Jews in ancient and medieval Armenia : first century BCE to fourteenth century CE

It was once common consensus that there was no significant Jewish community in ancient and medieval Armenia. The discovery and excavation (1997-2002) of a Jewish cemetery of the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries in southern Armenia substantially changed this picture. In this volume, Stone and Topchyan assemble evidence about the Jews of Armenia from earliest times to the fourteenth century. Based on research of the Greco-Roman period, the authors are able to draw new conclusions about the transfer of Jews--including the High Priest Hyrcanus--from the north of Palestine and other countries to Armenia by King Tigran the Great in the first century BCE. The fact that descendants of King Herod ruled in Armenia in Roman times and that some noble Armenian families may have had Jewish origin is discussed. The much-debated identification of the "Mountains of Ararat" of Noah's Ark fame as well as ancient biblical and other references to Ararat and the Caucasus are re-assessed, and new evidence is adduced that challenges the scientific consensus. The role of Jews during the Seljuk, Mongol, and later times is also presented, from surviving sources in Armenian, Arabic, Hebrew, and others. The volume also includes studies of medieval Jewish sources on Armenia and the Armenians and of communication between Armenia and the Holy Land. Documents from the Cairo Geniza, newly uncovered inscriptions, medieval itineraria , and diplomatica also throw light on Armenia in the context of the Turkic Khazar kingdom, which converted to Judaism in the latter part of the first century CE. It responds both to new archeological discoveries in Armenia and to the growing interest in the history of the region that extends north from the Euphrates and into the Caucasus. Title Page Copyright Page Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Abbreviations 1 “Ararat” and Armenia in the Bible and Associated Traditions 1.1 Genesis 8:4 1.2 Isaiah 37:38 1.3 Jeremiah 51:27 1.4 Concerning a City Built after Exit from the Ark 1.5 “Land of Ararat” in a Document of the Late First Century ce 1.6 The Ark in Apamea 2 Jews in Armenia in the Ancient Period (First Century bce to Fifth Century ce) 2.1 Introductory Remarks 2.2 The Oldest Evidence in Armenian Literature: Jews Deported from Armenia by the Persians (368/9 ce) 2.3 The Historical Background: The Events of 363–368/9 2.4 The Information on the Conquest of the Cities: Accurate or Legendary? 2.5 P‘awstos Buzand, 4.55 2.6 What Do the Numbers Indicate and What Might “Jews” (հրեայք) in P‘awstos Buzand Mean? 2.7 How Did the Jews Come to Armenia? 2.8 Greco-Roman Sources on Tigran’s Deportations 2.9 The Countries from Which Tigran Could Have Expatriated Jews 2.10 The Eight Armenian Cities with Armenian-Jewish Populations 2.11 Herod the Great’s Descendants on the Throne of Armenia 2.12 Information on the Jewish Origin of Armenian Princely Families in Movsēs Xorenac‘i 2.13 Jews Converted to Christianity in Armenia 2.14 Linguistic Issues: Possible Hebrew Words in Armenian 2.15 The Word for “Jew” in Armenian 2.16 Concluding Remarks 3 The Middle Ages 3.1 The Main Routes of Medieval Armenia 3.2 Jews in the Capital Dvin (Seventh through Ninth Centuries) and the “Jewish Singers” in the Region of Vaspurakan (Ninth Century) 3.3 Jews in Kapan (Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries) and a Jewish Physician at the Monastery of Geret‘in (Thirteenth Century) 3.4 Jews in Vayoc‘ Jor (Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries) 3.4.1 The Seljuk Attack and the Vayoc‘ Jor District 3.4.2 The Results of Ōrbelean Policy 3.5 The Cemetery 3.5.1 The Village of Ełegis 3.5.2 The Tombstones 3.5.3 The Inscriptions and the Character of the Community 3.5.4 The Decoration 3.5.5 Persian Origin of the Jewish Community 3.5.6 Conclusions 3.6 Why Do the Jews Disappear from Our Sources (Supposedly, in the Fourteenth Century)? 