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Statue of Haik Nahapet in Yerevan, Armenia

History of Armenia
Etymology Timeline Traditional Urheimat
Prehistory Stone and Copper Age Shulaveri-Shomu culture c. 6500–3400 BC Areni-1 Cave Complex Kura–Araxes culture c. 3400–2000 BC Legend of Hayk (?) 2492 BC Bronze and Iron Age Hayasa-Azzi c. 1500–1290 BC Arme-Shupria c. 1300s–1190 BC Mushki Ararat/Urartu Nairi Tribes 1114–860 BC Kingdom of Van 860–590 BC Scythian and Mede invasions 6th cen. BC
Antiquity Achaemenid period Satrapy of Armina 549–331 BC Orontid Dynasty Kingdom of Armenia Armenia Minor 331–72 BC Kingdom of Armenia 321 BC–428 AD Artaxiad dynasty 189 BC–12 AD Empire 84–34 BC Arsacid dynasty 52–428 AD Roman–Parthian War 58–63 AD Roman Province of Armenia 114–118 AD Christianization 301 AD Kingdom of Sophene c.200–94 BC Kingdom of Commagene 163 BC–72 AD Marzpanate period Byzantine Armenia 387–536 Persian Armenia 428–646 Mamikonian dynasty Battle of Avarayr 451 Muslim conquest of Armenia 645
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Early modern age Perso-Ottoman period Safavid and Qajar rule 1502–1828 Five Melikdoms 15th cen.—1822 Shah Abbas I's deportation 1606 Russo-Persian War 1804–13 Treaty of Gulistan 1813 Russo-Persian War 1826–1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay 1828 Ottoman Empire 1548–1915 Armenian Millet Russo-Turkish War 1877–1878 Armenian Question Six Vilayets 1878 Hamidian massacres 1895–1896 Adana massacre 1909 Armenian Genocide 1909–1918 Confiscation of Armenian properties Russian period Russian rule 1828–1918 Armenian Oblast 1828–1840 Western Armenia 1915–1918 Caucasus Campaign 1914–1918 National Liberation Movement Armenakan 1885 S.D. Hunchakian Party 1887 ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) 1890
Modern age Independence First Republic of Armenia 1918–1920 War with Azerbaijan 1918–1920 War with Georgia 1918 Treaty of Sèvres 1920 Wilsonian Armenia 1920 War with Turkey 1920 Treaty of Alexandropol 1920 Soviet period Armenian S.S.R. 1920–1991 February Uprising 1921 Republic of Mountainous Armenia 1921 Treaty of Moscow 1921 Treaty of Kars 1921 Soviet Claims in Turkey 1945–1953 Nagorno-Karabakh A.O. 1923–1991 Diaspora Armenian diaspora Hidden Armenians Repatriation Contemporary Armenia Republic of Armenia since 1991 Post-Soviet transition 1991–1995 Modern era since 1995 Republic of Artsakh since 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War 1989–1994
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Hayk the Great (Armenian: Հայկ), Armenian pronunciation: [hajk], or The Great Hayk, also known as Hayk Nahapet (Հայկ Նահապետ, Armenian pronunciation: [hajk nahapɛt], Hayk the "head of family" or patriarch^[1]), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the History of Armenia attributed to the Armenian historian Moses of Chorene (A.D.410 to 490).

Etymology

The name of the patriarch, Հայկ Hayk is not exactly homophonous with the name for "Armenia", Հայք Hayk’. Հայք Hayk’ is the nominative plural in Classical Armenian of հայ (hay), the Armenian term for "Armenian."^[2] Some claim that the etymology of Hayk' (Հայք) from Hayk (Հայկ) is impossible^[2][why?] and that the origin of the term Hay ("Armenian") is verifiable.^{[2][clarification needed]} Nevertheless, Hayk and Haig are usually^[how?] connected to hay (հայ) and hayer (հայեր, the nominative plural in Modern Armenian), the self-designation of the Armenians. Armen Petroyan believes that the name Hayk can "very plausibly" be derived from the Indo-European *poti- ‘master, lord, master of the house, husband’.^[3]

Hayk would then be an etiological founding figure, like e.g. Asshur for the Assyrians, etc. One of Hayk's most famous scions, Aram, settled in Eastern Armenia from the Mitanni kingdom (Western Armenia), when Sargon II mentions a king of part of Armenia who bore the (Armenian-Indo-Iranian) name Bagatadi ("Theodore").^[4] Some sources claim that Hayk is derived from the Urartian deity Ḫaldi.^[5]

Armenian historiography of the Soviet era connected Hayk with Hayasa, mentioned in Hittite inscriptions.^[6]

The Armenian word Haykakan or Haigagan (Armenian: հայկական, meaning "that which pertains to Armenians") finds its stem in this progenitor. Additionally, the poetic names for Armenians, Haykazun (հայկազուն) or Haykazn (հայկազն), also derives from Hayk.

