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{{Short description|Legendary founder of the Armenian nation}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2013}} {{Infobox person | name = Hayk Nahapet<br /><small>Հայկ Նահապետ</small> | image = File:HaikNahabed1.jpg | caption = Hayk Nahapet | birth_date = | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | nationality = | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = | parents = {{plainlist | * ... ''(see the complete [[Noah#Family tree|family tree]])'' * [[Lamech (father of Noah)|Lamech]] ([[grandparents#Variation of terms of great-great-grandparents|great great great grandfather]]) * [[Noah]] ([[Grandparent|great great grandfather]]) * [[Japheth]] ([[great grandfather]]) * [[Gomer]] ([[grandfather]]) * [[Togarmah]] ([[father]])}} | children = Aramaneak }} {{History of Armenia|expanded=age1|BC=1}} '''Hayk'''{{Efn|Also spelled '''Haik''' or '''Haig'''.}} ({{langx|hy|Հայկ}}, {{IPA|hy|hajk}}), also known as '''Hayk Nahapet''' ({{lang|hy|Հայկ Նահապետ}}, {{IPA|hy|hajk naha'pɛt}}, {{lit|Hayk the Patriarch}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gōsh|first1=Mkhitʻar|title=The Lawcode (Datastanagirk') of Mxit'ar Goš|date=2000|publisher=Rodopi|isbn=9789042007901|page=112|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WtRfM_muG7QC&q=Nahapet+patriarch%7Chead&pg=PA112|access-date=6 July 2016}}</ref>), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the [[Armenians|Armenian nation]]. His story is told in the ''[[History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)|History of Armenia]]'' attributed to the Armenian historian [[Movses Khorenatsi]] and in the ''Primary History'' traditionally attributed to [[Sebeos]].<ref name="Thomson-88" /> Fragments of the legend of Hayk are also preserved in the works of other authors, as well as in Armenian folk tradition.<ref name=":12">{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1980 |title=Hayk |encyclopedia=[[Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia]] |location=Yerevan |url=https://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/%D4%B7%D5%BB:%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%8D%D5%B8%D5%BE%D5%A5%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%B6_%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B6%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%A3%D5%AB%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B6_(Soviet_Armenian_Encyclopedia)_6.djvu/166 |last=Katvalyan |first=M. |editor-last=Hambardzumyan |editor-first=Viktor |volume=6 |pages=166 |language=hy}}</ref> == Etymology == {{See also|Name of Armenia#Hayastan/Hayk/Hayer}} The name of the patriarch, ''Hayk'' ({{lang|hy|[[wikt:Հայկ|Հայկ]]}}), is not exactly homophonous with the Armenian name for "Armenia," ''Haykʻ'' ({{lang|hy|[[wikt:Հայք|Հայք]]}}). In [[Classical Armenian]], ''Haykʻ'' is the nominative plural of ''hay'' ([[wikt:հայ|հայ]]), the Armenian word for "Armenian."<ref name="Thomson-88">{{cite book |last1=Moses Khorenatsʻi |url=https://archive.org/embed/khorenatsi1978books0102 |title=History of the Armenians |last2=Thomson |first2=Robert W. |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=1978 |isbn=0-674-39571-9 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |page=88 |chapter=Genealogy of Greater Armenia |author1-link=Movses Khorenatsi |author2-link=Robert W. Thomson}}</ref> While [[Robert W. Thomson]] considers the etymology of ''Haykʻ'' (Հայք) from ''Hayk'' (Հայկ) to be impossible,<ref name="Thomson-88" /> other scholars consider the connection between the two to be obvious and derive ''Hayk'' from ''hay''/''Haykʻ'' via the suffix ''-ik''.<ref name=":0">[[Hrach Martirosyan|Martirosyan, Hrach]] (2010). ''Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon'' (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 8), Leiden, Boston: Brill, p. 383.</ref> Armen Petrosyan proposes a possible connection between the name Hayk and the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*poti-'' "master, lord, master of the house, husband."<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Petrosyan |first1=Armen |date=2009 |title=Forefather Hayk in the Light of Comparative Mythology. |url=https://archive.org/details/petrosyan-jies-2009 |journal=Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=37 |pages=155–163}}</ref> Armenian historiography of the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] era connected ''Hayk'' and ''hay'' with [[Hayasa-Azzi|Hayasa]], a people mentioned in [[Hittite language|Hittite]] inscriptions.