History of Vardan and the Armenian War

The Christian religion and the pious sentiment of the age naturally provided the necessary and fitting machinery for the narrative. In the great problem of martyrdom, it is not only men who act; celestial and infernal powers also participate in them.

"If you knew and it were made known to you," say the Armenians to the princes who took up the worship of the sun and who were returning from the Abar original: "Apar" land, "the heavens have mourned over you, and the earth beneath your feet has been buried. The angels from above are angry with you, and from this earth, the martyrs are incensed against you."

When the great fortresses of the world pass into the hands of the Christians and fire-worship Zoroastrianism is abolished, nature steps out of its own rules, and there is great light in the heavens:

"For where there was no expectation that anyone would mention the name of God, great terrors fell upon them, and every man told his neighbor of the visions and wonders. Likewise, the stars appeared in the heavens, shining very brightly, which they did not have in their original nature."

But when the Mog Zoroastrian priests entered Armenia, "there was a multitude of troops, and the evil-loving Satan appeared among them as a commander, and by incessantly urging everyone, he spurred them to haste." Likewise, when Vasak began to implement his treachery, "he took Satan as a shield and donned him like armor, and he became like an instrument for the fulfillment of his will."

Certainly, it would have been desirable if Eghishe, on the occasion of the farewell given to the families of one of the chief martyrs, had shown us the internal state of the fortresses of the landlords, or had brought to light a single heart-wrenching incident of the armored women. Such one or two episodes could have added great beauty and variation to the writing without deviating from the truth. If such a lack is a flaw, it does not change the essence of the work, nor can it make us forget its perfections.

The purpose of the writing is success or victory. But it is not the restoration of material power, rather it is the freedom of Christianity and its rise in the land of the Armenians. That, too, would not be by the sheer strength of arms and the total destruction of the Persian armies, but through martyrdom. The means were implemented and the goal was achieved.