Ancient Records Of Armenians And Armenian History

[hagopn]

Խորհրդային պատմագիտութիւնը ձաղկած է քմահաճ մեկնաբանումը՝ պատմական դէպքերուն ու դէմքերուն:

 

Այն ժամանակ ամէն մարդ չէր կարող գիրք հրատարակել: Ամէն խօսափող բռնող երգիչ չէր համարուէր: Ամէն գիրք հրատարակող գիտնական չէր համարուէր: Գիտաքննադատական սարսափելի, բայց օգտակար կառոյցներ կային:

 

 

Յովհաննես, եղբայր, իրարմէ շատ հերու կարծիքներ ունինք որոշ հարցերու մէջ։

 

Երգիչի ու ընդհանուր երաժշտութեան հարցով, 90 տոկոսով յամաձայն եմ։ Յովհաննես Պադալեանը, իր «թայֆան» եւ իրենց «նեինիմական» 75 երգերով, մեր երգարուեստը չորցուցին ու դարցուցին փտտած չիր, բայց գոնէ «ջինգանա ռաբիզ» չկար, այո։ Բայց նաեւ չկար ո՜չ մեկ ազգային, իսկական ազգագրական գործ, կամ նոյնիսկ առողջ «ժամանակակից» արտադրանք։

 

Թուրքեոյ Համշենցիները մեզմէ առաջ էն այդ ասպարեզի մէջ։

 

Չոր յետամնաց, կամ թունդ օտարամոլ։ Նորութիւն, թարմութիւն, պարզապէս չկա՜ր, կամ շատոնց խեղդուած էր Քա-֊գէ-֊բէ֊-ի շնորհքով։

 

Նոյնպէս պատմագիտութեան խնդրով, պաղ ու տաք եմ։ Ամեն ապազգային Պողոս եւ Պետրոս գիտնական էր, յատկապէս հնագիտական նիւթերով զբաղուողները։ Ձրի ապրուստի միջոց էր, եւ որո՞ւն հոգը թէ Ուրարտուն Աբխազ էր թէ Չեչեն, ինքը իր պատուոյ տիտղոսն ու փարքերը ուներ։ Կասկած ունիմ որ մեծամասամբ «ստորագրութիւն նետողներ» էին «գիտնականն» կոչուածներու իշխող մեծամասնութիւնը։

 

Բայց ազգային մարդը, կամ անգամ ազգայինօրէն չեզոք, ոչ ապազգային, ու ֊շմարիտ մարդը, կարծես թէ չնչին ազդեցութիւն ունեցած է։ Այդ պատճառով, հնագիտութեան ու հնութիւններու պահպանութեան մէջ խայտառակ թոյլ էին։ ԽԱՅՏԱՌԱԿ։

 

Շա՜տ ու շատ բան կայ եսելիք։

 

Այժմ՝ ազատութեան այս դարում, վերահսկողութեան բացակայութեան պայմանում, չեմ կարողանում անվերապահ ընդունել հրամցուածը: Ու՞ր է գիտութիւնների Ակադեմիան, ինչո՞ւ թերագնահատւում է այդ կառոյցը:

 

 

Ո՞ւր է։ Երբեկ իր տեղը չե՜ր։

 

Թէ՞՝ փող վճարողը ինքն էլ պիտի որոշի հրատարակելիք, չի հրատարակելիք մատեանները: Փող վճարողը ինքը պիտի որոշի թէ՝ իրականում Արա գեղեցիկի հաւատարմութիւնը տիկին նուարդին ռազմական եւ դիւանագիտական յաղթանա՞կ էր հայ ազգին, թէ պարտութիւն:

Իսկ Շամիրամի ջրանցքը իրականում Արաարատեան արքաները չեն պեղել, այլ Շամիրամ թագուհին....??? Այսպէս հաւատացնում էին չէ՞ մեզ, երբ Ուրարտական սեպագրերը տակաւին չէին վերծանուել...

