THE LIFE and PASSION of KOSTANTI-KAXAY the History Of

THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY

The history of Georgian literature is inseparable from the Christiani- zation of the eastern Georgian lands beginning especially with the bap- tism of the K‘art‘velian king Mirian III in the fourth century1. Within a century of Mirian’s conversion, Christians set to work inventing a Geor- gian script in order to make biblical, liturgical, patristic, and other religious texts available to the local population. The earliest Georgian literature was therefore a translated literature, and translations remained an important part of that literature throughout pre-modern times. In some cases, Georgian translations have outlived their originals and now con- stitute the only surviving specimens of certain religious texts, including Hippolytus’ Commentary on the Song of Songs and the anti-Monophy- site On Festivals wrongly attributed to Justinian I2. Not surprisingly, the first original works of Georgian literature were also religious in nature. Hagiography is by far the best-represented genre of this early stage. According to the prevalent scholarly view, the oldest surviving specimen of original Georgian literature, The Martyrdom of Shushaniki, was written by Shushaniki’s priest-confessor Iakob C‘urta- veli (Jacob of Tsurtavi) towards the end of the fifth century. Other hagi- ographies followed, including the anonymous Martyrdom of the Chil- dren of Kola (fifth/sixth century), the anonymous Martyrdom of Evstat‘i of Mc‘xet‘a in the sixth/seventh century3, and the Martyrdom of Habo of Tp‘ilisi4 in the late eighth century. Three of the four are set within the ominous context of foreign-supported persecutions of Christians in the Georgian territories. Shushaniki and Evstat‘i died at the hands of offi- cials and supporters of the Zoroastrian Sasanid dynasty of Iran, while Habo was put to death by the local Arab amir. These earliest Georgian vitae have been well studied. Critical editions appeared several decades ago in the series Dzveli k‘art‘uli agiograp‘iuli literaturis dzeglebi [Monuments of Old Georgian Hagiographical Litera-

1 The authors are grateful for the assistance of Arrian Tchanturia, John Fine, Eugene Nida, Tina Qauxch‘ishvili, E. Abashidze, and K. Kuc‘ia. 2 E. XINT‘IBIDZE [Khintibidze], Georgian-Byzantine Literary Contacts, Tchanturia trans., Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 28-29. 3 Evstat‘i is equivalent to the Greek Eustathios. For the early seventh-century date, see M. CH‘XARTISHVILI, Martvilobay da mot‘minebay cmidisa evstat‘i mc‘xet‘elisay [da] c‘xorebay da mok‘alak‘obay cmidisa serapion zarzmelisay: cqarot‘mc‘odneobit‘i gamok- vleva, T‘bilisi, 1994, pp. 13-53 and 136-149. 4 Tp‘ilisi is the Old Georgian rendering of T‘bilisi. Habo is sometimes rendered Abo. 138 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. ture] published under the editorship of the K‘art‘velological luminary Ilia Abuladze. English translations of substantial excerpts of the afore- mentioned texts appeared in David Marshall Lang’s Lives and Legends of the Georgian Saints5. Although hagiographical texts written after the vita of Habo have also garnered substantial scholarly attention in Geor- gian academic circles, they are still poorly known in the English-speak- ing world. This article provides the first published English translation of the vita of Kostanti-Kaxay, a short narrative source belonging to the period shortly after the appearance of the The Martyrdom of Habo.

Summary of the text

Like so many other extant specimens of medieval Georgian literature, The Life and Passion of the Holy Martyr Kostanti the K‘art‘velian, Who Was Tortured by Jap‘ar, King of the Babylonians—hereafter abbreviated The Life of Kostanti-Kaxay—is a brief text: it occupies just nine pages of Abuladze’s critical edition. But its testimony for the period of Arab rule in eastern Caucasia and the situation in the southwestern Geor- gian domains during the age of the early K‘art‘velian Bagratids (Bagrationis) is disproportionate to its meager size6. The primary plot-points of Kostanti’s biography are: 1. A justification for the writing of saintly biographies and the context of prophets and martyrs; 2. The synchronization of Kostanti-Kaxay with the childhood and then reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael III (r. 842-867); 3. Kostanti’s origin in the village of Kaxay in the eastern Georgian district of K‘art‘li; 4. Kostanti’s amassing of considerable wealth, his public confession Christianity, support of monks and impoverished clergymen, and aiding of orphans, widows, and the poor; 5. His pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Jordanian desert; 6. The Muslim-led persecution of Christians throughout greater K‘art‘li in the year 853; the arrest of the 85-year old Kostanti and

5 Full citations to these works are provided below. 6 Descriptions of the text include I. JAVAXISHVILI, Dzveli k‘art‘uli saistorio mcerloba (V-XVIII ss.), repr. in his T‘xzulebani, vol. 8, T‘bilisi, 1977, pp. 86-90; the introduction of N. VACH‘NADZE and K. KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay da camebay cmidisa mocamisa kostantisi k‘art‘velisay, romeli icama babilonelt‘a mep‘isa jap‘aris mier, T‘bilisi, 1978; and D. RAYFIELD, The Literature of Georgia: A History, Oxford, 1994, pp. 37-38. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 139

his appearance before Bugha, the Turkish general headquartered at Tp‘ilisi; 7. Bugha’s torture of the unrelenting Kostanti; Kostanti’s subse- quent dispatch to Samarra, to the Caliph Jap‘ar, i.e., Djafar al- Mutawakkil ’ala-llah who ruled from 847 to 861; the Caliph’s demand that Kostanti renounce Christ and accept Islam; 8. Kostanti’s rebuff of the Caliph and banishment to a terrible prison; the Caliph’s sending of two apostates from the Armeno- K‘art‘velian frontier to persuade Kostanti to accept Islam; the failure of their efforts; 9. Jap‘ar’s ordering of the beheading of Kostanti; the inability of his officers to carry out the sentence; the Caliph’s dispatch of one of his own attendants who successfully carried out the deed; and finally, 10. The Byzantine emperor’s interest in Kostanti’s martyrdom and praise for K‘art‘velian/Georgian Christianity.

Author & date

As is the case for many early Georgian texts, we know very little about the author of The Life of Kostanti-Kaxay. Besides being a monk, the biographer describes himself as a contemporary of Kostanti, saying that the martyr “lived during our time, when Queen Theodora reigned as the servant of God” (cap. 1). This Theodora is none other than the famous Byzantine empress who opposed Iconoclasm. In the same passage Kostanti’s biographer also mentions her son, the emperor Michael III (r. 842-867). There is no reason to doubt the historical existence of Kostanti-Kaxay in the ninth century, but the date of his received vita is harder to gauge. Obviously, it could not have been written before his death in 853. Cer- tain internal criteria may point to a date in the late ninth or tenth century, including: the use of the old term Zena-Sop‘eli (zena-sofeli); the concept qoveli K‘art‘li (qoveli ≤ar¯li); the absence of the medieval Georgian k‘oronikon system in the one instance that a specific date is furnished7; and the lack of any reference whatsoever to the Bagratid dynasty. In addition, the terminating part of the vita connects K‘art‘li

7 On this point, the authors of this essay are not in complete agreement: Abashidze is of the opinion that the k‘oronikon was widely used by this time and that its absence is puzzling; Rapp holds that while the k‘oronikon had been invented by this time, its appli- cation remained relatively sporadic until the tenth and especially eleventh centuries. 140 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

