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94-897: 40°14′53″N 44°24′54″E  /  40.24806°N 44.41500°E  / 40.24806; 44.41500 Proshyan ( Armenian : Պռոշյան ) is a major village in the Kotayk Province of Armenia . This article about a location in Kotayk Province, Armenia is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Armenian language Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European Armenian

188-615: A hyphen . Some scholars, including Malachia Ormanian , maintain that Mashtots was his birth name, while Mesrop was his ecclesiastical name by which he was ordained . Anton Garagashian believed the opposite to be true. According to James R. Russell , Mashtots was his primary name, while Mesrop a secondary one, "possibly an epithet ." The etymologies of both Mesrop and Mashtots have been widely debated. In his authoritative dictionary of Armenian names, Hrachia Acharian described Mashtots to be of uncertain origin. Nicholas Adontz believed it stemmed from Iranian mašt (from mazd ), which

282-520: A consistent Proto-Indo-European pattern distinct from Iranian, and that the inflectional morphology was different from that of Iranian languages. The hypothesis that Greek is Armenian's closest living relative originates with Holger Pedersen (1924), who noted that the number of Greek-Armenian lexical cognates is greater than that of agreements between Armenian and any other Indo-European language. Antoine Meillet (1925, 1927) further investigated morphological and phonological agreement and postulated that

376-468: A loan from Armenian (compare to Armenian եւ yev , ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ). Other loans from Armenian into Urartian includes personal names, toponyms, and names of deities. Loan words from Iranian languages , along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led some linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that

470-460: A monastery with a few companions, leading a life of great austerity for several years. In 394, with the blessing of Sahak Part'ev , Mashtots set out on a proselytizing mission. With the support of Prince Shampith, he preached the Gospel in the district of Goghtn near the river Araxes , converting many. Encouraged by the patriarch and the king, Mesrop founded numerous schools in different parts of

564-425: A network of schools where modern Armenian was taught, dramatically increased the rate of literacy (in spite of the obstacles by the colonial administrators), even in remote rural areas. The emergence of literary works entirely written in the modern versions increasingly legitimized the language's existence. By the turn of the 20th century both varieties of the one modern Armenian language prevailed over Grabar and opened

658-459: A number of scholars. The chief sources for the life and work of Mashtots are Koriun , Ghazar Parpetsi , and Movses Khorenatsi . The Life of Mashtots (Վարք Մաշտոցի), a hagiography by Koriun, a disciple of Mashtots, is the primary and most reliable source. Hrachia Acharian , who authored the most comprehensive study on Mashtots and the Armenian alphabet, defended Koriun's work as

752-428: A second cousin to Catholicos Sahak Partev . Acharian outright rejected this theory, but it has been cited by Elizabeth Redgate . Other scholars, including Ormanian, believed Mashtots was the son of Vardan Mamikonian (not the better known one ), the older brother of sparapet Vasak Mamikonian . This theory has been rejected by Hakob Manandian and Garnik Fntglian. James R. Russell writes that Mashtots' father

846-511: A version of "Serovbe". The date of birth of Mashtots is not well-established, but recent scholarship accepts 361. Others give 361–364 as the likely range. He was born in the village of Hatsekats (Հացեկաց) in the canton of Taron , to a father named Vardan, who may have been a priest or a nobleman. Some scholars believe he was affiliated with the Mamikonian dynasty since Taron was their feudal domain. Others suggest he may have belonged to

940-545: Is a saint of the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic churches. He is sometimes referred to by Armenian churchmen as "The Saint of Oshakan" (Օշականի Սուրբը). There are at least two chants ( sharakan ) and several canticles ( gandz ) dedicated to Mashtots and Sahak. A number of churches in modern and historical Armenia and the Armenian diaspora are named after St. Mesrop, Sts. Mesrop and Sahak or

1034-471: Is also the origin of the name Mazdak . Asatur Mnatsakanian suggested an origin from the name of the Urartian goddess Bag-Mashtu . Russell argued that the original form of Mashtots may have been Maždoc‘, originated from Middle Parthian mozhdag and means "bearer of good news or reward". Today, Mesrop (Mesrob) is a common male name and Mesropyan (Mesrobian) a common last name among Armenians. There

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1128-552: Is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages . It is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological changes within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization , although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian ), Albanian and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian

1222-561: Is clearly the dialect to be most closely related to Armenian. Eric P. Hamp (1976, 91) supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis and even anticipates a time "when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian" (meaning the postulate of a Graeco-Armenian proto-language). Armenian shares the augment and a negator derived from the set phrase in the Proto-Indo-European language * ne h₂oyu kʷid ("never anything" or "always nothing"),

1316-474: Is derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵipyós , with cognates in Sanskrit (ऋजिप्य, ṛjipyá ), Avestan ( ərəzifiia ), and Greek (αἰγίπιος, aigípios ). Hrach Martirosyan and Armen Petrosyan propose additional borrowed words of Armenian origin loaned into Urartian and vice versa, including grammatical words and parts of speech, such as Urartian eue ("and"), attested in the earliest Urartian texts and likely

1410-465: Is more agreement about Mesrop. Acharian considered it to be of unknown origin, but noted that it is usually thought to have originated from "serovbe", Armenian for " seraph ", a word of Biblical Hebrew origin. Russell described Mesrop a mysterious word, seemingly Syriac , "perhaps an epithet meaning 'seraphic'." Some scholars maintain that Mesrop is a blend of " Mar " (" lord " in Syriac) and "Serob",

1504-415: Is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. There are words used in Armenian that are generally believed to have been borrowed from Anatolian languages, particularly from Luwian , although some researchers have identified possible Hittite loanwords as well. One notable loanword from Anatolian is Armenian xalam , "skull", cognate to Hittite ḫalanta , "head". In 1985,

1598-400: Is now a Yerevan landmark. A statue of Mashtots and Sahak, erected by Ara Sargsyan in the 1940s, was put up in front of the main campus of Yerevan State University in 2002. Yervand Kochar created two sculptures of Mashtots in gypsum (1952) and plasticine (1953). Ara Sargsyan created a bronze plaquette in 1957/59. A statue of Mashtots and Koriun, by Levon Tokmajyan (1978–79),

1692-529: Is portrayed as the key figure who preserved the national language and the nation against cultural absorption. James R. Russell describes Mashtots as "the culture-hero of Armenian civilization." Anthony D. Smith noted that Mashtots, with his invention, helped "convert and unite Armenians as a chosen people ." Gerard Libaridian argued that Mashtots and the alphabet "constitute the most important symbols of cultural identity and regeneration ." Koriun, his biographer, compared Mashtots' return to Armenia after

1786-717: Is the version of the Holy Scriptures. Isaac, says Moses of Chorene, made a translation of the Bible from the Syriac text about 411. This work was considered imperfect, for soon afterwards John of Egheghiatz and Joseph of Baghin were sent to Edessa to translate the Scriptures. They journeyed as far as Constantinople and brought back authentic copies of the Greek text with them. With the help of other copies obtained from Alexandria,

1880-678: Is the working language. Armenian (without reference to a specific variety) is officially recognized as a minority language in Cyprus , Hungary , Iraq , Poland , Romania , and Ukraine . It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . Mesrop Mashtots Mesrop Mashtots ( listen ; Armenian : Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց Mesrop Maštoc' ; Eastern Armenian: [mɛsˈɾop maʃˈtotsʰ] ; Western Armenian: [mɛsˈɾob maʃˈtotsʰ] ; 362 – February 17, 440 AD)

1974-611: The Armenian Academy of Sciences , declared that while Mashtots' invention formerly served Armenian national interests, it now serves communist ideas, fraternity of peoples , world peace and progress. It was also celebrated in Moscow's House of the Unions where Armenian ( Silva Kaputikyan and Nairi Zarian ) and Soviet ( Vadim Kozhevnikov , Marietta Shaginyan , Mykola Bazhan , Andrei Lupan ) writers gave speeches. In 1962

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2068-679: The Armenian Cathedral of Moscow (2013) and in Alfortville , Paris (2015). In Akhalkalaki , the center of the Armenian-populated Javakheti (Javakhk) region of Georgia, the statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin was replaced with that of Mashtots in 1992. Mashtots has featured prominently in Armenian poetry. In one poem (« Սուրբ Մեսրովբի տոնին »), the mid-19th century poet Mikayel Nalbandian ranked him above Moses . In another, Nalbandian lamented

2162-466: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (11–14th centuries) resulted in the addition of two more characters to the alphabet (" օ " and " ֆ "), bringing the total number to 38. The Book of Lamentations by Gregory of Narek (951–1003) is an example of the development of a literature and writing style of Old Armenian by the 10th century. In addition to elevating the literary style and vocabulary of