Ի՞նչ է տիարք, թողնենք սեպագրերը եւ վերադառնա՞նք աւանդութեանց եւ առասպելանց:

 

Իսկ մենք, Տեարք, պիտի շարունակենք իդեալացնել Քա-գէ-բէ֊-ի հսկողութեան տակ եղած «վերծանումները» ու «պեղումնրը»։ Երեւի Արա Գեղեցիկի առասպելը նախընտրելի է, այո։

 

Իսկ նոր պատմա«բան»ները, չես գիտեր ի՞նչ փաստելու մղումով. կը ջրեն գիտութիւնը եւ անոր նուաճումները, ազգային սնապարծութեան տուրք տալով կը յօրինեն նոր «հայոց պատմութիւն», որտեղ արձանագրուածները, նոյնինքն 5-րդ դարի պատմիչները պիտի չի համարձակէին գրել:[/size][/color]

 

Սիրելիք՝ պատկերացրէք, որ Աստուած մի օր վճռել է դատի հրաւիրել հայ եւ թուրք ազգի ներկայացուցիչները, հարթելու համար հայ-թուրք կնճիռը եւ «արդարութիւն» բաշխելու իրաւատէրին: Ձեր խօսքի իրաւացի լինելը փաստելու համար շատ պիտի դժուարանաք հենց այս հայա«գիտ»ական պատմա«գիտ»ական աշխատասիրութեանց համար, քանզի ձեր վստահելիութիւնը կասկածի ենթարկել էք, կասկածելի դարձնելով արդար խօսքն էլ միատեղ:

 

 

 

Վա՜յ Կիկոս ջան։ Մէծ ու լայն դատաստանային արտայայտութիւններ, բայց ոչ համոզիչ այն մարդուն, ով գիտէ սովետական խեղկատակ հայա«գիտ»ութեան մասին։ Արա Գեղեցիկի գիծը «սատանաներու» լաւագոյնն է։ Այո, այդքան վնասակար էր սովետական հայա«գիտ»ութիւնը, թէեւ «Կիկոսական» չափազանց թատերգութիւնը, «վա՝յ վո՝ւյ, մենք կորանք, թուրքից բեթեր», աւելի Կապիկային է քան գիտական ըստ իմ ճաշակին։ ։ Հիմա, պարզապէս մենք մեր «սիրելի» սովետական մտաահաբեկչական շրջանէն նոր հազիւ դուրս եկած եւ «պրծած», գեր֊ազգային օձիկ թոթուելու ժամանակաշրջանի մէջ մտանք։ Հանգիստ եղիր, լաւ ու խելացի եղբայրս։ Կիկոսը չէ մեռած։

Edited January 27, 2014 by hagopn

[hagopn]

Իսկ մեր «սովետական» կինոարուեստը ինձի համոզեց, որ ինքն ալ կրնայ շատ հանգիստ դաւաճանութեամբ զբաղիլ։

 

Օրինակ, «Պեպո» շարժապատկերի «Ջա՜ն, Քէորողլու, Ջա՜ն» երգը, հայասպան Քուրդի «գովերգը»։

 

Ինչո՞ւ։ Քանի որ, նոյն պատճ֊առով որ «Ուրարտուն» եղաւ չեչեն, վրացի, ի՜նչ կ՚ուզես, բացի հայ։

Edited January 27, 2014 by hagopn

[hagopn]

O, մոռցայ ըսելու, որ «Ջա՜ն, Քէորողլու, Ջա՜ն» երգի մեղետին Գուսան Ջիւանու չափազանց հայանպաստ ու հայասեր «Սասունասար» երգի մեղեդին է։ Մեկ հատ եւս ապացոյց, որ ինչքան սատանայական պետութիւն էր «կարոտալի սովետականը»։

[Arpa]

It is so good to see some of our old friends, and read their impeccably perfect Armenian and English as the case may be.. Bravo Hagop and Johannes. Please continue and regale us with the wonderfully Sacred Mesropian Vernacular.

I wish our other friends would come back, and continue their purely armenocentric contributions, be they culture, history, literature or music.

