Khosrovidukht (sister of Tiridates III of Armenia)

Khosrovidukht also transliterated Xosroviduxt (flourished second half of 3rd century & first half of 4th century) was a princess of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia,The Circle of Ancient Iranian Studies, Iranian History: Armeno-Iranian Relations in Pre-Islamic Period By: Nina Garsoian, October 20, 2004 one of the client-kingdoms of the Roman Empire and a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia.

Khosrovidukht was the daughter of King Khosrov II of Armenia by a mother whose name is unknown. Her only known sibling was her brother Tiridates III of Armenia who ruled Armenia from 287 to 330. The name Khosrovidukht was a dynastic name in the Arsacid royal house as she was the namesake of her father and her paternal great-grandfather Khosrov I, a previous ruling Armenian King.Her name is the female variant of the Persian name Khosrov, which comes from the Parthian khusrav reputation and dukht daughter i.e. Khosrov’s daughter, see Khosrau

Name The name "Khosrovidukht" (Xosrovi-dowxt) is Parthian, meaning "daughter of Khosrov".

Biography In 252, her father and the rest of her family were assassinated by Anak, a Parthian agent on the orders of Ardashir I. After the capture and execution of Anak, the Roman authorities took her infant brother to be raised in Rome while Khosrovidukht was raised in Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia.Eghiayean, Heroes of Hayastan: a dramatic novel history of Armenia, p.191 Her foster parents were Awtay, a nobleman from the Amatuni family, and his wife from the Slkunik family.Dodgeon, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226-363, p.270

Khosrovidukht returned after Tiridates was restored to the Armenian throne by Diocletian in 287. The Armenian state religion at the time was Zoroastrianism. Armenian Christian legend says that after Tiridates killed a group of Christians, the Hripsimeyan nuns, and sent another Christian, Gregory the Illuminator to the Khor Virap dungeon,Armenian Catholic Church: The Saints - King Drtad, Queen Ashkhen and Princess Khosrovitookht (c. 330 AD) Biographies of Armenian Saints, St Drtad (250-330) he became mentally ill. Khosrovidukht was told in a dreamThomson, Agathangelo's History of the Armenians, p.219 to free Gregory.Thomson, Agathangelo's History of the Armenians, p.221 When Khosrovidukht told her brother Tiridates about the dream, he ordered Gregory to be released. Khosrovidukht and her sister-in-law Ashkhen may have already accepted Christianity through the Hripsimeyan nuns and others in the Armenian Christian underground. Cured of his illness in 301,Thomson, Agathangelo's History of the Armenians Tiridates then proclaimed Christianity as Armenia's official state religion, making Armenia the first country in the world to do so.Biography of Saint Gregory - St. Gregory and St. Grigoris Gregory was then appointed Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church and baptized Tiridates's family, court and army on the Euphrates river.

Tiridates, Khosrovidukht and Ashkhen participated in the construction of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, Saint Gayane Church, Saint Hripsime Church and the Shoghakat Church. During the construction of Saint Gayane and Saint Hripsime Churches, Ashkhen and Khosrovidukht donated their jewels for the expenses for the church.Eghiayean, Heroes of Hayastan: a dramatic novel history of Armenia, p.201

Towards the end of her life, Khosrovidukht and Ashkhen retired to the castle of Garni. Khosrovidukht may have died around 330. She, Tiridates and Ashkhen are saints in the Armenian Apostolic Church and their feast day is on Saturday after the fifth Sunday after Pentecost.

References

Sources Armenian Names – Female:Khosrovidkht Moslem architecture: its origins and development, by G.T. Riviora, translated from the Italian by G.M.C.N. Rushforth Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1918 R.W. Thomson, Agathangelos's History of the Armenians, SUNY Press, 1976 B. Eghiayean, Heroes of Hayastan: a dramatic novel history of Armenia, Armenian National Fund, 1993 M.H. Dodgeon & S.N.C Lieu, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226–363, A documentary History Compiled and edited, Routledge, 1994

Further reading Fowden, Garth. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 84. (1994), pp. 146–170. Thomson, Robert W. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, Vol. 43. (1989), pp. 125–226.