2256-508: The Armenian genocide , mostly in the diaspora ). The differences between them are considerable but they are mutually intelligible after significant exposure. Some subdialects such as Homshetsi are not mutually intelligible with other varieties. Although Armenians were known to history much earlier (for example, they were mentioned in the 6th-century BC Behistun Inscription and in Xenophon 's 4th century BC history, The Anabasis ),

2350-490: The Bir el Qutt inscriptions of 430, contemporaneously with the Armenian alphabet. Modern Armenian scholarship recognizes Mashtots as the founder of Armenian literature and education and as the "greatest enlightener and first teacher" of the Armenian people. The figure of Mashtots has become a "symbol that embodies the Armenian language, church, and school system, connecting each to one another." In Armenian narratives, Mashtots

2444-641: The Greek language , the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages . Graeco-Aryan unity would have become divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-3rd millennium BC. Conceivably, Proto-Armenian would have been located between Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian, consistent with the fact that Armenian shares certain features only with Indo-Iranian (the satem change) but others only with Greek ( s > h ). Graeco-Aryan has comparatively wide support among Indo-Europeanists who believe

2538-409: The Greek language . Besides his native Armenian, Mashtots knew Greek , Persian ( Middle Persian ), and Syriac (Aramaic). In late 380s Mashtots moved to Vagharshapat , Armenia's capital, where he began a career at the court of King Khosrov III . While Khorenatsi says that he worked as a royal secretary, both Koriun and Parpetsi assign him other positions as well, especially in the military. He

2632-591: The Indo-European homeland to be located in the Armenian Highlands , the " Armenian hypothesis ". Early and strong evidence was given by Euler's 1979 examination on shared features in Greek and Sanskrit nominal flection. Used in tandem with the Graeco-Armenian hypothesis, the Armenian language would also be included under the label Aryano-Greco-Armenic , splitting into Proto-Greek/Phrygian and "Armeno-Aryan" (ancestor of Armenian and Indo-Iranian ). Classical Armenian (Arm: grabar ), attested from

2726-629: The Matenadaran on May 26. The Matenadaran, established three years earlier, was named after Mashtots on that day according to a government decree. In a speech at the Yerevan Opera Theater , Soviet Armenian Prime Minister Anton Kochinyan proclaimed that it was the Soviet government that made "Mesropian literature the property of the whole nation and opened the alphabet for every Armenian child." Viktor Ambartsumian , president of

2820-540: The Mekhitarists in San Lazzaro degli Armeni , Venice in 1833, and has been translated thrice into Modern Armenian and several foreign languages. While Koriun , his chief biographer, only refers to him as Mashtots, Movses Khorenatsi and later Armenian historiography predominantly calls him Mesrop. It was not until the 20th century that he came to be referred to by both names, sometimes spelled with

2914-482: The Mekhitarists . The first Armenian periodical, Azdarar , was published in grabar in 1794. The classical form borrowed numerous words from Middle Iranian languages , primarily Parthian , and contains smaller inventories of loanwords from Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Mongol, Persian, and indigenous languages such as Urartian . An effort to modernize the language in Bagratid Armenia and

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3008-651: The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin . In 1992–94 Khanjyan created a large mural of the same painting inside the Yerevan Cascade (now the Cafesjian Center for the Arts ). The most recognizable statue of Mashtots, depicted with his disciple and biographer Koriun, is located in front of the Matenadaran and was erected by Ghukas Chubaryan in 1962. Although it was not immediately well-received, it

3102-492: The lesser nobility or reject his noble origin at all. Leo believed he was the son of a peasant. According to Anania Shirakatsi , Vardan was an azat . Some scholars, including Stepan Malkhasyants , have identified Vardan with Vrik, mentioned by Pavstos Buzand . Vrik was the illegitimate son of Catholicos Pap (not King Pap ), the grandson of Gregory the Illuminator (through Husik ). Mashtots, thus, may have been

3196-428: The "greatest benefactor" of the Armenian people, while the linguist Eduard Aghayan called him simply the "greatest Armenian", a view that has been expressed by others as well. Aghayan further described Mashtots as the "greatest linguist of his time in the broadest sense of the word." Catholicos Vazgen I stated that "everything truly Armenian" was born out of the vision and genius of Mashtots. Viktor Ambartsumian ,

3290-668: The 12th century. It is dedicated to Mashtots, Yeghishe , Movses Khorenatsi , David the Invincible , Gregory of Narek and Nerses Shnorhali . Today pilgrimages to the grave of Mashtots in Oshakan are made on this feast. In the Soviet period it became a secular festival. The second, the Feast of Sahak and Mashtots, is celebrated on the 33rd day after the Pentecost , on Thursdays, between June 11 and July 16. Acharian considered it

