History of Vardan and the Armenian War

through martyrdom. The means were implemented and the goal was achieved.

Eghishe’s "Vardan" is therefore not a chronicle written with cold judgment of the main events of an age. Rather, it is a living presentation of a notable event and the individuals who appeared within it. He describes characters with such powerful colors that it seems you see with your own eyes the absolute autocrat of the Sasanians, seated in the square, and you also hear his "terrible voice" which "moved and shook the entire multitude of troops, like a fierce wind that lashes the great sea." The courage of Vardan ignites you as if you were a fellow soldier with him, and you are struck by his love, just as Eghishe was. You learn of Vasak’s treachery, his bravery in council, his cowardice in war, and his corruption in governance. You understand the profound wisdom of old Mihrnerseh, the experience he gained in senior office over a long period, and the great influence he held in the Empire of the Aryans original: "Areats" (Persian Empire). Below, one by one, we shall examine the character of each of these, as Eghishe shows them to us. When they descend into the arena, they always speak and act according to their nature and passions. The author makes his heroes speak more than he speaks himself. It is evident that in a great national life-event, the individuals who appear—whether they are loved or hated by the readers—give more life to the writing and invite more sympathy or anger than if the author made himself heard in their place. Therefore, conversations naturally occupy a sufficiently large space in Eghishe.

In the religious agitation of Armenia, the person who gave impetus to events through his zeal, and through the power of his thoughts and speech, was a priest, in whose name even ecclesiastics of much higher rank were later addressed. While the people, for centuries, honored the secular soldiers and commanders who were combatants or witnesses with the sparapet commander-in-chief Vardan with the name "Vardan," they called the holy, brave, and devoted ones "Ghevondian" followers of Ghevond—those who wanted to establish the truth of the religion they preached with their own blood. Ghevond, who was richer than everyone in religious knowledge, and whom the Persians also considered "the senior advisor and the cause of all things regarding Vardan and the deeds that were performed in that time in the land of the Armenians," was an old man, "afflicted in body" (certainly by such an illness that makes life bitter), "and he had not found health through the efforts of physicians, and he was weary of his sickly life and yearned more for death than for life." These are the words of his treasurer, Ghevond, but they nevertheless show the condition of the temperament in which the holy Ghevond found himself, and which must also have affected his moral state. There is no doubt that even divine zeal can present different phenomena according to the nature and circumstances of the individual.