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AS A MIRROR OF THE ARMENIAN ENGLISH SPEAKING WRITER’S BIOGRAPHY – 2013-1

Leon aven Surmelian’s “98.6°”

Summary

Arpi S. Muradyan
The novel of L. Z. Surmelian “98.6°” that we are going to discuss in this article has been published in the USA in 1950, and in Armenian – in 2005, in Yerevan by Aram Arsenyan’s translation. The title implies human body’s normal temperature, and the novel is the artistic reflection of the writer’s illness and the process of his painful treatment of four years.
Practicing literary criticism’s contemporary achievements and making synthetic analysis of some facts of writer’s biography, the author of the article substantiates that despite the absence of Armenian entourage and Armenian characters, the novel is psychological – autobiographical by its genre. The novel’s central character – Irishman Daniel Moore’s prototype is the author himself, who has been in some marginal existential state, but overcame the death threat with stubborn commitment. The novel’s structure, actions, the systems of characters and images performing them, artistic peculiarities are examined with the wide application of thesis of the author’s theoretical work “Techniques of Prose: Measure and Madness”.

ELGIN GROSELCOSE AND HIS “ARARAT” NOVEL – 2013-1

Armenia of the beginning of the 20th century through the eyes of the American writer

Summary

Albert A. Makaryan, Svetlana R. Tumanyan
The present article is devoted to the novel Ararat by Elgin Groseclose, which was published just the week before World War II broke out, and which, as Warren French put it, “provides the best epitaph fr the tarnished age of modern Imperialism”. We have tried to reveal the peculiarities of the seemingly complicated plot, to analyze the author’s intentions in the depictions of the Armenian Genocide and the Russian Revolution, to disclose the symbolic meanings of the biblical mountain and to expose the way to salvation that the author offers the humanity.

HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PECULIARITIES OF THE PROCESS OF ETHNIC CONSOLIDATION OF ARMENIAN PEOPLE – 2013-1

Aleksan H. Hakobyan
The migration paths of Hayk’s descendants on Armenian Upland as described by Movses Khorenatsi vividly remind the routes of the first Biaynian kings who conquered the territory of the future Biaynili (Urartu) kingdom in a few decades. This is a new argument to support the hypothesis of H. Karagyozyan and M. Katvalyan, according to whom the formation of the Armenian ethnos has happened bt ethnoconsolidation-ethnomixation of all the various Indo-European and non-Indo-European tribes that inhabited the kingdom of Urartu-Biaynili (=Armenian Upland), and not by ethnoseperation (immediate separation of Armenian language carriers from the Indo-European language community) or by ethno evolution (which means gradual absorption of other inhabitants of the Urartu kingdom by the small Armenian-speaking tribe). The process of ethno consolidation of Armenian people was a result of ethno integration of multi-tribal Urartu kingdom and was completed in mid-7th century B.C. The later formed Armenian legend about the descendants of Gayk shows that a leading role in this process was played by Biaynians themselves, although the language of the newly formed ethnos (with the self-designation – endonym of Hay- Hayo- Armenians) was an Indo-European one namely, the Armenian language spoken by the relative majority of the population of the multi-tribal Biaynian kingdom. Combined with other evidences in historical sources, this legend also shows that the kingdom of Urartu was not “destroyed” by anyone; rather it continued to exist as ‘Eruandean Armenian Kingdom”, which was conquered only by Achaemenid Iran.

HISTORY AND MEMORY – 2013-1

The problem of hierarchization of genocides according to Pierre Nora

Summary

Smbat Kh. Hovhannisyan
The article is an attempt to analyze in general outline and by some main accents Pierre Nora’s concept about the bill of criminalization of Armenian genocide’s denial in France. On one hand it is considered in the overview of his theory about “memory and history” and on the other hand – in the general overview of theories about history and memory.
It’s notable that P. Nora makes reasonable connections between the idea of freedom and the freedom of history (consequently also historiography), where this principle is very important and perspective. Though, some of his approaches impede the structural discussion concerning memory and commitment. First of all, we mean not only the weakness of his arguments on the bill of criminalization of Armenian genocide’s denial, but also the denial of the genocide as history, moreover, the contrasting of Armenian genocide with Holocaust and the determination of gradation between them, even in the case when Armenians were not only subjected to Genocde in 1915, but also to Patricide (depatriated).

GEOGRAPHICAL DEFINITIONS OF “AZERBAIJAN” – 2012-4

In Turkish ottoman encyclopedic and academic documents and maps

Summary

Karen H. Khanlarian (Tehran)
Historical evidences prove that the authorities of “Ittihad ve taraki” party (Union and Progress) of young Turks in Ottoman Turkey had a distinctive role in the nomination of so called “Azerbaijan” state, established in May 1918. It was by their order that the “Musavat” party named this newly emerged statehood as “Azerbaijan” on the territories where once were existing as “Albania”, “Shirvan” or “Shervan”. The authorities of “Ittihad ve Taraki” along with the “Musavatists” strived for creating a favorable political ground to annex the Azerbaijan province of Iran to this newly created state.

