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

y his student Xirakos Banaser (the Philologist)*, and in
a number of 15th century colophons. According to these
2
sources, T'ovma was born in 1378 in the district of
Aliovit, north of Lake Van. He received his early educ-
ation at the monastery of Mecop' north of Aries, but the
invasions of Tamerlane and the attacks of Turkmen bands
obliged him to move from place to place, frequently flee-
ing for his life. In 1395 he went to Suxara (Xafabasta)
monastery in the K'ajberunik* district of southern
Armenia where he studied for 12 years with the noted
vardapeta Sargis and Vardan , In 1406 together with 12
classmates, he went to one of the most important seats of
learning in Armenia, the monastery of Tat'ew in the Cluk
region of Siwnlk' . After a residence of only two years
there, T'ovma, his classmates and their teacher, the great
intellectual Grigor Tat'ewac'i were forced to flee to
Mecop' monastery to escape the Qara Qoyunlu Turkmens .
V.Hakobyan, Minor Chronicles of the XIII-XYI II Centuries,
vol. I (Erevan, 192-U PP* u.$-J^TSee JJiDiiograpny; suggests
that Kirakos Banaser and Kirakos Sstuni, compiler of a
chronicle are the same individual.
L.Xa$ikyan, compiler,^ Dari haveren jefagreyi
aranner [Colophons of XVTh Century Armenian Manuscripts]
vol. j. (Erevan, 1955T p. 567! see also Ter-Davf van. OP.
cit.. p. 152 n.6.
Yovsep'yan, op.cjt. . Foreword, p. 5; Ter-Davt'yan,p.l52.
4 L. Xa?ikyan, p. 101.
ibid.
43