Vardan Areveltsi

Vardan Areveltsi
Born	circa 1198 Gandzak
Died	1271 Khor Virap
Other names	Vardan Mec
Education	Goshavank, Khornashat Monastery
Occupation	Historian, geographer, philosopher
Known for	Historical Compilation

Vardan Areveltsi (Armenian: Վարդան Արևելցի; Vardan the Easterner, circa 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.

Vardan was born in Gandzak (Ganja) in 1198. He received his education at a school in Gandzak and at Nor Getik Monastery (later known as Goshavank), where he was student of the prominent scholar Mkhitar Gosh. He continued his studies at the Khornashat monastery in Tavush, learning literature, grammar, and theology. He also learned several languages while at Khornashat, mastering Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Persian. In 1235, Vardan became a vardapet and put his experience in education into action: he opened a school at St. Andre monastery in Kayenaberd and taught there from 1235 to 1239 and from 1252 to 1255. In 1239, he left Armenia for Jerusalem and on his return journey, traveled through the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, where he was a guest in the royal court of Het'um I. He remained in Cilicia long enough to participate in the 1243 ecumenical council in the capital at Sis. Vardan returned home in 1245, bringing along with him the canon laws that were decided upon at Sis.

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