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ANOTHER SOURCE OF ARMENIAN MYTHOLOGY AND HISTORY FROM THE EARLY HELLENISTIC PERIOD

A marble slab that hasn’t survived is known as an example of Armenian early Hellenistic art , but fortunately, we have a photograph of it. It is not a counterfeit. The cult and ideological basis of its images stems from the understanding of Zeus-Aramazd as the supreme god of ancient Armenia and patron of the ruling family. The central image on the marble slab, bull’s head, symbolizes Zeus-Aramazd as both the god of thunder and the sun. The images on the slab have their own axis of symmetry, to the left of it is a mother queen with her daughters, and to the right is the long-bearded father (probably the high priest) with his sons. Those on the left have raised their left hands, and those on the right, their right hands. The queen depicted on the left offers a five-part bundle to the god (5 is the mystical number of the god of Thunder), and the man depicted on the right offers a three-part bundle (3 is the mystical number of the god of the Sun). There are three daughters depicted on the left with the mother, and likewise three sons depicted on the right with the father. They correspond to the number of children of the god Hayk who became stars of the constellation Hayk (Orion). The daughters are stars of the first magnitude in the Hayk constellation, and sons are stars of the second magnitude.

In our opinion, the marble slab is also a historical document and reflects events that took place in Greater Armenia in the middle of the 3rd century BC. A princess from the Yervandid dynasty married the High Priest of Armenia and gave birth (according to Movses Khorenatsi, in an “illegitimate relationship”) to twin brothers – Yervand and Yervaz. The eldest of the brothers depicted together with their father was to become the future king (the eldest son became the heir to the throne), i.e. Yervand the Last (c. 222-201 BC), and the youngest of the brothers (the one with long hair) will be a future priest, i.e. the High Priest of Armenia, Yervaz. The marble slab confirms Movses Khorenatsi’s assertion that Yervand the Last did not belong to the original royal dynasty of Yervandids (according to Khorenatsi-the Arshakids). He is a Yervandid on his mother’s side.

An Anonymous historian (Sebeos) in his list of Armenian kings, names Yervand the Last’s father as Arshak. But in reality, this Arshak was not his father, but his maternal grandfather-from the Yervandid dynasty. The fact is that in ancient times, it was not accepted to include the mother in the genealogy; she had to be replaced by a man from the mother’s lineage. So Artashes I (189-160 BC) belongs to the original royal dynasty of Yervandids and not Ervand the Last. It is also confirmed by the Aramaic lineage name of Artashes I (189-160 BC) Yervandakan. Moreover, his grandson, Tigran II the Great (95-55 BC), was also known by the Armenian variant of the same lineage name -Yeruandean. These lineage names and the royal name Yervand/Yeruand lies in the proto-form of Indo European origin *peruṇt- (< I.-E. *per- “to beat,” “to strike”).

WHOSE HISTORY ARE WE WRITING?
Between Nationalism and Empire

The article examines the relationship between history, nationalism, and empire by addressing the conditions and limits under which it is possible to write one’s “own” history. Proceeding from the premise that history is never a neutral or self-evident reality, the article argues that national historiography is shaped not only by internal demands of identity formation but also by imperial and modern regimes of power. Nationalism is thus conceptualized not as a natural convergence of the national and the political, but as an expression of the structural impossibility of such convergence within imperial arrangements. Within these arrangements, national identity both resists imperial domination and internalizes its epistemic frameworks and governing techniques. Drawing on the Armenian historical experience, the article analyzes the formation of national self-perception within a multilayered imperial context, structured by intersecting religious, communal, and legal affiliations, and examines the emergence of the imperative to define the national in the nineteenth-century context of modernization. Engaging postcolonial theory, the article demonstrates that national self-narratives are never fully emancipated from imperial legacies; postcolonial inquiry, therefore, does not offer a definitive identity but instead exposes the fractures, silences, and internal contradictions through which national narratives are continuously reconstituted. By critically assessing the principles of “people’s history” and the “national liberation struggle,” the article highlights their methodological limitations, particularly the dependence of political subjectivity and emancipatory claims on external recognition. It concludes that the aspiration to write a fully autonomous history functions less as an attainable project than as a regulative horizon. Accordingly, the primary task of historiography is not the construction of a unified national narrative, but the recovery of marginalized experiences and the preservation of the freedom of historical thought as a fundamental condition of political existence.