It may have been sheer coincidence when I blew my top SORRY!!! when we were talking about the so called Armenian Cuisine, where 99.9% of the words used were in that cursed non-language.

Perhaps it was also coincidental, when simultaneously some new members barged in with their inane posts in the Religion and Theology categories, posts that had nothing to do with Armenian issues.

Until, somewhat belatedly Movses aired this. Where the chefs speak Armenian, not pomidire/lolik, not badenjan/smbouk, no khiyma/ Khjoghak etc.

Inch yepel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDnLv9495tk

Shall we go back here, and resume where we left off?

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=56736&page=1&&do=findComment&comment=313113

Can we go back and re-LEARN ARMENIAN? Only if our friends in Yerevan relearn the Armenian Language Never mind the ruski, turkski, parski dolma, basturma, yalanchi , pomidore, (golden apple) kardofil (German=earth apple==getnakhndzor =գետնախնձոր-pomme de terre ) etc.

Potato head indeed. How difficult is it to say Get (na)khndzor , 3 syllables than kartofil, 3 syllables.? Getin-earth, noun and getni/getna getna -

Teach us Armenian Grammar. Which is it? ,Սէռական/ serakan, դրական/ drakan, հաեցական/haytsakan,, գործիական/gortsiakan? Nominal, adjective/or adverb?.

Potato head indeed, kartopfiel head karto-kopf.

https://www.google.com/search?q=potato+head&hl=en&qscrl=1&rlz=1T4RNTN_enUS376US445&tbm=isch&source=iu&imgil=Ff19MxjbYH0RaM%3A%3Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fencrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcRDA3EVGwLZAlxUFvveUomLzMXH6aL-qGlwhpM39UjwJbecGya8%3B338%3B407%3BkgpRkH4es2kP7M%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fdisney.wikia.com%252Fwiki%252FMr._Potato_Head&sa=X&ei=9XzmUu7nJfD8yAGgqIC4BA&sqi=2&ved=0CFMQ9QEwAw&biw=1044&bih=416

Why cant we do like Greeks who add the ES suffix to every word, like tomatat=tomates, patata=patates.

Note that both Tomato and Potato are relatively new words (500 years?) imported from the New World, America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potato

 

The English word potato comes from Spanish patata (the name used in Spain). The Spanish Royal Academy says the Spanish word is a compound of the Taino batata (sweet potato) and the Quechua papa (potato).[11] The name potato originally referred to a type of sweet potato rather than the other way around, although there is actually no close relationship between the two plants.

[Yervant1]

On a lighter note!

 

Since potato came from Spain (Basque is in Spain and have Armenian roots) therefore potato must be Armenian.

While at it Barcelona football team is Armenian as well, there I said it.

[hagopn]

On a less lighter note, the Basque may or may not have Armenian roots, but they certainly have Armenian influence. Time will tell if there are common roots, and the Basque, interestingly enough, have no problem with the connection.

 

Unlike the *()^$%)(*$&% of )*$&%()*&$% English who now even revise their primary sources, such as that of Bede The Monkeypedia Britannica footnote about Armenia says the following: (3) "De tractu Armoricano." -- Bede, "Ecclesiastical History" i. I. The word Armenia occurring a few lines above in Bede, it was perhaps inadvertently written by the Saxon compiler of the "Chronicle" instead of Armorica.

 

How about that for a piece of (&*^$#%(*&^, eh?

[Yervant1]

 

 

How about that for a piece of (&*^$#%(*&^, eh?

Disgusting!!!!!!!

[hagopn]

Yervant, That's not the only instance, obviously. There are thousands of such distortions and revisions to eliminate Armenian connections and presence.

 

Take a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armani_(ancient_kingdom) (click on this link, and then click on the other link with the same spelling. Odd it is, but please do it anyhow. It's HTMLs stupid quirks). It obviously keeps on leading toward something away from Armenia, but the original archeologist on site, Paolo Matthiae and later analyst Giovanni Pettinato were certain of it having been Armani in reference to a city to the far north of Ebla, a rival that often was in control of Ebla and surrounding territory and trade routes. But at least this article is focused on Armani and doesn't try to ignore it. Yet, the lesser used "Armi" form, not known to denote the population or the state in question, is the one that is emphasized by the article, while completely forgetting the very Armani title and entry of the article!

