Publisher's Synopsis
History of the Armenians, attributed to Agathangelos, is an enigmatic work that combines remembered tradition and invented legend. It also exists in several languages and various editions, not all of which derive from the text extant in Armenian. The significance of the work is unquestionable, though. With this edition, Robert W. Thomson offers the first English translation of this "received" tradition, with elucidation of the literary sources of the Armenian redactor. This translation also compares the content of the other versions and explores the tendentious purpose of the Armenian text. This work also provides key insights into the literary background of the important fifth-century author Agathangelos, his affinities for other Armenian writers, and his typically vast knowledge of Greek and Syriac texts.