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Danielian, Eduard L. (1997). "The Historical Background to the Armenian State Political Doctrine," 279–286 in Awde, Nicholas (ed.). ''Armenian Perspectives'', Surrey, UK: Curzon Press, p. 279, citing E. Forrer, "Hajassa-Azzi," Caucasia, 9 (1931), and P. Kretschmer, "Der nationale Name der Armenier Haik," Anzeiger der Acad. der Wiss. in Wien, phil.-his. Klasse (1932), n. 1–7</ref> Some authors derive ''Hayk'' and ''hay'' from [[Ḫaldi|Khaldi]]/Ḫaldi, the chief god of the [[Urartu|Urartian]] pantheon, and also identify Hayk with the Urartian deity.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/heritageofarmeni00ajha/page/65 |title=The Heritage of Armenian Literature |date=2005 |publisher=Wayne State University Press |others=Hacikyan, A. J. (Agop Jack); Basmajian, Gabriel; Franchuk, Edward S.; Ouzounian, Nourhan. |isbn=0814328156 |volume=I |location=Detroit |page=[https://archive.org/details/heritageofarmeni00ajha/page/65 65] |oclc=42477084 |quote=Hayk, the legendary archer, has been part of Armenian culture and history since time immemorial. He was the primary god of the most prominent group of Urartian tribes, which eventually evolved into the Armenian nation. Hayk is considered the patriarch of the Armenians, and is indeed for this reason that Armenians call themselves Hay (pronounced haï). Hayk derives from the Urartian deity Khaldi, whose divide attributes he originally assumed with the constellation Orion. The well-known epic of Hayk's fight against Bell provides substantial proof that Hayk and his people stood up against Bel and halted the unrestrained influx of Semitic peoples from the south. |url-access=registration |orig-year=2000}}</ref> The Armenian word ''haykakan'' ({{langx|hy| [[wikt:հայկական|հայկական]]|label=none}}, 'that which pertains to Armenians') derives from the name ''Hayk''. Additionally, the poetic names for the Armenian nation, ''Haykazun'' (հայկազուն) or ''Haykazn'' (հայկազն, consisting of ''Hayk'' and ''azn'' 'generation, nation, tribe'), also derive from Hayk (''Haykazn''/''Haykaz'' later became a masculine given name among Armenians).<ref name=":2">{{Cite dictionary |year=1946 |title=Haykazn |encyclopedia=Hayotsʻ andznanunneri baṛaran |publisher=Yerevan State University |url=http://nayiri.com/imagedDictionaryBrowser.jsp?dictionaryId=35&query=%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%A6 |last=Acharyan |first=Hrachʻya |volume=3 |pages=34}}</ref> == Genealogy == {{ahnentafel |boxstyle_1=background-color: #E0ECF8; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #CEE3F6; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #A9D0F5; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #81BEF7; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #2E9AFE; |1= Hayk |2= [[Togarmah]] |4= [[Gomer]] |8= [[Japheth]] |16= [[Noah]] }} Integrating the Armenian tradition into [[Bible|biblical]] tradition, Movses Khorenatsi describes Hayk as a descendant of [[Noah]] through the latter's son [[Japheth]]: "Yapheth begat [[Gomer|Gamer]] [Gomer]; Gamer begat [[Tiras|T‘iras]]; T‘iras begat [[Togarmah|T‘orgom]] [Togarmah]; T‘orgom begat Hayk."{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=74–75}} Hayk's descendants through his son Aramaneak (Aramanyak) are listed as follows: "Aramaneak begat Aramayis; Aramayis begat Amasya; Amasya begat Gełam [Gegham]; Gełam begat Harmay [Harma]; Harmay begat [[Aram (Nahapet)|Aram]]; Aram begat [[Ara the Handsome]]."{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=74–75}} Hayk's other sons, according to Moses, were Khoṛ and Manavaz.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|p=89}} Moses also gives the names of numerous other descendants of Hayk ({{transliteration|hy|Haykazuni}}s, "of Hayk's lineage," also known as the Haykids<ref name=":1" />), such as [[Sisak (eponym)|Sisak]], [[Skayordi]], [[Paroyr Skayordi|Paruyr]], and [[Vahe]], some of which he identifies as kings of Armenia.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978}} In reference to Hayk's descent from Torgom/Togarmah, medieval Armenian sources sometimes referred to Armenia as ''T‘orgoma tun'' ("House of Torgom") and to Armenians as ''T‘orgomyan azg'' ("the people of Torgom").<ref name=":3">Movsisyan A., [http://www.armin.am/en/Encyclopedia_Armency_hay_joxovrdi_tsagumn_u_kazmavorumy “The origin and formation of the Armenian nation,”] Institute of Armenian Studies of Yerevan State University, ''www.armin.am''.</ref> The connection between Hayk and the descendants of Noah was created by Christian authors following the Christianization of Armenia in order to connect Armenians to the biblical narrative of human history.