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THE MEMORY OF THE 1918 MAY HEROIC BATTLES – 2022-1

In the collections of the National Museum of Armenian Ethnography and Liberation Struggle

Arevik B. Melikyan
The article presents the personal belongings of the participants of the 1918 May heroic battles, preserved in the collections of the National Museum of Armenian Ethnography and Liberation Struggle.

Most of them are weapons and household items donated to the museum by the heirs of participants.

The aim of the article is to cover and popularize the personal relics of highranking commanders and self-defence fighters.

The article touches upon the personal belongings of one of the founders of the Republic of Armenia – Aram Manukyan, which were donated to the museum on June 24,1998 by his daughter Seda Manukyan.

The article also presents the history of personal belongings and documents of the command staff of the 1918 May heroic battles, for instance, the personal items confiscated during the trial of Movses Silikyan, as well as property, awards, nominal weapons and manuscripts of the general commander of the Armenian artillery of the May 1918 heroic battles – Colonel Christopher Araratyan.

The article also presents the description of personal belongings of the commander of the 1st battalion of the 5th regiment, Staff-Captain Vardan Jaghinyan, the commander of the battalion fighting at the bridge guard-station of Margara village – Yervand Mamajanyan, Navasard Veziryan – the favorite and reliable comrade-in-arms of (Zoravar) Andranik and Garegin Nzhdeh, Yervand Kyureghyan – a haiduc of Vaspurakan, signalman of the 5th infantry regiment Hmayak Khachatryan, machine-gunner Hakob Margaryan, militiaman Ruben Sargsyan, as well as participants of Bash-Aparan battle Mamikon Ter-Sargsyan, commander of the artillery battalion Samson Mnatsakanyan, artilleryman Gabriel Aharonyan, machine-gunner of the 6th regiment Karapet Vardanyan, militiaman Ruben Frangulyan, participant of the Battle of Karakilisa Hovhannes Baloyan and other participants.

THE MINIATURE “CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST” – 2022-1

From the Momik’s manuscript of 1302

Inessa G. Danielyan
Momik is one of the most famous, multitalented masters of Armenian medieval art (architect, sculptor, painter). The miniatures of the manuscript of 1302 (Matenadaran named after Mesrop Mashtots, No. 6792) are considered his best paintings. The article deals with the iconographic and stylistic features of the illustration “The Crucifixion of Christ”.

For depiction of the theme master Momik used the ancient laconic iconographic scheme with images of the Crucified Christ, the Mother of God and the Apostle John, which has been widely known in the Christian world since the 7th-8th centuries. Momik’s miniature depicted symbols and gestures, such as the hands of the Mother of God, covered under maforia, a cross-star on her forehead, the meaning of which has deep, still pre-Christian origin.

The style and iconography of this miniature evokes some associations with Byzantine art of the Palaeologan period, especially with an icon from the early 14th century from Ohrid. This icon also presents a simple iconographic version of the theme and like Momik’s miniature, the Mother of God is filled with sorrow and pain – unable to look at her died son on the cross. There is a certain commonality in the construction of the composition of these two artworks.

Some researchers noted a certain connection between the miniatures of the master Momik and the medieval theater. It is more clearly demonstrated in the scene of the Crucifixion.

The miniature “The Crucifixion of Christ” reveals some technical features of making of the manuscript. Under the erased layer of paint is outlined a sketch of another miniature – the scene of “Baptism of Christ”. These two scenes are presented on the same parchment bifolio, but on the fol. 4a page is depicted “The Baptism of Christ” and the Crucifixion is on the fol. 8a. Thus, the master made sketches before sewing and binding the bifolios, and then however finding the wrong arrangement of the scenes, he “hid” the wrong drawing under a layer of paint.

In conclusion, it might be stated that this miniature, like his other works, is distinguished by its simplicity of forms, but at the same time they have a deep sacred content. The artist Momik conveyed to the viewer all the emotionally sensual notes of the depicted, using the correct selection of colors, facial expressions of the characters and distorted proportions. The chosen iconographic scheme and details of the miniature emphasize its deep theological content.