 

Look here at the intentional omission of any of the ARmenian sounding kingdoms from Naram-Sin's vitory stele http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naram-Sin_of_Akkad

 

This is the stele where Armani is mentioned in addition to another war memorial by his grandfather, Sargon I.

 

Here read the part where Wayne Horowitz "objects" and rejects the notion that Armani refers to Armenia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_of_Armenia . Horowitz' "work" consists of the repetition, ad nauseam, of his baseless disagreements with the notion by carefully ignoring the original thesis by Giovanni Pettinato mentioned above who believed that Armani possibly was Armenia due to 1) the size of the entity in question, one that was a direct rival and often controller/occupier of Ebla and surrounding cities, and 2) that it was always mentioned as a norther neighbor, not western.

 

Horowitz' pro-Semitic (amoritic) biases are on record, and his work should be discredited for what it is: chauvinistic nonsense. I can imagine the dialog: "There ain't a civilization up there. Whuad are you twuokin abouuut." Look at the narrow focus on the select semitic sources that use the name "Minni" and derivations thereof to supposedly denote Armenians. Minni is a biblical, therefore not reliable, a supposed ethnonym. Supposedly the Assyrians refer as Minnai Urmia and vicinity. Since the specific term Ar-Min was commonly used, Minnai is likely a generic term, more likely, for the ignorant of the landscape up north of invaders who simply used a general description of "mountain folk" or some similar idea. They didn't understand the language and called it a "difficult to pronounce tongue" which demonstrates the Akkadian's lack of knowledge of these people they were dealing with up north of Ebla.

 

That is not all, however, for the Armani name remembered circa 2235 b.c. At some point during the "Wikipedization" process, there were some bolder authors who were playing the Bede game of revising the "actual spelling and pronunciation" of Armani. The proposals of the "misspelling corrections" ranged from Amarni, to Amrani, to Aramni ,and so on. At least at Wiki, the hot item of trying to dismiss Armani and edit it out altogether has failed, so far.

 

Armenians, I tell you, are always being taken for a the revisionist ride, all the while the "experts" in the field sit on their asses and let it happen.

Edited January 28, 2014 by hagopn

[Yervant1]

If the same lie is repeated enough times it's perceived as true, this is what they are doing and this is what they advised turkey to do, as if that's not enough now they are advising SOB little sultan aliyev to follow through. Imagine the audacity of this weasel when he says that Armenia is an azeri land, while as you said it our government does not protest but says oh the whole world knows the truth.

Honestly most days my blood boils with anger at our leadership than the other scums who are expected to do.

[hagopn]

There are rules on lies that many of these mongrels continue to use to their advantage: Repetition is one. The bigger the lie, the harder it is to disbelieve is the second. So, if one is to lie, then he has to lie big, such as the entire Old Testament.

[Yervant1]

ARMENIA, HOMELAND OF THE GERMANS?

Posted on March 9, 2016 by cogniarchae

According to Online etymology dictionary "Germany" means:

"of the same parents or grandparents," c. 1300, from Old French germain
"own, full; born of the same mother and father; closely related"
(12c.), from Latingermanus "full, own (of brothers and sisters); one's
own brother; genuine, real, actual, true," related to germen (genitive
germinis) "sprout, bud," of uncertain origin; perhaps dissimilated
from PIE *gen(e)-men-, from root *gene- "to give birth, beget"

But what if this guess (because that's what it is) is not really a
good one? First of all, the term "German" is much older than medieval
French - we know that it has been in use at least since Julius Caesar.