Has any historical land named “Azerbaijan” ever existed on the northern bank of Arax River? Does this falsification have any significant relevance to the historical lands of Azerbaijan of Iran? The panturkist historians have implemented extensive researches in this regard and traditionally have created some criteria based on which they boldly reject the authenticity of the Iranian, Russian, European and Armenian historical sources, calling them “fake”, “false” or “with bias

The main purpose of this paper is to reveal the geographical concept of “Azerbaijan” based on the Turkish ottoman encyclopedic and academic documents and maps.

The facts mentioned in this paper prove that based on the official maps and encyclopedic and academic documents, published materials and textbooks in Turkish ottoman empire, the geographical territories where the so called “Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan” state was created were existing as “Shirvan” or “Shervan” starting from the 16th century until May 1918. And Azerbaijan (Aturpatakan or Atropatena) was part of territory of Iran, as an Iranian province on the southern bank of Arax River.

Hence, without doubt we can conclude that the concept of “Azerbaijan Republic” is a geographically and politically fake phenomenon

ETYMOLOGY OF ETHNIC NAMES AND TOPONYMS OF THE ARMENIAN HIGHLAND – 2012-4

An attempt to examine North-western part and boundary lines

Summary

Armen H. Gharagyozyan
Owing to the observations of the Armenian plateau’s ethno-geographic environment, it is confirmed that Achaemenid Empire’s XVIII satrapy was formed with Tchorokh basin from the beginning of the VI century. The etymology of ethnic names of the tribes inhabiting that territory indicates their Indo-European – Armenian descent. Though, in the first half of the II century it was obvious that Tchorokh basin was populated by Armenians.

As a result of Armenian plateau’s ethno-geographic observation it was discovered that the provisional name of the lake Van was Aghi tsov, which meaned the Sea of Sun or God Sun’s sea. The same meaning is conspicuous also in the name Aghtamar and is derived from the provisional version Alde of mythological name Halde.

The lake Urmia was perceived through its color characteristics as blue, clear sky or heavenly plait, celestial gift and vivifying song, as well as the name Sevan of the lake-name Geghama tsov.

COURSES OF THE RESOLUTION ”ON THE POLITICAL SOLUTION TO THE ARMENIAN QUESTION” – 2012-4

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of European Parliament’s decision on June 18, 1987

Summary

Armen Ts. Maruqyan
The official international organizations’ assessments of the crime have a great importance for the Armenian Genocide international recognition. The cases of the resolution “concerning the issue of the Armenian question” which have been adopted as a result of discussions in European council in 1980 are very significant in this regard. The adopted resolution concerning Armenian Genocide was the result of the unsystematic and desperate struggle of the Armenian diaspora’s different structures and certain individuals.

Under the circumstances of independent statehood, when Armenia is an international entity, full member of UNO and European Council, the previous discussions about the Armenian Genocide recognition and the adopted resolution should be used as precedent by the Armenian diplomacy to raise the question of the Armenian Genocide condemnation and its consequences’ overcoming in other international structures.

EDWARD MIRZOYAN. MAN AND WORK – 2012-4

In living memory of the great composer and a unique person

Summary

Lilit. K. Yepremyan
The article is an attempt to newly reconsider the role and the meaning of Edward Mirzoyan in the history of the Armenian music. Here we’ve underlined that he was always finding some extraordinary ways to get beyond the bounds of determinations (form, style, genre, tendency) combining the incompatible and creating new and original quality, which was becoming regularity for the generations. Some particular attention is paid also to the original world-view of Edward Mirzoyan during the formation of the movement of “sixties”. The universality of Komitas became the main and principal tradition of his art, which was also reflected for the first time in Armenian symphonic music.

NEW LITHOGRAPHES ON WEIGHT “LITRE” – 2012-4

Summary

Arsen E. Harutyunyan
This article presents certain evidence from newly-found inscriptions about “liter” weight measure in the medieval Armenia. The given weight measure was mentioned in the newly-found dedicatory inscriptions of St. Hripsime and St. Shoghakat churches, where the pasture donated products (salt, rice, candle etc.) to be commemorated in the liturgies. The article also contains a short overview of the works of several scholars (Schirakaci A., Manandyan H., Vardanyan R.), who studied Armenian measuring system as well as relative counts concerning liter. The work also includes description of the weight stones, found during archaelogical excavations, and proving that liter was used in Armenia. According to R. Vardanyan, it was equal to 320,4 grams (according to Dvin materials) or 320 grams (according to Ani materials). There are examples from annalistic sources, particularly from memoranda and chronicles, where liters represent today’s kilos. Thus, the existence of liter in the weight system of the medieval Armenian inscriptions contributes to our knowledge of this measure of weight.