Monthly Archives: September 2013

THE MISTERY OF THE FALL OF SHAHUMYAN – 2013-3

By the light of new facts and evidences

Summary

Lusine M. Sargsyan
During the last two decades the question of the loss of Shahumyan region is was always timely, so many articles have been written, books have been published, there were many opinions expressed. By this article the new facts and evidences are presented, which concern the loss of Shahumyan and have been found out after the war of Nagorno-Karabakh with the help of the Armenian and Azeri participants of the struggle. The coinciding confessions of the participants from two sides prove and discover the real reasons of the suppressions of Armenians from the northern parts of Nagorno-Karabakh.

THE ISLAMIC MERCENARIES IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH WAR – 2013-3

Summary

Gayane Kh. Chobanyan
Soon after its independence Azerbaijan changed its foreign policy course towards the Islamic world. Making religious accents in Nagorno-Karabakh war Azerbaijani government was trying to get military aid from Muslim countries and Islamic terrorist organizations. In 1991-1994 mercenaries who were enlisted in different countries especially from Afganistan, Pakistan, Chechnya, Turkey and Iran, fought on the side of Azerbaijanis in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani authorities still deny the involvement of mojahideen in the military actions, but it is a proved fact, which is based on the bodies of killed people during the war, the religious literature, documents in their traditional languages, and other proves found by the defense forces of Nagorno-Karabakh. After the war the majority of the mojahideen left Karabakh front and were involved in other regional conflicts where they used the experience from Nagorno-Karabakh war. The territory of Azerbaijan had been often used to supply weapons, financial, material and other means and fighters to Chechnya and Dagestan. The other part of mojahideen that stayed in Azerbaijan influenced on establishment of radical Islam structures and branches of international Islamic terrorist organizations, wհich used the territory of Azerbaijan as a strong hold of terrorist network.

THE UNKNOWN NAZAR THE BRAVE – 2013-3

Based on H. Tumanyan’s tale of the same name

Summary

Sergey A. Aghajanyan
The article is an attempt to interpret newly the famous tale of H. Tumanyan «Nazar the Brave». To make the differences between the new interpretation and the one formed during the past decades as clear as possible, the author referred in details to the all fragments of the tale. The new analysis of the work has been done with the combination of methodological, as well as literary and culturological approaches. The research has several axes: the protagonist – Nazar, his co-existential environment and the nature of interrelations of these two. In the end of the article you will find the clarifications concerning the nature and reasons of unacceptable approaches in the analyses of the tale “Nazar the Brave”.

ARMENIAN LIBERATION STRUGGLE AND SELF-DEFENSIVE BATTLES IN THE SONGS OF THE ASHUG JIVANI – 2013-3

Summary

Tovmas G. Poghosyan
Jivani refers to the questions concerning the liberation of the Armenian people not only in allegoric form typical for the ashug poetry, for example as the famous song which begins with the words “The unlucky days…”, but he also wrote a series of works dedicated to the heroes of liberation struggle in the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th century and Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Transcaucasia in 1905-1906.,

The above-mentioned works’ structure is based on national-political generalizations expressed in poetical compositions. Conditioned by this circumstance, Jivani’s works have on one hand important literary-social meaning and on the other hand, they have some value of documents and historical primary sources put in poetical form, as they have some information about events and social figures of that time.

Jivani refers to the questions concerning the liberation of the Armenian people not only in allegoric form typical for the ashug poetry, for example as the famous song which begins with the words “The unlucky days…”, but he also wrote a series of works dedicated to the heroes of liberation struggle in the end of the 19th beginning of the 20th century and Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict in Transcaucasia.

THE MEETINGS OF THE GREATS – 2013-3

Part I: the warm friendship of Simon Zavaryan and Hovhannes Tumanyan

Summary

Susanna G. Hovhannisyan
The social activity of the great persons – Simon Zavaryan and Hovhannes Tumanyan is one of the interesting pages of the Armenian political thought of the beginning of the 20th century. The meetings and cooperation of these two famous persons are connected to the activity of AR Federation, which was the primary force in the Armenian liberation war, as well as to the different spheres of the Armenian life activity. They were gathered with the idea of the survival and freedom of the Armenian people.

The social, national, educational and other projects of Zavaryan and Tumanyan had just one goal – to develop the social life and people in general. Nevertheless, that period full of political mess and disorder left all their projects undone.

Despite the different characters, they were holding the same views concerning the development of the national literature, the role of woman, patriotism, culture and so on. But they were in variance in the questions of foreign policy, especially in the question of Russia’s policy.

Zavaryan and Tumanyan have almost always been on the same side of the barricade, they’ve been together in the same political group – «Young Armenia», in the same party – AR Federation. They have given lectures in the youthful secret organization called “Tsiatsan” (Rainbow), which purposed to introduce the Armenian literature and history to the people contributing in that way to the rise of the national self-consciousness and freedom-loving ideas. They have also run the risk together during the Armenian-Tatar conflict in 1905-1906.

