Dogs from gods

Vaհe H Apelian

LtoR: Xolos, Haarzelf/Arazel

Recently I came across the attached picture of hairless black dogs, called Xolos.  These dogs are said to be a gift to humans, to guard them in life and guide them in the afterlife. They are considered to be among the oldest domesticated dog breeds. The remains of a such dog was found at an archeological site dating 5,500 years ago.

Xolos dog breed remained me of a mythical ancient dog, which is known in Armenian history as Harazel or Arazel because these dogs remain associated with the legend of the handsomest Armenian king Ara to who the mighty Assyrian queen Shamiram was infatuated. But Ara, remained loyal to his wife, and rebuffed her advances enraging her  to the point of attacking Armenia to capture Ara. But Ara was killed in the ensuing battle, against the wishes of queen Shamiram. Distraught, queen Shamiram had Ara’s body placed on hill so that the godly dogs Harazel/Arazel would lick his mortal wounds and bring him to life.

There are no breeds that are attributed to harazel/arazel. The Armenian Gampr (or Kampr) is also an ancient, dog suited for the Armenian Highlands. These dogs possess thick coats for harsh weather and have strong stamina to withstand the highland. They are said to be fiercely protective and deeply attached to their families. They are recognized as Armenia's national dog, but have no lineage to Aralez.

Aralez godly dogs remain a figment of our imagination but the characters of this ancient story continue to this day. Ara is a pre-Christian name that is popular to this day. In my childhood when I was asked what to name my new born cousin, I opted the name Ara. The eminent poet Roupen Sevag named his younger child and only daughter after the Assyrian queen. Shamiram Sevag passed away in France on October 17, 2016, at the ripe age of 102. 

The hill on which Ara’s body, the legend claims was laid, exists. Over time the Armenians adopted Christianity as their state religion but they did not forget about their handsome pagan king Ara who was loyal to his wife to his political detriment, and built a chapel on that very hilltop where the dogs Haralex/Aaalez from gods were once supposed to descend. They had become Christian but had kept the memory of the happening in pagan times. The village is situated along the shore of Lake Van. The village that sprang around the hill came to be called AraLezk--a compound word made of the king's name Ara and the Armenian verb to lick. The village now has grown into a town and, as is the regrettable Turkish tradition, its Armenian name has been oblitereated. 

One more thing about the legend of Armenia King Ara, his wife queen Nevart, and the Assyrian queen Shamiram. 

Simon Simonian book titled "Ge Khntrvi Khachatsevel",

The late Simon Simonian speculated on King Ara rejecting the Assyrian queen's infatuation if nor her love, in his book titled "Ge Khntrvi Khachatsevel", which literally means, "Please Overlap". In that book, Simon Simonian had luminaries of the Armenian history come on stage to a full capacity filled audience and dwell upon what the course of our history could or would have been, if only their actions were heeded. Simon Simonian had queen Shamiram appear on stage. She stated the following:

"Ara refused my love. I had promised him my kingdom along with my heart. He would have become the king of two countries, the kingdom of Ararat and Assyria because these two countries would have ceased fighting each other to extinction. Handsome Ara rejected both the throne and my heart. Had Ara joined me, the great majority of the oil wells of Mosul, some 95%, would have belonged to the Armenians. With Calouste Gulbenkian's 5%, the Armenians would have owned all. Just for the sake of Nvart khanoum (lady), Ara lost two kingdoms and the oil wells of Mosul"

I leave upon the readers to contemplate as to what could have been the course of our history if King Ara would not have been faithful to his wife queen Nvart to a “fault” or if the Haralez, the dogs from gods, had brought Ara to life and handed him to the Assyrian queen Shamiram.