3384-672: The 14th century. These manuscripts, around 20 in total were created in Constantinople , Etchmiadzin , Sanahin , Haghpat and elsewhere, depict Mashtots with a halo . In the 18th century Mashtots was portrayed by two Italian painters. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo portrayed Mashtots with a pseudo-Armenian alphabet on the frescoes on the ceiling above the staircase of the Würzburg Residence in Bavaria, while Francesco Maggiotto 's Italianate portrait of Mashtots hangs at

3478-463: The 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots in 1961. In May 1962 the 1600th anniversary of the birth of Mashtots was marked with "massive official celebrations" in Soviet Armenia , which had a "powerful impact on Armenian national pride." Vahakn Dadrian noted that Yerevan became an "arena of nationalist fervor and outburst." The statue of Mashtots was ceremonially opened in front of

3572-408: The 5th century to the 19th century as the literary standard (up to the 11th century also as a spoken language with different varieties), was partially superseded by Middle Armenian , attested from the 12th century to the 18th century. Specialized literature prefers "Old Armenian" for grabar as a whole, and designates as "Classical" the language used in the 5th century literature, "Post-Classical" from

3666-493: The Armenian Catholic monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni near Venice. Stepanos Nersissian 's 1882 painting of Mashtots, commissioned by a wealthy Armenian from Elisabethpol , is considered the most widely recognized artistic depiction of Mashtots. During the Soviet period, numerous Armenian artists portrayed Mashtots. Van Khachatur (Vanik Khachatryan) created a panel painting of Mashtots in 1958–59 for

3760-481: The Armenian language by adding well above a thousand new words, through his other hymns and poems Gregory paved the way for his successors to include secular themes and vernacular language in their writings. The thematic shift from mainly religious texts to writings with secular outlooks further enhanced and enriched the vocabulary. "A Word of Wisdom", a poem by Hovhannes Sargavak devoted to a starling, legitimizes poetry devoted to nature, love, or female beauty. Gradually,

3854-522: The Bible was translated again from the Greek according to the text of the Septuagint and Origen 's Hexapla . This version, now in use in the Armenian Church, was completed about 434. The decrees of the first three ecumenical councils— Nicæa , Constantinople , and Ephesus —and the national liturgy (so far written in Syriac) were also translated into Armenian, the latter being revised on

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3948-521: The Christian Faith by forbidding or rendering profane all the foreign alphabetic scripts which were employed for transcribing the books of the heathens and of the followers of Zoroaster . To Mesrop we owe the preservation of the language and literature of Armenia; but for his work, the people would have been absorbed by the Persians and Syrians, and would have disappeared like so many nations of

4042-570: The East". Medieval Armenian sources also claim that Mashtots invented the Georgian and Caucasian Albanian alphabets around the same time. Most scholars link the creation of the Georgian script to the process of Christianization of Iberia , a core Georgian kingdom of Kartli . The alphabet was therefore most probably created between the conversion of Iberia under King Mirian III (326 or 337) and

4136-541: The Holy Translators. He is regarded as the first great vardapet . The Armenian Apostolic Church has two major days of feast dedicated to Mashtots. The first is the Feast of the Holy Translators (Սուրբ Թարգմանչաց, Surb T’argmanchats ), which is celebrated on the second Saturday of October. It was declared a national holiday in 2001. Acharian postulates that it was established no earlier than

4230-467: The Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian origins for these words and instead suggest native Armenian etymologies, leaving the possibility that these words may have been loaned into Hurro-Urartian and Caucasian languages from Armenian, and not vice versa. A notable example is arciv , meaning "eagle", believed to have been the origin of Urartian Arṣibi and Northeast Caucasian arzu . This word

4324-457: The Illuminator had the most influence on the course of Armenian history. Catholic Armenian Archbishop and scholar Levon Zekiyan further argued that Mashtots "was our greatest political thinker." Zekiyan argues that Mashtots laid the foundations of a national ideology, "which gave the Armenians a qualitatively new self-awareness [...] in the wider cultural-anthropological sense of a vision of

4418-832: The Mashtots Chair in Armenian Studies at Harvard University , the Mesrop Center for Armenian Studies at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg , a number of schools and universities in Armenia, Artsakh and educational and cultural institutions in the Armenian diaspora . No contemporary portraits of Mashtots have been found. The first artistic depictions appeared in Armenian illuminated manuscripts ( miniatures ), primarily in sharakans and haysmavurks , starting from

