when they were overthrown by the Armenian noble Artashes, incited to revolt by the Seleucids.

Reading and Textual Analysis

Moses Khorenatsi (that is, Moses of Khoren) is the father of Armenian history and is traditionally believed to have written in the fifth century A.D. Other scholars have suggested the seventh century. Some of his work is based on a mythological history, which he describes with the same belief as the later true historical renderings of the Persian era up to the establishment of Christianity. This reading is taken from his History, Book II, Chapter 30.

E'nd ayn zhamanaks ekats' i gorts hazarapetut'ean kayser i veray P'iwnikets'wots' ew Pal'estinats'wots', Asorwots' ew Mijagetats', Marrinos ordi Storgeay.

• e'nd -- preposition; <e'nd> through, along, by way of; against; during; instead of, in exchange for; with, in the company of; under -- At
• ayn -- demonstrative pronoun; undeclined form of <ayn> that, that over there -- that
• zhamanaks -- noun; accusative plural of <zhamanak> time -- time
• ekats' -- verb; 3rd singular aorist of <gam> I come, go -- took
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- ...
• gorts -- noun; accusative singular of <gorts> work, deed -- the post # ekats' i gorts -- 'attained the office of' + gen.
• hazarapetut'ean -- noun; genitive singular of <hazarapetut'iwn> chiliarch, commander -- of... chiliarch
• kayser -- noun; genitive singular of <kaysr> chief, emperor -- the emperor's
• i veray -- compound preposition; <i veray> upon, over -- over
• P'iwnikets'wots' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <P'iwnikets'i> Phoenician -- the Phoenicians
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• Pal'estinats'wots' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Pal'estinats'ik> Palestinian -- Palestinians
• Asorwots' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Asori> Assyrian, Syrians -- the Syrians
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• Mijagetats' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Mijagetk'> Mesopotamia -- Mesopotamians
• Marrinos -- proper noun; nominative singular of <Marinos> Marinus -- Marinus
• ordi -- noun; nominative singular of <ordi> son -- son
• Storgeay -- proper noun; genitive singular of <Storgews> Storgius -- of Storgius

arr or arrak'eats' Abgaros erkus i glxaworats' iwrots', zMarihab bdeshxn Al'dzneats', ew zSHamshagram nahapet Apahuneats' tohmin, ew zAnan hawatarim iwr` i k'al'ak'n Bet'k'ubin, zgats'uts'anel nma zpatcharrs ert'aloyn iwroy yarewels, ts'uts'anelov nma zgir uxtin` or e'nd Artashés ew e'nd el'bars iwr, ew arrnel zna t'ikuns ôgnakanut'ean :

• arr -- preposition; <arr> to, toward (a person); beside; in the time of; in addition to -- to
• or -- relative pronoun; nominative singular of <or> who, what, which -- And... him
• arrak'eats' -- verb; 3rd singular aorist of <arrak'em> I send -- sent
• Abgaros -- proper noun; nominative singular of <Abgaros> Abgar -- Abgar
• erkus -- adjective used as substantive; accusative plural of <erku> two -- two
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- from among
• glxaworats' -- noun; ablative plural of <glxawor> notable, head -- notables
• iwrots' -- reflexive possessive adjective; ablative plural of <iwr> him-, her-, it-self -- his
• zMarihab -- direct object marker <z->... + proper noun; accusative singular of <Marihab> Mar Ihab -- Mar Ihab
• bdeshxn -- noun; accusative singular of <bdeshx> consul + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- the consul
• Al'dzneats' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Al'dznik'> (pl.) Aghjnik' -- of Aghjnik'
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• zSHamshagram -- direct object marker <z->... + proper noun; accusative singular of <SHamshagran> Shamshagram -- Shamshagram
• nahapet -- noun; accusative singular of <nahapet> nahapet, senior prince -- senior prince
• Apahuneats' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Apahuneik'> (pl.) Apahunis -- of the Apahunis
• tohmin -- noun; genitive singular of <tohm> dynasty, tribe + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- of the dynasty
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- as well as
• zAnan -- direct object marker <z->... + proper noun; accusative singular of <Anan> Anan -- Anan
• hawatarim -- noun; accusative singular of <hawatarim> confidant -- confidant
• iwr -- reflexive pronoun; genitive singular of <iwr> him-, her-, it-self -- his
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- to
• k'al'ak'n -- noun; accusative singular of <k'al'ak'> city -- the city
• Bet'k'ubin -- proper noun; accusative singular of <Bet'k'ubin> Bet Kubin -- of Bet Kubin
• zgats'uts'anel -- verb; infinitive undeclined form of <zgats'uts'anem> I inform -- to inform... of
• nma -- pronoun; dative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• zpatcharrs -- direct object marker <z->... + noun; accusative plural of <patcharr> basis, cause, reason -- the reasons
• ert'aloyn -- verb; infinitive genitive singular of <ertal> to go + definite marker <-n> the -- of... going
• iwroy -- reflexive possessive adjective; genitive singular of <iwr> him-, her-, it-self -- his
• yarewels -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of + noun; accusative plural of <arewelk'> East, the Orient -- to the East
• ts'uts'anelov -- verb; infinitive instrumental singular of <ts'uts'anem> I show -- by showing
• nma -- pronoun; dative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• zgir -- direct object marker <z->... + noun; accusative singular of <gir> writing, text -- the text
• uxtin -- noun; genitive singular of <uxt> agreement, covenant + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- of the agreement
• or -- relative pronoun; nominative singular of <or> who, what, which -- which (was)
• e'nd -- preposition; <e'nd> through, along, by way of; against; during; instead of, in exchange for; with, in the company of; under -- between
• Artashés -- proper noun; accusative singular of <Artashés> Artashes -- Artashes
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• e'nd -- preposition; <e'nd> through, along, by way of; against; during; instead of, in exchange for; with, in the company of; under -- ...
• el'bars -- noun; accusative plural of <el'bayr> brother -- brothers
• iwr -- reflexive pronoun; genitive singular of <iwr> him-, her-, it-self -- his
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• arrnel -- verb; infinitive undeclined form of <arrnem> I do, make -- to make
• zna -- direct object marker <z->... + pronoun; accusative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• t'ikuns -- noun; accusative plural of <t'ikunk'> (pl.) back, shoulder; help, auxiliary -- an aid
• ôgnakanut'ean -- noun; genitive singular of <awgnkanut'iwn> cooperation; help, support -- of (his) support # or dative

