Reviving the historical memory of the Armenians was a major theme of another nineteenth-century novelist, Tzerents (1822-1888), whose historical novels left a vivid impression on me. Toros Levoni (Toros, Son of Levon) dealt with the restoration and expansion of Armenian political power in Cilicia, in the eastern Mediterranean, during the twelfth century under the Rubinian dynasty. Yerkunk T Daru (Ninth-Century Travail) highlighted the anti-Arab Armenian rebellion in the middle of the ninth century. All these years later I remember that the leader of the rebellion, Hovnan, was beheaded for refusing to abandon Christianity and adopt Islam. Theodor Rshtouni was about a valiant seventh-century Armenian prince and commander of the Armenian army.
Gregorian, Vartan. The Road to Home: My Life and Times. (NY: Simon & Schuster, 2003) p 54.
English translation of the 3 historical novels by Tserents (Hovsep Shishmanian), with biographical and historical notes, timeline, character descriptions, and links to historical sources.
- Travails of the 9th Century
- Toros, Son of Levon
- Theodoros Rshtuni
