A world in crisis: reconstructing identity in Late Antique Armenia

• Autores: Natasha Parnian
• Localización: Hermathena, ISSN 0018-0750, Nº. 208-209, 2020, págs. 210-234
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • The adoption of Christianity, alongside the development of the Armenian script in 405 CE, urged Armenian intellectuals to develop a new narrative focus in response to political and religious changes in Late Antiquity. This article explores the changes in the modes of Armenian historiographical writing from the fifth through the eighth century, during which Armenian writers engaged in a deliberate effort to eradicate their pre-Christian heritage. A new Christian discourse was constructed in its place, with which to reconceive Armenian identity. Importantly, the ecclesiastical structures pertaining to Armenian identity were solidified in an Iranian context; that is, through the strengthened relationship between Armenian nakharars and Sasanian shahanshahs. Armenia’s religious disputes with Byzantium fostered its relationship with its centuriesold ruler and ally – Sasanian Iran, to avoid assimilation into Byzantine orthodoxy. In effect, the political chaos of Late Antiquity was crucial for the development of an independent Armenian identity.