[2] Very little is known about his life, except that he was an eyewitness to the events he describes after 774.
[1] His historical work was commissioned by Sapuh, son of Smbat VII Bagratuni, the presiding prince of Armenia in 761–775, and covers the years 632 to 789.
[1] It is an indispensable source for the early history of Arab rule over Armenia; indeed for the years 662–770 his account is the only testimony of note.
[3] It also contains important information on the Arab–Byzantine wars of the period.
[1] The work includes a letter supposedly sent by the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) to the Umayyad caliph Umar II (r. 717–720) that contains a defence of the Christian faith, but this version is a later Armenian composition.