FAUSTUS of Basanzo. – A celebrated Armenian historian who lived at the turn of the 4th and 5th centuries, born of a noble family and a priest. His residence in Byzantium earned him the title “Byzantine.”
F. is the author of a History of Armenia covering the period from 317 to 387. It is the most important source for the political and ecclesiastical history of that kingdom. The work was written in Greek around 400, but already in the 5th century it was translated into Armenian; this Armenian version is the only one that survives in its entirety. Despite certain exaggerations, the critical value of the work is great, since it often draws on official documents.
BIBL.: The Armenian text has been published several times, most recently by the Mekhitarists of Venice (1858). French version by V. Langlois, Collection des histoires anciennes et modernes de l’Arménie. I. Paris 1867, pp. 209–310; ed. V. de la L. Lauder, Des. civ. Byzanz Geschichte Armeniens, Cologne 1879; E.