Nineteenth-century rendering of Kostanti-Kaxay: SABININ, Sak‘art‘uelos samot‘xe, p. 363. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 141 very closely to the Byzantine Empire. Such a connection is consistent with the early Bagratid period, that is to say, the ninth and tenth centuries, though it might also belong to a later time8. Oral traditions—and perhaps a now-lost written one—about Kostanti must have circulated shortly after his death. Kostanti-Kaxay was well- known throughout Christian Caucasia, his capture and torture by Bugha being corroborated by contemporary local sources. A stone inscription on the Ateni Sioni cathedral near Gori reports: On August 5, a Saturday, in k‘oronikon 73 [i.e., 73+780=853 AD], the Is- lamic year 239 [i.e., AH], Bugha burnt the city of Tp‘ilisi and captured the amir Sahak and killed him. And in the same month, on August 26, a Satur- day, Zirak took Kaxa[y] and his son Tarxuji prisoner9. The date AH 239 corresponds precisely to the year falling between June 12, 853 and June 1, 854 AD, and thus matches the k‘oronikon date given previously10. The early tenth-century History of the House of the Arcrunik‘ by the Armenian writer T‘omvay Arcruni (Artsruni) is also acquainted with Kostanti. After describing the martyrdom of Mukat‘l by Bugha, Arcruni relates: In a similar fashion, or even more wonderously, the thrice-blessed Solo- mon, known as Sevordi, and Kakhay [Kaxay]11 of the upper land did not incline to the tyrant’s [i.e., Bugha’s] proposals or heed his words that reeks of gall and putridity like the stench that emanates from an opened womb — whereby he had seduced many away from the divine religion and the worship of the Son of God. But they battled valiantly and responded to the tyrant with great audacity, hoping in the one sole King of Kings and in the Lord of Lords, in Christ the Son of God. They said to the tyrant: “It is better for us to die for Christ’s name than to enjoy [life] with you. By whatever death you wish, we are ready to submit to every form of torture that the master of evil, your father Satan, has taught you. We shall not abandon the love of Christ, nor shall we be deprived of eternal life or inherit eternal torments.” Then the tyrant raged like a furious wild beast attacking lambs to devour them. He ordered them to be fastened to stakes with their feet and hands bound. He had iron rods brought, and they tortured them with the rods for a long time until they seemed to have died. But they endured with great for- titude…

8 The reference to Theodora and Michael as a chronological marker for events in the Georgian lands is a further indication of this. 9 I. JAVAXISHVILI, K voprosu o vremeni postroenia khristianskogo khrama v Atene, in Khristianskii vostok, 1/3 (1912), p. 284 (translation). The original text of this inscription has appeared in T. BARNAVELI, Atenis sionis carcerebi, T‘bilisi, 1957, p. 18; and P‘res- kuli carcerebi, Z. ALEK‘SIDZE and G. ABRAMISHVILI eds., vol. 3/1, T‘bilisi, 1989. 10 J.L. BACHARACH, A Middle East Studies Handbook, Seattle - London, 1984, p. 10. RAYFIELD, Literature of Georgia, p. 38, erroneously equates AH 239 and 861 AD. 11 Kakhay and Kaxay are the same; the difference is in the transliteration systems used (Thomson’s has been maintained here). In other words, Thomson’s kh = our x. 142 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

While they were still alive and thinking of Christ for the unconquerable power with which he had strengthened the saints for the great arena in the spiritual battle, the tyrant became even more enraged, flaming like a fiery furnace. He had wood brought, and they placed the blessed Solomon on the wood. Near to the wood they sat the holy Kakhay, so that perhaps the one, frightened by the other’s torments, might obey the tyrant’s order. But even more than previously they endured the tortures… Then there came an order from the court to kill Saint Solomon on that [pile of] wood by shooting him with arrows. At the tyrant’s command, the ex- ecutioners in a circle shot arrows at him; so the blessed martyr of Christ gave up the ghost for the glory of God. Saint Kakhay he ordered to be slain with the sword. The executioner took his sword, struck the blessed one, and cut off his head. Immediately, he surrendered his soul into God’s hands. Thus the blessed ones were martyred to the eternal glory of the Holy Trinity12. Arcruni’s information is of tremendous value because it substantiates the existence of Kostanti-Kaxay in the ninth century13. Yet it also raises other questions. For example, the Georgian vita is entirely silent with regards to a possible companion. On this possibility we must also con- sider the testimony of the early tenth-century Armenian historian Yovhannes Drasxanakertc‘i. Though Drasxanakertc‘i does not name Kostanti, in the course of his account of Bugha’s activities in Caucasia he refers to the martyrdom of seven men, with their leader Atom from the village of Orsirank‘ in Albak (Aghbak). The author attributes their murder to Bugha in the year 302 of the Armenian era, which the modern translator Rev. Krikor Maksoudian equates with 853 AD14. Might Kostanti-Kaxay have belonged to a group of martyrs-to-be? And if so, why does his K‘art‘velian biographer neglect reference to his compatri- ots? Adding fuel to this fire of speculation, it should be noted that the medieval Georgian source describing Bugha’s attack, the anonymous eleventh-century Chronicle of K‘art‘li, does not mention Kostanti’s mar- tyrdom15.

12 T‘omvay Arcruni, III.11, R.W. THOMSON trans., History of the House of the Artsrunik‘, Detroit, 1985, pp. 251-252. 13 For the identification of Arcruni’s Kaxay with our Kostanti by Javaxishvili and oth- ers, see E. C‘AGAREISHVILI, T‘omva arcrunis da anonimi istorikosis cnobebi sak‘art‘velos shesaxeb, in Mravalt‘avi, 4 (1975), p. 275. 14 Yovhannes Drasxanakertc‘i, History of Armenia, cap. 25, Rev. K.H. MAKSOUDIAN trans., Atlanta, 1987, pp. 121-122. See also C‘AGAREISHVILI, Sak‘art‘veloshi bugha t‘urk‘is lashk‘robis sakit‘xisat‘vis, Mac‘ne—istoriis, 4 (1968), pp. 105-114. 15 But it does provide important details about Bugha. To be fair, the author of Chron. K‘art‘. was a historian, not a hagiographer, and Kostanti the martyr fell beyond his sphere of interest. For the passage, see Chron. K‘art‘., in K‘art‘lis c‘xovreba, S. QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., vol. 1, T‘bilisi, 1955, pp. 256-257. References to this edition and volume of the corpus K‘art‘lis c‘xovreba (K‘C‘) are hereafter abbreviated Qauxch‘ishvili ed. It has recently been reprinted with a new English introduction by S. Rapp as K‘art‘lis c‘xovreba: The THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 143

The Life of Kostanti-Kaxay, originally produced in the late ninth/tenth century, survives exclusively in MSS from the eighteenth century and later16. How the extant versions differ from the original may only be guessed. However, it may be reasonably presumed that in its main points the received story is essentially the same as originally written. But we are on shaky ground so far as particular words, phrases, and construc- tions are concerned as the received text reflects an indeterminate number of editorial layers.

