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TREASURES OF CILICIAN BOOK ILLUMINATION – 2009-3

The Illustrations of The Gospel No. 9422 of Mashtots Matenadaran

Satenik L. Chookaszian
The 13th century miniature of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia is representing the most splendid period. The artistic phenomena that Toros Roslin brought to Armenian miniature were revealed in the oeuvre of his pupils and successors. This article is dedicated to the ornamentations of the Gospel No. 9422 of Mashtots Matenadaran. The manuscript was illustrated by the joint efforts of his successors. The manuscript’s story is not a simple one. The colophons have been lost but judging by the splendour of miniatures the donator was a rich person. The manuscript includes two canon tables of the Epistle of Eusebius to Carpianus, the ten canon tables concordance, four portraits of the Evangelists, corresponding title pages and six miniatures from Christ’s life.

Complex and graceful structure is typical for the miniatures of this manuscript. It is evident that they were painted by a mature artist. Any of the canon tables is a fine and wonderful work of art. The decoration of the canons reveals the scrupulous drafting of details, and we can see the artist’s amazing play of imagination in creation of the decorative texture. Stylized features of prophets, saints and the Virgin appear in the capitals and pedestals of canon columns. In the frontal decoration of canon tables we can see a combination of animal and human heads with twisted stalks, turning into a flowery ornament.

Undoubtedly, this wonderful manuscript is one of the masterpieces of Cilician miniature of the post-Roslin period, and illustration of the Gospel No 9422 is one of the splendid pages of Armenian medieval art.

ARARAT AND ANI IN THE IDEOLOGICAL SPHERES OF ABOVYAN – 2009-3

Summary

Vardan G. Devrikyan
In 1829 the ascent to summit of Mount Ararat with Professor Parrot had a radical impact upon the national-public and literary thinking of Khachatur Abovyan, because since the medieval times there had been a traditional prohibition of the ascent to summit of Mount Ararat upon which rested Noah’s Ark.

Similarly, since the Middle Ages Ani had been considered to be destroyed because of the curse and there was a superstition that it was impossible to live in Ani. Contrary to such a mood Abovyan in “The Wounds of Armenia” settled his principal hero Aghasi together with his friends in Ani putting forward the restoration plan of Ani as the Armenian statehood.

The article deals with the national-political and spiritual-cultural role attributed by Abovyan to Ani. This plan of Abovyan is considered parallel to the works and expressed ideas in the Armenian literature and public thought in his time and during next decades.

THE PROBLEM OF CIVILIZATION HOMEOSTASIS IN GREAT ARMENIA – 2009-3

Part 1. The Intracommunal Homeostasis. Artaxias I

Summary

Albert A. Stepanyan
The paper looks at the civilizational interpretation of one of the crucial epoques of ancient Armenia. It begins with a brief survey of the term “civilization” in modern humanities. Among the main features of this approach the homeostasis has been taken into consideration.

Two varieties of homeostasis are basic for my discussion – intra/ and extra-social. The first of them made the meaning of reforms of Artaxias I – the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty in Armenia. They embraced a large scope of social stratum including cadastre and administrative system, trade and religious beliefs, culture and army etc. All of them looked at the end of rationalization of social stratum of Great Armenia by overpowering traditional (tribal and dynastic) structures. King Artaxias was successful in his innovation program. Owing to them Armenia could keep step with the developed states of the time.

ON THE FATE OF THE WESTERN ARMENIAN MODERN LITERATURE – 2009-3

Summary

Suren D. Danielyan
Western Armenian modern literature has a certain peculiarity of development – isolated character. Since its formation it has struggled for existence, on one hand, in relation to the Soviet Armenian literary socialist approaches and on the other hand trying to establish itself in foreign environment under alien influences and external different blows. In this work special attention is paid to the old and new approaches to this literature, assessments of the classical period, as well as Diaspora Armenian and Soviet Armenian estimations (V.Teryan, L.Shant, Sh.Sahnur, M.Teoleolyan, P.Sevak, Hr.Matevosyan, Er.Azatyan and others). The author alarms for the Western Armenian literary-cultural decline and puts forward proposals in the direction of restoration of the unity of the divided national literature.

SHAMAKHI AND THE SHAMAKHI’S ARMENIANS (from ancient times up to the end of the 20th century) – 2009-3

Summary

Gevorg S. Stepanyan
Since immemorial times the oldest city of Eastern Transcaucasia Shamakhi had been inhabited by Armenians, according to rich bibliographic and archive materials. A part of them considered it to be their native land. Local Armenians had as unified, social-economic and spiritual-cultural active life full of high level creative and scientificcultural work, as well as played significant role in the region’s development. Armenians presented an enlightened and viable element in the backward environment of the alien Turkic speaking population.

Frequent catastrophic earthquakes had negative impact on the natural growth of the Armenian population of Shamakhi. As a result of a destructive earthquake (May, 1859) in Shamakhi the provincial central administration was removed to Baku, thus Shamakhi lost gradually its former glory. The Armenians of Shamakhi suffered hard period especially in 1918. During their aggression against Baku the Turkish troops occupied Shamakhi (July 20) and massacred, forcibly Islamized and deproted the Armenian population of the city.The policy of repressions, deportations and ethnic cleansing commited against Armenians had been continued in the years of Musavatist Azerbaijan and the Soviet power, which followed the latter. In 1989 as a result of deportation Shamakhi was finally deprived of its Armenian population.

