The Discovery of the Armenian Alphabet

 The Discovery of the Armenian Alphabet. The attached is my abridged translation of Dr. Armenag Yehgiayan’s article that was posted in Darperag 21 (Տարբերակ 21). The original may be read by clicking the following link https://darperag21.net/հայոց-գիրերը/ . The quotes in italics are my additions from Wikipedia. Vahe H. Apelian

 

Of the alphabets coming from the ancient world, it is only the birth of the Armenian alphabet that has been recorded by a contemporary. The origins of the other alphabets such as Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Assyrian remain obscure.

We owe this unique exception to one of Mesrob’s students named Goriun/Koriuns (Կորիւն)

After the death of Mashtots in 440, his disciples headed by  Hovsep Hoghotsmetsi, one of the spiritual leaders at that time, asked Korium to start writing Mesrop's biography.  We do not know why they asked Koriun to assume the task. It is plausible that he was very close to Mesrob and knew him well. 

After long hesitation, claiming that he is not worthy to be tasked for such an honor, Koriun assumed the task and the outcome became his modest booklet, hardly 50 pages long, which is the first biography in the Armenian alphabet.  Koriun’ literary work is known is known as "Varq Mashtotsi" (Life of Mashtots). Koriun “finished his work before the Avarayr battle in 451 and new political developments in the region. In the modern period it was translated into Russian, English, French and German.” (Wikipedia).

What is interesting in this book is the portion devoted to the discovery of the Armenian alphabet, where the discovery is recounted in minute detail.

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During the 400’s a rebellion takes place in Mesopotamia which was under Persian dominion. The king of Persia asks his ally, the Armenian king Vramshabouh to go and pacify the rebels.  The Armenian king fulfills the request.  On his return to Armenia ,  in Arzanene (Աղձնիք), which  “was a historical region in the southwest of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It covered an area of 17,530 km². Its name is likely related to the Alzi or Alzini mentioned in Assyrian-Babylonian and Urartian records”, an Assyrian clergy by the name of Apel/Abel (՝Աբէլ) welcomes him and informs the Armenian king that he has a relative who is a bishop by the name of Taniel/Daniel (Դանիէլ) and who has accidentally found the Armenian alphabet.  

The Armenian king Vramshabouh, tired from his long military expedition and anxious to return to Armenia does not pay much attention to this unusual revelation and without giving it due consideration returns to the ancient Armenia’s capital city Vagharshabad (՝Վաղարշապատ).

After settling in, king Vramshabouh notices that there is a commotion going on in the very capital Vagharshabad in Etchmiadzin (Էջմիածին). All the high-ranking bishops from Armenia have gathered there for an ecclesiastical conclave ((«աշխարհահոգ խորհուրդ» in the words of Korium). Catholicos Sahag (Սահակ Կաթողիկոս) and Mesrob Mashdots (Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց)  present themselves to the king and brief him that they are engaged to come with an alphabet for the Armenian language.

King Vramshabouh in turn reveals to them about the alphabet that Bishop Taniel has in his possession.

Having heard the news, Sahag and Mesrob ask king Vramshabouh to send a delegation to Apel and have the alphabet brought to Armenia. King Vramshabouh in turn delegates one of his lord courtiers by the name of Vahridj (Վահրիճ) with a special proclamation to bring the alphabet bishop Taniel had accidentally discovered. 

 Vahridj finds Apel and together with him pay a visit to bishop Taniel, who welcomes them cordially and hands them the alphabet he has in his possession. The delegation returns and present the alphabet to king Vramshabouh.

Catholicos Sahag and Mesrob study the alphabet and realize that it does not have required relevance to the Armenian. In other words, they find the alphabet lacking to express the spoken Armenian. In his recount, Koriun does not specify in what manner the discovered alphabet lacked.

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Having no other recourse, Mesrob assembles a group of his students and pays bishop Taniel a visit. They study the alphabet with bishop Taniel wondering why is that bishop Taniel has remained under the impression that the alphabet he accidentally discovered is for the Armenian language.  

Bishop Taniel does not give an adequate answers and recommends them instead to visit the Assyrian capital city Edessa (Եդեսիա) where there were known scholars and the city had an impressive library and a very knowledgeable librarian by the name of Platon  / Bghadon  (Պղատոն) who could enlighten Mesrob and his disciples.  

Apparently Mesrob was looking for the Armenian alphabet he believed was lost or kept somewhere and he was embarked to find it. With that in mind Mesrob comes to Edessa but does not find Platon who had left Edessa before Mesrob’s arrival and had taken with him all the written sources under his possession, the nature of which remain obscure to Koriun.

Mesrob exhaustively searches the Edessa library but finds nothing that pertains to their search and continues his search visiting all the information centers t of the times. It is not farfetched that he might have even visited the famous library of Alexandria. But all his searches are in vain for he does not find any trace of an ancient and lost Armenian alphabet.

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Having given up finding the lost ancient Armenian alphabet, Mesrob resolves to come with an alphabet for the Armenian language by himself most likely having the Ethiopian Geʽez (Գէեզ) scripts in mind which were the more beautiful and ornate and succeeds in fashioning the 36 letters of Armenian alphabet around 405-406. 

He receives the warm accolades of the Assyirian clergy who had supported and aided him throughout his search and work. Whereupon Mesrob gathers his disciples who were scattered in different scholarly centers and  heads towards Vagharshabad, Armenia, a journey that would have taken them 10 to 12 days to complete.

The news of Mesrob’s achievement had preceded him.  A delegation headed by King Vramshabough and accompanied by the nobles, the courtiers, the high-ranking clergy, the army commanders head towards Arax river to meet Mesrob ccrossing a bridge into Armenia and welcome Mesrob holding over his head the wooden tablet inscribed with the Armenian alphabet which shined reflecting the sun’s ray at the foot of Mount Ararat.

Koriun who probably was present at the welcoming event wrote: "Moses' descent from Mount Sinai, where he met God and received the Ten Commandments and brought them with him to his people, was not as jubilant and joyful as was Mesrob's entry into Armenia meeting his own people with the tablet of the Armenian letters."