Orots' ekeal gtin zna yElewt'eroypôlis :

• orots' -- relative pronoun; genitive plural of <or> who, what, which -- (And) they # genitive subject of participle
• ekeal -- verb; past participle undeclined form of <gam> I come, go -- upon arriving
• gtin -- verb; 3rd plural aorist of <gtanem> I find, get, obtain -- found
• zna -- direct object marker <z->... + pronoun; accusative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• yElewt'eroypôlis -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of + proper noun; locative singular of <Elewt'eroypôlis> Eleutheropolis -- in Eleutheropolis

Ew nora e'nkaleal znosa xal'al'ut'eamb ew metsaranôk', arrné patasxani Abgaru. Mi kaskatsér i kayseré saks aynr, miayn zi harkeln liov p'ut'asts'is :

• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- And
• nora -- pronoun; genitive singular of <na> he, she, it -- he # genitive subject of participle
• e'nkaleal -- verb; past participle undeclined form of <e'ndunim> I receive -- having received
• znosa -- direct object marker <z->... + pronoun; accusative plural of <na> he, she, it -- them
• xal'al'ut'eamb -- noun; instrumental singular of <xal'al'ut'iwn> peace -- with peace
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• metsaranôk' -- noun; instrumental plural of <metsaran> respect, honor -- honor
• arrné -- verb; 3rd singular present of <arrnem> I do, make -- gave
• patasxani -- noun; accusative singular of <patasxani> answer -- an answer
• Abgaru -- proper noun; dative singular of <Abgaros> Abgar -- to Abgar
• mi -- imperative adverb; <mi> (do) not -- Do not
• kaskatsér -- verb; 2nd singular present imperative of <kaskatsem> I doubt, suspect -- doubt
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- ...
• kayseré -- noun; ablative singular of <kaysr> chief, emperor -- the emperor
• saks -- preposition; <sak> on account of, because of -- on account of
• aynr -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular of <ayn> that, that over there -- that
• miayn -- adverb; <miayn> only, merely -- merely
• zi -- conjunction; <zi> for; that; because -- that
• harkeln -- verb; infinitive used as complement <harkim> I pay tribute + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- to pay (his) tribute off # definite marker is often appended to the first accented word of a subordinate clause
• liov -- adverb; <liov> fully -- in full
• p'ut'asts'is -- verb; 2nd singular aorist subjunctive mediopassive of <p'ut'am> I hasten, make haste -- you hasten

Ew nots'a dardzeal anti, elin yErusal'ém tesanel zP'rkich'n mer K'ristos vasn lroy hambawots' sk'anch'elagortsut'eants'n. orum ew akanates el'eal patmets'in Abgaru :

• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- And
• nots'a -- pronoun; genitive plural of <na> he, she, it -- they # genitive subject of participle
• dardzeal -- verb; past participle undeclined form of <darrnam> I return -- having returned
• anti -- adverb; <anti> from there -- from there
• elin -- verb; 3rd plural aorist of <elanem> I come, go up -- went up
• yErusal'ém -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of + proper noun; accusative singular of <Erusal'ém> Jerusalem -- to Jerusalem
• tesanel -- verb; infinitive used as complement <tesanem> I see -- to see
• zP'rkich'n -- direct object marker <z->... + noun; accusative singular of <p'rkich'> savior + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- Savior
• mer -- pronoun; genitive plural of <es> I -- our
• K'ristos -- proper noun; accusative singular of <K'ristos> Christ -- Christ
• vasn -- preposition; <vasn> because of, on account of, for the sake of -- on account of
• lroy -- noun; genitive singular of <lur> hearing; news, report; voice -- of hearing
• hambawots' -- noun; genitive plural of <hambaw> news -- the news
• sk'anch'elagortsut'eants'n -- noun; genitive plural of <sk'anch'elagortsut'iwn> miracle + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- of the miracles
• orum -- relative pronoun; dative singular of <or> who, what, which -- to this
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• akanates -- noun; nominative singular of <akanates> eyewitness -- witness
• el'eal -- verb; past participle undeclined form of <el'anim> I become -- being
• patmets'in -- verb; 3rd plural aorist of <patmem> I report, tell -- they recounted (this)
• Abgaru -- proper noun; dative singular of <Abgaros> Abgar -- to Abgar

E'nd or zarmats'eal Abgaru, hawatats' chshmartapés ibr ardarew ordi Astutsoy, ew asé. Ayn zôrut'iwnk' och' mardoy en, ayl Astutsoy. zi ch'ik' ok' i mardkané or karé zmerreals yaruts'anel, bayts' miayn Astuats :

• e'nd -- preposition; <e'nd> through, along, by way of; against; during; instead of, in exchange for; with, in the company of; under -- at
• or -- relative pronoun; accusative singular of <or> who, what, which -- this
• zarmats'eal -- verb; past participle undeclined form of <zarmanam> I am astonished, marvel -- Astonished
• Abgaru -- proper noun; genitive singular of <Abgaros> Abgar -- Abgar # genitive subject of participle
• hawatats' -- verb; 3rd singular aorist of <hawatam> I believe -- recognized
• chshmartapés -- adverb; <chshmartapés> truly -- truly
• ibr -- conjunction; <ibr> like, as (if) -- as
• ardarew -- adverb; <ardarew> truly -- ...
• ordi -- noun; accusative singular of <ordi> son -- son
• Astutsoy -- proper noun; genitive singular of <Astuats> God -- of God
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• asé -- verb; 3rd singular present of <asem> I say -- said
• ayn -- demonstrative pronoun; undeclined form of <ayn> that, that over there -- These
• zôrut'iwnk' -- noun; nominative plural of <zawrut'iwn> miracle -- marvels
• och' -- adverb; <och'> no, not -- not
• mardoy -- noun; genitive singular of <mard> man -- of man
• en -- verb; 3rd plural present of <em> I am -- are
• ayl -- conjunction; <ayl> but -- but
• Astutsoy -- proper noun; genitive singular of <Astuats> God -- of God
• zi -- conjunction; <zi> for; that; because -- for
• ch'ik' -- adverb; <ch'-> not + indefinite pronoun; nominative singular of <*ik'> something, anything -- there is no
• ok' -- indefinite pronoun; nominative singular of <ok'> someone, anyone -- one
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- among
• mardkané -- noun; ablative singular of <mardik> mankind, people -- men
• or -- relative pronoun; nominative singular of <or> who, what, which -- who
• karé -- verb; 3rd singular present of <karem> I can, am able -- is able
• zmerreals -- direct object marker <z->... + adjective used as substantive; accusative plural of <mereal> dead -- the dead
• yaruts'anel -- verb; infinitive used as complement <yaruts'anem> I raise -- to raise
• bayts' -- conjunction; <bayts'> but -- save
• miayn -- adjective; nominative singular of <miayn> only, solitary -- alone
• Astuats -- proper noun; nominative singular of <Astuats> God -- God

Ew k'anzi apakaneal ér marminn iwr i ch'arach'ar ts'awots', or patahets'in nma i Parsits' ashxarhin yarraj k'an zeawt'n am, or i mardkané och' el'ew nma hnar bzhshkut'ean, et tanel nma t'ul't' al'ach'anats', gal ew bzhshkel zna i ts'awots'n

• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- And
• k'anzi -- conjunction; <k'anzi> because -- because
• apakaneal -- verb; past participle nominative singular of <apakanem> I corrupt -- corrupted
• ér -- verb; 3rd singular imperfect of <em> I am -- was
• marminn -- noun; nominative singular of <marmin> body + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- body
• iwr -- reflexive pronoun; genitive singular of <iwr> him-, her-, it-self -- his
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- by
• ch'arach'ar -- adjective; undeclined form of <ch'arach'ar> terrible -- terrible
• ts'awots' -- noun; ablative plural of <ts'aw> pain -- pains
• or -- relative pronoun; nominative singular of <or> who, what, which -- which
• patahets'in -- verb; 3rd plural aorist of <patahem> I occur, befall -- had befallen
• nma -- pronoun; dative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- in
• Parsits' -- proper noun; genitive plural of <Parsk'> (pl.) the Persians -- of the Persians
• ashxarhin -- noun; locative singular of <ashxarh> land, realm + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- the land
• yarraj -- adverb; <yarraj> before, earlier -- before
• k'an -- conjunction; <k'an> than -- ...
• zeawt'n -- direct object marker <z->... + adjective; undeclined form <eawt'n> seven -- seven
• am -- noun; accusative singular of <am> year -- year # when the cardinal number is undeclined, the substantive usually follows in the singular, cf. Section 17.1
• or -- relative pronoun; accusative plural of <or> who, what, which -- who # direct object of bzhshkut'ean
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- among
• mardkané -- noun; ablative singular of <mardik> mankind, people -- men
• och' -- adverb; <och'> no, not -- not
• el'ew -- verb; 3rd singular aorist of <el'anim> I become -- there was
• nma -- pronoun; dative singular of <na> he, she, it -- for him
• hnar -- noun; nominative singular of <hnar> means -- a means
• bzhshkut'ean -- noun; genitive singular of <bzhshkut'iwn> healing, cure -- of curing
• et -- verb; 3rd singular aorist of <tam> I give; permit, let -- he granted
• tanel -- verb; infinitive used as complement <tanim> I take -- to be taken
• nma -- pronoun; dative singular of <na> he, she, it -- to him
• t'ul't' -- noun; accusative singular of <t'ul't'> letter -- a letter
• al'ach'anats' -- noun; genitive plural <al'ach'ank'> (pl.) supplication -- of entreaty
• gal -- verb; infinitive of <gam> I come, go -- to come
• ew -- conjunction; <ew> and; even, also, too -- and
• bzhshkel -- verb; infinitive of <bzhshkem> I cure -- cure
• zna -- direct object marker <z->... + pronoun; accusative singular of <na> he, she, it -- him
• i -- preposition; <i> to, in(to), upon; at, under; from, out of, away from; from among; by, through the agency of -- of
• ts'awots'n -- noun; ablative plural of <ts'aw> pain + demonstrative suffix <-n> that, that over there, the -- (his) pains

Lesson Text

E'nd ayn zhamanaks ekats' i gorts hazarapetut'ean kayser i veray P'iwnikets'wots' ew Pal'estinats'wots', Asorwots' ew Mijagetats', Marrinos ordi Storgeay. arr or arrak'eats' Abgaros erkus i glxaworats' iwrots', zMarihab bdeshxn Al'dzneats', ew zSHamshagram nahapet Apahuneats' tohmin, ew zAnan hawatarim iwr` i k'al'ak'n Bet'k'ubin, zgats'uts'anel nma zpatcharrs ert'aloyn iwroy yarewels, ts'uts'anelov nma zgir uxtin` or e'nd Artashés ew e'nd el'bars iwr, ew arrnel zna t'ikuns ôgnakanut'ean : Orots' ekeal gtin zna yElewt'eroypôlis : Ew nora e'nkaleal znosa xal'al'ut'eamb ew metsaranôk', arrné patasxani Abgaru. Mi kaskatsér i kayseré saks aynr, miayn zi harkeln liov p'ut'asts'is : Ew nots'a dardzeal anti, elin yErusal'ém tesanel zP'rkich'n mer K'ristos vasn lroy hambawots' sk'anch'elagortsut'eants'n. orum ew akanates el'eal patmets'in Abgaru : E'nd or zarmats'eal Abgaru, hawatats' chshmartapés ibr ardarew ordi Astutsoy, ew asé. Ayn zôrut'iwnk' och' mardoy en, ayl Astutsoy. zi ch'ik' ok' i mardkané or karé zmerreals yaruts'anel, bayts' miayn Astuats : Ew k'anzi apakaneal ér marminn iwr i ch'arach'ar ts'awots', or patahets'in nma i Parsits' ashxarhin yarraj k'an zeawt'n am, or i mardkané och' el'ew nma hnar bzhshkut'ean, et tanel nma t'ul't' al'ach'anats', gal ew bzhshkel zna i ts'awots'n

