The Universal History of Step'anos Tarōnec'i: Introduction, Translation, and Commentary (Oxford Studies in Byzantium)

Synopsis

The Universal History Of Stepʻanos Tarōnec'i Is A History Of The World In Three Books, Composed By The Armenian Scholar At The End Of The Tenth Century And Extending From The Era Of Abraham To The Turn Of The First Millennium. It Was Completed In 1004/5 Ce, At A Time When The Byzantine Empire Was Expanding Eastwards Across The Districts Of Historic Armenia And Challenging Key Aspects Of Armenian Identity. Stepʻanos Responded To These Changing Circumstances By Looking To The Past And Fusing Armenian Tradition With Persian, Roman, And Islamic History, Thereby Asserting That Armenia Had A Prominent And Independent Place In World History. The Universal History Was Intended To Affirm And Reinforce Armenian Cultural Memory. As Well As Assembling And Revising Extracts From Existing Armenian Texts, Stepʻanos Also Visited Monastic Communities Where He Learned About Prominent Armenian Scholars And Ascetics Who Feature In His Construction Of The Armenian Past. During His Travels He Gathered Stories About Local Armenian, Georgian, Persian, And Kurdish Lords, Which Were Then Repeated In His Composition. The Universal History Therefore Preserves A Valuable Narrative Of Events In Byzantium, Armenia, And The Wider Middle East In The Second Half Of The Tenth Century.-- The World Of Step'anos Taronec'i -- The Life And Career Of Step'anos -- Historiographical Context -- Structure, Content, Purpose. Book I. The Distant Past - Abraham To Trdat ; -- Book Ii. The Armenian Past - Trdat To Asot I Bagratuni ; Book Iii. The Tenth Century - Asot I Bagratuni To The Present -- Reception -- Editions, Translations, And The Manuscript Tradition -- Conclusion -- Note On Translation -- Book I -- Book Ii -- Book Iii. Tim Greenwood. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 325-337) And Indexes.