4512-669: The Russian Empire), removed almost all of their Turkish lexical influences in the 20th century, primarily following the Armenian genocide . In addition to Armenia and Turkey, where it is indigenous , Armenian is spoken among the diaspora . According to Ethnologue , globally there are 1.6 million Western Armenian speakers and 3.7 million Eastern Armenian speakers, totalling 5.3 million Armenian speakers. In Georgia, Armenian speakers are concentrated in Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki districts where they represent over 90% of

4606-459: The Russian and Ottoman empires led to creation of two separate and different environments under which Armenians lived. Halfway through the 19th century, two important concentrations of Armenian communities were further consolidated. Because of persecutions or the search for better economic opportunities, many Armenians living under Ottoman rule gradually moved to Istanbul , whereas Tbilisi became

4700-780: The Soviet linguist Igor M. Diakonoff noted the presence in Classical Armenian of what he calls a "Caucasian substratum" identified by earlier scholars, consisting of loans from the Kartvelian and Northeast Caucasian languages . Noting that Hurro-Urartian-speaking peoples inhabited the Armenian homeland in the second millennium BC, Diakonoff identifies in Armenian a Hurro-Urartian substratum of social, cultural, and animal and plant terms such as ałaxin "slave girl" ( ← Hurr. al(l)a(e)ḫḫenne ), cov "sea" ( ← Urart. ṣûǝ "(inland) sea"), ułt "camel" ( ← Hurr. uḷtu ), and xnjor "apple (tree)" ( ← Hurr. ḫinzuri ). Some of

4794-530: The Soviets put into circulation a stamp commemorating Mashtots. The Order of St. Mesrop Mashtots , awarded for "outstanding achievements" in science, education, healthcare, and culture, was established by the Armenian government in 1993. The St. Sahak-St. Mesrop award was established by the Armenian Church in 1978. Mashtots and the Matenadaran were featured on the 1,000 Armenian dram banknote of

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4888-545: The West, had very strong pro-Hellenic bias, trained the children of pagan priests and assembled their own disciples to spread the faith through learning. In his 1904 book on Mashtots, the historian Leo called him the greatest of all of Armenia's historical heroes and contrasted the continued legacy of Mashtots with the legacy of Tigranes the Great 's brief empire. Similarly, historian Ashot Hovhannisyan described Mashtots as

4982-656: The Younger permission to preach and teach in his Armenian possessions. Having returned to Eastern Armenia to report to the patriarch, his first thought was to provide religious literature for his countrymen. He sent some of his numerous disciples to Edessa , Constantinople, Athens , Antioch , Alexandria , and other centers of learning, to study the Greek language and bring back the masterpieces of Greek literature. The most famous of his pupils were John of Egheghiatz, Joseph of Baghin, Yeznik , Koriun , Moses of Chorene , and John Mandakuni. The first monument of Armenian literature

5076-459: The area and expelled the pagans. Koryun , his pupil and biographer, writes that Mashtots received a good education and was versed in the Greek and Persian languages. On account of his piety and learning, Mesrop was appointed secretary to King Khosrov IV , in charge of writing royal decrees and edicts in Persian and Greek. Leaving the court, Mashtots took the holy orders and withdrew to

5170-434: The center of Armenians living under Russian rule. These two cosmopolitan cities very soon became the primary poles of Armenian intellectual and cultural life. The introduction of new literary forms and styles, as well as many new ideas sweeping Europe, reached Armenians living in both regions. This created an ever-growing need to elevate the vernacular, Ashkharhabar, to the dignity of a modern literary language, in contrast to

5264-477: The continuation of the original feast dedicated to Mashtots. It was on this feast that pilgrimages to Mashtots' grave in Oshakan were made until the mid-20th century. With the rise of national consciousness in the 19th century, it came to be celebrated in large Armenian communities in Tiflis and Constantinople. The Armenian Apostolic Church celebrated the 1500th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet in 1912–13 and

5358-517: The country, in which the youth were taught the new alphabet. He himself taught at the Amaras monastery of the Armenian province of Artsakh (located in the contemporary Martuni region of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic). However, his activity was not confined to Eastern Armenia . Provided with letters from the Catholicos, he went to Constantinople and obtained from emperor Theodosius