“THE IDEOLOGY OF REAL ARMENIA”. A SCHOLARLY EVALUATION

The publication is devoted to a substantive analysis of the project entitled “The Ideology of Real Armenia.”

The study examines the semiotic systems and semantic content of the concepts “real Armenia” and “historical Armenia” as they appear in the document. It is demonstrated that, following the restoration of Armenian independent statehood, the concept of “real Armenia” has become a mere tautology in Armenian discourse. Moreover, due to the physical non-existence of historical Armenia, these two notions cannot be compared on a synchronic level, while from a diachronic perspective, scholarly understandings of the past and the present do not oppose one another but rather complement each other.

Therefore, attempts to construct an opposition between these concepts lack any scientific foundation and, politically, recall only the faint “rustling” of the ANM-era (Armenian National Movement) “innovations” of the 1990s. Whereas in the 1990s such devices could, to some extent, be understood as attempts to draw comparisons with the Soviet period, today they are transformed into epistemological nihilism. This is because, without even grasping the meaning of the concepts they themselves employ, the authors of the tautological notion of “real Armenia” have resorted to a commonplace populist maneuver—namely, the artificial separation of the Armenian nation’s past from its present.

Accordingly, with the aim of providing Armenian society and political forces with elementary knowledge concerning the history of Armenian statehood, the editorial board of Vem has undertaken a brief examination of the historical experience of the first Armenian statesmen of the modern era—not in order to analyze Armenia itself, but to overcome the cognitive dead ends inherent in the project “The Ideology of Real Armenia.”

Furthermore, taking into account the acceleration of regional developments, the Vem editorial expresses the conviction that the superficial experiments carried out through the concept of “real Armenia,” which emerged under conditions of the absence of statehood in Armenia, will soon lose their strategic prospects. In the context of the current disintegrating world order, the formation of yet another Armenian reservation reminiscent of Soviet Armenia—this time in service of the Greater Turan—is excluded. This is because the political objective of servicing a rotation of reservations through the “Ideology of Real Armenia” contradicts the medium-term plans of global actors.

The strengthening of U.S. positions that preclude a new “Lenin–Atatürk” deal, together with signs of Russia’s retreat, has outwardly created the impression of a Turkish–American consensus. However, at the core of the global game unfolding
around us lies not an American–Russian confrontation, but the objective of containing China’s growing power. Consequently, the threat of activating the Greater Turan project deprives Russia of the ability to maneuver between the United States and China. The clearly emerging existential threat of losing the entire post-Soviet South and subsequently being drawn into a war with the “internal Turks” can now be prevented only through the restoration of political dialogue with the entire West.

Thus, the overt objective of turning Armenia into a testing ground for a rotation of reservations through the ill-conceived project “The Ideology of Real Armenia” will operate only within a short temporal horizon.

HISTORY AS A SCIENCE
Questions of the Theory and Methodology of History

It seems that the need to recognize history as a science does not require additional arguments, but the rapid events happening around us now force us to return to this issue again.

Scholars who once questioned the science of history relied on the fact that, unlike the natural sciences, the laws and even the basic regularities characteristic of the natural sciences are not applicable to the realm of history, which is created by human will and reason. Here, beyond very general laws, only the force of custom is at work. However, if this particularity of history makes it difficult to deduce laws from it, this does not mean that history is not a science. Moreover, when in the 19th century positivist philosophy (O. Conte, H. Spencer and others) attempted to interpret history from the point of view of the laws of natural science, such obvious vulgarization was soon subjected to harsh criticism by the Baden Neo Kantian schools, and in the 20th century – by the Annales school.

From all this, it became clear that, like nature, history is also a reality, but in our thinking. Consequently, while nature and the natural sciences are governed by immutable laws, history is primarily governed by human reason and will, something that nature lacks.

The whole problem is that the subjective factor has moved from the realm of history to historiography.

