Elishe

Armenian historian (410–475)

Elishe (, , 410 – 475) was an Armenian historian from the time of late antiquity, best known as the author of History of Vardan and the Armenian War, a history of the fifth century Armenian revolt led by Vardan Mamikonian against the suppression of Christianity under Sassanid Iranian rule.

According to ancient and medieval sources that have trickled down to historians, Elishe was one of the younger pupils of Sahak Partev and Mesrop Mashtots, the inventor of the Armenian alphabet. In 434, he, along with several other students, were sent to Alexandria to study Greek, Syriac and the liberal arts. He returned to Armenia in 441 and entered into military service, serving as a soldier or secretary to the Sparapet Vardan Mamikonian. He took part in the war of religious independence (449 451) against the Persian king Yazdegerd II. Following his death, his remains were removed and taken to the Surb Astvatsatsin Monastery, located along Lake Van's shoreline. One point from their argument was predicated on the assumption that the Armenian translation of Philo's works, which Elishe uses, was not made until around 600 AD. However, the translation of Philo's works had taken place during the early "Hellenizing" period of the Golden Age of Armenian literature (the fifth century AD). Scholars argue that neither the dating of the Hellenizing phase nor the presence of Hellenizing vocabulary are necessarily dependent on Elishe’s dating. Elishe's complete failure to mention the Council of Chalcedon, the theological conclusions of which led to the complete breakdown of relations between the Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic Churches following the 506 Council of Dvin, has also led scholars to reject the later dating.

The original text of Elishe's work, like all others written during this period, does not exist (all currently extant Armenian manuscripts date to the tenth century or later). An edition of it was published at Venice in 1826 by the Mechitarists of San Lazzaro. One of the manuscripts on which it is based purports to be a faithful copy of another manuscript dated to 616. The text of that edition was further improved in subsequent editions at the same place (1828, 1838, 1859, and 1864). Among other editions of value are those of Theodosia in Crimea (Ukraine), 1861, and of Jerusalem, 1865. Elishe is also the author of a commentary on Joshua and Judges, an explanation of the Lord's Prayer, a letter to the Armenian monks, etc., all found in the Venice editions of the History of Vartan. A landmark study and critical edition of the text was prepared by philologist Yervand Ter Minassian in 1957.

In addition to the seven chapters mentioned by Elishe himself in his introductory remarks, the following editions contain an eighth chapter referring to the so called Leontine martyrs and others. The authenticity of that chapter has been called into question. It has been also remarked that in all the manuscripts the fifth chapter is missing, while in the editions the original sixth chapter is cut in two so as to make up for the missing chapter. There is a French translation by Langlois (1869) and Italian translation by G. Cappelletti (Venice, 1840). There is an abridged English translation by Neumann, C. F. (1830) and unabridged editions by Dickran H. Boyadjian (1952) and Robert W. Thomson (1982).