History of Armenia (book)

The History of Armenia (Old Armenian: Պատմութիւն Հայոց, romanized: Patmut’iwn Hayoc’), attributed to Movses Khorenatsi, is an early account of Armenia, covering the legendary origins of the Armenian people as well as Armenia's interaction with Sassanid, Byzantine and Arsacid empires down to the 5th century.

In the text, the author self-identifies as a disciple of Saint Mesrop, and states that he composed his work at the request of Isaac (Sahak), the Bagratuni prince who fell in battle in 482.

The traditional 5th-century dating of this work of Armenian literature has elicited much discussion[1] and a recent, plausible proposal places the final version after 775.

[3] Armenian historians date ten fragments earlier than the manuscripts with the full text but do not provide any of their readings.

[4] Approximately twenty manuscripts of Khorenatsi's History of the Armenians have reached us.