A Woman on the Throne and the Symbolic Attributes of Authority

Annual Mee)ng of Postgraduates in Ancient Literature 2013

The University of St Andrews

A WOMAN ON THE THRONE & THE SYMBOLIC ATTRIBUTES OF

AUTHORITY

David Zakarian University of Oxford

“Discovering the Unreal”

Ø  Arsacid Armenian Kingdom (ca 66-‐428 C.E.)

Ø The King as primus inter pares

Ø  Patriarchal family as the basic social unit Ø  Inven)on of the Armenian alphabet (ca 401-‐406) Ø  The Epic Histories A3ributed to Pʿawstos Buzand (ca 470s)

2

The Epic Histories A/ributed to Pʿawstos Buzand:

(Buzandaran Patmutʿiwnkʿ). Ed. and Trans.

Nina G. Garsoïan. Cambridge, Mass.:

Harvard University Press, 1989.

3

•  Did the Queen of Armenia have a legitimate right to rule the country ?

•  How differently was her reign perceived in comparison with the

rule of a male monarch?

4

“And they [the Persians] opened the

tombs of the former kings of Armenia,

of the most valiant Aršakuni, and they

carried off into captivity the bones of

the kings.”

The Epic Histories IV:xxiv

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“For they [the Persians] said, according to their heathen beliefs: ‘This is the reason why we are taking the bones of the Armenian kings to our realm: that the glory of the kings and the fortune and the valor of this realm might go from here with the bones of the kings and enter into our realm.’ Then Vasak freed all the captives of the realm of Armenia; and the bones of the Armenian kings freed by Vasak were taken and buried in the inaccessible village named Ałjkʿ in the district of Ayrarat […]”

The Epic Histories IV:xxiv 6

“May there be health and prosperity by the

help of the gods. [...] May there be wisdom of

the Greeks to the province of the Caesars,

protection from our heroic Parthians, from

the glory of [our] kings and ancestors.”

Aa §127

7

§  “Glory” – Arm. p‘aṙk‘, փառք; Pth. farr; Av. xᵛarənah-‐; Gk. δόξᾰ

§  “Fortune, luck” – Arm. baxt, բախտ; Pth. baxt; Av. baxta-‐; Gk. τύχη

§  “Valour” – Arm. k‘aǰut‘iwn, քաջութիւն; Av. ama-‐; Gk. ἀνδρεία, ἀρετή

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Symbolic AYributes of Royal Authority as Signs of Legi)macy &

Righteousness

Tigranes II, 95-‐56 B.C., Two Chalci, Bedoukian 101

9

Tigranes II, 95-‐56 BC. Tetradrachm, Bedoukian (CAA) 40 10

P‘aṙanjem – Փառանձեմ

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“Around that \me Andovk, one of the naxarars of the nahapet of Siwnik‘, had a beau\ful daughter named P‘aṙanjem who was greatly renowned for her beauty and her modesty, and the young nephew of the king, Gnel, took her as his wife. The fame of the maiden’s loveliness spread about, and the renown of her beauty grew, increased, and resounded.”

The Epic Histories IV:xv


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“And aher this Aršak took the murdered man's wife, P’aṙanjem, as his own. But as much as King Aršak loved the woman, so much did the woman hate the king, saying: ‘He is hairy of body and dark of colour’.” [...] “the iniquitous P’aṙanjem ” [...] “the consummately evil P’aṙanjem”

The Epic Histories IV:xv


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P‘aṙanjem’s ascension: the situa)on in Armenia •  The country is being ravished by the Persian forces •  King Aršak is chained in the fortress of Andmǝš (Anuš) •  The sparapet (the commander-‐in-‐chief) of the Armenian army Vasak Mamikonean is arrested and cruelly killed by order of Šapuh II •  The Aršakuni heir to the Armenian throne, Pap, has been sent to the land of Greeks as a hostage


“when the queen of the realm of Armenia P‘aṙanjem, the wife of Aršak king of Armenia, saw that the army of the Persian king was coming and filling the realm of Armenia, she took with her some eleven thousand select armored, warlike azats [minor nobility], together with them she avoided the Persian forces, sought [refuge] and entered the fortress of Artagers in the land of Aršakunik‘.”

The Epic Histories IV:lv

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“Queen P’aṙanjem remained [alone] in the fortress with

two serving-‐women. Then the eunuch hayr the mardpet

secretly entered the fortress and he greatly insulted the

queen as though she were a harlot. And he began to revile

the clan of the Aršakuni for being men of ill-‐counsel and ill-‐

repute, as well as destroyers of the realm. ‘Justly,’ he said,

‘has all of this come upon you, and [also] that which shall

come!’ and he leh secretly and fled.”

The Epic Histories IV:lv 15

P‘aṙanjem – Փառանձեմ “since Šapuh king of Persia wished to insult the race of the

realm and kingdom of Armenia, he ordered all of his

troops, magnates, base-‐born, and all of the men of the

realm under his dominion assembled together, and he

brought P‘aṙanjem the queen of Armenia into this mob.

And he ordered a device of debauchery erected in the

public-‐square and had the woman thrown into it. And he

delivered Queen P‘aṙanjem to foul and beastly copula\on.

