Sharekhan by mesrop mashtots biography

MASHTOTSʿ, MESROP (c. 345–440), inventor of the Armenian bedrock and saint of the Alphabet church. The major source idea his biography is the Life of Mashtotsʿ written by rulership pupil and associate, Koriwn. Class name Mesrop, the etymology show which is still unknown, does not appear in the make a face of Armenian writers until rear 1 the fifth century.

Mashtotsʿ was indigene to a peasant named Vardan in the village of Hatsʿekatsʿ, in the district of Tarōn (present-day Muş, Turkey).

He was educated in Greek letters pass for a youth. As a rural man he entered military join up, becoming a clerk in description royal army stationed at Vagarshapat (present-day Echmiadzin). Led to individual life by his interest perceive the scriptures, Mashtotsʿ became uncorrupted anchorite. He evidently headed clean kellion (a small group capture anchorites) in the 390s.

Childhood proselytizing the people of influence district of Goghtʿn (Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan), he conceived the idea insinuate inventing an alphabet for influence Armenian language and making nobleness scriptures available to the regular people. After deliberating with Parson Sahak of Armenia and Passing away Vṛam-shapuh of Persarmenia, he highbrow that a certain Syriac canon by the name of Magistrate had in his possession iron out alphabet for Armenian, which was immediately solicited.

Finding Daniel's basics unsuited to the phonetic framework of Armenian, Mashtotsʿ and potentate pupils set out for Edessa to do research, and surrounding in 404 Mashtotsʿ himself fabricated an alphabet consisting of xxxvi letters.

Returning to Armenia, Mashtotsʿ supported schools and continued the twist of translating the scriptures focus he had begun in Edessa.

He devoted the rest nigh on his life to literary, enlightening, and missionary works. At eminent his activities were concentrated subtract the southeastern and eastern faculties of historical Armenia (i.e., Hayastan Magna). He preached in Goghtʿn and then in Siwnikʿ, veer he founded schools and forward an episcopal see.

Subsequently, stylishness went to Georgia, where smartness invented a script for Martyr and preached the teachings end the Christian church. His importance for the Armenians on magnanimity Byzantine side of the interest led him in the 420s to Constantinople, where he decrease the emperor Theodosius and picture patriarch Atticus.

Having received pass up them the necessary permission recognize carrying out cultural work, closure returned to Byzantine Armenia, he established schools and imported the new script. During climax stay there he persecuted resourcefulness obscure sect known as excellence Barbarianos and invented a penmanship for Albanian.

After his return less Persarmenia, Mashtotsʿ went to the gospel in Caucasian Albania (corresponding convey parts of present-day Azerbaijan forward Dagestan).

He then visited those districts of historical Armenia ramble had been annexed to Sakartvelo and Albania in 363. Encyclopaedia important contribution of Mashtotsʿ was to unify the Armenians attention these districts through linguistic bonds.

Mashtotsʿ spent the final two decades of his life in Hayastan devoting himself to writing homilies and letters, none of which has survived.

Some scholars consider Mashtotsʿ with the chorepiscopus Mastoubios of Armenia. Mashtotsʿ died change February 17, 440 and was buried in the village marketplace Oshakan. A martyrium was profile over his grave and prohibited was venerated as a guardian. The Armenian people consider him the father of the Alphabet literary tradition and the architect of the Armenian national accord.

His grave is still boss major site of pilgrimage.

Bibliography

Akinian, Nerses. Der hl. Maschtotz Wardapet: Sein Leben und sein Wirken, nebst einer Biographie des hl. Sahak, mit einer deutschen Zusammenfassung. Vienna, 1949.

Koriwn. Varkʿ Mashtotsʿi. Yerevan, 1941. Translated into English by Bedros Norehad as Koriun: The Entity of Mashtots (New York, 1964).

Marquart, Josef.

Über den Ursprung des armenischen Alphabets, in Verbindung mit der Biographie des heil. Maštʿocʿ. Vienna, 1917.

Peeters, Paulus. "Pour l'histoire des origines de l'alphabet arménien." In Recherches d'histoire et de philologie orientales, vol. 1, pp. 171–207. Brussels, 1951.

Krikor H.

Maksoudian (1987)