Aristakes Lastivertsi was a medieval Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

 historian and chronicler. The author of many works, Aristakes' most valuable contribution in the field of the historiography was his History: About the Sufferings Visited Upon by Foreign Peoples Living Around Us (Պատմություն: մեր շրջապատի այլացեղ ազգերից մեզ հասած արհավիրքների մասին), which described Armenia

Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia

The medieval Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia , was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni in 885 following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule...

's relations with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 and Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 and the devastating Seljuk

Great Seljuq Empire

The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...

 invasions of the 11th century.

Biography

Once thought to have been born in a village with either the name Lastivard or Lastivert, scholars now believe that Aristakes was born in a village, possibly near the city of Artsn, called Lastiver. Details about his life are fragmented. As a vardapet

Vardapet

A Vardapet is a highly-educated archimandrite in the Armenian Apostolic Church tradition who holds a Doctorate in Theology.In the English-speaking world, the best-known of the doctor-monks of Armenia is Mekhitar of Sebaste, founder of an Armenian Catholic community of monks, the...

, he was well versed in Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 theology and knew Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 and probably several other languages. He wrote his history from 1072 to 1079, without the support of a patron, recounting contemporary history of which he was an eyewitness. Composed of 25 chapters and a unique colophon

Colophon (publishing)

In publishing, a colophon is either:* A brief description of publication or production notes relevant to the edition, in modern books usually located at the reverse of the title page, but can also sometimes be located at the end of the book, or...

, Aristakes describes the Seljuk invasions in 1047-48 through the capture of Ani

Ani

Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...

 in 1064 and the Battle of Manzikert

Battle of Manzikert

The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...

(1071).

External links

• Full online translation of Aristakes' History by Dr. Robert Bedrosian
• Lastivertsi at Armenian Digilib Armenian language text
• Lastivertsi at Matenadaran