In the year of 98 AD Tacitus wrote:

"For the rest, they affirm Germania to be a recent word, lately
bestowed. For those who first passed the Rhine and expulsed the Gauls,
and are now named Tungrians, were then called Germani. And thus
by degrees the name of a tribe prevailed, not that of the nation;
so that by an appellation at first occasioned by fear and conquest,
they afterwards chose to be distinguished, and assuming a name lately
invented were universally called Germani"

Wikipedia article on Germania, adds that this term may be Galic in
origin. This would mean that the pronunciation of the first sound
"G" is debatable - it may have also been "J", like in modern French,
and even "Y" or "H" in other local languages. In this case we get a
word sounding very close to "Yermenia", which is a Slavic name for
"Armenia".

The first famous chieftain of the Germans, who had lived between
18/17 BC and 21 AD, was "Arminius" (Hermann in German). One would
expect that his name means simply "German" and has the same etymology.

However, we read that it means something completely different:

"The Latinized form Arminius probably reflects the Germanic element
*ermin-, found in the tribal name of the Irminones, probably with an
original meaning of "strong, whole"."

Hermann Monument, Germany

Ok, but then what about the etymology of Armenia? Surely it can't
be German? Unfortunately here etymology dictionary can't help us. It
simply states:

"Place name traced to 521 C.E., but which is of uncertain origin. "

Wikipedia article on Armenia gives us more information:

"The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription
(515 BC) as Armina ( ). The ancient Greek terms a¼~HÏ~Aμενία
(Armenía) anda¼~HÏ~Aμένιοι (Arménioi, "Armenians") are first
mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus (c. 550 BC - c. 476 BC)"

So it looks like this "Armenia" is at least 500 years older than the
European one. But what does this word mean? What if it simply means
"Arya men"? We do know that the Armenian name of the mount Ararat,
and ancient kingdom of Urartu was "Ayrarat". This word can be traced
all the way to 13th century BC Assyrian records, right in the time of
supposed Aryan migrations. Also, it seems that the etymology of this
word could be traced to word "white", relating to it's snow-covered
mountain peaks.

Mount Ararat

Do we have other evidence for this supposed migration, apart from
the similar sounding words? Maybe we do. A genetic one. This is the
current distribution of proto-Germanic R1b in Caucasus region, which
according to eupedia.com peaks in Armenia:

Moreover, Caucasus region is considered to be a cradle of R1b
haplogroup, which had apparently later migrated, only to conquer the
whole of the Western Europe (click to enlarge):

I know, many people will say that relating haplogroups to nations and
culture is a wrong approach, however we can get a pretty good idea
that certain migrations did really happen . So who were these tribes?

Maybe a part of the answer lies again in the word "Armenia". Because of
linguistic change called Rhotacism in some languages like Naepolitan,
Romanesce, Romanian, Basque, Spanish and Portuguese, it is typical
that "L" becomes "R". For example "albero" becomes "arvero", "alto"
becomes "arto" and "Alban" becomes "Arban".

So if we work our way backwards, we may get the word "Almen" from
"Armen". This is very interesting because that is another name for
Germany, in for example, French, Kurdish and some Slavic languages. It
is also related to confederation of Germanic tribes known as "Alemanni"
Current etymology of this word is "all men" (?) We further read that
Alemanni could be "mysteriously" connected to the tribe of Hermunduri,
for whom Pliny the elder, in his Historia Naturalis, lists as one of
the nations of the Hermiones. Could there in fact be some etymological
connection between all these words?

As for Alemanni, we do know that their territory had stretched around
present day Alsace and Northern Switzerland.

Area settled by the Alemanni, and sites of Roman-Alemannic battles,
3rd to 6th centuries

This is very interesting for two reasons:

Firstly, this is the area between Hallstatt and La Tene, the birth
place of Celtic culture and a "melting pot" of it's time, although
it seems that Alemanni expansion in this region was quite a late one.

Secondly, this very region where Alemanni had settled, has since then
been known as "Jervaine" - a word sounding pretty close to Yerevan,
the capital of Armenia.

"The High Kingdom of Jervaine is a small proud nation in the heart of
Europe, known for its wealth, diplomacy, hearty cuisine and fine wine.