Currently, against the backdrop of chaotic events unfolding around the world, there is a growing desire among representatives of countries and peoples pursuing aggressive goals to transform historical science from an instrument of falsification into a weapon of political propaganda. Lacking a scientifically proven historical past, our neighbors are already resorting to the tactic of hiring scientists and entire research institutes and turning their grandiose fabrications into the subject of large scale electronic propaganda. Therefore, in this publication, while comprehensively criticizing the propaganda practices of Azerbaijani “historians,” we consider this as a new challenge to historical science.

THE USE OF METRICAL FORMS AND FOLK POETRY DEVICES IN AVETIK ISAHAKYAN’S COLLECTION “SONGS AND WOUNDS”

The first collection of poems by the Armenian poet Avetik Isahakyan, “Songs and Wounds” (1898), was warmly received by both the reading public and literary circles. Critics particularly praised the folkloric element of Isahakyan’s poetry, the unique interweaving of national and universal emotions. This first collection became the cornerstone upon which Isahakyan’s unique style and poetic thinking, as well as the key features of his lyrical hero, were formed.

In an effort to overcome the pathetic and sober patriotism of Romantic literature, Armenian poetry of the late 19th century made an open transition to folkloric elements, national spirit and thoughts, guiding the development of our poetry in a new direction. Isahakyan’s “Songs and Wounds” became one of the clearest manifestations of this tendency. Elements of Armenian folk poetry found their expression not only through the borrowing and imitation of motifs, moods, and poetic imagery, but also through the imitation of metrical forms.

The greatest influence on Isahakyan’s early poetry was the folklore of Shirak, with which he was familiar since childhood. Isahakyan was undoubtedly familiar with and influenced by the first attempts to collect and publish examples of Shirak folklore in the second half of the 19th century. This article is the first attempt to explore the connection between the metrical forms of Isahakyan’s first collection and folk poetry, conducting a comparative analysis of several works. It is known that brevity, short lines, and metrical units are characteristic of folk songs and rhymes. Isahakyan’s first collection also features a predominance of short meters, with a combination of 8- and 7-syllable lines (approximately 70 percent of the poems). It should be noted that this meter was Isahakyan’s preferred form of poetry during the first two decades and became a hallmark of his poetic style.

THE LIFE AND WORKS OF MOMIK
(according to the colophons and inscriptions)

The article focuses on the study of the life and work of the Armenian medieval master – scribe, miniaturist, architect and sculptor Momik. The master’s biography has been reconstructed thanks to memorial records in manuscripts and epigraphic inscriptions. This study reconsiders certain episodes from his life in a new light and offer hypotheses. In the colophon of scribe David of 1287 (Teghenik Monastery), a mention of Momik allows one to hypothesize both the plundering of his manuscript and the capture of the master himself. This can be explained by the fact that Armenian stonecutters and artisans were well-known and even worked for Muslim rulers, such as the contemporary architect to Momik – Shahik, who built Muslim mausoleums in Khachen-Dorbatli and Yerevan. Notably, the Church of Holy Mother of God in Yeghvard built by Shahik in its architectural structure, closely resembles the Church of Burtelashen in Noravank.

Based on tհe colophon from 1331 (Yale University, Arm. 3), where the master writes that he was unable to complete the manuscript due to an eye disease, specialists suggest that his vision had been partially lost, and as a result, he could no longer work as a miniaturist instead focusing on sculpture and architecture. We find this opinion unconvincing, as the intricate work of creating the fine details of Momik’s khachkars required just as much eye strain as miniature art. We believe that Momik developed an eye disease trachoma, which was widespread at the time, especially considering that Momik was a stone worker, and dust and dirt could have severely damaged his eyes. The phrase “սակաւ ամաց” in the text should be understood not as “several years later,” but as “after some time or months,” and the year 1331 refers not to the restoration of his eyesight but to the year the memorial inscription was written.

