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The Literary Sources

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The Literary Sources Chapter 2 The Literary Sources The presence of Armenians, Georgians and Albanians in the Holy Land is at- tested in a number of ancient sources, from the end of the fourth century to the beginning of the twelfth century. Among these are documents of different character: historical chronicles, ecclesiastical documents of various types, pil- grim itineraries and hagiographic works. Within each category, the documents are presented in chronological order. Chronicles Procopius: De Aedificiis De Aedificiis (On Buildings) was composed by Procopius of Caesarea (490/507– 562), an eminent Byzantine courtier of Emperor Justinian, ca. 560.1 Written in Greek, the composition presents Justinian as an ideal Christian ruler, who builds churches all over the Empire, including the Holy Land. Among the mon- asteries restored by Justinian in the area of Jerusalem, two Georgian institu- tions are briefly mentioned: The monastery of the Iberians in Jerusalem and the Monastery of the Lazi in the Desert of Jerusalem. De Aed V.9 Procopius thus verifies the evidence of V. Petre Iberi (64, Syriac version and 22–28, Georgian version) to the existence of Georgian monastic institutions in Jerusalem and its vicinity. This evidence is the only reference of the imperial historian to the activities of the Caucasian Christian communities in the Holy Land. Sebeos: The Armenian History The Armenian History (History of Heraclius), written by Sebeos in the middle of the seventh century,2 contains a correspondence between Modestos, the 1 Dewing 1954. See also: Cameron 1985, and a number of articles in the thematic volume AT 8 (2000), dedicated to Procopius. 2 Thomson and Howard-Johnston 1999. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi 10.1163/9789004365551_003 14 Chapter 2 locum-tenens of Jerusalem, and the Armenian Catholicos Komitas (Ch. 35–36).3 Modestos thanks the Armenians for renewing the pilgrimage to the Holy City shortly after the tragic events of the Sassanian conquest. In his answer, Komitas talks of the consolation afforded to his people by the opportunity “to baptize their bodies […] in the fiery currents of Jordan”, to travel around Mount Sinai, and “to approach Mount Zion and the city of the living God” according to the apostolic direction. The practice of correspondence between the Armenian and Palestinian hierarchs is reflected also in the Book of Letters, a compilation of documents with a wide chronological range, from the fourth to the thir- teenth centuries.4 Movses Khorenatsi: History ‘The father of Armenian history’, Movses Khorenatsi, in his History (III. 62) briefly mentions his visit to the Holy Land, most probably a legendary one, for pilgrimage and study purposes.5 Traditionally, the life and work of Movses Khorenatsi is dated to the fifth century; however, most scholars today tend to date it to the ninth century.6 Movses Daskhurantsi: History of the Caucasian Albanians The History of Ałuank Country, or The History of Caucasian Albanians, compiled by Movses Daskhurantsi (also known as Movses Kalankatuatsi) between the seventh and tenth centuries, is the only extant historical text about Albania.7 The History of Ałuank Country is preserved in Armenian, but it is not clear whether it was originally written in Armenian or in Albanian. Being the only historical evidence to Albanian history, the source is of the greatest importance to this field of research. Interestingly, the final chapter of the chronicle (Ch. 52) contains a list of ten Jerusalemite monasteries that belong to the Caucasian Albanians according to the author: The monastery of Pand, situated on the east side of the Mount of Olives, built first by a monk named Panon from Albania and held at the present day by an Albanian priest.8 3 The first Armenian Bishop of Jerusalem, Abraham, was appointed only in 638. 4 Tallon 1955; Melikset-Bek 1957; see also Stone 1986; Terian 2008. 5 Thomson 1978; Mahé and Mahé 1993. 6 For discussion see Garsoïan 2003–04. 7 Dowsett 1961; Arakelian 1983. 8 It was proposed by Gadjiev (2004) that the monastery holds the name of the Albanian Catholicos Pand/Pant..
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