It comprises the three provinces Ausaedsa (Alsace), Siovadra (Black
Forest) and Moseola (Moselle). Originally split off the crumbling
Roman Empire, the kingdom has enduredseveral Germanic mass migrations
and has been passed to and from between French and German empires."

As we see, kingdom of Jerwaena is in the exact region around Alsace,
where Alemanni tribes had settled, and it is known under this name
since the time of their settlement. A coincidence?

It would be interesting to look for further linguistic evidence of
connections between this region and Armenia. However, German will not
be of much help because according to most of the authors proto-German
started to develop only around 500BC, with earliest inscriptions
dating to 6th century AD in Allemanic.

This is where we get to the crossroad where genetics, linguistic
and culture separate as the origins of nations get lost in forgotten
tribal migrations and genetic and cultural mixture. However, most of
historians, inspired by Roman authors, trace the origins of Germans
to the North of Europe, and I wanted to illustrate here that this
might not necessarily be the case.

If migration really happened from the south, our last clue may lie in
another word, word by which Germans call their land - Deutschland -
land of the "Deutsch". Etymological dictionary gives us the following
explanation:

"late 14c., used first of Germans generally, after c. 1600 of
Hollanders, from Middle Dutch duutsch, from Old High German duit-isc,
corresponding to Old English þeodisc "belonging to the people,"
used especially of the common language of Germanic people, from þeod
"people, race, nation," from Proto-Germanic *theudo "popular, national"
(see Teutonic), from PIE root *teuta-"people"

Actually, word "Dutch", sounds exactly like the name of ancient people
known asDacians. Dacians were considered to be a Thracian tribe,
original inhabitants of Balkan. But on Wikipedia we read the following:

"The Dacians spoke the Dacian language, believed to have been closely
related to Thracian, but were somewhat culturally influenced by
the neighboring Scythians and by the Celtic invaders of the 4th
century BC."

"Celtic invaders of the 4th century BC"? Interesting, because before
this period, in 5th century BC the term "Dacian" is completely
unknown to Herodotus. He does mention the Thracian tribe of Getae,
a word that is considered to be a synonym for Dacians. But what if
this was simply a native name before the Germanic invasion, that came
from south and not north like the current mainstream theory states?

I am saying this also because Herodotus actually knew a tribe called
"Germani", even though he mentions them only in one single sentence,
and not where one would expect them to be:

"The other Persian tribes are the Panthialaei, the Derusiaei, and
the Germanii, all tillers of the soil, and the Dai, the Mardi, the
Dropici, the Sagartii, all wandering herdsmen." Hdt. 1.125.4

In conclusion, it seems that for thousands of years, since at least
4th millennium BC, there were massive migrations to Europe from
south and east. It may be so, that one of the last migrations, from
around 5th century BC brought the ancestors of modern German nation
to Europe. However, they would have only followed the routes that
their own ancestors had already established a few millennia earlier.

Perhaps there is some truth after all, in the 11th century German
song "Annolied", which describes origins of Bavarians, people whose
territory is closely connected with Kingdom of Jervaine, with the
following words:

"This was always a brave people.

Their tribe came long ago from the magnificent Armenia, where Noah
came out of the ark when he received the olive twig from the dove.

The remains of the ark are still to be found in the highlands of
Ararat.

It is said that in those parts there are still those who speak German,
far towards India.

The Bavarians always loved to go to war.

Caesar had to pay in blood for his victory over them. "

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__cogniarchae.wordpress.com_2016_03_09_armenia-2Dhomeland-2Dof-2Dthe-2Dgermans_&d=CwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=LVw5zH6C4LHpVQcGEdVcrQ&m=4gvjqkG7WVqyCtbjal-XSlBb6_yfaUC9htprAyoKTto&s=oRDSUcx_kKT8Hlfc5B24agwGMl1FyibIiFen-4j9qzs&e=

[Yervant1]

Jan 11 2024

Byzantine Emperor John Tzimiskes: Born on this Day

John I Tzimiskes (Greek: Ἰωάννης Α΄ Τζιμισκής, Iōánnēs I Tzimiskēs; c. 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Eastern Roman Emperor from 11 December 969 to 10 January 976.