Despite the differences and common things in approaches of Zavaryan and Tumanyan, they are very timely even now. Their researches and publicistic articles, numerous ideas and the whole life that they lived are original and necessary lectures for every Armenian public figure at all times.

THE IMAGES OF THREE-HEADED CREATURES IN KING HETOUM 2nd’S LECTIONARY – 2013-3

Summary

Emma L. Chookaszian
The art of middle ages is all about dualism. This art is consisted of symbols and elements that have passed a long way of evolution until they became the way we see them in the works of art. The whole dualistic spirit of medieval times is seen in the three headed creatures which can be found in some artworks of the period.

This article contains the study of the images of three-headed creatures in a 13th century manuscript of Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which is the Lectionary commissioned by King Hetoum 2nd (Yerevan,Matenadaran collection, No. 979). This is one of the most luxurious and mysterious Armenian manuscripts the examination of which is going to take several stages: theological, iconographical and historical. First of all we have gone through the years of art history and have tried to find the origins of three-headed creatures and the meaning of these specific symbols. Taking into consideration that this manuscript is a Lectionary, the next step was to find the connection of the liturgical texts with the images decorating them. Each of these liturgical texts corresponds to one of the Armenian religious feasts, so our duty was to find the explanation and the meaning of those feasts to be able to get the bridges between the three-headed creatures and the title pages decorated with them. Our study was made with the help of the texts of medieval theologians Thomas Aquinas and Otto of Bamberg who have given the complete explanations of significance of the scenes and feasts that we are interested in. The final observations have revealed that three-headed creatures in King Hetoum 2nd’s Lectionary have the sacrament of fertility and the Saint Trinity that are accomplishing the idea of the feasts to which the title pages of the manuscript are dedicated.

THE «CHILDREN OF FAITH» AND THE «PERFECT PHILOSOPHER» ACCORDING TO DAVID THE INVINCIBLE – 2013-3

Summary

Armine M. Melkonyan
Philosopher David the Invincible in his Encomium on the Theoleptic Holy Cross calls the “holy and perfect children of faith” for adoration of the Cross of God. The word “child” (manuk) , which is a technical term specifying a group of people with certain properties, was used in theological texts to describe the clergymen as well as secular Christians. The “godlike philosopher”, who is defined as holy and perfect in the Definitions of Philosophy by David, is very similar with the concept of “children of faith”. Some other general ideas and expressions are indicated in the Encomium and the Definitions, written in the light of neo-platonic philosophy.

In the article the question of the authenticity of the Encomium is touched upon, accepting the testimonies of the medieval sources due to which the Encomium on the Holy Cross was created by the philosopher David the Invincible, the same author who wrote the Definitions and other philosophical works.

THE ETHNIC BIAS IN DIRAN CHRAKIAN’S (INTRA) FIGURATIVE THINKING SYSTEM – 2013-3

Summary

Petros H. Demirchyan
Diran Chrakian (Intra) is one of the most individualistic and, at the same time, most mysterious figures in Armenian literature whose life and creative activities from the outset were exposed to highly controversial, even extreme estimates.

His exceptional talent and literary activity, especially “Nerashkharh” (inner world) analytical-philosophical essay and “Nojastan” (cypress-groove) collection of poems, were appreciated by many great literary figures such as Vahan Tekeyan, Arshak Chopanyan and others, but no fewer were his opponents and criticizers.

Even some of his most serious critics used to blame him mainly for keeping away from all-national concerns and for advocating abstract and false values.

Yet, not only does full knowledge of Intra’s multidimensional literary works, published in both Homeland and the Diaspora – scattered through the media of that time – refute this view, but it also helps reveal the ethnic foundations of his creative thinking, a few manifestations of which are highlighted in this article, in addition to “Nerashkharh” (inner world) and, in particular, “Torosen Antsk” (passage of Taurus) diary and “R. H. Perperyan: the literate” in-depth analysis, as well as his views on ethnic language-building issues and other writings.

THE NOTIONS ABOUT REVENGE IN ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND AND HAMLET – 2013-3

Summary

Aram S. Topchyan
In Shakespeare’s time, the late Renaissance, among other traditional notions blood vengeance was also thoroughly reconsidered. The so-called ‘revenge tragedy’ became an important genre in English theatre. This or that dramatic character, being faced with the obligation of revenge, dealt with it in a specific way, becoming a determined avenger, a tolerant stoic or a pious believer who relies on divine justice. Shakespeare totally transformed the genre: in Hamlet, the vengeance has acquired a much deeper and contradictory meaning, and any one-sided characterization of the play’s protagonist would be unconvincing.

EVANGELIZATION OF VIRK – 2013-3

Armenian side

Summary

Hamlet K. Davtyan
The article is devoted to the Christianity of Virk. In spite of the undeniable proofs that this significant event had happened parallel to the Christianity of Mets Hayk and by the efforts of Grigor Partev’s delegates, planned studies are printed in the recent decades through which an attempt is made to review and comment on historical facts by modern events. Of course this is not the way by which it is necessary to go. The fact of the contribution of one nation’s representatives to the national and cultural life of another nation deserves only deep respect.