Armenian alphabet of Mesrop Mashtots
Alfabeto armenio de Mesrop Mashtots
- Date
- 405 · confidence high
- Place
- Vagharshapat (Echmiadzin), Armavir, Armenia
- Credited to
- Mesrop Mashtots, with the backing of Catholicos Sahak and King Vramshapuh
- People
- 👤 Mesrob Mashtots362–440
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
An alphabet of 36 letters created c. 405 to write Armenian phonetically, partly inspired by the Greek order. Its spread enabled the translation of the Bible and founded fifth-century Armenian literature.
Mashtots and his disciples refined the alphabet in the following years; the place of invention (Edessa, Samosata or Vagharshapat) is an open question, and 405-406 is the traditional date (Koryun).
What it led to
- the Armenian Bible and the golden age of fifth-century Armenian literature
- consolidation of a Christian identity against Persians and Byzantines
- according to tradition, a model for the Georgian and Caucasian Albanian alphabets