He was born into the Kourkouas clan, a family of Armenian origin.

Scholars have speculated that his nickname “Tzimiskes” was derived either from the Armenian Chmushkik (Չմշկիկ), meaning “red boot”, or from an Armenian word for “short stature”.

A more favourable explanation is offered by medieval Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, who states that “Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area which is now called Chmushkatzag.”

John I Tzimiskes Byzantine emperor

Khozan was located in the region of Paghnatun, in the Byzantine province of Fourth Armenia (Sophene).

Tzimiskes was born sometime around 925 to an unnamed member of the Kourkouas family and the sister of future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas.

Both the Kourkouai and the Phokadai were distinguished Cappadocian families and among the most prominent of the emerging military aristocracy of Asia Minor.

Several of their members had served as prominent army generals, most notably the great John Kourkouas, who conquered Melitene and much of Armenia.

Tzimiskes was a rather short but well-built man, with reddish-blonde hair and beard and blue eyes who was attractive to women.

He seems to have joined the army at an early age, originally under the command of his maternal uncle Nikephoros Phokas.

The latter is also considered his instructor in the art of war.

Partly because of his familial connections and partly because of his abilities, Tzimiskes quickly rose through the ranks.

He was given the political and military command of the theme of Armenia before he turned twenty-five years old.

His marriage to Maria Skleraina, daughter of Pantherios Skleros and sister of Bardas Skleros, linked him to the influential family of the Skleroi.

Little is known about her; she died before his rise to the throne, and the marriage was childless.

The contemporary historian Leo the Deacon remarks that she excelled in both beauty and wisdom.

The Byzantine Empire was at war with its eastern neighbours, the various autonomous and semi-autonomous emirates emerging from the break-up of the Abbasid Caliphate.

The most prominent among them was the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, under Sayf al-Dawla.

Armenia served as the borderland between the two Empires, and Tzimiskes successfully defended his province.

He and his troops joined the main part of the army, which was campaigning under the command of Nikephoros Phokas.

Nikephoros (meaning “bearer of victory”) justified his name with a series of victories, moving the borders further east with the capture of about 60 border cities including Aleppo.

By 962, the Hamdanids had sued for peace with favourable terms for the Byzantines, securing the eastern border of the Empire for some years.

Tzimiskes distinguished himself during the war both at the side of his uncle and at leading parts of the army to battle under his command, as in the Battle of Raban in 958.

He was rather popular with his troops and gained a reputation for taking the initiative during battles, turning their course.

On the death of Emperor Romanos II in 963, Tzimiskes urged his uncle to seize the throne.

After helping Nikephoros to the throne and continuing to defend the Empire’s eastern provinces, Tzimiskes was deprived of his command by intrigue.

He retaliated by conspiring with Nikephoros’ wife Theophano and several disgruntled leading generals (Michael Bourtzes and Leo Balantes) to assassinate Nikephoros.

After his coronation in December 969, Tzimiskes dispatched his brother-in-law Bardas Skleros to subdue a rebellion by Bardas Phokas, a cousin of Tzimiskes who aspired to succeed their uncle as emperor.

To solidify his position, Tzimiskes married Theodora, a daughter of Emperor Constantine VII.

He proceeded to justify his usurpation by repelling the foreign invaders of the Empire.

The tributary of Aleppo was soon assured under the Treaty of Safar.

In a series of campaigns against the Kievan Rus’ encroachment on the Lower Danube in 970–971, he drove the enemy out of Thrace in the Battle of Arcadiopolis, crossed Mt. Haemus, and besieged the fortress of Dorostolon (Silistra) on the Danube for 65 days.

After several hard-fought battles, he defeated Great Prince Svyatoslav I of Rus’.

Tzimiskes and Svyatoslav ended up negotiating a truce, in which weaponry, armour and provisions were exchanged for the famished Rus’ departure.

