Hayk

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Statue of Patriarch Hayk in Yerevan , Armenia

Hayk or Haik ( Armenian Հայկ ) is the legendary patriarch , forefather and hero of the Armenian people. His story is told by Moses von Choren .

etymology

It should be noted that the name of Patriarch Hayk Armenian Հայկ does not sound exactly like the name Hayk Armenian Հայք for Armenia . Nevertheless, both words are linked to the root of the word hay- the word Hayer armenisch Հայեր (the Armenians' self-designation). Hayk would therefore be an aetiological legendary figure, such as B. King Dan with the Danes and the god Saxnot with the Saxons . The standard etymology for hay- is a derivative of the Indo-European word * poti-s , which means lord .

Indo-European tribes may have settled in the 8th century BC. BC, at the time of the Cimmerian invasion , in Armenia, when Sargon II mentioned a king of Uišdiš named Bagadatti, an Indo-Iranian name, as an ally of the Urartians .

An etymological connection with the empire Ḫajaša in Hittite inscriptions is doubtful.

Hayk with Moses von Choren

In Moses von Choren's account, Hayk was the son of Torgomas , father of Armaneaks and lived in Babylon . When the arrogant Titan Bel proclaimed himself king of all, Hayk emigrated with his family of at least 300 members to the Ararat region and founded the village of Haykashen there. On the way he left his grandson Kadmos and other followers in another settlement. Bel sent one of his sons to persuade Hayk to return, but the latter refused. Bel then marched against him with a large army, but Hayk was warned by his grandson Kadmos. Hayk gathered his own army on the shores of Lake Van and told them that they had to defeat and kill Bel and that they should die in the process rather than become his slaves.

Hayk was a handsome and kind man with curly hair, sparkling eyes and strong arms. He was a man of gigantic stature, a powerful archer, and fearless fighter. Hayk and his people, from the time of their forefathers Noah and Jafet , had migrated south to the warmer lands near Babylon. An evil giant Bel ruled the land. Bel tried to impose his tyranny on Hayk's people. But the proud Hayk refused to submit to Bel. After his son Aramaneak was born, Hayk rose and led his people back to the land of his forefathers - the land of Ararat. At the foot of the mountains he built his home Haykashen.

Defeat of Bel

Hayk kills King Bel with an arrow, painting by Juliano Zasso (1833-1889)

Hayk discovered Bel's army in a mountain pass (which Moses localized at Dastakert) with Bel himself in the vanguard.

At the Battle of Dyutsaznamart near Julamerk southeast of Lake Van on August 11, 2492 BC calculated by Mikayel Chamchian . BC Hayk killed Bel with an arrow and threw his army into confusion.

He founded Haykaberd Castle on the battlefield and the town of Haykashen in the Armenian province of Taron. He called the area of ​​the battle Hayk ' and the battlefield itself Hayoc' Jor ( Armenian Հայոց Ձոր ) in German Der Klamm der Armenier .

But the place where Bel fell with his fighters he called Gerezmank ( Eng .: graves). Hayk embalmed the body of Bel and had it buried in Hark in a high place within sight of his wife and sons.

genealogy

Moses gives Hayk's ancestors as follows: Jafet, Gomer , Tiras , Torgom , and his descendants such as Armaneak , Aramais , Gegham , Harma , Aram , Ara Keghetzig . Hayk was also the founder of the Haykazuni dynasty. Some other Armenian rulers like the Khorkhoruni, Bznuni, Syuni, Vahevuni, Manavazian, Arran trace their ancestry back to Hayk. After Juansher, Hayk was prince of the seven brothers and was in the service of the giant Nimrod (Nebrovt), who was the first king to rule the whole world.

Comparative mythology

The person who was killed by Hayk's arrow is called either Bel or Nimrod . Hayk is also the name of the Orion constellation in the Armenian translation of the Bible.

S. The Movsessian believes that Hayk was a historical figure who was later deified and worshiped as Deus Armenicus . Matikian, a mechitarist from Vienna, continued this approach, linking Hayk to Hay, the ancient name of the Armenians, citing the names Assyria, Athens and Rome as examples that got their names from heroes and gods. Hayk, he said, was the supreme god of the Armenians, just like Indra of Vedic India and Aššur of Assyria.

Just as Hayk fled Babylon because of Bel, Zeus had to flee to the Caucasus in order to later kill his titanic enemies with arrows in Sicily.

literature

  • P. Kretschmer: The national name of the Armenians Haik. Bulletin of the Academie der Wissenschaften in Vienna, 1932.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. ISBE uses the outdated words Aryans for Indo-Europeans and Turanians for Urartians.
  2. ↑ Edward L. Danielian: The Historical Background to the Armenian State Political Doctrine. In: Nicholas Wade (Ed.): Armenian Perspectives . Surrey, UK, 1997, pp. 279-286, here p. 279; cited: E. Forrer: Hajassa-Azzi, Caucasia, 9 (1931) and P. Kretschmer. The national name of the Armenians Haik. Gazette of the Academie der Wissenschaften in Vienna, phil.-his. Class (1932), n.1: 7.
    See also RH Hewsen: Armenia: a historical Atlas . University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 2001.
  3. ↑ Moses von Choren: The History of Armenia , I.10-12
  4. ↑ Razmik Panossian, The Armenians: From Kings And Priests to Merchants And commissars, Columbia University Press (2006), ISBN 978-0-231-13926-7 , S. 106th
  5. ↑ Moses von Choren: The History of Armenia , 1.11; A district southeast of Lake Van. See Hubschmann AON p. 343
  6. ↑ Moses von Choren: The History of Armenia , 1.5, online version
  7. ^ The Georgian Chronicle