Hrach Mikayeli Bartikyan (; , also transliterated as Hratch Bart'ikyan; July 7, 1927–August 17, 2011) was an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...
historian and specialist in
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
and medieval
Armenian studies
Armenian studies or Armenology (, ) is a field of humanities covering Armenian history, language and culture. The emergence of modern Armenian studies is associated with the foundation of the Catholic Mechitarist order in the early 18th century. ...
. The author of over 200 books, articles and monographs, Bartikyan was a full member of the
Armenian Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates acti ...
and the head of its Medieval Studies department. He was also a member of several academic institutions, including the Greek Academy of Sciences, the Tiberian Academy of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, the Byzantine Studies Association of Greece, and is an honorary member of the Greek Civilization Establishment.
Life
Education
Born in
Athens, Greece
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, Bartikyan attended a '' gymnasium'', graduating in 1945. A year later, his family repatriated to the
Soviet Armenia
The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (ArSSR), also known as Soviet Armenia, or simply Armenia, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Soviet Armenia ...
. He enrolled in the history program at
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...
, obtaining his degree in 1953 and subsequently finding work at the Institute of History at the
Armenian Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (NAS RA) (, ''Hayastani Hanrapetut’yan gitut’yunneri azgayin akademia'') is the Armenian national academy, functioning as the primary body that conducts research and coordinates acti ...
. s.v. "Bartikyan, Hrach Mikayeli,"
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia (also rendered ''Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia''; , ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) is the first general encyclopedia in the Armenian language. It was published in 1974-1987 by the main editorial office of th ...
, vol 2, p. 316. In 1972, he received his ''
Doktor nauk
A Doctor of Sciences, abbreviated д-р наук or д. н.; ; ; ; is a higher doctoral degree in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and many Commonwealth of Independent States countries. One of the prerequisites of receiving a Doctor of Science ...
''.
Career
Bartikyan's research focused on social movements and political and cultural relations between Armenians and the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
during the Middle Ages. A number of his articles centered on the Paulician and Tondrakian heretical sects and connections between medieval Armenian and Byzantine Greek literature. In the 1960s, he laid the groundwork for a translation project that aimed to translate important medieval Byzantine sources relating to Armenia and Armenians (part of the more general Foreign Sources on Armenia and Armenians project 'Otar Aghbyurnere Hayastani yev hayeri masin''. Bartikyan translated and wrote the introductions to select excerpts from
Procopius
Procopius of Caesarea (; ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; ; – 565) was a prominent Late antiquity, late antique Byzantine Greeks, Greek scholar and historian from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman general Belisarius in Justinian I, Empe ...
's (''The Wars of Justinian'', 1967; ''The Secret History'', 1987),
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus
Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, a ...
's (''
De Administrando Imperio
(; ) is a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII. It is a domestic and foreign policy manual for the use of Constantine's son and successor, the Emperor Romanos II. It is a prominent example of Byz ...
'', 1970),
John Scylitzes
John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes Scylitzes (, ; , ; early 1040s – after 1101), was a Byzantine historian of the late 11th century.
Life
Very little is known about his life. The title of his work records him as a '' kouropalat ...
's (''Synopsis of Histories'', 1979) and
Theophanes the Confessor
Theophanes the Confessor (; 759 – 817 or 818) was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy who became a monk and chronicler. He served in the court of Emperor Leo IV the Khazar before taking up the religious life. Theophanes attended the Second C ...
's (''Chronicle'', 1984) histories. Bartikyan also translated the twelfth-century Armenian chronicler
Matthew of Edessa
Matthew of Edessa (; late 11th century – 1144) was an Armenian historian in the 12th century from the city of Edessa. Matthew was the superior abbot of Karmir Vank, near the town of Kaysun, east of Marash (Germanicia), the former seat of ...
from classical to modern Eastern Armenian.
In addition to being a contributor to several chapters in the Armenian Academy of Sciences' eight-volume ''History of the Armenian People'' series (1970-1984), he wrote numerous entries on Byzantine and late medieval Armenian political and military figures, events, regions and cities in the
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia
Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia (also rendered ''Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia''; , ''Haykakan sovetakan hanragitaran''; ASE) is the first general encyclopedia in the Armenian language. It was published in 1974-1987 by the main editorial office of th ...
(1974-1986).
Along with fellow Soviet Byzantine scholars such as
Alexander Kazhdan
Alexander Petrovich Kazhdan (; 3 September 1922 – 29 May 1997) was a Soviet and American Byzantinist. Among his publications was the three-volume ''Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium'', a comprehensive encyclopedic work containing over than 5,000 ...
, Bartikyan was a regular participant to international conferences and medievalists' congresses. In April 2005, Bartikyan was awarded the Armenian President's Prize, which is "granted to successful candidates of art, culture and science," in the category of humanities.THE PRESIDENT'S PRIZE NOMINEES Hayastan All Armenian Fund. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
Patma-Banasirakan Handes
''Patma-Banasirakan Handes'' ( (ՊԲՀ, ''PBH''); , ''Istoriko-Filologicheskii Zhurnal''; ) is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Armenian National Academy of Sciences. It covers research on Armenian history (particularly ...
'' 49 (1970).
* ''Hellenismos kai Armenia''. Athens: Hidryma Goulandre-Chorn, 1991.
*"Armenia and Armenians in the Byzantine Epic," in ''Digenes Akrites: New Approaches to Byzantine Heroic Poetry (Centre for Hellenic Studies, King's College London)''. David Ricks (ed.) Brookfield, VT: Variorum, 1993 .
* ''Partenios Atenatsu Paghestini Kesariayi metropoliti patmutyun hunats yev hayots taradzaynutyan'' etropolitan of Caesarea in Palestine Parthenius' ''On the Feuds Between the Orthodox and the Armenians'' Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 2005.