Trdat III.

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Baptism of Trdat

Trdat III. (Latinized Tiridates ) also called Trdat the Great († 330 or 317) was King of Armenia , a saint and the founder of the Armenian Church. Trdat is also dubbed Trdat IV by some scholars . He comes from the Armenian line of the Arsacids and was a great-grandson of the Arsacid king Chosrau I (216 / 217-252, the latter is not to be confused with the Sassanid Chosrau I ), grandson of Trdats II. And son of Chosraus II. (279 / 280-287). The chronology of the Armenian kings of the 3rd century is controversial because the main source, the novel-like story of Agathangelos , has been handed down in several contradicting versions, mixing two Chosraus and two Trdats.

narrative

According to this story, the young Trdat fled from the Sassanids, who invaded Armenia under Shapur I (that would be around 252) and murdered his father Khosrau, to the Romans in Cappadocia , where he met Gregory the Illuminator , a son of Anak, the Trdat's father murdered. Equipped with superhuman powers, the prince served under Diocletian , defeated a Gothic prince in a heroic duel , and finally got Armenia back, where he served the pagan gods and persecuted the Christians. Gregory the Illuminator was tortured and convicted and locked in an underground cave cell. He stayed there for 13 years because he refused to sacrifice to the goddess Anahita . When Trdat fell ill with a disfiguring skin disease that was considered incurable, he was healed and converted by Gregor and made Christianity the state religion . Then Trdat and Gregor destroyed all pagan temples in the country - including Ashtishat - and built churches in their place.

Historical reconstruction

Since Trdat III. was probably born around 280, the narrative just treated cannot in fact claim any historical truth. Traditionally, the conversion of Armenia is set at 301 or 303, whereby the return of Trdate dates to 286 and 288 respectively.

Historically, however, the conversion of Armenia can probably only be scheduled after Gregory's episcopal ordination in 315, so that Trdat's accession to the throne can only be scheduled with the peace of Nisibis in 298. The Persian great king Narseh , son of Shapur I , attacked Armenia in 296 and drove out (or killed?) An Armenian usurper who had killed his brother Chosrau II, the father of Trdat, in 287. The Roman army, which came to the aid of the Armenians under the Caesar Galerius Maximianus, was defeated by the Persians at Carrhae in 297 , but Narseh was defeated the following year.

Trdat, the son of the murdered King Chosraus II mentioned above, took over the rule under Roman protection. In the peace that the Romans made with Narseh in Nisibis in 298 , some areas were separated from Armenia. Trdat was compensated with parts of Azerbaijan , but had to recognize the Roman supremacy.

According to Moses von Choren, around 330, Trdat was poisoned by them in a conspiracy by anti-Christian nobles.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Elisabeth Bauer: Armenia: Past and Present . Reich Verlag, Lucerne 1977, ISBN 3-7243-0146-4 .
  2. ^ Klaus Martin Reichenbach (translated and edited): Florilegium Martyrologii Romani: September 29th . In: Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints, 2010
personal data
SURNAME Trdat III.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Trdat IV .; Tiridates (Latinized); Trdat the great
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Armenia; Saint and founder of the Armenian Church
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century
DATE OF DEATH 317 or 330