The History of Sebeos

the King of Armenians, Khosrov, as some suppose, but to the court of one of the Persian Khosrovs" (Preface, p. B).

After this brief introduction, he refers those who wish to the notes section of his Russian translation, which is indeed rich with important observations, many of which have not lost their validity even today. He attached 53 notes to the Armenian publication, in which a number of Persian and Greek words used in the "History of Sebeos," as well as names of historical figures and places, are annotated. A number of notes are also placed at the bottom of the page, where the variants from Mihrdatyan’s publication and the Petersburg manuscript are also indicated.

In this publication, Patkanian made about 20 important corrections to the text, part of which were based on the manuscript he used, and the other part on his own philological justifications or the correct readings preserved in the works of historians who used the "History of Sebeos." In some cases, he left the text as it was, but sensed the error and instead noted his hypothesized or correct forms preserved by other writers in the footnote. He also preserved the corrections made by Mihrdatyan.

Among Patkanian’s important corrections are the following (we indicate the manuscript misreadings in parentheses): Bagarat (Bagaram), Biurat (Biuram), ekn ehas arrived (ekn i Hays arrived in Armenia), paterazmav with war (patebazmav), vor eran katoghikos who was patriarch there (vor er and katoghikos who was patriarch there), tagavorutean Hayots kingdom of Armenians (tagavorutean harc kingdom of ancestors), Israēli of Israel (Erusaēmi of Jerusalem), ehas arrived (etes saw), patmel to tell (partel to defeat), kaparns the bonds (kapans), Amaz, Royean (amazoyean), Rostomay (Rotomay), Razmiozan (Gazmiozan), Modestos (Mozestos), etc. Also important is the reading of "Atropatene" provided in the footnote, which Patkanian gathered from Tovma Artsruni. Instead of this, the error "ari geughn ayn" that brave village occurs in the manuscripts, which Mihrdatyan and Patkanian himself printed identically in the text. Malkhasyants, following the footnote note by Patkanian, restored the form "Atropatene" in his own publication.

When making textual restorations and corrections, Patkanian did not forget to remind the reader of the merit of the first publisher, Mihrdatyan:

"Nevertheless, may the readers see what differences exist between the two publications, keeping in mind the results of the first printer of this work."

Patkanian’s publication also stands out for its careful preparation for printing (only eight errors were noticed and listed) and high-quality paper, thanks to which the nearly century-old publication still maintains its freshness today.

In the appendix section of Patkanian’s publication ("Appendices: Excerpts from the History of Sebeos for other writers"), those passages from the works of Tovma Artsruni, Hovhannes Draskhanakerttsi, Stepannos Taronetsi (Asoghik), and Vardan Areveltsi are printed which were borrowed directly or indirectly from the "History of Sebeos."