Translation

At that time Marinus, son of Storgius, took the post of the emperor's chiliarch over the Phoenicians and Palestinians, the Syrians and Mesopotamians. And to him Abgar sent two from among his notables, Mar Ihab, the consul of Aghjnik', and Shamshagram, a senior prince of the dynasty of the Apahunis, as well as Anan his confidant, to the city of Bet-Kubin, to inform him of the reasons of his going to the East by showing him the text of the agreement which was between Artashes and his brothers, and to make him an aid of his support. And they, upon arriving, found him in Eleutheropolis. And he, having received them with peace and honor, gave an answer to Abgar: Do not doubt the emperor on account of this, merely that you hasten to pay his tribute off in full. And they, having returned from there, went up to Jerusalem to see our Savior Christ on account of hearing the news of the miracles; and being witness to this, they recounted this to Abgar. Astonished at this, Abgar recognized him truly as son of God, and said: "These marvels are not of man but of God, for there is no one among men who is able to raise the dead, save God alone." And because his own body was corrupted by terrible pains, which had befallen him in the land of the Persians seven years before, and which among men there was not for him a means of curing, he granted to be taken to him a letter of entreaty to come and cure him of his pains....

Grammar

6. Nominal Declension

The remaining declensions of nouns and adjectives have variable stems. For the most part these stems end in the resonants r, l', n. Some substantives retain the resonant throughout the paradigm, while others do not. Of those that do, one finds changes in the stem-vowel preceding the resonant.

6.1. Stem Variation vs. Vocalic Alternation

An important distinction must be made between the concepts of stem variation and vocalic alternation. Vocalic alternation occurs whenever a morpheme is added which changes the stress of a word. It is an automatic process and occurs according to the rules described in the first lesson. It therefore plays no functional role in declension. Thus words such as arrajin 'first' (GDAb arrajnoy), surb 'holy' (GDAb srboy), loys 'light' (GDAb lusoy), méj 'middle' (GDAb mijoy) all show regular vocalic alternation as a result of addition of the morpheme -oy, which entails a change in stress. These are therefore all invariable-stem substantives, just as e.g. Astuats 'God' (GDAb Astuatsoy), beran 'mouth' (GDAb beranoy), get 'river' (GDAb getoy). Stem variation, by contrast, is bound to declension; it is not the result of automatic stress shift and, as such, is in and of itself indicative of the case of a given noun. Thus azn 'kind, race' displays forms NAc Sg. azn and GDL Sg. azin; the variation is not conditioned by any stress shift due to addition of a morpheme. It may happen, however, that in some words both stem variation and vocalic alternation take place: dzukn 'fish', GDL *dzukan > dzkan; dustr 'daughter', GDL *duster > dster; learrn 'mountain', GDL *learin > lerin.

In general the declensions of variable stem substantives may be distinguished on the basis of whether the noun uses two or three stem variants within a paradigm. The following chart shows some possibilities of the two-stem declensions. The term 'obliques' specifies any case not explicitly mentioned under one stem or another.

On the other hand there are three-stem declensions. These may be broken down as follows.

The ablative singular is usually built from Stem 2, sometimes with loss of the vowel preceding -n; occasionally the ablative singular is built from Stem 3.

Certainly other classification systems are possible, and indeed, each grammar of Classical Armenian tends to have its own idiosyncratic declensional scheme. Notable among these is the system used by Schmitt in Grammatik des Klassisch-Armenischen. Schmitt sets out declensions according to theme: e.g. a-, i-, etc. declension, r-, l-, n-stem; he then divides some of these into Primary Type (Haupttypus, here Ht) and Secondary Type (Nebentypus, here Nt). These types may be further divided into subclasses A and B, and these further into 1 and 2. In the following, where easily discernible, Schmitt's classification will be noted among the paradigms in order to facilitate the transition to previous work in the field. When necessary, the theme will be explicitly mentioned with the abbreviation T, so that T-u refers to the u-declension.

6.2. r- and l'-Stems

All nouns ending in l' and most ending in r retain these consonants in the oblique cases; in cases other than the N and Ac the vowel -e- intercedes between the base and -l'/-r. Still other nouns show a diphthong, e.g. ew, in the N and Ac singular which is shortened to e in the remaining forms. The nouns oskr 'bone', al'bewr 'source, fountain', and astl' 'star', illustrate the declensions.

6.3. n-Stems with Two Stems

Nouns whose stem ends in -n are quite common in Classical Armenian. Many of these display two stems in their declension. Nouns of this sort fall into two categories according to which cases display different stems. In particular, one finds the types

• (a) Stem 1: NAc Sg.; Stem 2: oblique cases, NAcL Pl.;
• (b) Stem 1: NAc Sg., NAcL Pl.; Stem 2: oblique cases.

Again, the term 'oblique' refers to any case not explicitly mentioned. Examples of type-(a) are given by the nouns kol'mn 'side', stems kol'mn-/kol'man-; and anun 'name', stems anun-/anuan-. Examples of type-(b) are given by the nouns tun 'house', stems tun-/tan-; and gerut'iwn 'imprisonment', stems gerut'iwn-/gerut'ean-.

