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THE WRITER AND MINIATURIST YEREMIA OSHAKANTSI AND HIS EPITAPH – 2014-3

Summary

Arsen E. Harutyunyan

The writer and miniaturist of the 18th century Yeremia archbishop Oshakantsi is buried in the monastic cemetery of St. Echmiatsin. His prolific activity was particularly remarkable during the reign of the Catholicos Simeon Yerevantsi (1763-1780), as it is also evidenced by the epitaph.

Some manuscripts painted by him are kept in the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts “Matenadaran” (N 1056, 1817, 2646, 2891, 2892, 10677). These were studied by art specialist A. Gevorgyan. The miniatures of Yeremia Oshakantsi are especially distinguished by their painting peculiarities: here the bright colors and gold are predominant.

The data about Yeremia Oshakantsi is preserved in the publications of Maghakia archbishop Ormanyan and Gyut senior priest Aghanyants. The epitaph, which is represented in this article, accomplishes and verifies the existing facts about his life and manuscript activity.

NIKOL AGHBALYAN AS ARMENOLOGIST – 2014-3

Linguistic reflections of the eminent critic

Summary

Vardan Z. Petrosyan

N. Aghbalyan is known to the Armenian community as a famous critic, public and state figure. This article is the first attempt to identify Aghbalyan as armenologist-linguist. There are two main directions in his linguistic heritage that stand out – questions about theory and the etymology of the Armenian language. If in the first direction he is adjacent the theory of Ghapantsyan about the Armenian language being bilayer, in the matter of language-specific material, i.e. – separate theoretical excitations and lexical analysis, he is very independent and original. Especially the works of his second direction are characterized by special insight of thought and academic scientific content, which is very typical for the diversified written heritage of Aghbalyan thinker. His armenological observations would bring honor to any famous Armenian linguist.

THE MYTH OF MHER ACCORDING LEVON KHECHOYAN’S NOVEL “THE BOOK OF MHER’S DOOR” – 2014-3

(Solution or impasse)

Summary

Sergey N. Sarinyan

The article is an attempt of textual analysis of Levon Khechoyan’s novel “The Book of Mher’s Door”. By genre it can be called a novel-apocrypha with a complicated structure both in form and content.

Comparing the canonized version of the epos with the one hundred and fifty versions of the Armenian Epos, Khechoyan gives a new interpretation to the mythologism of Mher and Agravakar trying to reveal the cosmogonic beginning of the Armenian Epos. According to the scientific hypothesis, the universe came into existence and developed in the result of the Big Bang, and the Earth being a celestial body, can also be renovated through the Big Bang just by pressing the button of the atomic bomb.

It is for this bang that waits Mher in the Agravakar claiming he will come out of the cave when “the wheat grain is the size of a dog-rose”.

According to Khechoyan, the cosmic reason has its origins in the Armenian Plateau, and just then the epos “Sasna Tsrer” was created which can be called a pro-epic by its world importance.

In the novel “The Book of Mher’s Door”, the epos is viewed as a transformation of contemporaneity just the way the modern-day Armenian being is seen as a transformation of the epic. As a historical and cultural phenomenon the epic “The Sasna Tsrer” reflects the philosophy of the Armenian history which continues today and goes to the future.

THE REBELLION OF ARARAT IN 1926-1930 – 2014-3

In the context of the cooperation of AR Federation and Khoyboun and regional developments

Summary

Aram S. Sayiyan

So far unknown pages of the cooperation among AR Federation and Khoyboun in the period of Ararat rebellion in 1926-1930, which was Kurdish people’s national liberation struggle, are discussed in this article based on newly discovered archival records and the handling of the materials. We have shown AR Federation’s comprehensive political, organizational and ideological support to the Kurdish movement, which secured its spread and success from 1927 to mid-summer 1930. The article unlocks the secret agreements among Ar Federation’s eminent figure Ruben (M. Ter-Minasyan) who has arrived to Teheran in 1929 and Iran’s court minister Temurtash, strengthening Armenian-Kurdish military cooperation and securing the Iranian authorities’ support.

Denying unfounded hypotheses spread by the Soviet historiography, the author of the article proves that it was not the Turkish army’s role that was decisive in the defeat of Ararat rebellion, but the Soviet Union’s support to Kemalist Turkey. Soviet Union’s overt political blackmail against Iran in August 1930 broke Reza Shah’s insistence and led to the termination of assistance to the rebels by small Ararat’s pathways.

THE RELEVANCE OF TRADITION – 2014-3

Basic elements of Hans-Georg Gadamer’s” universal hermeneutics” concept

Summary

Achot V. Voskanian

In his “Truth and Method” H.-G. Gadamer contra posed the concept of “universal hermeneutics” against the analytic methods prevailing in the humanities during the sixties of the last century. This paper is an attempt to present the basic elements of this concept in a systematic way. Special attention is paid to the notion of “Bildung” (the German for “education as a formation”). For Gadamer “Bildung” is first of all a formation, in which the result and the process are combined. It is not confined to the external goal of a simple knowledge transfer, since the formation of an individual passing the path to knowledge is itself the main goal. Since the implementation of the Humboldian concept of “Bildung” in the University of Berlin the classic education in humanities was seen as a universal value. Contemporary debates about the nature of university education (the paper considers the views of J. Habermas, M. Naumann, Jean-François Lyotard, on that matter) show the relevance of controversy, as reflected in the title of the main book of H.-G.Gadamer.

