In ancient times, calendar studies in Armenia were considered a rather rare specialty, and moreover, a very respected one. But how much do we know about this science and its origins?
Let’s start with the fact that the scientists’ knowledge of calendar studies relates to the Christian period. We only have medieval sources. The most ancient sources, albeit not direct, but indirect, are considered to be the testimonies of Movses Khorenatsi.
However, there are works that relate to an even earlier period. In the first half of the 5th century, the calendar of Andreas of Byzantium was translated into Armenian. And the first Armenian calendar-related work that has reached us is dated to the 7th century.
This is the monumental work of Anania Shirakatsi, titled “Knnikon” (Canonikon). In ancient times, canons were chronological lists of rulers, and in any calendar these canons played an important role because they determined the system of chronology.
Shirakatsi’s “Knnikon” has not fully reached us, but fortunately, excerpts from it were copied at different times, and they have survived to this day, albeit in a rather distorted form.
What is the value of the “Knnikon” from the point of view of calendar studies?
According to researchers, Shirakatsi’s work was in fact an encyclopedia of almost all sciences – albeit with a bias towards natural sciences. And, extremely important, the “Knnikon” also featured a calendar, including the Armenian one.
Why was calendar studies considered such a rare specialty in ancient times? To answer this question, we need to understand what the system of sciences and the system of education in Armenia were, which in the Middle Ages differed significantly from what we know today. The entire system of sciences was divided into seven so-called “azat gitutyunner”.
Free sciences?
I don’t know how adequate such a translation is, but I find it difficult to suggest another one. This group of seven “free sciences” was divided into 2 parts. The first part (introduced in Armenia by Khorenatsi) covered grammar, rhetoric, and logic (or philosophy).
The second part (which spread in Armenia thanks to Shirakatsi) included mathematics (arithmetic, number theory, etc.), geometry, astronomy, and music. Don’t be surprised, as musical canons are directly related to the laws of geometry, and the basics of music theory are based on the laws of physics and mathematics.
In ancient times, musical compositions were created exclusively according to known canons, and the magnificent sharakans written by medieval Armenian authors fully justify such an approach to music.
In short, by the 7th century, a full education system had already been established in Armenia, and it is not by chance that universities appeared after this. Until then, there were only higher schools that prepared high-class specialists in various fields, but there was no university education that covered the widest possible range of sciences.
So, in universities, the study of calendar studies began after the student had mastered all seven of the sciences listed above. That is, it was believed that in order to know the calendar, one must know grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, and music.
Why did calendar studies develop in this way in ancient times?
Let’s ask ourselves the question: what place does the calendar occupy in human worldview? In almost all books telling about the history of the calendar, you will read that the calendar was formed with the development of human economic activity, as man needed a more accurate knowledge of time – he needed to know when to sow, when to harvest, etc. That is, the only “customer” for the calendar was daily life.
In my opinion, this is extremely incorrect, because such an explanation of the creation and development of the calendar leaves many questions unanswered. Why, for example, does a people who have lived on a certain territory for millennia suddenly change their calendar, and not always for the better?
If the need for a calendar is explained solely by human economic activity, how can one explain such changes in the absence of changes in the form of this very economic activity, climate, etc.?
But if, for example, we pay attention to important historical events that took place over a certain period of history of one nation or another, it becomes obvious that all radical changes in the calendar were preceded by a change in religion. The religion changes – and after a while, the calendar changes. So, there is some correlation, there is a connection.
And how is it expressed?
What is, in essence, religion? It is a system of dogmas that we believe in, and a system of rites and rituals that are performed according to the requirements of this faith.
And in order to know the place of a certain ritual in time, we need a system of temporal reference points, that is, a calendar. There can be no religion without a calendar, and there can be no calendar that would not come from religion.
Therefore, when religion changes, the calendar changes as well. The entire history of mankind is proof of this…
And how many times has the Armenian calendar changed?
Many times. Research shows that in pre-Christian times there were many calendars in Armenia at different periods. There is, for example, the Haik calendar, which is traditionally believed to have been founded by Haik – the ancestor of the Armenians.
So this is the very first Armenian calendar?