6.4. n-Stems with Three Stems

Some n-stem nouns display three stems throughout their declension. These also may be divided into two categories based on which stem appears in each case.

• (c) Stem 1: NAc Sg.; Stem 2: oblique cases; Stem 3: NAcL Pl.;
• (d) Stem 1: NAc Sg.; Stem 2: GDL(Ab) Sg., NAcL Pl.; Stem 3: oblique cases.

In nouns of type-(d), the ablative is typically built from stem 2, but occasionally from stem 3. Type-(c) is illustrated by the nouns durrn 'door', stems durrn-/dran-/drun-; sharzhumn 'imprisonment', stems sharzhumn-/sharzhman-/sharzhmun-; manuk 'child', stems manuk-/mankan-/mankun-; al'jik 'maiden', stems al'jik-/al'jkan-/al'jkun-. Type-(d) is illustrated by the nouns azn 'race, kind', stems azn-/azin-/azan-; garrn 'lamb', stems garrn-/garrin-/garran-.

Notice the forms azné and garrné, shortened from aziné and garriné respectively.

Some nouns exhibit features of both the (c) and (d) declension types. Examples are the nouns t'orrn 'grandchild' and harsn 'bride'.

7. Demonstratives

7.1. Demonstrative Suffixes

Classical Armenian has three demonstrative suffixes which are attached to the end of nouns. These are

• -s 'this, this here, this near to me';
• -d 'that, that right there, that next to you';
• -n 'that, that over there, that near to him'.

These correlate roughly to the use of Latin hic, iste, and ille, respectively. These particles, however, are indeclinable. Since Classical Armenian has no articles as such, an unqualified noun may be either definite or indefinite; these demonstrative suffixes are often used for marking a noun as definite (and in that sense overlap with z-, which is pre-posed on definite nouns in the accusative). In this role -n is by far the most commonly used; -s and -d are reserved for particular emphasis or change of subject. Note the possibility of overlap, e.g. adzss could be either ays 'evil spirit' plus the accusative plural ending -s, or the same noun in the singular but with the deictic suffix -s. Moreover, one may find aysss, that is, adzs + Ac Pl. -s + suffix -s.

There are a few tendencies in the usage of the demonstrative suffixes. Proper names rarely take demonstrative suffixes, e.g. t'agawor-n Parsits' 'the king of the Persians', where English inserts before 'Persians' an article which is not present in the Armenian. Another example is Arshak ark'ay 'Arshak the king'. When an adjective modifies a noun, typically only the noun receives a demonstrative suffix, e.g. vkayn surb 'the holy martyr'. If a noun in the genitive qualifies a definite noun, typically the last word of the collocation receives the demonstrative suffix, e.g. barekan t'agawori-n 'the king's friend, the friend of the king'. Vocatives use the suffix -d, e.g. K'ristos-d 'O Christ'. Adjectives used as substantives may take demonstrative suffixes, as in ch'arn 'the evil one, Satan'; arrak'ealk'n 'the ones sent, the apostles', built from the participle arrak'eal 'sent'; gel'ets'ikd 'O beautiful one'.

Relative clauses may also take a demonstrative suffix. The suffix -s, -d, or -n is added to the first stressed word of the relative clause.

7.2. Demonstrative Adjectives

The same threefold distinction as in the suffixes -s, -d, -n is found in the demonstrative adjectives adzs 'this here', ayd 'that', ayn 'that over there'. These adjectives also have a long form which is used as an emphatic. The threefold distinction is also made in the demonstrative pronouns sa, da, na, which may also function as the third person pronoun. Likewise the distinction is made in the pronoun and adjective soyn 'this same', doyn 'that same', noyn 'that same there'. The paradigms of the -n series are given below to illustrate the declensions.

8. The Aorist System of Verbs

Classical Armenian has a two-stem verbal system, wherein each verb form pertains either to a present or to an aorist stem of a given root. Generally, one or both of the stems will contain a suffix inserted directly after the root, thus preceding the thematic vowel in present forms and preceding the endings in aorist forms. There are several such suffixes in the present system (-an-, -n-, -ch'-, -nch'-), but only one type, namely -(V)ts'-, in the aorist system. There are five basic distinctions in the two-stem system:

(a) Aorist stem extended:

(b) Present stem extended:

(c) Both stems extended:

(d) Neither stem extended:

(e) Suppletive system:

Aorists without suffixes are termed root aorists. Other terms are strong or second aorists. Aorists with the -(V)ts' suffix are sometimes known as weak or first aorists.

