The Turco-Mongol Invasions and the Lords of Armenia in the 13 ...

The HNA differs from the works of other Armenian
historians thus far described. First, as the product of
a Cilician author in his early 20'a when the work was
completed in 1273, this history lacks the immediacy found
in the compilations of eastern Armenian eye-witnesses to
the Mongol conquest and domination, such as Kirakos, Vardan,
and Step'annos. This circumstance probably accounts for
some of the chronological inaccuracies committed by Grigor
in the early portion of his work . On the other hand,
as Blake observed, "The writer had one advantage over his
more gifted contemporary [Kirakoa]: he was not immediately
exposed to the impact of the invaders..." . A second
difference between Grigor'a work and the histories of
Kirakos, Vardan, and Step'annos concerns the scope of his
undertaking. Aknerc *i wrote a relatively a hort history
of a 44 year period. ?ar from being a universal history
Step'annos of this retreat of Akanc* with the consent of
Tardan, warden of the holy retreat, and of the entire
brotherhood of priests and clerics, by the hand of the
miserable scribe Grigor, servant of the Word..."(Akinean,
"Grigcr k'ahanay". p. 390, also H.Blake, GA, Introduction,
pp. 281-82 n.6). All publications of the Armenian text
and all translations of it prior to the issuance of R.Blake's
text and English translation have incorrectly named a certain
vardajjetjiaiakia as the author. Two scholars, H.2amko§yan
and Herses Akinean independently established Grigor of Akner
as the true writer[Akinean, "Grigor k'ahanay"; 2amko$yan,
"The Author of the Work HKA"(in Arm.)Scientific Works of
the State University of Erevan 23(1946) pp. 367-68].Malakia
it was revealed, was none other than the 17th century
yardapet Malakia T'oxat'ec'i who had recopied Grigor1s work
and whose own colophon gave rise to this confusion.
1 For example, Grigor incorrectly dates the first appearance
of the Mongols in the Caucasus to 1214, years earlier than
other historians (GA, p. 294/95); the defeat of Ghiyath
39