Genealogy

Moses of Chorene gave Hayk's genealogy as Japhet, Gomer and Tiras, Torgom. Hayk's descendants are given as Amasya, Ara, Aram, Aramais, Armanak, Gegham, and Harma.^[7] Hayk was also said to be the founder of the Haykazuni Dynasty. According to Juansher, Hayk "was prince of the seven brothers and stood in service to the giant Nimrod (Nebrovt') who first ruled the entire world as king.^[8]"

According to Moses of Chorene, the Armenian noble family, the Haykazunis, which included a number of legendary kings (such as Aram, Ara, Skayordi, Paryur, and Vahe), descended from Hayk.

Folklore

Hayk and King Bel

"Hayk" by Mkrtum Hovnatanian (1779–1846). The legendary founder of the Armenian nation, standing next to the tomb of Bel, with Hayk's arrow still in Bel's chest. The map depicts the Lake Van region and Mount Ararat, with Noah's ark.

According to the accounts of Moses of Chorene and Sextus Julius Africanus, the battle occurred between the dynasty of Hayk and a Chaldean Dynasty in its third generation that had control of Babylon and the remaining territory of Akkadia under King Belus, a symbolic Babylonian/Akkadian God of War, or founder of Babylon depending on mythological tradition.^[9] The conflict is said to of happened in 2107BC or earlier, and as Babylon existed since 2300BC, this is plausible therefore. Bel may symbolize the Gutian dynasty of Sumer, which ruled remants of Akkadia as a tyrannical power during a Mesopotamian Dark Age after the Akkadian Empire broke up in 2154BC. Gutia is also overlapping with Chaldeas territory.

In Moses of Chorene's account, Hayk son of Torgom had a child named Armanak while he was living in Babylon. After the arrogant Titanid Bel made himself king over all, Hayk emigrated to the region near Mount Ararat.^[10] Hayk relocated near Mount Ararat with an extended household of at least 300 and settled there, founding a village he named Haykashen. On the way he had left a detachment in another settlement with his grandson Kadmos. Bel sent one of his sons to entreat him to return, but was refused. Bel decided to march against him with a massive force, but Hayk was warned ahead of time by Kadmos of his pending approach. He assembled his own army along the shore of Lake Van and told them that they must defeat and kill Bel, or die trying to do so, rather than become his slaves. In his writings Moses states that:

Battle of Giants and defeat of Bel

Hayk defeats Bel with an arrow.

Hayk and his men soon discovered Bel's army positioned in a mountain pass (Moses of Chorene located the site as Dastakert), with the king in the vanguard.

At Dyutsaznamart (Armenian: Դյուցազնամարտ, "Battle of Giants"), near Julamerk southeast of Lake Van, on August 11, 2492 BC^[12] (according to the Armenian traditional chronology of Navasard) or 2107 BC (according to "The Chronological table" of Mikael Chamchian), Hayk slew Bel with a nearly impossible shot using a long bow, sending the king's forces into disarray.

The hill where Bel with his warriors fell, Hayk named Gerezmank meaning "tombs".^[13] He embalmed the corpse of Bel and ordered it to be taken to Hark where it was to be buried in a high place in the view of the wives and sons of the king.

Soon after, Hayk established the fortress of Haykaberd at the battle site and the town of Haykashen in the Armenian province of Vaspurakan (modern-day Turkey). He named the region of the battle Hayk, and the site of the battle Hayots Dzor.^[14]

Comparative mythology

The figure slain by Hayk's arrow is variously given as Bel or Nimrod. Hayk is also the name of the Orion constellation in the Armenian translation of the Bible. Hayk's flight from Babylon and his eventual defeat of Bel, was historically compared to Zeus's escape to the Caucasus and eventual defeat of the Titans.^[15]

See also

• Hayko


• Aram (given name)


• Belus (Assyrian)


• Nimrod


• List of Armenian patriarchs


• Armenian mythology


• Hayasa


• Armens


• Sisak (eponym)

References

Sources

• P. Kretschmer. "Der nationale Name der Armenier Haik"


• Vahan Kurkjian, "History of Armenia", Michigan, 1968

External links

• Tacentral.com: Armenian History


• The Union of Armenian Noblemen: About Dynasties and Kings of Armenia


• The Union of Armenian Noblemen: Rulers and kings of the Haykazuni Dynasty