136 ARMENlA MAJOR
ARMENIA MAJOR
Bibliography Agathangelos Alexanian Ananian Buzandaran Patmut Ceneral On the border between the Roman and Persian Empires, Armenia was influenced by both cultures. As with other parts of the Caucasus, Roman influence, though perhaps not contral, extended weIl into, if not beyond Armenia; see Whittaker, 56, 141 & 285, n. 41, and Kalantar, 53-62. One should also note the temple in Greco-Roman style at Garni; for a royal inscription there ca.308, see SEC 20 (1964): # 11 O. A Persian influence on Armenian Christianity has been noted in the work of the Fifth-Century writer Agathangelos; see Garsoian, "Iranian," 151-74. Legends associated with the aposde Thaddeus in Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk', 3.1, and Moses Khorenats'i, 2.74, point to Syrian influence; see Harnack, 751. For further references to Syrian influence, see below with reference to Ashtishat. Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 6.46.2, notes that Dionysius of Alexandria wrate a letter to the Armenians mentioning their Bishop ARMENlA MAJOR 137 Meruzanes. According to Harnack, 747, the name of the bishop is genuinely Armenian and may be connected to the city of Vashpurakan, c for the same name can be found in Bu:;;andaran Patmu6wnk , 4.23. Since Christianity in Armenia Minor was generally Greek in char• acter, by contrast this would seem to suggest that Eusebius is refer• ring to Armenia Major. Eusebius, 9.8.2, refers to a time during the persecutions under Maximinus at which the "exceedingly earnest" Christian population of Armenia was severely persecuted. The list of members present at the Council of Nicaea records Aristakes (son of Gregory the Illuminator) and Akrites as bishops of Armenia Major, but does not record a specific see for them; see Gelzer, lxii, and Agathangelos, 859 & 884- 85. Indeed, Gregory hirnself is said to have been active all over Armenia; see Agathangelos, 842. Specijic Sites Ashtishat. (site of former pagan shrines in the Province of Taron, Northwest ofLake Van; modern Derik.) Agathangelos, 809-814, says that here Gregory first began to build churches. (For further infor• mation on the date of Gregory's work, see the da ta listed for c Valarshapat.) Bu:;;andaran PatmutCiwnk , 3.14, insists that Gregory's see at Ashtishat was the mother church of Armenian Christianity and associates the work of a certain Daniel the Syrian with the site. While the Bu:;;andaran Patmu6wnkc makes Daniel a disciple of Gregory, modern sc hol ars te nd to consider hirn an independent worker; see c Garsoian's translation of Bu:;;andaran Patmu6wnk , pp. 257-58. In any case Syrian inftuence was strong in the early years of Armenian Christianity, as attested also by Koriwn, 6- 8, who indicates that Mashtots looked first to Syrian models in developing the basis for the Armenian script. A corresponding Syrian inftuence is noted in early Armenian Biblical translations; see Alexanian, 157. Bu:;;andaran c PatmutCiwnk , 3.3, notes a shrine to John the Baptist at Ashtishat. c Compare also Garsoian's translation of Bu:;;andaran PatmutCiwnk , pp. 449-50. Atlas, 5. Talbert, map 89. BagawanlBagaouna. (in the province of Bagrewand, on the head• waters of the Euphrates; modern Ü<; Kilise.) Site of a former fire temple to Ahura-Mazda according to Moses Khorenats'i, 2.77. Here, according to Agathangelos, 817- 18 & 833-36, the recently ordained Bishop Gregory baptized Trdat and built a shrine to John the Baptist. Gregory's role in founding the shrine is confirmed by Bu:;;andaran