5452-570: The districts he had evangelized in his earlier years, and, after the death of Isaac in 439, looked after the spiritual administration of the patriarchate. He survived his friend and master by only six months. Armenians read his name in the Canon of the Liturgy and celebrate his memory on 19 February. Mashtots is buried at a chapel in Oshakan , a historical village 8 km (5.0 miles) southwest from

5546-544: The entrance hall of the Armenian Academy of Sciences in Yerevan. Hovhannes Minasian and Henrik Mamian created a fresco, in 1961–64, for Saint Mesrop Mashtots Church in Oshakan , where he is buried. In 1981 a tapestry titled The Armenian Alphabet , where Mashtots is the central figure, was completed by French weavers based on a painting by Grigor Khanjyan . It is kept at the Pontifical Residence at

5640-580: The existence of the two modern versions of the same language was sanctioned even more clearly. The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1990) used Eastern Armenian as its official language, whereas the diaspora created after the Armenian genocide preserved the Western Armenian dialect. The two modern literary dialects, Western (originally associated with writers in the Ottoman Empire) and Eastern (originally associated with writers in

5734-481: The first series, put into ciculation in 1994. The widest street in central Yerevan, called Stalin, then Lenin Avenue in the Soviet period, was renamed after Mashtots in 1990. Between 1985 and 1996, one of Yerevan's eight districts, what are now the districts of Ajapnyak and Davitashen , was called Mashtots. Institutions named after Mashtots include the Matenadaran , the central library of Stepanakert ,

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5828-564: The height of the Karabakh movement in 1989, Rafayel Ishkhanian characterized Mesrop Mashtots as "our most genuine, our greatest independentist [...] who, at the moment of the disintegration of the Armenian state, gave us the Armenian alphabet, language and literature, gave us Armenian schools and, as a result, although without political independence, we kept our moral and cultural sovereignty." Levon Ter-Petrosyan , philologist and Armenia's first president, postulates that Mashtots and Gregory

5922-425: The hypothetical Mushki language may have been a (now extinct) Armenic language. W. M. Austin (1942) concluded that there was early contact between Armenian and Anatolian languages , based on what he considered common archaisms, such as the lack of a feminine gender and the absence of inherited long vowels. Unlike shared innovations (or synapomorphies ), the common retention of archaisms (or symplesiomorphy )

6016-470: The interests of the population at large were reflected in other literary works as well. Konsdantin Yerzinkatsi and several others took the unusual step of criticizing the ecclesiastic establishment and addressing the social issues of the Armenian homeland. These changes represented the nature of the literary style and syntax, but they did not constitute immense changes to the fundamentals of the grammar or

6110-435: The invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mashtots was primarily aimed at spreading Christianity, in the long-run it was also politically significant. Armenians entered the "family of ancient cultured peoples" and developed an original culture and rich literature. In a 1991 book Catholicos of Cilicia Karekin I complained that his work was being "depicted with colours of purely political, nationalistic and secular nature." At

6204-472: The invention of the alphabet to Moses ' descent from Mount Sinai . In another passage, Koriun compared the work of Mashtots and Sahak to the work of the Four Evangelists . Modern scholars have compared Mashtots to Gregory the Illuminator , often describing the former as the "second illuminator." Russell argues that both were visionaries, found a champion for their program in the king, looked to

6298-434: The late 5th to 8th centuries, and "Late Grabar" that of the period covering the 8th to 11th centuries. Later, it was used mainly in religious and specialized literature, with the exception of a revival during the early modern period, when attempts were made to establish it as the language of a literary renaissance, with neoclassical inclinations, through the creation and dissemination of literature in varied genres, especially by

6392-484: The liturgy of St. Basil , though retaining characteristics of its own. Many works of the Greek Fathers were also translated into Armenian. The loss of the Greek originals has given some of those versions a special importance; thus, the second part of Eusebius 's Chronicle, of which only a few fragments exist in Greek, has been preserved entirely in Armenian. In the midst of his literary labors, Mashtots revisited

6486-419: The long-time president of the Armenian Academy of Sciences , stated in 1962։ "The history of our culture has given many outstanding figures, but of all these figures, the Armenian people owe the most to Mashtots." Soviet Armenian historiography portrayed Mashtots as a secular figure, in line with the official Marxist-Leninist interpretation of history. Hakob Manandian argued in a 1940 pamphlet that although