THE NATIONAL INNOVATION SYSTEM – 2009-2

In the context of the development challenges

Summary

Atom Sh. Margaryan
The problems of formation and development of the national system of innovation–one of the basic elements of modernization and development of the independent Republic of Armenia’s economy areanalyzed in this article. The author considers the role and significance of the scientific and technological spheres in contemporary conditions and, as a whole, in the light of the problems of the development of the world economy. It is noted that,the only possibility for the economy’s reconstruction and hightening the level of competitivness of the Republic of Armenia, which is in a great need of mineral and energy resources, is connected with substantial development of science and technology. For the solution of this problem, it is necessary to transfer economy to the newly introduced regime by the formation of the national newly established system, which is an organically integrated entity of science, technology and economy. It has the ability to create modern high technologies, new competitive commodities and services, which will guarantee the high level of the society’s welfare and development.

HISTORIC-LEGAL CONSEQUENCES OF THE TRIAL OF YOUNG TURKS – 2009-2

In the context of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide 

Armen Ts. Marukyan
Despite all obvious deficiencies onesidedness and artificial mistakes commited at the trial of the Young Turks by the Turkish justice, it has had not only historic, but also very important legal and political significance for the historic-legal substantion of the fact of the Armenian Genocide. The Turkish Military tribunal found guilty the high officials also in the mass killings of Armenains. The proof of such a charge in the Turkish court meant indirect recognition of the Armenian Genocide by modern Turkey. Later, probably, as a result of it, the Kemalists tried to neutralize the decisions of the Military tribunals. From this point of view, it seems that at the present there is a need to internationalize the decisions of the Military tribunals, i.e. it is necessary to undertake the investigation of that lawsuit on the basis of available documents in the International court with a new condemnation againts the Turkish state-that it has been guilty in committing the Armenian Genocide.

THE STANDARD-BEARER OF THE WESTERN ARMENIAN PRESS – 2009-2

On the 100th anniversary of the newspaper “Azatamart” published in Constantinople

Mariam V. Hovepyan
During the years of its publication (1909-1915), the official newspaper of the Western Bureau of the ARF, “Azatamart, being the speaker of the party published also articles of the Armenian progressive society’s representatives. Thus “Azatamart” was not a narrow-party newspaper. It guaranteed publication of different opinions. From this point of view it was the most open newpaper in the reality of Western Armenia. “Azatamart”, compared with other Armenian newspapers at the beginning of the 20th century, was unsurpassed because of its rich materials and the methods of presenting opinions. “Azatamart”” taught many newspapers of that time and of the following decades the lessons of journalistic mastership and national solidarity.

THE RESEARCH OF HAKOB PARONYAN’S WORK: AN OUTLINE OF THE METHODOLOGY – 2009-2

Aram G. Alexanyan
The research of Hokob Paronyan’s work has passed a long way: articles and monographs were published, but his Weltanshahuung has not become the object of research. In reality, many contradicting, fleeting opinions had been expressed, but not a single systematized analysis has been done. Researchers were satisfied with innumeration of mentioning the authors’ names whose works had been read by Paronyan. Thus cognitive roots of the atirist’s philosophy have remained out of the scope of their research.

The author of the articles tresses that,the philosophy of Paronyan becomes certain mainly on the basis of the antique moral philosophy. Consenquently, his philosophy of life becomes important basically in the context of the necessity of the moral philosophy’s research. Such a methodology of research also gives a chance to reconsider anachronic, impolite formulation and characteristics given to the works of the satirist in the Soviet, vulgar sociologic literature.

GENEALOGY OF THE ZAVARYAN-ZAVRIEVS – 2009-2

The branches of the Armenian nobility of Northern Lori (Somkhety)

Sergey K. Zavirev, Sonya S. Mirzoyan
The Zavaryan-Zavriev family originated from the nobility-aznavurs of Northern Lori (Somkhety). During different administrative systems it was mentioned under the names Zavarashvili, Zavarishvili, Zavrashvili, Zavrov, Zavarov, Ab-Zavaradze, Abrozavrov etc. In spite of the Georgian and later Russian endings of the family name, they, unlike Georgian nobles,were the nobles of the “Armenian law”, i.e. the Armenians belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Beginning from 1655, the time of the King of Kartl, Rostom, the rights of the Zavarashvili-Zavarishvili over urban settlement Gilaghdagh or Giligdak (Gaili gyaduk) and surrounding villages were repeatedly recognized by the rulers of Georgia.

The Zavarashvilis were recognized as a noble family of the Russian Empire by the Georgievsk Tractate (1783), too. They were mentioned under No 48th in the list of noble families of the Tractate.Before that, starting from the 1730s, during the devastating invasions of the Lezgins,thisfamilyofaznavursofnorthernLoribegantoleavetheirnativelandgradually,consequentlyitbranchedout.ThisArmenianfamilywasdividedintothebranchesof Malorosi or Ukrainian, Kakhetian or Sghnakh, Tbilssian and a little while later – Odzun Aigehatianor Armenia’s.

The Tbilssian Abo-Zavradze-Zavriev-Zavriyans branch of the family gave several political, military, cultural and scientific figures to the Armenian people. One of the founders of the ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) Simon Zavaryan was a representative of the fourth generation of the Odzun Aigehatianor Armenia’s Zavarov-Zavaryans branch rooted deeply in the native land.