The distinction between present and aorist is not one of tense, but of aspect. Both imperfect and aorist indicative are past tenses; both present and aorist subjunctive lack tense altogether. Verbal forms built from the present stem denote a continuous, ongoing action -- an action in its development. By contrast, verbs forms built from the aorist stem refer to the completion of the action. These distinctions are without regard to the actual point on a timeline at which an action occurs; they point to the nature of the action described. In principle, then, one could find "present aorist" forms, "past present" forms, and so on. "Past present" forms, in this sense denoting past actions with continuous aspect, are essentially what the imperfect tense represents. There are no specifically "present aorist", that is, present completive forms; however the occasional use of the aorist subjunctive in the role of a future displays how the aorist may be used in reference to completive actions in the "non-past".

The aorist system also distinguishes two voices, active (A) and mediopassive (MP), by different sets of endings. The distinctions are discussed in the next lesson.

8.1. The Aorist Indicative

The endings of the aorist indicative are as follows.

The verbs argelum 'I hinder' and nstim 'I sit' illustrate root aorist paradigms. The verbs orsam 'I hunt' and hayim 'I look' illustrate aorists with the suffix -(V)ts'.

The ending -aruk' of the second person plural sometimes shows up as -eruk' in certain verbs. For example, chanach'em 'I know' has aorist tsaneay 'I knew', with 2nd Pl. tsaneruk'.

A given root may take endings of both active and mediopassive voices, such as sirem 'I love' and berem 'I carry'.

Note that forms which would otherwise be monosyllabic take an augment e, hence eber. The augment does not appear when the monosyllable begins with a vowel, e.g. 3 Sg. A ats from the verb atsem 'I lead'. In the post-classical period, such forms also gained an augment: éats. Note also the alternation ea/e, with ea showing in positions where the syllable carries stress, hence sireats'. In general, when the stem is subject to vowel alternation, the full grade is displayed in the 3rd Sg.; examples are the following.

The last two forms are not examples of the -(V)ts' aorist suffix, but rather of regular vowel alternation in the verbal root itself: present indicative keam, ateam.

Root aorists in -eay are built on i-stems, e.g. p'axeay 'I fled' < *p'axi-ay and sarteay 'I startled' < *sarti-ay. Such aorists at times have modified endings in other portions of the aorist system.

8.2. The Aorist Subjunctive

The marker of the aorist subjunctive is -its'-, becoming -yts'- after a. In unstressed syllables, the i drops. Only the second person plural breaks this pattern, showing -jik' instead. Thus the aorist subjunctive endings are as follows.

These endings are added to the aorist stem. Note that extended polysyllabic aorist stems change ts' to s before a consonant. Thus we have the following example paradigms.

Monosyllabic stems do not display such dissimilation, e.g. lats'its', lats'ts'es, etc.

The alternate mediopassive endings are found for some anomalous verbs and for i-stem aorists. For example, p'axeay 'I fled' shows subjunctive forms p'axeayts', p'axits'es, p'axits'é, 3rd Pl. p'axits'en.

8.3. The Aorist Imperative

The aorist imperative has only second person forms. The endings are as follows.

Note that the second person plural forms are the same as those of the aorist indicative. Sample paradigms are given for the verbs berem 'I carry' and sirem 'I love'.

The mediopassive ending -ir always occurs in verbs with extended present stems:

and occasionally in verbs with present in -anam, aorist -ats'ay:

Otherwise, the second person singular is generally identical to the bare aorist stem. Polysyllabic aorists in -ts'-, however, have the following tendencies:

(a) -ats' reduces to -a:

(b) -ets' changes to -ea in the active, to -eats' in the mediopassive:

Monosyllabic stems in -ts' do not undergo such changes:

Root aorist stems remain unaltered:

Also noteworthy are the second person endings -jir (Sg.) and -jik' added to aorist stems to form the so-called cohortative. These parallel the present endings -ijir and -ijik' added to -em and -im presents. The cohortative forms play a role essentially like an imperative. The verb argelum 'I hinder' illustrates the forms.

The difference is perhaps akin to that of Latin imperative as against second person subjunctive: prohibe (imp.) 'hinder!' vs. prohibeas (coh.) 'let you hinder'.

9. Adverbs

There are some general tendencies in the formation of adverbs in Classical Armenian. Adverbs generally derive from two souces: (1) frozen use of oblique cases; (2) special endings. The most common formations are discussed below.