6580-437: The matter and created an alphabet of thirty-six letters; two more (long O (Օ, օ) and F (Ֆ, ֆ)) were added in the twelfth century. The first sentence in Armenian written down by Mesrop after he invented the letters was the opening line of Solomon's Book of Proverbs : Ճանաչել զիմաստութիւն եւ զխրատ, իմանալ զբանս հանճարոյ : Čanačʿel zimastutʿiwn ew zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy. «To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive

6674-567: The morphology of the language. Often, when writers codify a spoken dialect, other language users are then encouraged to imitate that structure through the literary device known as parallelism . In the 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland was once again divided. This time Eastern Armenia was conquered from Qajar Iran by the Russian Empire , while Western Armenia , containing two thirds of historical Armenia, remained under Ottoman control. The antagonistic relationship between

6768-403: The now-anachronistic Grabar. Numerous dialects existed in the traditional Armenian regions, which, different as they were, had certain morphological and phonetic features in common. On the basis of these features two major standards emerged: Both centers vigorously pursued the promotion of Ashkharhabar. The proliferation of newspapers in both versions (Eastern & Western) and the development of

6862-541: The official status of the Armenian language. Eastern Armenian is the official variant used, making it the prestige variety while other variants have been excluded from national institutions. Indeed, Western Armenian is perceived by some as a mere dialect. Armenian was also official in the Republic of Artsakh . It is recognized as an official language of the Eurasian Economic Union although Russian

6956-584: The oldest surviving Armenian-language writing is etched in stone on Armenian temples and is called Mehenagir . The Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405, at which time it had 36 letters. He is also credited by some with the creation of the Georgian alphabet and the Caucasian Albanian alphabet . While Armenian constitutes the sole member of the Armenian branch of the Indo-European family, Aram Kossian has suggested that

7050-431: The only accurate account. It was commissioned by Catholicos Hovsep I , also a student of Mashtots, and written c. 443–450/451. The work has two versions: long and short. The former is considered by most scholars to be the original. Parpetsi and Khorenatsi largely relied upon Koriun's work. The oldest extant manuscript of Koriun's Life of Mashtots has been dated to the 12th century. It was first printed in Armenian by

7144-483: The parent languages of Greek and Armenian were dialects in immediate geographical proximity during the Proto-Indo-European period. Meillet's hypothesis became popular in the wake of his book Esquisse d'une histoire de la langue latine (1936). Georg Renatus Solta (1960) does not go as far as postulating a Proto-Graeco-Armenian stage, but he concludes that considering both the lexicon and morphology, Greek

7238-407: The path to a new and simplified grammatical structure of the language in the two different cultural spheres. Apart from several morphological, phonetic, and grammatical differences, the largely common vocabulary and generally analogous rules of grammatical fundamentals allows users of one variant to understand the other as long as they are fluent in one of the literary standards. After World War I ,

7332-570: The population. The short-lived First Republic of Armenia declared Armenian its official language. Eastern Armenian was then dominating in institutions and among the population. When Armenia was incorporated into the USSR, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic made Eastern Armenian the language of the courts, government institutions and schools. Armenia was also russified . The current Republic of Armenia upholds

7426-535: The reinvention of the Armenian alphabet , the revision of the liturgy, the creation of an ecclesiastical and national literature, and the revision of hierarchical relations. Three men are prominently associated with this work: Mashtots, Part'ev, and King Vramshapuh , who succeeded his brother Khosrov IV in 389. Armenians probably had an alphabet of their own, as historical writers reference an "Armenian alphabet" before Mashtots, but used Greek , Persian , and Syriac scripts to translate Christian texts, none of which

7520-436: The representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels, and other phonological and morphological peculiarities with Greek. Nevertheless, as Fortson (2004) comments, "by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, the evidence of any such early kinship has been reduced to a few tantalizing pieces". Graeco-(Armeno)-Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family , ancestral to

7614-468: The similarities between the two languages meant that Armenian belonged to the Iranian language family . The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann (1875) used the comparative method to distinguish two layers of Iranian words from the older Armenian vocabulary . He showed that Armenian often had two morphemes for one concept, that the non-Iranian components yielded

7708-432: The state of the church in Oshakan where Mashtots is buried. In his 1912 poem "St. Mashtots", Siamanto compared him to Moses and called him "God of Thought." In a 1913 poem , Hovhannes Tumanyan , Armenia's national poet , praised Mashtots and Sahak as luminaries. Paruyr Sevak , a celebrated Soviet Armenian poet, characterized Mashtots as a great statesman who won a "bloodless battle, which cannot be compared to any of