ARTSAKH ETHNOGRAPHY, FOLKLORE AND DIALECT IN RUSSIAN PUBLICATIONS OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE XIX CENTURY

The author presents the studies, articles, programs and other materials published in the Russian publications of the second half of the XIX century, which are related to the ethnography of Artsakh or its separate settlements. Of particular importance are the materials, published in the journals «Кавказский календарь», «Сборник материалов для описания местностей и племен Кавказа», «Мате риалы для изучения экономического быта государственных крестьян Закав казского края», «Всемирный путешественник», «Записки Кавказского отдела императорского русского географического общества», «Известия Кавказ ского отдела Императорского Русского географического общества», which contain valuable information about the population and ethnic composition of various regions and villages of Artsakh, including the city of Shushi, as well as agriculture, cattle breeding, silk weaving, winemaking, trade, various crafts, traditional medicine, sanctuaries, antiquities, churches, monastries, mountains, rivers, flora and fauna, geographic location, climate, national costume, national holidays, family life, public trials and proceedings, structure of houses, quarters, religions, matrimonial and wedding ceremonies, customs, religious beliefs and prejudices, ration, folk games and other phenomena. Published materials on the folklore and dialect of Artsakh are also presented in separate subsections. Published materials on the folklore and dialect of Artsakh are also presented in separate subsections.

A SYNTHESIS OF THE HISTORY OF SYUNIK’S STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL
Ashot Simonyan. Commemorative Book of Syunik’s Struggle for Existence 1917-1921

The events of Syunik’s armed self-defense and political struggle between 1917 and 1921 occupy a pivotal place in the modern history of Armenia. Nevertheless, their historiographical representation has long remained partial, disproportionate, and source-wise limited. This period has often been interpreted within generalized political frameworks, overlooking local specificities, regional actors, as well as the internal continuity of armed resistance and state-building efforts [Harutyunyan 1984, 318, 325-330, Khudaverdyan 1988, 64-71, 115-124, 146-157, Grigoryan 1989, 73-88, Abrahamyan 2003, 209-252, Simonyan 2004, 19–32].

In this context, Ashot Simonyan’s Memoir-Chronicle of Syunik’s Struggle for Survival, 1917–1921 emerges as a significant contribution, both in terms of source studies and historiographical advancement.

The work under review is not a monograph in the classical sense. Rather, it constitutes an extensive documentary-historical compendium that integrates both published and unpublished materials. The genre designation “memorial chronicle” is justified, insofar as the author refrains from theoretical generalizations and prioritizes the sequential and chronologically accurate presentation of factual material. The main body of the volume consists of forty-eight chapters, structured into seven thematic sections, followed by appendices comprising twelve additional chapters that significantly broaden the source base of the study.

The principal merit of the work lies in its extensive and meticulously assembled corpus of sources. The author makes use of materials from the National Archives of Armenia, including investigative files of the repressed, as well as Armenian archival collections in Beirut and Boston. The source base is further reinforced through the incorporation of rare judicial documents, most notably the records of two trials held in Tabriz: the first concerning the fall of Mountainous Armenia, and the second relating to the failure of the self-defense of Artsakh in March–April 1920.

Of particular importance is the systematic incorporation of extensive documentary materials from the Armenian National Archive, specifically from Fund No. 1191 associated with the repressive structures of the VChK–GPU NKVD system, complemented by related records from the State Archive of Armenia. Despite their inherent ideological and political bias, these documents contain valuable biographical data, eyewitness testimonies, and official assessments concerning participants in the Syunik struggle for survival. Their consistent use substantially enhances the empirical foundations of the study and contributes to a more comprehensive reconstruction of the historical context. The cautious use of these sources, for understandable reasons, makes it possible to reveal not only the internal logic of the political struggle in Mountainous Armenia (Lernahayastan), but also the mechanisms of the early Soviet repressive practices.

Noteworthy informational value is carried by the memoirs of local participants and eyewitnesses, unpublished personal recollections, and periodical press materials from regional centers (Yerevan, Baku, Shushi, Goris) as well as from the Armenian diaspora. These sources collectively enable the reconstruction of the individual trajectories of Syunik’s military, political, and civic figures, including members of the clergy and the civilian population. The extensive system of footnotes—incorporating biographical references and parallel testimonies—further imparts a reference-like dimension to the work and substantially enhances its scholarly merit.

From a historiographical perspective, the work constitutes a significant contribution to the reinterpretation of the events in Syunik between 1917 and 1921. It demonstrates that the armed resistance of 1920–1921 was neither spontaneous nor accidental, but rather a logical continuation of earlier processes of self organization and self-defense, triggered by successive Turkish, Azerbaijani, and later Soviet aggression. The struggle of Mountainous Armenia and the political and military activities of Garegin Nzhdeh are presented according to principles of historicity, framed within narratives consistent with state-building logic, thereby avoiding the emotional embellishments often observed in the works of certain Armenian authors [Ruben 1982, Gevorgyan 1991, 25-48, 85-86, 123-125, Abrahamyan 1991, 3–14, Garegin Nzhdeh, Free Syunik, Beirut, 1999].

