Saint Vardapet Eghishē

Yeghishe (Armenian: Եղիշե; also spelled as Yeghisheh, Yeghishé, Eghishe, Elishe, and Ełišē, 400–475) was a prominent Armenian historian of the 5th century. Some identify him with Yeghishe, Bishop of Amatuni, who took part in the Synod of Artashat (449). He had been in his younger days a companion, as soldier or secretary, of the Armenian general Vardan Mamikonian, during the war of religious independence (449-451) against the Persian King, Yazdegerd II. Later, he became a hermit and retired to the mountains, south of Lake Van, where he died.

All ancient authorities speak of Yeghishe as "vartapet" or "doctor." His most famous work is the History of Vardan and the Armenian War and of the wars of the Armenians [written] at the request of David the Mamikonian, in which he recounts the heroic struggle of the Armenians in union with the Iberians and the Caucasian Albanians, for their common faith, against the Persians (449-451). It is considered one of the masterpieces of ancient Armenian literature and is almost entirely free from Greek words and expressions.