JOURNALIST AND INNER ADDRESSEE IN ARMENIAN MEDIA TEXTS – 2014-2

Summary

David V. Petrosyan

The presence of the inner addressee in relations between the journalist and the addressee is usually ignored by researchers. Especially in analytical and journalistic materials the dialogue of the author with the inner addressee adds notable nuances to the text. By means of the inner addressee the author gets the possibility to cleave its intellectual-spiritual world, enter some polyphony in the process of submitting of his own ideas and intentions. The inner addressee can be considered as microshape of the audience. Indeed, thanks to him the text within itself becomes a kind of meeting place for the author-journalist and author-audience and thus provides the meeting of the author with external audience.

AN UNSIGNED WORK UNDER THE SEAL OF LER KAMSAR – 2014-2

Song of satirist between two spellings

Summary

Haroutiun L. Kurkjian

The article presents and identifies a writing published in the early twenties’ soviet-armenian press, as belonging to the talentuous underground satiric author Ler Gamsar. Persecuted, exiled and very soon condemned to silence, Ler Gamsar has somehow, in this satiric page, managed to express his disapproval about the ‘Abeghian’ orthograph reformation imposed to the Armenian language by a soviet governmental decree.

The ‘fatherhood’ of the writing is confirmed by comparison with other preserved samizdat pages of Ler Gamsar, regarding their contents and the humoristic/satiric language tools typical for him.

HOVHANNES  ODZNECI, THE EDITOR OF ARMENIAN “CANON BOOK” – 2014-2

Summary

Garnik A. Harurtunyan

In this article we turn to a brief examination of the Catholicos Hovhannes Odznetci’s (717-728) activity while the process of creating the Armenian Canon Book. The 32 canons added to the Canon Book concern different aspects of social life, as well as the hey presume ‘handling’ of various ritual issues and questions related to teaching principles that could have arisen through the centuries of the Armenian Church History. Beside composing the Armenian Canon Book, Hahvannes Odznetci compuled within one miscellany canon groups of independent and translation character. Each canon group has a list and preface written in front of it. One may learn about all this information in the author’s Colophon. We have also examined the characteristic features of manuscript groups of the miscellany Armenian Canon Book which have come down to our days through more than 200 manuscripts.

 

ISLAMIZATION AS EXPERIENCE AND DISAPPEARANCE – 2014-2

Summary

Ishkhan G. Chiftchyan

Forced Islamization of the Armenians before and during the Genocide led to two main results: on the one hand, physically survived generation changed religion and national identity, and now, after 100 years, it is on the lookout, searching for ways to return and to self-determination. On the other hand, it lost itself in this experience and disappeared being deprived of religious and national identity. There have been temporary and voluntary Islamizations that made possible to return to their original identity after some time. Any largescale study concerning the problems of Islamized Armenians on the territory of Turkey and beyond it has not been carried out, which makes the present attempts quite complicated. Even the descendants of the victims had great difficulty trying to address the issues of the existence of Islamized Armenians. Meanwhile, the total delay still harms the common cause.

BYZANTINE ANONYMOUS FOLLES STRUCK FROM 969 TO 1092 AND THEIR CIRCULATION IN ARMENIA – 2014-2

Summary

Hasmik S. Hovhannisyan

An irregular group of copper coins (follis) was struck in Buzantine Empire between 969 and 1092. They are known in scientific literature as “Anonymous Folles”, on which the image and the name of the emperor were replaced by the busy of Jesus Christ. The obverses of all Anonymous Folles depict Christ and the reverses have Greek legend, different types of crosses or Virgin orans effigy.

The series started during the reign of John Zemisces (969-975) and continued until the monetaryreform of Alexius I (1081-1118), in 1092. Simultaneously with the anonymous types, Constantine X (1056-1067) restarted the minting of folles that bear the image of the emperor.

Since the 19th century, the Anonymous Folles have been in the limelight of numismatists, who offered various modifications to its attribution and chronology. Their classification, chronology and the role in the economic life have been a subject of disputes among researchers up to present.

The Anonymous Folles are iconographically divided into classes in alphabetical sequence. The chronology of these classes has been difficult to establish. The research is partly based on overstruck coins in order to attribute each class to a particular emperor. Many Anonymous Folles were overstruck on older coins that were withdrawn from circulation, which helps to establish the chronological sequence of classes.

The copper coins of the Byzantine Empire were widespread in Armenia, the proof of which are the large amount of the folles found during archeological excavations and accidental finds. They contain precise data on the geography of the findings and their archeological milieu.

Anonymous Folles were in wide circulation in Armenia for a long time. Although the minting of these coins was stopped in Byzantium, their circulation continued in Armenia; event at the time when it was under Seljuk authority. These coins are a reliable source and rich material for the research on the economic, political, cultural and other spheres of that period.