Английская Википедия:Anak the Parthian

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Файл:Khosrov II of Armenia killed by Anak.jpg

Nineteenth-century illustration of Anak's murder of King Khosrov

Anak the Parthian (Шаблон:Lang-xcl; Шаблон:Flourished) was a Parthian noble who, according to the Armenian tradition, was the father of Gregory the Illuminator, who converted Armenia to Christianity in the early fourth century. Anak is said to have killed King Khosrov of Armenia at the incitement of the Sasanians, leading to his own murder and the extermination of his family, except for the child Gregory, who was saved and taken to Roman territory. The details and historicity of this account have been debated by historians.

Name

According to some scholars, the name Anak comes from a Parthian or Middle Persian word meaning 'evil' (Шаблон:Transliteration) and is more likely to be an epithet for the murderer of King Khosrov than an actual given name.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Another interpretation gives it the meaning 'non-evil' (Шаблон:Transliteration).Шаблон:Sfn

Biography

According to the version of the history attributed to Agathangelos accepted in the Armenian literary tradition, Anak was an Armenian noble of Parthian origin who was related to the king of Armenia.Шаблон:Sfn The later history of Movses Khorenatsi adds that Anak was a member of the Parthian noble house of Suren.Шаблон:Sfn During the third-century wars between Arsacid Armenia and Sasanian Iran, Anak was recruited by the Sasanian king (whom Agathangelos calls Artashir) to assassinate King Khosrov of Armenia (probably Khosrov II),Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Efn promising to return Anak his domain as reward.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn Anak went to Armenia and murdered Khosrov after gaining his confidence, after which he himself was killed by angry Armenian nobles along with his whole family.Шаблон:Sfn Agathangelos describes the circumstances of Khosrov's murder as follows: Anak and his brother met with the king in Vagharshapat as he was preparing to campaign against the Persians and killed him with their swords.Шаблон:Efn They attempted to flee on horseback, but were chased down by the Armenian princes who threw them from the Шаблон:Transliteration bridge (over the Araxes River, near Artaxata)Шаблон:Sfn to their deaths.Шаблон:Sfn One of Anak's sons, the future Gregory the Illuminator, was rescued by his nurse and taken to Roman territory.Шаблон:Sfn Khosrov's son Trdat (Tiridates) was also saved and taken to Rome.Шаблон:Sfn After Khosrov's death, the Persians conquered Armenia.Шаблон:Sfn Later, Trdat returned to reclaim the Armenian throne with Roman help.Шаблон:Sfn Gregory, who was raised a Christian in Caesarea of Cappadocia, also returned to Armenia as an adult and eventually converted Trdat and his kingdom to Christianity.Шаблон:Sfn This story is repeated in all the other Armenian histories except that of Elishe, which attributes Khosrov's murder to his unnamed brothers.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Family

Anak's exact relation to Khosrov is not stated in the main Armenian version of Agathangelos, but a Karshuni recension of Agathangelos's history claims that Anak was Khosrov's brother.Шаблон:Sfn Anak's wife and the mother of Gregory of Illuminator is called Шаблон:Transliteration (Шаблон:Lang) in the history attributed to Zenob Glak.Шаблон:Sfn Agathangelos mentions two sons of Anak who survive the extermination of his house: one, Gregory, and another who is taken to Persia, although no other information is given about the latter.Шаблон:Sfn Khorenatsi, on the other hand, writes that only one son of Anak (i.e., Gregory) was saved.Шаблон:Sfn Zenob Glak refers to Gregory's brother as Suren.Шаблон:Sfn

Historiography

Historians have struggled to reconstruct the history of Armenian in the third century and the chronology of the events described in Agathangelos and other sources.Шаблон:Sfn Cyril Toumanoff argues that the story of Khosrov's murder by Anak is fictional and instead favors the version in Elishe where Khosrov is murdered by his brothers. According to Toumanoff, Khosrov II (r. 279/80–287) was made king of the western, Roman-controlled part of Armenia in 279/80 and was killed and succeeded by his brother Trdat III.Шаблон:Sfn He suggests that the story of Khosrov's murder by an Iranian agent may have been invented later to mask "the horror of this fratricide."Шаблон:Sfn Marie-Louise Chaumont likewise considers the version in which Khosrov is murdered by his brothers to be more likely.Шаблон:Sfn

According to historian Nicholas Adontz, it is likely that there were originally two independent traditions about the origins of Gregory the Illuminator, both giving the founder of the Armenian church a noble origin, which were combined in the main Armenian version of Agathangelos.Шаблон:Sfn The story of Anak serves to connect Gregory to the Arsacid dynasty as a descendant of the Parthian clan of Suren, and also makes Gregory's early life reflect that of Trdat in epic fashion.Шаблон:Sfn Adontz also suggests that the story of Anak may have developed under the influence of the Persian epic tradition about Ardashir, the founder of the Sasanian Empire. He notes several parallels between the story of Anak and the figure of BanakШаблон:Efn in the Middle Persian text Шаблон:Transliteration, as well as the similarity of their names. In Шаблон:Transliteration, Banak is a Parthian prince who betrays the Parthian king Ardawan (Artabanus IV) and aids his nemesis Ardashir. Both Anak and Banak are Parthians who betray a king and help Ardashir: Anak helps Ardashir by killing Khosrov, while Banak joins Ardashir against his ruler Ardawan.Шаблон:Sfn

References

Bibliography

• Шаблон:Cite book (French translation: Шаблон:Cite journal)
• Шаблон:Cite book
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• Шаблон:Encyclopædia Iranica
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
• Шаблон:Cite book
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• Шаблон:Cite journal