3.6.1 The Inscription of the Church Spitakawor Astuacacin as Additional Evidence 4 Other Armenian-Jewish Connections 4.1 Armenian Pilgrims and Pilgrimage to the Holy Land 4.1.1 Pilgrimage 4.1.2 Pilgrims between the Fourth Century and the Muslim Conquest 4.1.3 Pilgrim Graffiti 4.1.4 Pilgrimage in the Sixth to Eighth Centuries 4.2 References to Armenia in Ancient Jewish Literature 4.2.1 Possible References in Talmud 4.2.2 Identifications of Armenia in Medieval Jewish Sources 4.2.3 Later Jewish Identifications of Ashkenaz 4.2.4 Later Jewish Information about the History of Armenia 4.2.5 Medieval Jewish Identifications of and Traditions about Armenia 4.3 A List of Armenian Cities in Judeo-Arabic 4.4 Armenia in the Khazar Documents Notes Bibliography Index of Personal, Ethnic, and Geographical Names It was once common consensus that there was no significant Jewish community in ancient and medieval Armenia. The discovery and excavation (1997-2002) of a Jewish cemetery of the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries in southern Armenia substantially changed this picture. In this volume, Stone and Topchyan assemble evidence about the Jews of Armenia from earliest times to the fourteenth century. Based on research of the Greco-Roman period, the authors are able to draw new conclusions about the transfer of Jews--including the High Priest Hyrcanus--from the north of Palestine and other countries to Armenia by King Tigran the Great in the first century BCE.The fact that descendants of King Herod ruled in Armenia in Roman times and that some noble Armenian families may have had Jewish origin is discussed. The much-debated identification of the "Mountains of Ararat" of Noah's Ark fame as well as ancient biblical and other references to Ararat and the Caucasus are re-assessed, and new evidence is adduced that challenges the scientific consensus. The role of Jews during the Seljuk, Mongol, and later times is also presented, from surviving sources in Armenian, Arabic, Hebrew, and others.The volume also includes studies of medieval Jewish sources on Armenia and the Armenians and of communication between Armenia and the Holy Land. Documents from the Cairo Geniza, newly uncovered inscriptions, medieval itineraria, and diplomatica also throw light on Armenia in the context of the Turkic Khazar kingdom, which converted to Judaism in the latter part of the first century CE. It responds both to new archeological discoveries in Armenia and to the growing interest in the history of the region that extends north from the Euphrates and into the Caucasus. It was once common consensus that there was no significant Jewish community in ancient and medieval Armenia. The discovery and excavation (1997-2002) of a Jewish cemetery of the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries in southern Armenia substantially changed this picture. In this volume, Stone and Topchyan assemble evidence about the Jews of Armenia from earliest times to the fourteenth century. Based on research of the Greco-Roman period, the authors are able to draw new conclusions about the transfer of Jews, including the High Priest Hyrcanus, from the north of Palestine and other countries to Armenia by King Tigran the Great in the first century BCE. The fact that descendants of King Herod ruled in Armenia in Roman times and that some noble Armenian families may have had Jewish origin is discussed. The much-debated identification of the "Mountains of Ararat" of Noah's Ark fame as well as ancient biblical and other references to Ararat and the Caucasus are re-assessed, and new evidence is adduced that challenges the scientific consensus. The role of Jews during the Seljuk, Mongol, and later times is also presented, from surviving sources in Armenian, Arabic, Hebrew, and others. The volume also includes studies of medieval Jewish sources on Armenia and the Armenians and of communication between Armenia and the Holy Land. Documents from the Cairo Geniza, newly uncovered inscriptions, medieval itineraria, and diplomatica also throw light on Armenia in the context of the Turkic Khazar kingdom, which converted to Judaism in the latter part of the first century CE. It responds both to new archeological discoveries in Armenia and to the growing interest in the history of the region that extends north from the Euphrates and into the Caucasus "It has long been the general opinion that there was no significant Jewish community in Armenia throughout the centuries. This book examines the evidence from written sources to archaeological discoveries and asserts that there were Jews in Armenia in the ancient and mediaeval periods. Tigran the Great transferred Jewish exiles to Armenia in the first century BCE. They settled in the chief cities of the land and were still there in the fourth century CE. There were Jews in the capital city Dvin in the late ninth century and Jewish tombstone inscriptions from Southern Armenia witness a community there during the Seljuk and Mongol conquests. Thus, the conventional picture must be changed"-- Provided by publisher