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name="Panossian">dated by [[Mikayel Chamchian]]; Razmik Panossian, ''The Armenians: From Kings And Priests to Merchants And Commissars'', Columbia University Press (2006), {{ISBN|978-0-231-13926-7}}, pp. 51, 106.</ref> In the [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] history attributed to [[Juansher Juansheriani|Juansher]], Hayk is likewise identified as the son of Torgom/Togarmah and described as "prince of the seven brothers and stood in service to the giant [[Nimrod]] (Nebrovt') who first ruled the entire world as king."<ref>[http://rbedrosian.com/gc2.htm The Georgian Chronicle]</ref> One of Hayk's most famous scions, [[Aram (given name)|Aram]] (whose name Moses purports to be the origin of the name ''Armenia''{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|p=92}}), settled in [[Eastern Armenia]] from the [[Mitanni]] kingdom ([[Western Armenia]]), when [[Sargon II]] mentions a king of part of Armenia who bore the ([[Armenian language|Armenian]]-[[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]]) name Bagatadi (which, like the Greek-based "Theodore" and the Hebrew-based "Jonathan," means "god-given").<ref>Lukenbill, Dave (1927). ''Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia''. The University of Chicago Press, p. 28.</ref>{{Verification needed|date=June 2022}} == Legend == [[File:Mkrtum Hovnatanian. Hayk Nahapet.jpeg|thumb|right|''Hayk'' by Mkrtum Hovnatanian (1779–1846). Hayk is depicted standing next to the tomb of Bel, with his arrow still in Bel's chest. In the background is [[Mount Ararat]], with [[Noah's Ark]] on its peak. The map at his feet depicts Armenia.]]{{Quote box | quote = Hayk was a handsome, friendly man, with curly hair, sparkling eyes, and strong arms. He was a man of giant stature, a mighty archer and fearless warrior. Hayk and his people, from the time of their forefathers [[Noah]] and [[Japheth]], had migrated south toward the warmer lands near Babylon. In that land there ruled a wicked giant, Bel. Bel tried to impose his tyranny upon Hayk's people. But proud Hayk refused to submit to Bel. As soon as his son Aramaniak was born, Hayk rose up and led his people northward into the land of [[Ayrarat|Ararad]]. At the foot of the mountain he built a village and gave it his name, calling Haykashen. | author = Moses of Chorene | source = ''History of Armenia'' I.10–12 | align = left | width = 31% }} According to the accounts of [[Movses Khorenatsi]] and the anonymous ''Primary History'', Hayk fought against and killed the tyrannical Babylonian king Bel ([[Belus (Babylonian)|Belos]], Belus). Depending on the mythological tradition, [[Belus (Babylonian)|Belus]] can refer to a symbolic Babylonian/Akkadian god of war or mythical founder of Babylon.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Russell L.L.D. |first=Rev. Michael |title=A Connection of Sacred and Profane History |publisher=William Tegg |year=1865 |pages=334}}</ref> Moses identifies Bel with the biblical [[Nimrod]] and gives a list of his ancestors and successors, drawing from the Bible and [[Abydenus]] via [[Eusebius|Eusebius's]] works.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|p=73}} In Movses Khorenatsi's account (which he claims to have learned from [[Mar Abas Katina|Mar Abas Catina]]'s writings), Hayk, son of [[Togarmah|Torgom]], had a child named Aramaneak while he was living in [[Babylon]]. After the arrogant [[Titans|Titanid]] Bel made himself king over all, Hayk emigrated to the region near [[Mount Ararat]] with his extended family, servants, followers and about 300 warriors and founded a village called ''Haykashen''.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|p=85}}<ref>Movses Khorenatsi, ''History of Armenia''. Ed. by G. Sargsyan. Yerevan: Hayastan, 1997, pp. 83, 286.</ref> 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 Hayk 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.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} [[File:Hayk defeats Bel - Guiliano Zasso.jpg|thumb|left|Hayk defeats Bel with an arrow.]] Moses writes that the armies of Hayk and Bel clashed near Lake Van "in a plain between very high mountains."{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} King Bel was initially in the [[vanguard]], but seeing that the outcome of the battle was uncertain, he withdrew to a hill to await the arrival of the rest of his army.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} Seeing this, Hayk slew Bel with a nearly impossible shot using his long bow, sending the king's forces into disarray.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} Hayk named the hill where Bel fell with his warriors ''Gerezmankʻ'', meaning "tombs".