Stepanos Orbelian
Stepanos Orbelian | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1250-1260 |
| Died | 1303/1304 |
| Resting place | Noravank |
| Occupation(s) | Metropolitan bishop,historian |
| Known for | History of the Province of Syunik |
Stepanos Orbelian(Armenian:Ստեփանոս Օրբելեան,[a]originally spelledՍտեփաննոս,Stepʻannos;c. 1250-1260– 1303) was a thirteenth-centuryArmenianhistorianand themetropolitan bishopof the province ofSyunik.He is known for writing his well-researchedHistory of the Province of Syunik.
Biography
[edit]Stepanos Orbelian was a member of theOrbelianprincely family which ruled Armenia'sprovince of Syunik.[1]The exact year of his birth is unknown, but he is thought to have been born sometime between 1250 and 1260.[2]He received an excellent clerical education and was ordained as a celibate priest in 1280/81.[1][2]In 1285/6, Stepanos's father Tarsayich Orbelian became the prince of Syunik and sent him to theArmenian Kingdom of Cilicia,where he was hosted at the court of KingLevon IIIfor three months.[1][2]He was consecrated metropolitan bishop of Syunik by the newly electedCatholicosConstantine IIon Easter in 1286 and returned to Syunik in 1287.[2][3]After an extended struggle with the rebellious clergy of Syunik, Stepanos was able to assert his authority over the prelacies ofTatevandNoravankand began the renovation of many ruined churches and monasteries in his diocese.[2]He oversaw the completion of the famous monasterial complex ofTatevin 1297 and supported the continued activity of theUniversity of Gladzor.[1][3]Stepanos led the eastern Armenian clergy in opposing the Latinophile policies of CatholicosGrigor VII.[1]He died in 1303/4 and was buried in the Orbelians' family mausoleum atNoravankMonastery.[1][2]
Works
[edit]Orbelian is known to have completed three works during his lifetime: theHistory of the Province of Syunik(Patmutʻiwn Nahangin Sisakan)[b]in 1297; theLament on Behalf of the Cathedral(Voghb i dimatsʻ surb Katʻoghikēin), where he calls on the Armenians to repopulatehistoric Armenia,which was under Mongol rule at the time, in 1300; and theArgument AgainstDyophysitism(Hakacharut'iun unndem yerkabnakats'), in 1302, a work criticizing the pro-Byzantine and Westernizing tendencies ofGrigor VII Anavarzetsiof Cilicia.[4]
Of the three, the most prominent is that on the history of Syunik and the Orbelian family.[1]Before he began writing it, he conducted an extensive amount of research, utilizing a wide variety of sources derived from speeches, letters,colophons,previous histories and chronicles by Armenian historians, as well as works byGeorgianauthors.[1][5]Like other Armenian historians and chroniclers, Orbelian's work briefly narrates the beginning of the world starting withAdam and Eve,but then moves on to tell Syunik's and Armenia's history, spanning from the time of kingTiridates Ito the end of the thirteenth century. Orbelian's work is especially valuable as it contains many previously unknown details about the province and Armenian history.[1]In 1864 and 1866, Orbelian'sHistory of the Province of Syunikwas translated intoFrench(with excerpts translated intoGeorgianandRussian) byorientalistMarie-Félicité Brosset.[1]A translation into modern Armenian was published by linguist Ashot Abrahamyan in 1986.[6]Robert Bedrosian published an English translation of Orbelian's history in 2012.[7]A Russian translation of the history byMargarita Darbinyanwas published in 2020.[8]
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^Reformed orthography:Ստեփանոս Օրբելյան
- ^Alternative title:Patmutʻiwn tann Sisakan( "History of the House of Syunik" ).
Citations
[edit]- ^abcdefghijTorosyan 1985.
- ^abcdefBedrosian 2012,p. ii.
- ^abHacikyan et al. 2002,p. 534.
- ^See S. Peter Cowe, "Catholicos Grigor VII Anavarzetsi and Stepanos Orbelian, Metropolitan of Siunik, in Dialogue" inArmenian Cilicia,eds.Richard G. Hovannisianand Simon Payaslian. UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series: Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, 7. Costa Mesa, California: Mazda Publishers, 2008, pp. 245-260.
- ^Hacikyan et al. 2002,p. 535.
- ^Bedrosian 2012,p. iv.
- ^Bedrosian 2012.
- ^Степанос Орбелян, История дома Сисакан, Ереван, 2020.
Bibliography
[edit]- Bedrosian, Robert (2012).Step'annos Orbelean'sHistory of the State of Sisakan.Long Branch, N. J.: Sources of the Armenian Tradition.
- Hacikyan, Agop J.; et al., eds. (2002).The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the sixth to the eighteenth century.Detroit: Wayne State University Press.ISBN0-8143-3023-1.
- Torosyan, Kh. (1985)."Stepanos Orbelian".In Hambardzumyan, Viktor (ed.).Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia(in Armenian). Vol. 11. Yerevan. pp. 139–140.
{{cite encyclopedia}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
External links
[edit]- English translation ofHistory of the Province of Syunikby Robert Bedrosian
- French translation ofHistory of the Province of Syunikby Marie-Félicité Brosset
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