Moses Khorenats'i's History of the Armenians is the classic account of the origins and early history of the Armenian people. No work has been more influential in shaping the Armenians' view of their national past. Writing long after the events he describes, Moses recorded the legends and traditions of Armenia's heroes; putting them into a coherent order, he then integrated the history of Armenia into world history as known from Greek sources. Robert Thomson now translates the History into English for the first time and provides information the reader needs to interpret Moses' account.

This unique English text is translated from the nearly unobtainable critical edition published in Tiflis in 1913. Mr. Thomson's commentary establishes Moses' Greek, Armenian, and Syriac sources, showing how he used them, and points to bias and uncorroborated statements. His notes identify people and places, explain allusions, and give references to published scholarship on specific questions. In the introduction he discusses Moses' methods and purposes, and establishes the date of composition—a matter that has been hotly debated.

This volume will be welcome by everyone interested in Armenian literature, history, and traditions as well as by students of Near Eastern history and Christian literature.