THE NATURAL DISASTERS AND CELESTIAL PHENOMENA IN EPIGRAPHS – 2022-1

Part I: Earthquake

Arsen E. Harutyunyan
The epigraphic inscriptions of medieval Armenia are of various content. The building, donative inscriptions approving the legal norms and epigraphic texts created on other events provide reliable evidence on the celestial and geological phenomena, in particular about earthquakes, solar eclipse, draught, sea storm and other similar cases. With the given study we have made an attempt for the first time to explain the mentions about natural disasters and celestial phenomena, evidenced in Armenian epigraphs, in the first turn – the earthquakes. The memorial inscriptions of the 10th-19th centuries in the monasteries of Karkop, Haghpat, Sanahin, the khachkar of Kosh (cross-stone) embedded into the wall, inscriptions from the villages of Areni, Vardenik, Lichk, Arinj, Mayakovski and other settlements and monuments shed light on the chronology of earthquakes, the topographical features and the cause-sequential manifestations of natural disasters that took place in the Armenian Highland.

Significantly, similar cases were also documented and were traditionally evidenced within the epigraphic context compiled in different occasions of memorial inscriptions (building ones, erection of a monument, epitaph, etc.). The epigraphic inscriptions enable us to definitely state that the celestial phenomena, in particular solar eclipse was often preceded by earthquakes, which was not once evidenced also in the works of chroniclers.

EVOLUTIONISM – A NEW LEVEL OF PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE – 2022-1

Again on Tumanyan’s philosophy of life

Aram C. Alexanyan
Hovhannes Tumanyan’s philosophy of life has never become a separate theme for investigation. This issue was partly touched upon in the written voluminous monographs and articles but has never been studied completely and comprehensively.

Moreover, the Tumanyan studies of the Soviet years evaluated the literary heritage of the poet by value-based forms deriving from ideology (realism, the expresser of social protest, writer of village life, the singer of the nation’s desires, hopes and feelings, popularity, etc.). To this was added the irrelevant and simplified apologetics, that is, the praise that the contemporary Tumanyan studies are flooded with. Tumanyan’s views and artistic heritage have never been considered in the context of European philosophy. Whereas, this is the most effective research method of studying his oeuvre. We believe that this research method will create a scientific environment for a more comprehensive scientific research of Hov. Tumanyan’s worldview, as well as his artistic heritage.

From this viewpoint, in our previous article Hov. Tumanyan’s radical insights deriving from W. Wundt’s doctrine were revealed: a) theory of evolution, b) the necessity of perceiving the nations’ psychology, c) classification of the world as a spiritual reality, d) universal voluntary unity of mankind and ideals, etc. The abovementioned is supplemented with the accentuations on the geographical deterministic and cultural-historical method.

The given article discusses the nature of the poet’s learning and determination of philosophy of life. Tumanyan’s learning, in fact, has never been a constant assimilation of any doctrine or idea. To the extent that his worldview is characterized by its analytical-comparative nature, Tumanyan’s philosophy of life cannot be viewed as an adequate follow-up to the teaching, but as a qualitatively independent eclectic combination.

This article examines his transcendental thinking towards the absolute knowledge of existence and the world. Tumanyan’s versions of the ideas on rationalization of evolution are presented. Reasons for becoming a subject of cosmic evolution of the Armenian ethnos are revealed with references to historical and cultural musicology (creative genius of the Armenian ethnos, a culture of preserving ethnic identity, the fact of living cultures of different eras, the strong moral potential of Armenian culture, etc.).

ANACHRONISTIC AND DIACHRONIC DESCRIPTION OF OLD ARMENIAN VOICELESS FRICATIVE 􀉖 (X) – 2022-1

Vardan Z. Petrosyan
Similar to historical-comparative Armenological Studies, the linguistic tradition of other Old Indo-European languages possessing x (kh) (Iranian and German old languages, Hittite, Old Greek, Old Slavonic, Lithuanian, etc.) maintain that the phoneme has developed from the Indo- European aspirated voiceless (*kh) (in our opinion, it derives from *kh, one of the two major positional variants of the IE aspirated voiceless backlingual phoneme K[/h]).