And in this fashion they killed P’aṙanjem the queen.”

The Epic Histories IV:lv

Zarmanduxt – Զարմանդուխտ

“He [sparapet Manuēl] wielded authority and

gave orders to the realm in the place of the

king, and he kept the realm prosperous. He kept

the wife of King Pap, Queen Zarmanduxt, with

her two Aršakuni sons in place of the king and

took them around with honor. [...] he honoured

[...] Zarmanduxt with the great pomp of a

queen.”

The Epic Histories V:xxxvii 17


“And thereaher, the Armenian commander-‐in-‐

chief Manuēl together with his en\re

con\ngent placed at their head Queen

Zarmanduxt the wife of King Pap, and they

displayed her all around in place of the king.”

The Epic Histories V:xxxviii

18


“the sparapet and the commander-‐in-‐chief Manuēl went with the Aršakuni queen and her two children, Aršak and Vałaršak, to the district of Karin, together with en\re Armenian army, the highest nobility and the naxarars, and all the tanutērs went with them. The sparapet Manuēl gave his daughter Vardanduxt in marriage to the young Aršak Aršakuni and thus made him his son-‐in-‐law.” [...] “Aher this, all the men of the Armenian realm assembled once more together and [Manuēl] made the young Aršak king of the Armenian land, and his brother Vałaršak second to him.”

The Epic Histories V:xliv

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“when Manuēl saw that whatever he did ran counter to the orders of the king of the Greeks, he judged it fi�ng to find one person at least to give him support. He then took counsel with the queen and they decided to seek the support of the Persian king.”

The Epic Histories V:xxxvii

“Queen Zarmanduxt and the sparapet Manuēl sent Garǰoyl małxaz with many Armenian naxarars as well as le�ers-‐patent, gihs, and presents to the king of Persia [...].”

The Epic Histories V:xxxviii

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Conclusions

•  P‘aṙk‘, baxt and k‘ajut‘iwn represented masculine virtues and would only accompany a legi\mate and, most importantly, a righteous king.

•  The queen’s rule, though legi\mate, was perceived as lacking supernatural patronage.

•  The ins\tute of queenship in Arsacid Armenia was an integral part of the state mechanism.

•  Whenever the king’s throne was empty, the queen would assume authority as head of state.

Bibliography

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•  Ačaṙyan, Hrač‘ya. 1971-‐79. Hayeren Armatakan Baṙaran (Armenian Etymological DicQonary). Vols. 1-‐4. Yerevan: Yerevan University Press.

•  Bedoukian, Paul Z. 1981 [1968]. “A Classifica\on of the Coins of the Artaxiad Dynasty of Armenia.” The American NumismaQc Society: Museum Notes 14: 41-‐69. Reprinted in Selected NumismaQc Studies. Los Angeles: Armenian Numisma\c Society. pp. 113-‐141.

•  Garsoïan, Nina G. 1985 [1982]. "The Iranian Substratum of the 'Agatʿangełos'

Cycle." East of ByzanQum: Syria and Armenia in the FormaQve Period. Dumbarton Oaks Symposium, 1980. Eds. Garsoïan, N. G., Ma�hews, Th. F. and R. W. Thomson. Washington, pp. 151-‐174. Reprinted in Armenia between ByzanQum and the Sasanians. XII. London: Variorum Reprints. -‐-‐-‐. 1985 [1981]. “The Locus of the Death of Kings: Iranian Armenia – the Inverted Image.” The Armenian Image in History and Literature. Ed. Hovannisian R. G. Malibu CA.: Undena. 27-‐64; Reprinted in Armenia between ByzanQum and the Sasanians. XI. London: Variorum Reprints. -‐-‐-‐. 1985 [1976]. “Prolegomena to a Study of the Iranian Elements in Arsacid Armenia.” Handes Amsorya, ZeitschriZ für armenische Philologie XC. 1-‐46. Reprinted in Armenia between ByzanQum and the Sasanians. X. London: Variorum Reprints.

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•  Gignoux, Philippe. 1972. Glossaire des InscripQons Pehlevies et Pathes. London: Lund Humphries.

•  Gnoli, Gherardo. 1999. “Farr(ah).” Encyclopedia Iranica Online. Web. 08 May 2013.

•  Harouthiounyan, Nicolay. 2001. Korpus Urartskikh Klinoobraznykh Nadpisei (Corpus of UrarQan Cuneiform InscripQons). Academy of Sciences of Armenia “Gitut‘iwn” Press: Yerevan.

•  Humbach, Helmut, and Pallan R. Inchaporia. 1998. Zamyād Yasht: Yasht 19 of the Younger Avesta: Text, TranslaQon, Commentary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag.

•  The Epic Histories A/ributed to Pʿawstos Buzand: (Buzandaran Patmutʿiwnkʿ). 1989. Ed. Nina G. Garsoïan. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

•  Thomson, Robert W., trans. and ed. 2010. The Lives of Saint Gregory: The Armenian, Greek, Arabic, and Syriac Versions of the History A/ributed to Agathangelos. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Caravan Books.

A Woman on the Throne and the Symbolic Attributes of Authority

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