Samuel (Armenian: Սամվել, romanized: Samvel, pre-reform orthography: Սամուէլ) is an 1886 Armenian-language historical novel by the novelist Raffi.

Considered by some critics his most successful work, the plot centers on the killing of the fourth-century prince Vahan Mamikonian and his wife by their son Samuel.

Raffi drew parallels between the current situation and the invasion of Armenia by Sasanian Iran in the fourth century, depicting an attempt to destroy Armenian culture and language by a foreign invader.

[1] He based his story on the historical figure of Samuel Mamikonian, who is mentioned in a few brief lines in the old Armenian histories of Faustus of Byzantium and Movses Khorenatsi.

They realize that the plan of the Persian king is to destroy the Armenian kingdom, language and religion with the help of Vahan Mamikonian and Meruzhan Artsruni.

The Rshtuni troops take Van while Vahan and Meruzhan flee, and Samuel enters the city to see Hamazaspuhi's naked body hung from a tower.

While at the Persian camp, Samuel witnesses the burning of the Church's texts and sees some Armenian prisoners massacred and others deported to Persia.

Vahan explains his plans for his son, but Samuel finally reveals his opposition to his father, telling him that his actions will lead to the destruction of the Armenian nation.

Avetis Aharonian writes that the greatest flaw in the work is Raffi's inability to fully develop Samuel's inner conflict over the act of patricide.

[17] Hacikyan et al. opine that Samuel "has a substantial and distinct personality, particularly with regard to his ideological hesitations about his father's execution, which he hardly questions."

In his view, Raffi's decision to remove the protagonist from the main action for a considerable part of the story leaves Samuel's character "somewhat remote," but he returns at the novel's conclusion as a "heroic, if tragic, patriot."

He particularly praises the characterization of Samuel's father Vahan Mamikonian, who is depicted as "an intelligent and determined man of strong convictions," but is less impressed by the character of the other antagonist, Meruzhan Artsruni.

[1] In 1888, painter Gevorg Bashinjaghian organized a theatrical presentation of Samuel "in living pictures" in Tiflis (the Russian censor forbade the performance of a full play).