It is worth mentioning that 1) this is one of the few instances when a single IE prototype is restored for a certain phoneme (in this case – x (kh) in Armenian and other languages, 2) Based on the well-accepted “consonant movement” in classical typology, i.e., according to the standard phonemic transitions both in Armenian and in other languages, the phoneme could not have developed into x (kh). Instead, it should have developed into 􀊛 (k’) since the IE category of aspirated voiceless sounds could not have undergone any changes, i.e., no “movement” could have taken place, which we witness in the case of labial and dental phonemes (comp. ph > 􀊚 (p􀒳), *th > 􀊀 (t􀒳)). However, the fact that the k > x (kh) transition is typical of not only IE languages, but rather is of general linguistic, more precisely, a typological nature (the phonemic transitions from back-lingual voiceless occlusives (q / 􀛘 / 􀛚 / k), fricatives into Armenian 􀊄 (x) in the Armenian borrowings from non IE languages like Semitic and Caucasian can prove the idea stated). This comes to confirm the high probability of the transition from the IE *kh to Armenian 􀊄 (x), on the one hand, and of the original phonetic, rather than phonemic nature of this change, on the other hand.

Following one of the most probable explanations, the transition from the back-lingual voiceless occlusive kh to the back-lingual voiceless fricative 􀊄 (x) could have been possible due to the opening of a narrow passage rather than an explosion of the glottis, which is specific to the pronunciation of occlusives (A. Meillet).

However, we hold the opinion that the explanation could be more complete if we acknowledged the importance of the common and no less important feature necessary for the articulation of all the above mentioned phonemes – their back-lingual position.

DANIEL VARUZHAN’S METRIC ART – 2022-1

Ashkhen Ed. Jrbashyan
The article is dedicated to the study of the metric art of Daniel Varuzhan, one of the brightest representatives of Western Armenian poetry. His first collection of poems, “Tremors” (1906), was written on the metric principles developed by the Mkhitarist philologists. Critics then noted that in this book Varuzhan is making his first steps, and he still has a long way to achieve poetic mastery. In particular, the rhymes and poetic forms he used were considered unfortunate and inappropriate.

Varuzhan’s second collection, “Heart of the Nation” (1909), already marked the birth of a mature poet. The heroic spirit permeating this collection, the naturalness of speech, the spontaneous flow of images, gave his poetry a new impulse and quality and found a unique expression in metric forms. Here we find a large number of astrophic and non-rhymed verses. Varuzhan’s attitude to rhyme has changed somewhat since the 1910s. If earlier he denied the role of rhyme and considered it “backward”, then in “Pagan Songs” (1912) he gradually increased the proportion of rhyming poems, giving them a new sound. His poetry also used new ways, new methods and means of constructing poetic stanzas. Without abandoning astrophic verses, Varuzhan was simultaneously looking for new stanza forms, he also used one of the most beloved solid forms of Western Armenian poets – the sonnet. It should be noted that both of his latest collections open with sonnets, which are more suitable for the holistic transmission of the main ideological tendencies of poetic cycles.

Varuzhan used a unique structure and metric forms in his latest collection “Song of Bread”, which the poet never managed to finish. The book was published a few years after his death – in 1921, based on 29 poems published in the press. Literary criticism has long noticed the direct influence of idyllic and instructive poems of world literature, the traditions of which date back to ancient literature, the Renaissance and Classicism, on Varuzhan’s last collection. Obviously, Varuzhan does not repeat the structure and form of these works, but they certainly were a powerful incentive for the general idea of the cycle to promote new creative ideas and forms. The collection “Song of Bread” is formed as a complete and constructive poem, where all the poems have a solid stanza structure and rhyming lines. In this cycle we see not only new ways of constructing stanzas, but also metric forms that were not previously used in his poems.

It can be argued that the poetry of Varuzhan is a solid and integral system of poetic forms and structures. Changes from one collection to another should be seen as a natural result of the legitimate development of this system and the maturation of poetic talent.

ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN RAFFI’S IDEOLOGICAL CONCEPTUALIZATION – 2022-1

Ashot N. Hayruni
In the second half of the 19th century during the process of the search for a national salvation, Raffi also had to take into consideration and reflect upon economic problems, which, under foreign tyranny, in the face of increasing pressure on the Armenian people, had not only economic, but also political significance. Hence, it was not by chance, that these economic problems occupied a key place in Raffi’s works.