For a long time, it was considered the first. But in the study of this calendar, I was lucky enough to find facts indicating that it had a predecessor, and even managed to restore a certain calendar, which I called “Proto-Haik”. But I think that this is also not the end.
I mean research that will surely lead to new evidence of the existence of even more ancient Armenian calendars. The information is there – it just needs to be found. The calendar is a very curious thing.
Since it has a mathematical structure, it is easy to analyze. By analyzing this or that calendar, one can discover many layers leading deep into the centuries.
Suppose a people, who have lived on a certain territory for millennia, change their religion, and therefore their calendar. But no nation can instantly radically erase its past culture, traces of the old religion and accept something new from scratch. Something from the old still remains.
We adopted Christianity 1700 years ago, but we retained a lot from the pre-Christian period – names, for example, or even rituals. The same happens with the calendar. All new Armenian Christian calendars contain, albeit small, grains that have survived from old pre-Christian calendars.
True, these grains are scattered haphazardly, and it is incredibly difficult to gather them together, but it is possible.
When is the first Armenian calendar, created after Armenia adopted Christianity, dated?
The first calendar (it is called the Great Armenian Calendar) was created in the middle of the 6th century by order of Catholicos Movses Egvartetsi. Its creator is Athanas Taronaсi – the leader of the Msho Surb Karapet monastery.
The Paschal lists, compiled by Taronaсi – the numbers of the years, became the years of Armenian chronology. Then, already in the 7th century, Anania Shirakatsi created a new version of this calendar by order of Catholicos Anastasius Akoretsi, which, unfortunately, was not approved by the Church Council.
Meanwhile, the works in which Shirakatsi presented the project of a new Armenian calendar have survived to our days. The improved version of the Armenian calendar is dedicated to part of the aforementioned “Knigon” – “Tomar”.
For the first time after a long break, Grigor Magistros turned his attention to the works of Anania Shirakatsi. This is already the 10th century. He found the “Knigon” in the archives and asked Catholicos Petros Getadartz to give Shirakatsi’s composition for copying.
And why does one cycle last exactly 532 years?
Because every 19 years a cycle of lunar phases repeats, every 28 years a parallelism of weekdays and calendar dates repeats — that is, the correspondence of a certain number to a certain day of the week. And Christian church holidays are based on the phases of the moon, the days of the week, and dates.
First, Easter is determined, and then, based on Easter, — all the other holiday dates. Easter is determined by taking into account the day of the vernal equinox, lunar phases, and days of the week. According to the decision of the Council of Nicea (325 AD), Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon. By multiplying 19 by 28, we get 532 — the period for which the combination of all parameters repeats.
Yes, you can’t do without mathematics here… So what did Ovannes Sarkavag do?
In 1084, the first cycle, founded by Athanasius Taronatsi in 552, ended. Ovannes Sarkavag created calendar lists — the so-called paschalies for the new cycle — the next 532 years.
Then he created a new Armenian calendar, which did not exist before. For ages, the Armenian calendar was movable — that is, the calendar year consisted of only 365 days, without the application of a leap year system. The beginning of the year was not fixed — such a year is called wandering.
Ovannes Sarkavag created a permanent, non-wandering Armenian calendar, introducing a leap day. — Have the ancient Armenian names of months, days of the week, etc., reached us? — Yes, thanks to the work of Anania Shirakatsi we know the ancient Armenian names of all months, days of the month, and even the names of all hours of the day.
Is it possible, relying on ancient calendar sources, to calculate how many years the Armenian nation is after all?
It’s possible, although so far no calendar scholar in their research has gone that far. In 1974, a ceramic jug was found in Shirak, dated to the 33rd-32nd century BC. This ceramic vessel has ornaments that have a calendric meaning.
It was possible to restore this ancient calendar, which turned out to be very similar to the Protogaikovsky calendar, which I managed to discover based on the analysis of Armenian calendars that have reached us. This is direct evidence that the Protogaikovsky calendar really existed…
Grigor Brutyan, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Astrophysicist, Calendar Scholar
Translated by Vigen Avetisyan
Photo provided by Nana Herouni
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