Manuscripts

Eight MSS transmit The Life of Kostanti-Kaxay. Seven are part of the extensive collection of the Korneli Kekelidze Institute of MSS in T‘bilisi, the Republic of Georgia (Kek.Inst.); the other is housed at the Institute of Oriental Studies in St. Petersburg, Russia (SPB Or.). Abuladze’s critical edition is based upon the eight redactions, which he designates: A Kek.Inst. A-130 Copied in 1713 by Gavriil Saginov in the nusxuri script. B Kek.Inst. A-170 Copied in 1733 by the Hierodeacon Ioanne in nusxuri. C Kek.Inst. A-176 Copied in the 18th century by unknown scribes in nusxuri. Some inserted pages belong to the 17th century. D Kek.Inst. H-2077 Copied in 1736 at Sueti-c‘xoveli (Mc‘xet‘a) by Arch- priest Alek‘si. Written in nusxuri with asomt‘avruli ta- ble of contents and initial letters. Includes pictures of 26 saints. E Kek.Inst. H-1672 Copied in 1740 at Sioni (T‘bilisi) by Archdeacon Ahron in nusxuri. F Kek.Inst. H-2121 Copied in 1748 by a certain Nik‘olozi in nusxuri. G SPB Or. H-22 Copied in the 17th/18th century by an unknown scribe in nusxuri17. H Kek.Inst. S-3637 Copied in 1838 by Prince T‘eimuraz in mxedruli.

Georgian Royal Annals and Their Medieval Armenian Adaptation, vol. 1, Delmar, NY, 1998. Most of the texts in this volume—including Chron. K‘art‘.—have been rendered into English by R.W. THOMSON, Rewriting Caucasian History: The Medieval Armenian Adaptation of the Georgian Chronicles, the original Georgian texts and the Armenian adaptation, Oxford, 1996. For an alternate Eng. trans. of Chron. K‘art‘., see TCHANTURIA trans. and R. METREVELI comm., The Georgian Chronicle: Matiane Kartlisa, T‘bilisi, 1996. 16 For the metaphrastic redaction, see B. BALXAMISHVILI, ‘Kostanti kaxis martvilobis’ metap‘rastuli redak‘c‘ia, in Literaturuli dziebani, 16/1 (1986), pp. 252-260. 17 Dzveli k‘art‘uli agiograp‘iuli dzeglebi, E. GABIDZASHVILI and M. KAVTARIA eds., vol. 5, T‘bilisi, 1989, pp. 212 and 274. 144 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

Editions and translations

The following translation is based upon Ilia Abuladze’s critical edition, which is reproduced here: C‘xorebay da camebay cmidisa mocamisa kostantisi k‘art‘velisay, romeli icama babilonelt‘a mep‘isa jap‘aris mier, in Dzveli k‘art‘uli agiograp‘iuli literaturis dzeglebi, vol.

1, T‘bilisi, 1963/1964, pp. 164-17227. We have retained Abuladze’s divi- sion of the text into chapters. Other Georgian editions of the text include (in reverse chronological order):

N. VACH‘NADZE and K. KUC‘IA ed. and Russian trans. C‘xorebay da camebay cmidisa mocamisa kostantisi k‘art‘velisay, romeli icama babilonelt‘a mep‘isa jap‘aris mier = Zhitie Muchenichestvo sviatogo muchenika Kostanti gruzina, kotoryi byl zamuchen tsarem Vavilonian Dzhafarom, T‘bilisi, 1978, pp. 50-65 (Georgian text) and 66-79 (trans.). S. QUBANEISHVILI ed., Dzveli k‘art‘uli literaturis k‘restomatia, vol. 1, T‘bilisi, 1946. Pp. 74-80. Based upon Kek.Inst. A-130 and A-170 (=Abuladze’s A and B redactions, for which see above). Paul Peeters trans., De S. Constantino, martyre in Babilonia in Acta Sanctorum, Novembriis, vol. 6. Louvain, 1925. Pp. 541-563. This Latin trans. is based on Sabinin’s Georgian text (see below). Gobron (Mixail) Sabinin ed., Sak‘art‘uelos samot‘xe (SPB, 1882), pp. 363- 370. This text is not critical and does not indicate the MSS employed. Abashidze notes the presence of some words and phrases not found in the known MSS. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 145

Transliteration

Our system of Georgian transliteration is based upon that devised by the Library of Congress, USA. Elsewhere Georgian x is sometimes rendered kh; similarly c—ts; gh—g; ch— c; sh—s; zh—z. abgdevzè¯iklm abgdevze t‘ i k l m nyopjrstªuf≤˚ nyopzhrst wup‘k‘gh q˙cwø∑©xå∆hà q sh ch‘ c‘ dz c ch x q‘ j h o 146 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

Text and translation

THE LIFE AND PASSION OF THE HOLY MARTYR KOSTANTI THE K‘ART‘VELIAN, WHO WAS TORTURED BY JAP‘AR, KING OF THE BABYLONIANS

I. Beloved, we all know that those who write18 books can only do so with the help of the Holy Spirit. Even the great prophet Moses told the story of how God created Heaven and Earth, even though he had not seen these events with his own eyes, but he described what the Holy Spirit made known to him. Then he wrote other books, in which he fore- told what would happen to the people of Israel after his death. Later books contain the words of the prophets who announced the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and his ministry on Earth. After the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, the four Gospels proclaimed to all succeeding generations the Lord’s life and his suffering for our sins. This he did in the body which he had received from the Virgin Mary. Then in the Acts of the Apostles we learn how the apostles traveled through the world, proclaiming the word of life to all those who believed and were baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”19 But the jealous and eternal enemies of God never ceased to oppose the truth, and they urged the kings of that time to persecute the believers by forcing them to worship idols.

18 Aghiceray (a˚i∑eray). 19 Mt. 28.19. Abbreviations of biblical and non-biblical books follows The Greek New Testament, B. ALAND et al eds., 4th rev. ed., Stuttgart, 1993, pp. 45*-46*. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 147 148 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

Those who refused to do so were either killed with swords or burned to death. At that time certain devout believers began to write about the lives of the holy martyrs and how their suffering resulted in their glorification as followers of God’s Chosen One. For this same reason I too, even though only an unworthy monk, have wanted to do what earlier writers had done. I desire to tell about the life and death of our holy and blessed martyr Kostanti, who lived during our time, when Queen Theodora reigned as the servant of God. While Theodora’s son Michael was still growing up, the blessed Theodora reigned over the kingdom of the Greeks and rescued the people from the foolish Iconoclasm which took place during the time of her husband. She strengthened the deeds of the Greeks and restored many of the islands that had been ravaged by the descendants of Hagar.