The documents and biographical dossiers included in the appendices substantially expand the source base, which in previous studies of the period had been relatively limited. Although the book exhibits some uneven coverage of events in specific districts (Meghri, Sisian), it emphasizes the overall breadth of the material and highlights avenues for further scholarly research. The work also reveals certain technical inconsistencies in the formation of its scholarly apparatus—particularly regarding references, bibliographic entries, and formatting uniformity—which in some cases do not fully align with current academic standards. Nevertheless, these shortcomings do not diminish the overall value of the study. On the contrary, they underscore the potential for further refinement of the manuscript and its more effective engagement in academic discourse, especially given the exceptional scope of the factual database and the distinctive nature of the primary sources employed. Through its comprehensive presentation of factual material and its reconstruction of regional events, the work can serve as a foundational basis for subsequent scholarly research, thematic expansions, and more in-depth analyses incorporating newly accessible archival materials.

Particular significance is attached to the interpretation of Soviet repressions as a continuation of the struggle by other means. The mass persecutions targeting the military-political elite of Syunik, members of the Armenian Parliament, local self-government bodies, and the clergy are presented not as random or chaotic occurrences, but as deliberate political actions aimed at undermining and dismantling the institutional foundations of Armenian statehood established in Syunik.

Overall, Ashot Simonyan’s Memoirs of the 1917–1921 Struggle in Syunik represents a significant contribution to Armenian historiography. By combining archival documents, memoirs, press materials, and judicial sources, the work fills longstanding gaps in the study of Syunik’s history while simultaneously serving as an important step toward the restoration and preservation of historical memory—a task that remains highly relevant for our society today.

ISSUES RELATING TO THE CALIPHATE IN THE WORKS OF IBN TAYMIYYAH

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad, the institution of the “caliph” – the “successor” of the prophet – was formed, the purpose of which was to ensure that the Muslim community correctly carried out the word of Allah and did not deviate from the right path. The collapse of the caliphate as a result of the Mongol invasion in 1258 shook the Islamic world and forced the ummah to face new challenges. Among these challenges was the consolidation and political organization of Islamic society in order to withstand external attacks, which raised the question of whether the restoration of the caliphate was mandatory and whether the mulk was permissible, since the restoration of the caliphate was practically impossible under the existing historical and political circumstances, and the only force more or less capable of restoring the unity of the ummah and confronting its enemies was the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. In this regard, the thoughts and views expressed by a prominent representative of the Hanbali school Ibn Taymiyyah on the institution of the caliphate are extremely interesting, and they are still relevant today, due to the activation of the Islamic factor in Muslim social developments and the widespread dissemination of ideas about the creation of a caliphate guided by sharia law by Islamic extremist groups. In order to understand Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on the discussed issues and to shed light on existing opinions on them, we have examined the Islamic jurist’s approaches to the terms “caliph” and “caliphate.”

In this article, we have examined the works of Ibn Taymiyyah, while simultaneously reflecting on the sometimes contradictory interpretations made by some researchers.

LINGUISTIC STRATEGIES AND PERSUASIVE ARGUMENTATION IN “BLACK SWAN” TRIAL: a case study

The current article studies judicial discourse, specifically lawyers’ closing arguments regarding “Black Swan” (2024) murder trial which concerns a woman, Ashley Benefield, an ex-ballerina, who killed her husband, Douglas Benefield claiming the action to be self-defense. The discourse study at hand includes the prosecutor’s closing argument of Suzanne O’Donnell who represents the State and condemns the action of killing as murder which must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense is represented by defense lawyer Neil Taylor, who tries to defend his client’s action as self-defense. This legal discourse is studied through qualitative analysis, implemented using the method of rhetorical-stylistic discourse analysis, and supplemented with the author’s quantitative observations of repetitions, direct speech, and rhetorical questions, which are manually counted and compared across each speech under study.