Shushanik (Shushanika, Vardandukht) [, ; c. 440 – 475] was a Christian Armenian woman who was tortured to death by her husband Varsken in the town of Tsurtavi, Georgia. Since she died defending her right to profess Christianity, she is regarded as a martyr. Her martyrdom is described in her confessor Jacob’s hagiographic work, the oldest extant work of Georgian language literature. The hagiography details Shushanik's extensive resistance to imprisonment, isolation, torture and cruelty. Shushanik was a daughter of the Armenian military commander Vardan Mamikonian and married the Mihranid ruler (pitiakhsh) Varsken, son of Arshusha II. Varsken was a defiant vassal of Vakhtang I Gorgasali, King of Kartli (Iberia), and took a pro-Persian position, renouncing Christianity and adopting Zoroastrianism. He killed his spouse after she refused to submit to his order to abandon her Christian faith. Varsken himself was put to death by King Vakhtang in 482. Shushanik has been canonized by the Georgian Orthodox Church and is venerated by the Armenian Apostolic Church. Her feast day is celebrated on October 17 in Georgia and Tuesday between September 20–26 in Armenia. References External links Martyrdom of Shushanik 440s births 475 deaths Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church Saints of Georgia (country) Late Ancient Christian female saints 5th-century Christian saints 5th-century Christian martyrs Mamikonian family 5th-century women Christians in the Sasanian Empire People executed by the Sasanian Empire Women from the Sasanian Empire Armenian people from the Sasanian Empire