II. Kostanti, who was also called Kaxay because that was his hometown, lived in the land of K‘art‘li in the district of Zena-Sop‘eli. He was highly regarded throughout the whole of K‘art‘li as a man of outstanding character and of considerable wealth. As a result, his name was well known in distant lands, and many kings had heard about him. This fortunate man’s life was as full of good deeds as a tree is filled with leaves and fruit, and his openly confessed faith in our Lord Jesus Christ was more firm than the mountains. He also had a proper and just confidence in the high priests and monks of the church. He especially loved the monks, trusted them, and was always ready to help them. If monks [or] anchorites20 came to his home, he gladly went out to meet them and bowed to the ground. He not only offered them hospitality but sent them away with many gifts. It is simply impossible to say enough about Kostanti’s hospitality and compassion for the poor, but let me say just a few words. He never refused to give food to those who came to him hungry and thirsty. And if they had no clothes, he gladly provided them with something to wear. Many debtors flocked to him, even from distant lands,

20 Abashidze’s reading with the input of Eugene Nida. Rapp is less certain; “priests without belongings” possibly but not necessarily including anchorites may be the intended meaning. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 149 150 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. and he was happy to relieve their debts. He was always quick to take care of orphans and widows. He also cared for all the needs of his own household, for he heeded the words of the Apostle Paul, who had said, “If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”21 This blessed man was more humble and meek than all other people who had heard the words of our Savior: “for I am gentle and lowly in heart.”22 He looked upon himself as the most sinful of all people, and he wept because of his sins. He often said, “I do not expect people to for- give me for the sins I have committed, but this may be accomplished by the shedding of my own blood in the name of Him who shed his blood for us all.” [Kostanti] wanted very much to go to the temple in Jerusalem and to worship at Holy Golgotha, where “thou didst with thy arm redeem thy people.”23 He wanted to visit the life[-giving] grave enveloped in light and the Holy Zion, the Mother of Churches, as well as the holy places where the Lord’s feet had trod. When Kostanti finally visited Jerusalem, he prayed at the sacred places and gave expensive gifts to the churches, as well as to the poor residents of Jerusalem. Then he visited all the monasteries in the wilderness and the inhabitants of Jordan. Everywhere he shared his calm spirit and comforted the people, and they sent him away with many prayers and blessings. After returning home, he lived in the radiance of his constant service to God, and he never ceased to inquire about the peace of Jerusalem and the welfare of the poor. With the help of one of his servants, he sent 30,000 silver [coins] each year to the Holy Land: some for the holy places, some for the monks in the wilderness, and some for the poor residents of Jerusalem. He had remembered the commandment of the Apos- tle Paul in the letter to the Corinthians: “That as a matter of equality your abundance at the present time should supply their want, so that their abundance may supply your want, that there may be equality.”24

21 1 Tm. 5.8. 22 Mt. 11.29. 23 Ps. 77.15. 24 2 Cor. 8.14. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 151 152 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

III. When the blessed Kostanti was 85 years of age, a great persecution of Christians took place throughout all the land of K‘art‘li. There were great battles, and many Christians perished as they fought for the faith of Christ. Kostanti was immediately arrested because he was one of the leading nobles25 in the land of K‘art‘li. Since he was the mouthpiece of the people, he was put in chains and taken to Tp‘ilisi, where he was thrown into prison. But he was not frightened or terrified, but he accepted his impris- onment with joy and gave thanks to God. Kostanti’s arrest was not something done in defiance of God’s purpose, but with the approval of God, who rules everything and has given to the people the principles of life, even though their purpose may be hidden. Moreover, God wanted Kostanti’s joyful peace to be visible to angels and to people26. Accord- ingly, the Lord did not prevent Kostanti’s arrest, but trusted his courage, even as he had trusted Job’s faithfulness and all that had happened to other later saints.

IV. When the blessed Kostanti was brought before Bugha, the ruler in Tp‘ilisi, the latter taunted him by saying, “Maybe you did not realize that you can never escape from my hands. I have defeated everyone who has disobeyed me, and have conquered all who have prepared to fight against me. Now, God has delivered you into our hands, and you will be destroyed.” And Kostanti replied, “I realize that God has delivered me into your hands, but not because God loves you or respects what good you may have done, but because we did not obey his commandments. Therefore, he has let you defeat us because we have not been obedient to him. Many times the Lord delivered Israel into the hands of foreigners when [its people] did not follow the Lord’s path. And so it is now good for me that the Lord has punished me so that I might follow his commands.” [Kostanti] courageously endured the ill-treatment by [Bugha], because he remembered the words of the Lord: “Blessed are you when men re- vile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”27 While Christ’s martyr was imprisoned in Tp‘ilisi, he wrote letters to all the hermits28 in the city and to the abbots of the monasteries29: “I know that 25 Carch‘inebuli (∑arcinebuli). 26 Rev. 22:6. 27 Mt. 5.11. 28 Meudabnoet‘a (meudabnoe¯a). 29 Mamasaxlist‘a monastrisat‘a (mamasaxlis¯a monastrisa¯a). THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 153 154 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. you have heard what God has brought upon me because of my sins, so I ask you, holy fathers and true soldiers of Christ, to remember my love for you and my confidence in you. Please offer a prayer to the Lord for me. I do not ask to be saved from the hands of the godless, but I want Christ, who is the true God, to give me strength to withstand the trap which my enemy has set because he wanted me to lose my way. And ‘my way’ is my soul’s greatest desire.”

V. Some days later Kostanti was put into strong fetters of iron and taken to a town called Samarra in the land of Babylon. He was brought into the presence of the king of the Ishmaelites whose name was Jap‘ar, son of Abraham. When the holy martyr was brought before him, Jap‘ar said to him: “Now, you have been delivered into my hands, and I have power to do you good or evil, but listen to me and do what I say. Adopt our faith and renounce your erroneous belief in Christ as God. I see that you are sensible. So how can you accept as God an ordinary person born of a woman? Repent, therefore, because it is impossible to say that God had a son. Now recant your error and accept from me kindness and great honor. I shall make you my advisor and the most respected person among your people. But if you do not obey me, you will be killed with a sword, and I shall give your flesh to the birds of the air to feed on30. Who is the man that can save you from my hands?” Christ’s holy martyr answered him, “I too know that you have power over my body but not over my soul31, even as my Lord and God has said. Therefore, I do not fear your sword, but I fear him, who is able to destroy both soul and body32 and has power to bring back to life even as he raised Christ to life. Therefore, I shall suffer for him with pleasure, for he is the true God, ‘the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace,’33 as the Scriptures say. How can I reject him and listen to your command and your faith, when the Prophet censures, saying, ‘Canaan fails to heed it, nor did he appear in Teman, nor the sons of Hagar, the kings and the fable mongers, seekers of wisdom on Earth. They failed to see the way of truth, nor did they remember his ways, and they perished like him.”34 “And