7802-519: The terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, but he suggests they were borrowed through Hurrian or Urartian. Given that these borrowings do not undergo sound changes characteristic of the development of Armenian from Proto-Indo-European , he dates their borrowing to a time before the written record but after the Proto-Armenian language stage. Contemporary linguists, such as Hrach Martirosyan , have rejected many of

7896-651: The town of Ashtarak . He is listed officially in the Roman Martyrology of the Roman Catholic Church ; his feast day is February 17. Armenia lost its independence in 387 and was divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, which received about four-fifths of its territory. Western Armenia was governed by Byzantine generals, while an Armenian king ruled as Persian vassal over eastern Armenia. The principal events of this period are

7990-508: The victories of our glorious commanders" in a 1962 poem. It was set to stage in 2011. A popular poem by Silva Kaputikyan , "Words for my Son", reads: "By Mesrop's holy genius, it [the Armenian language] has become letter and parchment; it has become hope, become a flag." In the early 1970s, the popular song "Glorious Nation" («Ազգ փառապանծ»), written by Arno Babajanian and Ashot Grashi  [ hy ; ru ] , and frequently performed by Raisa Mkrtchyan  [ hy ] , included

8084-417: The words of understanding.» The reinvention of the alphabet around 405 was crucial for Armenian literature and was significant in the creation of a separate idea of Armenian language and what was connected to it. "The result of the work of Isaac and Mesrop", says St. Martin, "was to separate for ever the Armenians from the other peoples of the East, to make of them a distinct nation, and to strengthen them in

8178-436: The world, or Weltanschauung ." Mashtots also produced a number of liturgical compositions. Some of the works attributed to him are: «Մեղայ քեզ Տէր» ( Meġay k’ez Tēr , “I have sinned against you, Lord”), «Ողորմեա ինձ Աստուած» ( Voġormea inj Astuac , “Have mercy on me, God”), «Անկանիմ առաջի քո» ( Ankanim aṙaǰi k’o , “I kneel before you”) and «Ողորմեա» ( Voġormea , “Miserere”), all of which are hymns of repentance . Mashtots

8272-459: Was "probably a member of the Mamikonean clan." Another point of contention is whether Mashtots was a student of Nerses the Great , first mentioned by Khorenatsi. Both Acharian and Leo rejected it. Acharian noted that Mashtots probably studied at the prominent Surb Karapet Monastery , not far from his birthplace. Koriun tells that Mashtots received "Hellenic education," i.e. education in

8366-569: Was an Armenian linguist , composer , theologian , statesman , and hymnologist in the Sasanian Empire . He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church . He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c.  405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and Georgian alphabets by

8460-750: Was erected near the central square of Ejmiatsin ( Vagharshapat ). Statues, busts and sculptures of Mashtots have been erected in the Armenian diaspora , including in historical communities such as at the seminary in Jerusalem's Armenian Quarter , the library of the Vank Cathedral in New Julfa , Isfahan, Iran, the Melkonian Educational Institute in Nicosia , Cyprus and in newly-established communities, such as on

8554-644: Was initially royal chancellor ( ark’uni divanapet ), then moved on to serve in the military after receiving training. In c. 394 Mashtots became a clergyman and was ordained as a monk and lived in a monastery, in Goghtn . He, thereafter, became an ascetic hermit to live in the mountains and uninhabited areas. Mashtots then gathered a group of 40 disciples and began missionary work among Armenians, many of whom were still pagan. He begin his first mission in Goghtn around 395. He successfully spread Christianity in

8648-405: Was situated between Proto-Greek ( centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian ( satem subgroup). Ronald I. Kim has noted unique morphological developments connecting Armenian to Balto-Slavic languages . The Armenian language has a long literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Another text translated into Armenian early on, and also in the 5th-century,

8742-682: Was the Armenian Alexander Romance . The vocabulary of the language has historically been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages , particularly Parthian ; its derivational morphology and syntax were also affected by language contact with Parthian, but to a lesser extent. Contact with Greek, Persian , and Syriac also resulted in a number of loanwords. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian (spoken mainly in Armenia) and Western Armenian (spoken originally mainly in modern-day Turkey and, since

8836-412: Was well suited for representing the many complex sounds of their native tongue. The Holy Scriptures and the liturgy were, to a large extent, unintelligible to the faithful and required the intervention of translators and interpreters. Mashtots was assisted in inventing an Armenian writing system by Sahak and Vramshapuh . He consulted Daniel, a bishop of Mesopotamia , and Rufinus, a monk of Samosata , on

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