{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} 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.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} Soon after, Hayk established the fortress or settlement (''dastakert'') of Haykʻ or [[Çavuştepe|Haykaberd]] at the site of the battle, which, Movses Khorenatsi says, is why the district is called [[Eruandunik|Hayotsʻ Dzor]] ("The Valley of the Armenians")<ref>''[[History of Armenia (Moses of Chorene)|History]]'' 1.11; a district to the southeast of Lake Van, see Hubschmann, AON, p. 343</ref> and the country of the Armenians is called ''Hayk‘''.{{Sfn|Moses Khorenatsʻi|Thomson|1978|pp=87–88}} [[File:Hayk and Bel.jpg|thumb|Battle of Hayk and Bell by [[Josef Rotter]]]] The 18th- and 19th-century scholars [[Ghevont Alishan]] and [[Mikayel Chamchian]], using different methods, calculated the date of the [[Battle of Hayots Dzor (2492 BC)|mythical battle]] (also known as the ''Dyutsaznamart'', {{langx|hy|Դյուցազնամարտ}}, "Battle of the Giants") between Hayk and Bel to have been August 11, 2492 BCE or 2107 BCE, respectively.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kosyan |first=Aram |date=2019 |title=First Haykides and the «House of Torgom» |url=https://arar.sci.am/dlibra/publication/287948/edition/264411/content |journal=Fundamental Armenology |volume=2 |issue=10 |page=95 |via=Pan-Armenian Digital Library}}</ref> ==Comparative mythology== {{Further|Culture hero}} [[Image:Hayk statue.JPG|thumb|220px|right|Statue of Hayk (1970) by Karlen Nurijanyan in [[Yerevan]], [[Armenia]]]] Armen Petrosyan describes Hayk as "a complex epic figure that combines the characteristics of the god creator, the father and patriarch of gods, the thunder god, and the war god" that derives from Indo-European archetypes and influenced by Near Eastern mythology.<ref name=":1" /> Hayk is a culture hero and an [[Etiology|etiological]] founding figure, like [[Assur (god)|Asshur]] for the [[Assyria]]ns, for example. The figure slain by Hayk's arrow is variously given as [[Belus (Babylonian)|Bel]] or [[Nimrod (Bible)|Nimrod]]. ''Hayk'' is also the name of the [[Orion (constellation)|constellation Orion]] in the Armenian translation of the Bible.<ref name=":1" /> Hayk's flight from Babylon and his eventual defeat of Bel has been compared to [[Zeus]]'s escape to the Caucasus and eventual defeat of the Titans.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kurkjian |first=Vahan M. |title=A History of Armenia |publisher=Armenian General Benevolent Union of America |year=1958 |location=Michigan |pages=50 |chapter=Chapter VIII: The Beginnings of Armenia |chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Asia/Armenia/_Texts/KURARM/8*.html}}</ref> Petrosyan considers the Indian deity [[Rudra]] to be the most similar mythological figure to Hayk. Both are associated with the constellation Orion, both have descendants or followers of the same name (''Hays'' and ''[[Rudras]]'') and both are archers that kill their enemy with an arrow.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Petrosyan |first=Armen |date=2011 |title=Armenian Traditional Black Youths: the Earliest Sources |url=https://www.academia.edu/2941077 |journal=The Journal of Indo-European Studies |volume=39 |issue=3 & 4 |pages=343}}</ref> ==See also== * [[Hayko (disambiguation)|Hayko]] * [[Aram (given name)]] * [[Belus (Assyrian)]] * [[Nimrod]] * [[Armenian mythology]] * [[Hayasa-Azzi]] * [[Armens]] * [[Sisak (eponym)]] * [[Mahabali]] ==References== === Notes === {{Notelist}} === Citations === {{Reflist|30em}} == Bibliography == *{{cite journal|first=Stepan|last=Ahyan|year=1982|title=Les débuts de l'histoire d'Arménie et les trois fonctions indo-européennes|journal=Revue de l'histoire des religions|volume=199|issue=3|pages=251–271|doi=10.3406/rhr.1982.4670}} *{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/2940248|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|year=2009|title=Forefather Hayk in the Light of Comparative Mythology|journal= Journal of Indo-European Studies|volume=37|pages=155–163|issn=0092-2323}} *{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/2940319|first=Armen|last=Petrosyan|year=2007|title=The Indo-European *H2ner(t)-s and the Danu Tribe|journal= Journal of Indo-European Studies|volume=35|pages=297–310|issn=0092-2323}} {{Armenia topics}} {{Legendary progenitors}} [[Category:Ancient Armenian people]] [[Category:Japheth]] [[Category:Armenian mythology]] [[Category:Nimrod]] [[Category:Legendary progenitors]] [[Category:Mount Ararat]]
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