30 Ps. 79.2. 31 Mt. 10.28. 32 Mt. 10.28. 33 Is. 9.6. 34 Baruch 3.22-23, and 27. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 155 156 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. how should I listen to those whom the Prophet accuses and threatens with death? Do with me what you like.” When the king heard these words, he was filled with great indigna- tion, and his anger fell upon the holy martyr. Jap‘ar ordered him to be put in a fearful prison, and he sent [to him] two of his officers35 who had been brought from Somxit‘i [i.e., the Armeno-K‘art‘velian frontier] as captives. Because of their repudiation of Christ, they were honored by the king. When the officers arrived they said to the blessed one, “This is what our master the king says, ‘I shall point out your folly but once, because it is ordained with us to admonish unbelievers three times.’ Now listen to us so that you may live, and do not trust in that hopeless hope, since God has delivered you into our hands. We advise you not to persist in that stubbornness of yours typical of a senseless person. We know you are sensible. We too were Christians, but we could not withstand the command of the king, and for this we have received honors from him. As for eternal life, who knows what is better.” Then the holy Kostanti answered the men sent to him, “Tell your king, ‘Do you really expect me to do such a thing? Even though the custom of the kings of Babylon encourages you in this because they too are opposed to the truth. But command to be done whatever you intend to do. Why do you stand here pressuring me to become like you? So leave me alone so that I may know the commandments of my God.’”36 Then he lifted his hands to heaven, and in their presence he said, “I sing to you, Lord, God of power, God of eternity, who granted me the strength to resist this evil judge, because, as you said earlier, ‘You give me your heart and I shall give you my strength.’37 Grant me the light of your face, for I strive toward thee, Christ, Son of God. Here, for the sake of your holy name, I am weakened by all these unbelievers, and even more so because of this godless king, and now, Lord my God, accept this sacrifice of mine and guard my soul38 from the hands of the unbelievers, and grant me the covenant that you vowed, namely, that ‘Who- ever acknowledges me before me, he will be honored by my Father.’39 Even in this same place you praised the holy youths who acknowledged you, and do me too the favor together with them. For the fourth time, I now acknowledge thee before this godless king, 35 Erist‘avni (eris¯avni), normally denoting general, high-ranking noble, or even a regional governor of the monarch. 36 Ps. 118.10. 37 Book of Solomon 23.26. 38 Ps. 148.8-9. 39 Jn. 12.26. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 157 158 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. so thou, too, good Lord, acknowledge me before thy angels40. To this day thou hast praised your worthy martyr Saint George and accepted his toils and the shedding of his innocent blood, so accept my worthless blood and give me a place with him, so that ‘my lines may fall in pleas- ant places and be content with my inheritance.’”41 And while the holy martyr was saying this, tears streamed from his eyes, as was his custom. And those standing around him struck him in the face and subjected him to severe punishment. But they failed to stop him from singing. So the officers returned to the king and told him all that they had heard and seen. Then the king grew more angry, and he sent officers back with orders to behead Kostanti, who tested them for he held them in contempt. They struck him in the neck with a sword in front of the courtroom, but could not wound him. And when this was reported to the sinful king, he sent one of his own attendants42, a foreigner, to cut off Kostanti’s head with a sword, and he carried it to the king, just like John the Baptist’s head was taken to Herod43. Kostanti’s body was then hung up on a very tall tree, where all the people could see a great miracle happen to his body. This holy martyr of Christ went to the place of rest, far removed from all the anguish, grief, and suffering. There he sees the light of your face, Lord, far from the accusing tongues of men, but with unending joy there in the community44 of the holy angels. He died in the good faith on the tenth of November, the feast of [the death of] Saint George, in which he then shared. The day was Friday, 6457 years after Creation, and the year 232 according to the reckoning of the Ishmaelites. Thus, of the many deeds of the holy Kostanti, a few have here been described45, in order that this story may be brief and complete, neither vexing because of deficiency in detail nor too lengthy. But only to glo- rify the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and always, forever and ever, Amen.

VI. When the holy kings, mentioned at the beginning, heard of the martyrdom of the holy Kostanti, they were overjoyed and

40 Lk. 12.8. 41 Ps. 15.6. 42 Cinashe-mdgomelt‘agani (∑ina˙e-mdgomel¯agani). 43 Mk. 6.27 and 28. 44 Mok‘alak‘obay (mo≤ala≤obay). 45 Aghicera (a˚i∑era). THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 159 160 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. wrote a letter to his children and his household46, for they were very numerous. This is what they wrote: “First, the words you proclaimed for the sake of the truth were reported to us. What you have done bears witness to you, and your words have been fully confirmed. The rules governing your life are well estab- lished. This is true because of the firm faith in your hearts. As true Christians, you made known your zeal to the ungodly, and because of your fellowship you became united in your hearts. Since you were joined in one faith, you always saw the Lord before you. Because you were unconquerable, you banded together, and with the Cross and with Christ you promptly and courageously attacked and humiliated your enemies and announced their flight to the victorious allies. All this happened through the power of God — a perfect deed and glory of your father. In order to sweeten this account for us and for you, it is proper to tell the story of the courage with which this holy martyr Kostanti with- stood his invisible enemies. “And we shall show you, our beloved friends, who are truly his children and the likeness of his physical nature, for when he fought the dev- ils in the fear of God, he conquered his body. He never cared much for the things of the body, nor did the light of this vanishing Sun seem daz- zling to him, nor did the transient heat of the Sun seem sweet to him. With indifference he viewed the light from the rising Sun as a cloud, and with love for Christ, he spit out all the pleasures of the world47 as blood in his mouth. His great desire was for understanding and for wisdom in counseling against cunning schemes. “Therefore he looked upon all glories48 of this world as rubbish, in order to gain Christ alone49. From now on, heaven and Earth, and everything that is on it is his, because he renounced everything and boasted only of God. He is blessed by God and his angels, and his words will be praised forever. “Now we need not console you, because he is our advocate who pleads for us and you before Christ. But let us now not speak about this man, who will never

46 “His household,” nat‘esavt‘a saxlisa misisat‘a (na¯esav¯a saxlisa misi- sa¯a). 47 Sop‘lisani, nom. sop‘eli (sofeli), denotes “village” and “world” in Old Geor- gian. 48 Didebay (didebay). 49 Php. 3.8. THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 161 162 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. be forsaken by God, but address our words to those received by God and by us. We wish to acknowledge in honorable words and deeds the loy- alty of your household to us in the past, so that you will be encouraged by me and find shelter under the wings of my kingship, because you ad- here to the law of faith. Everyone who is against true faith will renounce the preaching of Christ among you. Obey God zealously and lower your heads to be anointed by him. Bend your necks to our yoke of Christ and do not shirk to carry the light load on your shoulders. You have truly placed hope in the Lord and have become like Mount Zion, like a tower of strength in the face of the enemy. You have shown this by your works, because you zealously followed in the steps of God your blessed father, who was wonderful among men, as evidence in your hospitality, your making the roads safe for travel, and your reception of monks and those coming from afar. Now proceed to finish the work of that blessed one, because the shield of our kingship will care for you and the power of our greatness, which stems from Christ, will remove every obstacle in your way. Now do this and take courage. “We command this not only of your but of all K‘art‘velians who are on our side and subject to us, because I look upon all lovers of Christ and godly subjects of our rule as my own children. So rise again and again with strength from the Lord. “And with the greatness of his power, dazzle your spears in the face of enemies, but do not raise them against those living in your religion, so that you may receive our favor and the honor from the Lord, promised to those who do good.” THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 163 164 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