On his return to Constantinople, Tzimiskes celebrated a triumph, built the Church of Christ of the Chalkè as thanksgiving, divested the captive Bulgarian Emperor Boris II of the Imperial symbols, and proclaimed Bulgaria annexed.

He further secured his northern frontier by transplanting to Thrace some colonies of the Paulicians, whom he suspected of sympathising with their Muslim neighbours in the east.

In 972, Tzimiskes turned against the Abbasid Empire and its vassals, beginning with an invasion of Upper Mesopotamia.

A second campaign, in 975, was aimed at Syria, where his forces took Emesa (Homs), Baalbek, Damascus, Tiberias, Nazareth, Caesarea, Sidon, Beirut, Byblos, and Tripoli, but they failed to take Jerusalem.

He died suddenly in 976 returning from his second campaign against the Abbasids and was buried in the Church of Christ Chalkites, which he had rebuilt.

Several sources state that the Imperial Chamberlain Basil Lekapenos poisoned the Emperor to prevent him from stripping Lekapenos of his ill-gotten lands and riches.

Tzimiskes was succeeded by his ward and nephew, Basil II, who had been nominal co-emperor since 960.

Today, in Thessaloniki, his name was immortalized after the result of Greek-Bulgarian tensions during the Balkan Wars.

A street was dedicated to him after the Great Thessaloniki Fire of 1917, which levelled downtown Thessaloniki.

French architect Ernest Hebrard who designed the new master plan for Thessaloniki was also the one that included the current design for Tsimiski Street.

The street in its current form was built in 1921.

https://greekcitytimes.com/2024/01/11/born-on-this-day-john-tzimiskes-2-2/

[Yervant1]

Armenpress.am

 

Armenia17:54, 26 November 2024

Scientists refute Herodotus' hypothesis on the Balkan origin of Armenians

Read the article in: FrançaisՀայերենРусскийTürkçe

3 minute read

 YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. Scientists have refuted the hypothesis proposed by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, which suggested that the ancestors of Armenians originated from the Balkans.

An article published in the American Journal of Human Genetics explains that geneticists analyzed the DNA of 57 Armenians to study the demographic history of their population. Their findings confirm that people genetically close to modern Armenians inhabited the Caucasus region as far back as the Bronze Age. The study highlights that Armenian history has long fascinated researchers due to their unique cultural features, including the Apostolic Church, their alphabet, and a language that forms a distinct branch of the Indo-European family.

“Thanks to the reports of the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, a hypothesis emerged suggesting that the ancestors of the Armenians migrated to the Caucasus from the Balkans, particularly from Thrace. This hypothesis was later supported by some linguists. However, modern evidence indicates that a genetically similar population inhabited this region at least as early as the Bronze Age. Furthermore, it appears that a significant portion of the ancestors of modern Armenians lived in the Armenian Highlands as far back as the Neolithic era,” the article states.

Dr. Anahit Hovhannisyan, a Marie Curie Fellow at Trinity College Dublin’s School of Genetics and Microbiology,  together with partners from scientific organizations in nine countries, presented the results of their study on the demographic history of Armenians. According to their findings, scientists analyzed the complete genomes of 34 individuals whose ancestors identified as Armenian for at least four generations. Additionally, the researchers expanded the study to include 23 more individuals with full genome data and incorporated previously published data on ancient and modern genomes.

The study of these genomes confirmed that Herodotus was incorrect in claiming that the ancestors of Armenians migrated from the Balkan Peninsula. Modern Armenians represent a relatively homogeneous population.

"Genetic evidence also confirmed that some ancestors of modern Armenians lived in the Caucasus as early as the Neolithic era," it reads.

 

 

 

Published by Armenpress, original at https://armenpress.am/en/article/1205979?fbclid=IwY2xjawGzlVlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVA80t1WvcckNbyisPzZvJT4MEclT1BbLzQzZYYe_ZW22ysfQIYHBZM4jA_aem_6ISe4gDqYHx5lXrB2uyKXw