This article sheds light on the economic hardships faced by the Armenian people during this time and Raffi’s ideological views on how to solve these problems.

Raffi reflected upon the Armenian merchant and usurer class and gave a factual outline of key aspects that were common to the above noted class. He pointed out that this class was unable to evolve and establish the new economic conditions that were needed. As such, he proposed the creation of a new “scientific trade”, which would be based upon a harmonious blend of professional education and national-moral values, which according to Raffi was necessary to overcome the growing economic problems of this period.

The writer also placed a great deal of importance on the idea of giving “free land” to the toilers, which according to him, had to be realized by the Armenian Church and political institutions and thus could prevent the growing emigration of Armenian peasantry from its native land.

Raffi presented these and many other similar ideas on solving the Armenian economic vows, in not only his public articles, but as well as his literally works, in which he made many of the leading characters his mouthpieces for examining these issues.

Raffi juxtaposes Petros Masisyan (“Golden Rooster”), Chanchur Ivanich (“Zahrumar”), Agha Paronov (“One like this, the other like that”), and his other literary characters representing this class, with other characters, who he tasks with not only presenting solutions to the economic problems, but also developing new economic relations within the Armenian reality. These characters, including Mikayel (“Golden Rooster”) and Ruben Arusyan (“One like this, the other like that”), are imbued with a sense of morality and after acquiring highly professional training, through their actions show the way for the establishment of what Raffi calls “scientific trade”. These characters are also endowed with a moral compass of wanting to serve the national interests of the Armenian society at large. They believe that wealth, first and foremost, is for the common good and by conducting fair trade and business, they also advance Armenian cultural life by doing charity work for countless Armenian social projects and helping members of the intelligentsia. Through their actions, they affirm the important bond that unites “scientific trade” with the highest interests of the people and the homeland, with the latter being given primacy and preference by the author. Thus, Raffi considers an important prerequisite for the establishment of new economic reality the harmonious merger of professional training with a sense of personal morality.

The establishment of “scientific trade” along with the development of new economic methods are closely intertwined with Raffi’s views on school reform and in this regard, these two aspects complete each other. The author’s advanced knowledge of different professional trades is astonishing. When the situation presents itself, Raffi shows himself to be an agriculturalist, an economist and if required, also a theoretician and researcher who examines the problems associated within the given profession.

POST-WAR EXPERIENCE OF ANNALES SCHOOL (1945-1975) – 2022-1

Smbat Kh. Hovhannisyan
The paper discusses the post-war experience of the metamorphosis of the “Annales” school, when a long period of evolution and renovation began (1945- 1975), which later took its place in history under the name of “Glorious Thirty period”.

The author’s preliminary hypothesis is that as a result of the increased impact of social sciences on history, the “Annales” school not only revised its intellectual direction, but also systematized its achievements.

Following this research hypothesis, the paper examines both the transformations of the journal of Annales school (renaming of journal, introduction of the journal emblem, reorganization of the editorial board) and the fundamental grounds for the development of the Annales historiography (from “the VI section of the Practical School of Advanced Studies” to “The House of Human Sciences”) in the context of social and humanitarian disciplines.

Thus, the content of the post-war journal changed significantly: the numerous problems that have been only outlined so far are now being thoroughly analyzed. Moreover, despite the fact that pre-war ideas and concepts continued to be discussed, nevertheless, in parallel with them, the magazine already examined ideas that were not considered in pre-war historiography.

In a short period of time, the bundle of problems found in the magazine has already expanded to such an extent that it is difficult to give a detailed description of them.

As a result of the study, it is stated that as a consequence of reconstruction of the theoretical and human capital, the “Annales” school gradually has turned from a peripheral into an authoritative French and world historiographical school.