Commentary

This brief introduction establishes the context for Kostanti’s deeds. Kostanti is linked to the prophets as well as the apostles. The unsavory end met by numerous other Christian men and women sets the scene for Kostanti’s own martyrdom at the hands of the Muslims. Relationship to Vita John Chrysostom. Korneli Kekelidze, the outstanding scholar of medieval Georgian literature, determined this opening passage to be a translation of the Greek version or an unknown translation of Gregory of Alexandria’s Life of John Chrysostom. Though the original Greek was composed ca. 620, the text is otherwise unknown in Georgian circles until 968: “Konstanti kaxis martviloba da vinaoba,” repr. in his Etiudebi dzveli k‘art‘uli literaturis istoriidan, vol. 1, T‘bilisi, 1956, pp. 141-142; see also VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, p. 83, fn. 6, repeated in RAYFIELD, The Literature of Georgia, p. 38. Iconoclasm. Iconoclasm, the Byzantine government’s and church’s prohibition of icons, may be divided into two distinct periods. The first began with the legal banning of icons in 730 by Leo III (r. 717-741), an emperor of Syrian extraction. The empress Irene reinstated icons following the Seventh Ecumenical Council held in 787. However, Leo V the Armenian (r. 813-820) renewed the ban on icons in 815. Theophilus (r. 829-842) was the last of the iconoclastic emperors. His wife Theodora, mentioned in this text (see below), ended Iconoclasm once and for all in 843, a year after Theophilus’ death. Technically, she ruled not as emperor but as regent for her young son Michael III (r. 842-867). Though the surviving contemporary evidence is meager, it would seem that eastern Georgia was minimally affected by the controversy: Z. SXIRTLADZE, The Iconoclastic Controversy and Georgian Art During the 8th-9th cc., 18th Annual Byzantine Studies Conference: Abstracts of Papers, Urbana - Champaign, 1992, pp. 6-7; idem, The Mother of All the Churches: Remarks on the Iconographic Programme of the Apse Decoration of Dört Kilise, in Cahiers archeologiques, 43 (1995), p. 108. Greeks. This is the standard Old Georgian designation for Byzantines. The ethnonym berdzenni literally means “the wise men/people, philoso- THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 165 phers.” The Georgian term for the Eastern Roman Empire/Byzantium, Saberdznet‘i, literally denotes “the land where the wise people dwell.” Descendants of Hagar. According to Genesis (16.15-16; 21.9-10), when Abraham had no sons by his wife Sarah, he took his wife’s advice and fathered a son Ishmael with his slave-girl Hagar. Since the Arabs claimed descent from Ishmael, medieval Christian writers often referred to the Arabs as Hagarites.

II.

Kostanti’s origin. The anonymous biographer identifies Kostanti’s hometown as Kaxay in the district of Zena-Sop‘eli in the eastern Geor- gian region of K‘art‘li. The title also identifies Kostanti as a K‘art‘velian. However, some observers have interpreted Kaxay not as the name of a town but as an indication that Kostanti (the Gk. Constantine) was a native of the region of Kaxet‘i. Kaxet‘i is not (otherwise?) specified in the vita. Another interpretation was offered by Ivane Javaxishvili according to which Kaxay may not be a place-name at all but rather a nick- name used by his family and close acquaintances: C‘xorebay da camebay konstantine-kaxaysi, in his Dzveli k‘art‘uli saistorio mcerloba (V- XVIII ss.), repr. in his T‘xzulebani, vol. 8, T‘bilisi, 1977, pp. 87-88. For its part, Zena-Sop‘eli — variant Zeda Sop‘eli — is an old phrase refer- ring to “Inner [i.e., Shida] K‘art‘li” and was used already in the sixth century, if not earlier. N. Berdzenishvili attempted to trace it to pre- Hellenistic times: K istoricheskoi geografii: istoriko-geograficheskyi sbornik Gruzii, vol. 1, T‘bilisi, 1975, p. 12. In The Life of the Kings (LKings), we read that “The land from the Aragwi [River] and Armazi as far as Tasis-kari [the legendary forefather Mc‘xet‘os] called Zena-

Sop‘eli, which is now called Inner K‘art‘li” (QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., p. 107, THOMSON trans., p. 12). The medieval historian known as Ps.-Juansher

(QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., p. 2421) also refers to Zena Sop‘eli, rendered in Thomson’s trans. (p. 247) as “Upper land.” Rapp dates both LKings and Ps.-Juansher to around the year 800, while the majority of scholars in the Georgian Republic place both in the eleventh century. The phrase Zena- Sop‘eli is likewise attested in The Martyrdom of Abibos Nekreseli (Abashidze dates this text to the sixth century; Rapp assigns the received text to a later period around the tenth century; the oldest surviving ver- 166 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. sion of Abibos’ vita is found in the “new” N/Sin.-50 redaction of Mok‘c‘evay k‘art‘lisay, copied in the early tenth century, for which see Le nouveau manuscrit sinaïtique N Sin 50: édition en fac-similé, Z. ALEK‘SIDZE intro. and J.-P. MAHÉ trans. of the intro. (Corpus Scrip- torum Christianorum Orientalium, 586; Subsidia, 108), Louvain, 2001, pp. 255-282. We read that “… the blessed Abibos, bishop of the city of Nekresi in the region of Kaxet‘i” rejected Zoroastrianism and was imprisoned. Immediately thereafter, the Iranians “wrote about it to the marzpan of Zena-Sop‘eli”: Martwlobay abibos nekreselisay, in Dzveli k‘art‘uli agiograp‘iuli literaturis dzeglebi, I. ABULADZE ed., vol. 1,

T‘bilisi, 1963/1964, p. 24214-16, 25-26. Rapp would argue that Zena-Sop‘eli seems to have fallen from common usage in the course of the ninth and tenth centuries; its occurrence in Kostanti’s vita may be taken as evidence for a date sometime in this period. Finally, the early tenth-century Armenian historian T‘omvay Arcruni refers to “Kaxay of the upper land” (III.11). In the notes to his translation, Thomson (p. 251, fn. 2) observes “‘Of the upper land' [verin a˙xarewi, verin ashkharhets‘i] here seems to refer to the Caucasus…” See also: I. JAVAXISHVILI, K‘art‘veli eris istoria, vol. 2, repr. in his T‘xzulebani, vol. 2, T‘bilisi, 1983, p. 29; and VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, pp. 87-88, n. 16. Javaxishvili (op. cit., p. 87) also draws attention to a tenth-century hymn dedicated to Kostanti-Kaxay by Mik‘ael Modrekili. For Modre- kili, including this particular hymn, see V. GVAXARIA, Mik‘el modrekilisi himnebi, T‘bilisi, 1978, p. 324; and TARCHNISHVILI, Geschichte, pp. 118- 121. “… the lands of greater K‘art‘li…” This English phrase renders the Georgian qovelsa k‘ueqanasa k‘art‘lisasa (also encountered below in cap. 3). Georgian texts from the ninth and tenth centuries routinely refer to greater K‘art‘li, qoveli K‘art‘li: RAPP, Studies in Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts and Eurasian Contexts (forthcoming, in the subsidia of Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium); and VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, pp. 86-87, nn. 15 and 17. Pilgrimage to Jerusalem. K‘art‘li’s connection to Jerusalem may be traced to the fourth/fifth century AD and perhaps earlier. A tradition from the ninth/tenth century (i.e., the time of Kostanti-Kaxay and his anonymous biographer) makes the prophetess Nino reside in Jerusalem before her journey to the K‘art‘velian king Mirian III. Eastern Georgian monks were active in Jerusalem and the neighboring regions from the THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 167 fifth century if not earlier. For a review of this activity, see L. MENABDE, Centres of Ancient Georgian Culture, T‘bilisi, 1968, pp. 41-44 and 46- 49. One of the important sites of Georgian monasticism in the Holy Land was the monastery of St. Sabas. In the words of Menabde (p. 43), “By the year 532 there were so many Georgians in the monastery that they built their own church, where the services were conducted in their own language.” See also: T‘. MGALOBLISHVILI, The Georgian Sabaite (Sabatsminduri) Literary School and the Sabatsmindian Version of the Georgian Mravaltavi (Polycephalon), in The Sabaite Heritage in the Orthodox Church from the Fifth Century to the Present, J. PATRICH ed., Leuven, 2001, pp. 229-233; and PATRICH, Sabas, Leader of Palestinian Monasticism: A Comparative Study in Eastern Monasticism, Fourth to Seventh Centuries, Washington, DC, 1995, pp. 192, 251, 338 et sqq for the Georgians. Golgotha. Bagrat IV (r. 1027-1072), king of all-Georgia, and his mother Mariam are said to have provided funds for the restoration of Golgotha in the mid-eleventh century: A. TSAGARELI, Pamiatniki gru- zinskoi sviatini v sviatoi zemle i na Sinae, SPB, 1888, p. 111.