Adverbs of Mode are often formed from

• the instrumental case of nouns or adjectives: diwr 'easy' yields the adverb diwraw 'easily'; bun 'nature' yields bnaw 'by nature; absolutely'. There is a particular instrumental ending -ew frozen in its adverbial function: ardar 'just, righteous' yields ardarew 'really'; amen-ayn 'all, every' yields amenewin 'wholly'.
• the accusative of adjectives: yankarts 'unexpectedly'; ul'il' 'directly'.
• the ablative with the preposition i: yanpatrastits' 'suddenly', from i and anpatrast 'not ready'.
• the suffix -pés, denoting 'type, way', appended to nouns and adjectives: p'oyt' 'haste' yields p'ut'apés 'quickly'; darrn 'bitter' yields darrnapés 'bitterly'; ays 'this' yields ayspés 'in this way'; ?or 'what?' yields ?orpés 'how?'. Note the form péspés 'variously'.
• the suffix -abar with the sense 'in the habit of, in the manner of': gazanabar 'in the manner of a beast, wildly' comes from gazan 'wild beast'; ariabar 'valiantly' comes from ari 'brave, valiant'.
• the suffixes -arén or -erén used for languages: yunarén 'in Greek' from yoyn 'Greek'; hayerén 'in Armenian' from hay 'Armenian'; ebrayets'erén 'in Hebrew' from ebrayets'i 'Hebrew'.

Adverbs of Time are often derived from frozen case forms. Examples are aysawr 'today', the accusative of ays awr 'this day'; ayzhm 'now', accusative of ays zham 'this time'; val'iw (also i val'iw or i val'iw andr) 'tomorrow', instrumental of val' 'soon'; erek 'yesterday', locative of erek 'evening'; aysu hetew 'from now onward; consequently', instrumental of ays het 'this track, this trail'; orov hetew 'since; because', instrumental of or het 'which track'.

Adverbs of Place generally have the same threefold distinction as the demonstratives (-s, -d, -n), and answer to questions of y?o 'to where?', ?ur 'where?', and ust?i 'from where?'. The following table summarizes the distinction.

There are emphatic forms with the ending -én: astén, aydrén, andén 'in the same place'.

One may construct a similar table based upon the distinction 'in', 'out', 'above'.

The phrase i vayr 'down', from the word vayr 'field', is often used in opposition to i ver 'above'.

10. Particles

Classical Armenian makes use of several particles. The most common are listed below for convenience.

aha 'lo! behold!'. Interjection.

ayl 'but, rather', typically contrasting opposites, e.g. och' eki lutsanel , ayl lnul 'I have not come to destroy, but to fulfil'. The form is A Sg. of ayl 'other, another'.

apa 'then, afterwards, later', marking the sequence of events. apa (uremn) 'therefore' may signify logical conclusion, e.g. apa uremn azat en ordik'n 'therefore the sons are free'. apa 'or' may signify the second of two alternatives. apa 'then' may mark the apodosis ('then'-clause) of a conditional statement.

ard 'now; so, then'. The basic meaning is 'now', but may be used in the continuation of a thought.

bayts' 'except, but'. The basic sense is 'except': och' ok' i nots'ané koreaw bayts' ordin korstean 'no one among them perished, save the son of ruin'. bayts' 'but' may be used in a limiting sense: hogis yawzhar é bayts' marmins tkar 'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak'.

ew 'also, too, and'. Conjunction linking words or clauses. Also found in extended form ews 'also, still, moreover, besides'.

zi 'that, because' with indicative verb, introducing causal statements; 'so that, so as to' with verbs in the subjunctive, introducing result clauses. The form z-i is A Sg. of the relative-interrogative pronoun. It is often closely allied with other adverbs: k'anzi 'because'; vasn zi 'since'; orpés zi 'so that', with subjunctive; minch' zi 'until, up to'; p'oxanak zi 'in place of'.

t'e, et'e '(quote)', introducing direct speech or a direct question; 'whether, whether...or' introducing dependent or indirect questions, or twofold questions; 'that' with subjunctive, introducing result clauses; 'if' with indicative or subjunctive verb, introducing different types of conditional statements. This particle has a very broad range, with many nuances beyond those mentioned here.

t'epét 'although'. It may be followed by a verb in the indicative or subjunctive, according to sense.

ibr, ibrew 'like, as', used for comparison with z and the accusative of the object of comparison, e.g. linits'ik' ibrew zastyatss 'you will be as gods'; 'about, approximately' used in apposition with numbers; 'as, as soon as, while, after' with temporal clauses.

isk 'truly, indeed, but'. isk ew isk is used in the sense of 'immediately': ew isk ew isk etes i tesleann 'and immediately he saw in the dream'.

kam 'or', kam...kam 'either...or'. Disjunctive particle. Originally meaning 'as one wants, as you like, as you will'.

minch', minch'ew 'until, up to, as far as, as, during, while, as long as' with finite verb or infinitive, introducing temporal or consecutive statements. It may also be used with i before nouns. The collocation minch' ch'ew is used in the sense 'before'. minch' derr is used in the sense 'while, as'.

na 'then'. One also finds na ew 'and also'.

sakayn 'but, however', often used in the sense 'under such conditions'.

k'an 'than'. Comparative particle, used with z and the accusative of the object of comparison: sirets'in mardik zxawar arrawel k'an zloys 'the men loved the shadow more than the light'; hzawragoyn k'an zna 'someone stronger than he'.