HISTORIANS from Armenia

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Armenian Historians of all time. This list of famous Armenian Historians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Ghazar Parpetsi (442 - 510)

With an HPI of 53.19, Ghazar Parpetsi is the most famous Armenian Historian.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages on wikipedia.

Ghazar Parpetsi (Armenian: Ղազար Փարպեցի; Łazar Pʻarpecʻi) was a fifth-to-sixth-century Armenian historian. He had close ties with the powerful Mamikonian noble family and is most prominent for writing a history of Armenia in the last years of the fifth century or at the beginning of the sixth century. The history covers events from 387 to 485, starting with the partition of Armenia between the Byzantine and Sasanian empires and ending with the appointment of Vahan Mamikonian (Ghazar's friend and patron) as marzpan (governor) of Sasanian-ruled Armenia. It is the main source for Armenian history in the fifth century and is one of the two main accounts, along with that of Elishe, of the Armenian rebellion of 449–451 led by Vardan Mamikonian.

2. Vardan Areveltsi (1198 - 1271)

With an HPI of 51.75, Vardan Areveltsi is the 2nd most famous Armenian Historian.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Vardan Areveltsi (Armenian: Վարդան Արևելցի; Vardan the Easterner, c. 1198 – 1271 AD) was a thirteenth-century Armenian historian, geographer, philosopher and translator. In addition to establishing numerous schools and monasteries, he also left behind a rich contribution to Armenian literature. He is well known for writing Havakumn Patmutsyun (Historical Compilation), one of the first ever attempts to write a history of the world by an Armenian historian.

3. Nicholas Adontz (1871 - 1942)

With an HPI of 50.40, Nicholas Adontz is the 3rd most famous Armenian Historian.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Nicholas Adontz (Armenian: Նիկողայոս Ադոնց, romanized: Nikoghayos Adonts; Russian: Николай Адонц; January 10, 1871 – January 27, 1942) was an Armenian historian, specialising in Byzantine and Armenian studies, and a philologist. Adontz was the author of Armenia in the Period of Justinian, a highly influential work and landmark study on the social and political structures of early Medieval Armenia.

4. Gregory Areshian (1949 - 2020)

With an HPI of 42.86, Gregory Areshian is the 4th most famous Armenian Historian.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Gregory Areshian (13 May 1949 – 2 August 2020) was an Armenian-American archeologist and historian who was a professor at American University of Armenia. He was the co-director of the international team of archeologists who, led by Boris Gasparyan, found the 5,500 years old shoe in and the oldest winery in Areni of which Areshian said: For the first time, we have a complete archaeological picture of wine production dating back 6,100 years. Areshian taught at 14 U.S. universities and colleges including; the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Irvine, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, Platteville, and Amherst College. He is the author of more than 150 scholarly works published in 5 languages in 12 countries, mostly devoted to interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and the humanities with a special focus on the Middle East and Armenia in a broader historical context.