III.

85 years of age. Later in the text, cap. 5, we learn that Kostanti received the crown of martyrdom in 853 AD. Assuming that Kostanti was put to death the same year as Bugha’s invasion of K‘art‘li (see cap. 4 below), Kostanti must have been born ca. 768 AD. Context of the persecutions. VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, p. 94, n. 35, draw attention to the fragmentation of Islamic power in Caucasia. In this period we witness the struggle of the amirs of Tp‘ilisi and Duin (in Armenia) against the Caliphate. See also V. NALBANDIAN, T‘bilisi dzvel somxur mcerlobashi, T‘bilisi, 1959, pp. 61-62. Nobles. “Nobles” is rendered carch‘inebuli, which at the time con- sisted of those men holding the position of mt‘avari and didebuli. “… all the land of K‘art‘li…” See commentary above, cap. 2. Kostanti’s arrest. According to Mariam Lort‘k‘ip‘anidze [Lordkipa- nidze], Kostanti-Kaxay was taken prisoner at the Battle of Kuerc‘xobi, which pitted the forces of Bugha against those of T‘ewdosi, king of Ap‘xazet‘i (in western Georgia): in her Rus. trans., Matiane kartlisa, 168 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

T‘bilisi, 1976, pp. 70-71, n. 49; cf. the more careful association sug- gested by JAVAXISHVILI, K‘art‘veli eris istoria, vol. 2, p. 39. But in Rapp’s view this conclusion must remain provisional because Chron. K‘art‘.’s description of this battle (QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., p. 256) does not explicitly mention Kostanti-Kaxay. Tp‘ilisi. The Old Georgian form of T‘bilisi, Russian Tiflis. The capital of the pre-Bagratid K‘art‘velian kings from the sixth century; also the base of operations for later Sasanids and then Arabs. VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, p. 96, n. 39, for the amirate of Tp‘ilisi as one of the most powerful Islamic administrative-political centers in greater Cau- casia.

IV.

Bugha. Bugha = Bugha al-Kabir “the Elder.” See: N.G. GARSOIAN, The Arab Invasions and the Rise of the Bagratuni (640-884), in The Ar- menian People From Ancient to Modern Times, R.G. HOVANNISIAN ed., vol. 1, New York, 1997, pp. 140-141; and A. TER-GHEWONDYAN, The Arab Emirates in Bagratid Armenia, GARSOIAN trans., Lisbon, 1976, esp. pp. 43-44. The so-called “Anonymous Story Teller,” writing in Ar- menian, gives a fanciful account of Bugha’s appointment: R.W. THOM- SON, The Anonymous Story-Teller (Also Known as ‘Pseudo-Shapuh’), in Revue des études arméniennes, n.s., 21 (1988-1989), p. 213. See also Yovhannes Drasxanakertc‘i, caps. 25-27, MAKSOUDIAN trans., pp. 119- 126; and Ocherki istorii Gruzii, M. LORT‘K‘IP‘ANIDZE and D. MUSXE- LISHVILI eds., vol. 2, T‘bilisi, 1988, pp. 21-22. T‘omvay Arcruni, III.1, THOMSON trans., p. 193, describes Bugha as “a Turk by race… He as the commanding chief [hramanatar] of all the realm of the Muslims, and no one was able to contravene his wishes, from the greatest to the least; even the caliph himself obeyed his command. This man, whose devilish intelligence was wicked and full of wiles, undertook these malicious plans; greatly puffed up and haughty, he roared like a dragon, striking terror into those far and near.” Chron. K‘art‘., QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., p. 256, THOMSON trans., pp. 260- 261: “Then the Turk Bugha, a slave, arrived from Baghdad; he had been sent by the amir-mumin with a large army. He ravaged all Armenia and took captive all their mt‘avaris [i.e., nobles, functionally equivalent THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 169 to the Armenian naxarars]. Then he came and besieged the city of Tp‘ilisi, because the amir Sahak [i.e., Ishaq ibn Isma‘il] would not submit. He killed Sahak, destroyed Tp‘ilisi, burnt it with fire, and ravaged all its territories.”