THE KING AND GOD – 2022-1

The ideological foundations of royal sovereignty in the Bagratid Armenia

Ruben L. Manasserian
The coronation rite of the Bagratids went through a series of stages that marked the evolution of ideas about royal power as divine institution. Ashot I Bagratid was proclaimed king at a meeting of the highest nobility, i.e., in the adoption of the royal title, the priority was the collective will – a secular act, as an expression of divine will. In the year of 885 Ashot I Bagratid was crowned with the participation of the catholicos, who personally placed the crown on him and gave his blessing. The participation of the highest church hierarchy in the act of coronation conveyed a character of a supreme divine sanction to the investiture. In the year 961 Ashot III the Merciful introduced the rite of anointing in the coronation which meant the consecration of the power and personality of the king, endowing him with God-sent grace (Holy Spirit).

According to church ideas, the king – the anointed of God, was elevated to the rank of a sacred mediator between God and the people. The introduction of the rite of anointing in the coronation by the Bagratids also had external political goals – it was directed against the great-power encroachments of the Byzantine emperors, who monopolized the right to bear the title of Basileus. Byzantium recognized only the title of archon (prince) for the Armenian monarch. Based on this fact, a view was expressed in science by K. N. Yuzbashyan, that the Bagratids, in accordance with the great-power position of Byzantium, equated their title of king with the title of archon, in other words, calling themselves kings, they meant themselves princes. This view does not find confirmation in the rite of anointing of the monarch. Borrowing it from the Bible, Ashot III the Merciful asserted his title of king as identical to that of King David. In the justification of the right of the Bagratids to the rite of anointing, as early as the beginning of the 10th century a legend was put forward about their origin from the family of the biblical David. The origins of this legend are rooted in the history of Moses of Khoren on the conversion of prince Bagarat – the ancestor of the Bagratids into Judaism in the II c. AD.

EPIC HAYK, HISTORICAL HAYK AND HIS HERITAGE – 2022-1

Sargis G. Petrosyan
The epithets of the Armenian ethnarch Hayk Abetatsin “born in the flame” and Abetayn “fiery”, in fact, was his mythological prototype of the homonymous god. This is explained by the fact that the historical prototype of the epic Hayk bore not only the name, but also the epithets of the god Hayk, his divine patron. It is also noteworthy that in this way the opponent of the historical Hayk – Bel also bore the name of his divine patron, the main god of the Akkadian pantheon – Bel (in Semitic “Bel” – lord, – the original epithet of the supreme god of the Sumerian- Akkadian pantheon Enlil).

The historical Hayk was the head of one of the southern Armenian tribes and the king of the dual country Armi-Armana, and the historical Bel is the famous king of Akkad and at the same time the despot of all Mesopotamia Sargon. They lived around the middle of the III millennium BC. Haik’s ancestral domain was located in the north of the Western Tigris River basin, and the patrimony of his relative Kadmos Arman (Armanum) was south of the river. Kadmos was not really a grandson, but the nephew (his sister’s son) of Hayk. Therefore, his ancestral possession of Arman was also referred to as the “house of Kadmos” (Armenian “tun Kadmeai”, cuneiform “Kadmukhi”). Before confronting the Akkadian despot, Hayk and his family moved to Hark, to the north of Lake Van. Having settled there, he turned Hark into the center of the “Haykazants tribal union”. Toponym Hark does not mean “fathers”, but it means “opposing”, “overcoming”, “casting out”.

According to ancient legends, Hayk killed Bel in battle, but this is folklore. However, no doubt, quite a few enemy soldiers fell from the well-aimed arrows of Hayk and his archers, since the place of their burial-ground was called Gerezmank, that is, “Graves” (later Gerezmanakk). After the victory over Bel, in order to strengthen the state system and his own monarchical power, Hayk began to carry out various reforms. The head of the social estate of farmers (and producers in general) became the eldest son of Hayk Aramanyak, the head of the military estate became his second son Khor, and the head of the priestly estate became the third son Manawaz. Hayk also changed the custom of succession to the throne. The former was through the female line, which he replaced with inheritance through the male line. Hayk proclaimed his eldest son Aramanyak his heir. The institution of two army commanders, due to the dual system of the structure of the ancient tribes, was abolished, and instead of Aramanyak and Kadmos, he entrusted the leadership of the army to his second son Khor. He declared his patron god Hayk the Supreme God, into whose cult the cults of the main deities of other tribes of the union joined. Thanks to this, after the death of Hayk, the cult of him, as a deified ancestor, also became the part of this soldered, renewed cult.