Samarra. Situated approximately 125 km north of Baghdad, Samarra served as the capital of the ‘Abbasid caliphs from 836 to 892. It was es- tablished by the Caliph al-Mut‘asim. “Babylonia” was routinely used by medieval Georgian writers as a synonym for the ‘Abbasid caliphate. Jap‘ar, son of Abraham. This is the Georgian rendering of Djafar al- Mutawakkil ’ala-llah who ruled as Caliph from 847 to 861. He was known to contemporary Armenian writers as Jap‘r: TER-GHEWONDYAN, Arab Emirates, p. 41. Abraham is the famous Old Testament figure, represented here as the forefather of the Arab tribes. See also VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, p. 102, n. 54. Officers brought from Somxit‘i. In Old Georgian texts, Somxit‘i has two meanings: the lands of the Armeno-K‘art‘velian frontier and, less frequently, the lands governed by the Armenian monarch (i.e., Arme- nia). Abashidze prefers to identify Somxit‘i as “Lower K‘art‘li” or “southeastern Georgia.” It should be noted that the related Georgian term Somxet‘i always refers to the core Armenian territories. But some medieval Georgian authors could use Somxit‘i in the sense of Somxet‘i. So far as the Somxit‘i of the present text is concerned, Vach‘nadze and Kuc‘ia (C‘xorebay, p. 105, n. 65), define it as “the southern part of East- ern Georgia…” Abashidze emphasizes that in Old Georgian sources Somxit‘i occupied the territory from Debedi to Bolnisi to the mountains and from the K‘c‘ia River to Mt. Loki. This definition may be traced to the eighteenth-century historian and geographer Vaxushti Bagrationi, who, without question, relied upon older sources: see, e.g., Vaxushti, QAUXCH‘ISHVILI ed., pp. 311-312. It is worth noting that Vaxushti sometimes linked Somxit‘i to K‘art‘li, e.g., “K‘art‘l-Somxit‘i” and “K‘art‘lis Somxit‘i.” If Armenians are intended in our passage, as Rapp believes may be the case (whether they be Armenians from Armenia proper or the marchlands), Kostanti’s anonymous biographer may have been criti- cizing non-Chalcedonian Armenians. From his passage it appears that 170 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr. they could not be trusted and their faith may be suspect. If so, we must wonder whether the absence of Kostanti’s Armenian companion Solo- mon — attested in Arcruni’s history — is an additional censure of non- Chalcedonian Armenians. St. George. St. George, Cmiday giorgi, has long been specially re- vered by the Georgian peoples and is considered their patron saint; this circumstance may have inspired medieval Europeans (esp. Crusaders) to name the kingdom for the saint, i.e., Georgia, but it should be noted that Georgia is not a toponym encountered in indigenous languages (at least in pre-modern times). Investigations into the origins of the cult of St. George in Georgia have led numerous scholars to suggest direct connec- tions with pre-Christian “pagan” religions in central Caucasia. Javaxish- vili argued that St. George partly represents the pre-Christian moon de- ity, the chief god of the Georgians: see the Eng. “St. George and the Moon-God,” M. TSERETHELI trans., The Quest 3/3 (Apr. 1912), pp. 528- 545. In a similar vein, O.G. van Wesendonk identified St. George as the old Georgian sun-god: Über georgisches Heidentum, in Caucasica, 1 (1924), pp. 85-87. For a recent review of the literature on St. George in the Georgian tradition, see E. GABIDZASHVILI, Cminda giorgi: dzvel k‘art‘ul mcerlobashi, T‘bilisi, 1991. The esteemed position of St. George, even vis-a-vis Christ (!), is evident in Georgian folktales: see, e.g., “Ob Iisuse Khriste, proroke Il’e i sv. Georgie” in I. SANAKOEV, Kartvel’skiia legendy, in Sbornik materialov dlia opisanie mestnostei i plemen Kav- kaza, 19 (1894), pp. 152-154. Obviously, Kostanti’s stature could only be magnified through his association with St. George. There are some original Georgian-language works dedicated to St. George. Among them is a prayer from the eighteenth/nineteenth century (Kek.Inst. H-1135) in which is mentioned some forty St. Georges from all over the world, especially from Georgia. Date of Kostanti’s martyrdom. The Georgian Creation date 6457 is equivalent to 853 AD (6457-5604=853). VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, pp. 110-111, n. 81, place Kostanti’s death in Samarra on Novem- ber 10, 853. In the vita AH 232 corresponds to the Islamic year stretch- ing from August 28, 846 to August 16, 847. Like previous scholars, we have given precedence to the Georgian date; for the error, see V. SILOGAVA, K‘art‘uli k‘ronologiuri terminologiidan (zeda celi), in Mac‘ne—enisa, 4 (1974), pp. 118-119. It will be recalled from the introduction to this article that the inscription at Ateni Sioni correctly gives THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 171 both Georgian k‘oronikon and AH dates. In Rapp’s view, the lack of a k‘oronikon date in Kostanti’s vita may signify its relatively early origin, not long after Kostanti’s death. For a review of Georgian interpretations of the k‘oronikon and other chronological systems applied locally, see K. DANELIA and Z. SARJVELADZE, K‘art‘uli paleograp‘ia, T‘bilisi, 1997, ch. 15, “Celt‘aghric‘xvis sistemebi dzvel sak‘art‘veloshi,” pp. 341- 353.

VI.

Holy kings. Many observers identify these “holy kings” as the Byz- antine rulers mentioned in the opening passage of the vita; see, e.g., VACH‘NADZE and KUC‘IA, C‘xorebay, p. 112, n. 83. We concur with this identification. “He never cared much for the things of the body…” The Georgian scholar R. Siradze has stressed the influence of Aristotle’s philosophy on Kostanti’s anonymous biographer, an influence that he contends is par- ticularly evident in this passage. Siradze has pointed to Aristotle’s definition of divine power as being without color, name, sex, and even mo- tion, and he has also emphasized Aristotle’s rejection of deifying the Sun: Dzveli k‘art‘uli literaturil-t‘eoriuli azrovnebis sakit‘xebi, T‘bilisi, 1975, p. 171. Cfr RAYFIELD, Literature of Georgia, p. 38, who contends that rejecting “the transient warmth of the Sun” echoes the same apolo- gia by Marcianus Aristides embedded in The Martyrdom of Evstat‘i. K‘art‘velians’ relationship to Byzantium. The purported Byzantine letter states in no uncertain terms that the K‘art‘velians are rightly subject to Constantinople. Such sentiment is in line with the ninth and tenth centuries, a period when the Bagratid house consolidating its power under Byzantine tutelage. It was in this era, in 813, that Ashot I became the first Bagratid to take the reins of power in K‘art‘li. At century’s end, in 888, his kinsman Adarnase successfully reestablished K‘art‘velian royal authority which had been in abeyance since the sixth century. It is note- worthy that the Bagratids are not mentioned positively by Kostanti’s biographer. This may be an indication that this vita was composed outside the K‘art‘velian and neo-K‘art‘velian domains, perhaps in the far eastern territory of Kaxet‘i or even in Jerusalem. 172 M. ABASHIDZE - S.H. RAPP Jr.

INDEX OF PEOPLE & PLACES IN THE TEXT Terms are cited by chapter.

Armeno-K‘art‘velian frontier [Somxit‘i, somxi¯i] V Babylon [Babilovni, babilovni] V Bugha [bu˚a; Turkish general] IV Canaan [K‘anani, ≤anani] V George, Saint [Cmiday Giorgi, ∑miday giorgi] V Golgotha [Golgot‘a, golgo¯a] II Greeks [Berdzenni, berøenni; Byzantines] I Herod [Herode, herode] V Ishmaelites [Ismailelni, ismailelni; Muslims] V Israel [Israeli, israèli] I, IV Jap‘ar [∆afar] V Jerusalem [Ierusalemi, ierusalèmi] II John the Baptist [Ioane Nat‘lis-mc‘emelisay, ioane na¯lis-mwemelisay] V Jordan [Iordani, iordani] II K‘art‘li [≤ar¯li] II, III K‘art‘velians [K‘art‘velni, ≤ar¯velni] VI Kaxay [kaxay; village] II Michael (III) [Mik‘ael, mi≤ael; Byzantine emperor] I Moses [Mose, mose] I Paul [Pavle, pavlè; apostle] II Samarra [Samaray, samaray] V Teman [T‘emani, ¯emani] V Theodora [T‘eodora, ¯eodora; Byzantine empress] I Tp‘ilisi [tfilisi; modern orthography T‘bilisi] III, IV Virgin Mary [K‘alculi Mariam, ≤alwuli mariam] I Zena-Sop‘eli [zena-sofeli] II Zion [Sioni, sioni] II, VI

Georgian Academy of Sciences Medea D. ABASHIDZE Commission for the Study of Georgian Historical Sources Rustaveli Avenue, 52 Tbilisi 0108 Republic of Georgia

Georgia State University Stephen H. RAPP Jr. Department of History Atlanta, GA 30302-4117 U.S.A.

[email protected] THE LIFE AND PASSION OF KOSTANTI-KAXAY 173

Abstract: The Life of Kostanti-Kaxay, composed in the ninth or tenth century and extant in manuscripts of the eighteenth century and later, traces the life of this Georgian saint from his birth during the reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael III, to his amassing of considerable wealth, his public confession of Christianity, and ultimately his beheading ordered by Caliph Djafar al- Mutawakkil ’ala-llah. This article presents the first published English translation of the vita.