By: Avetis Harutyunyan PhD of History, Professor at the ASPU Chair of Armenian History, avharutunyan@mail.ru

Petros bey Gapamajyan was one of the wealthy and distinguished merchants thanks to whom trade largely developed in Van and affiliates of trading companies were opened in villages and regions. Along with trading activities, P. Gapamajyan was also a successful in administrative field and became one of the best mayors of the city of Van. But on the evening of December 23, 1912, 72-year-old mayor Petros Gapamajyan was killed. The incident was very shocking for the population of Van, because P. Gapamajyan was a very influential man and had an active participation in the administrative and social affairs of the city.
There are two approaches in the press of that time in regard to P. Gapamajyan’s murder: a) that he was killed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (henceforth – ARF - Dashnaktsutyun) by the order of Aram and Ishkhan; and b) the authorities had killed him in order to seize the mayor's position.
The secret of P. Gapamajyan’s murder was left undisclosed. In the face of P. Gapamajyan Van-Vaspurakan lost a distinguished mayor who had played an outstanding role in improving the system of education and economy of Van-Vaspurakan. After the attack on P. Gapamajyan several other new murders were committed in the province of Van. Such activity disunited the people and they were not able to organize their self-defense.

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By: Ruben Sahakyan Institute of History, NAS RA
Rostom Sargsyan Educational center of police of RA

Like in other languages, where the term «police» originates from the word «city», in Armenian also vostikan is formed from vostan «capital city, royal city». With this is conditioned the inseparable connection of the police and the city and city life. Hence, the leading police educational centres were operating in the cities, particularly in the capital cities.
About 2800 years old Yerevan has a hundred years' tradition of training policemen. This is fully supported by the archival materials of the First Republic of Armenia. Soon after the declaration of independence in May 28, 1918 was established the Interior Ministry, which included also the police. The government does its best to secure this office with own personnel, thus in July 9, 1919 were organized the «Judicial-legal courses». Here it was taught to give military orders in mother tongue. The goal of the courses was to teach the policemen laws, introduce them to there rights and obligations.
In Soviet Armenia were also made some steps, but they were directed on the «releasing the police of untrustful and socially unrelated elements». In the USSR the police was «purified» twice, in 1922-1923 and 1929-1930. It should be mentioned that in some cases the leadership of Soviet Armenia, especially in 1920s, makes more strict decisions, sometimes contradicting the instructions of Moscow. Was fealt the desire of the so-called «revolutionary» spirit and fundamental changes.
The higher school of the Interior ministry and National Security ministry of RA was reorganized into the higher educational institution on the base of the former higher courses of the Soviet Interior ministry (1990-1991) and the secondary professional police school of the same ministry (1966-1990); in 1991-1995 it had functioned as the higher school of officers of the Interior ministry of RA, and from September 26, 1995, according to the decision of the Prime-minister of RA, the higher school of police of the Interior ministry of RA and the higher school of officers of the interior forces were attached to the higher school of the Interior ministry of RA; in 1996, in connection with the needs to prepare specialists for the realization of the criminal detentions and the establishment of departments of the officers of interior forces this institution was renamed as the higher school of the Interior ministry of RA. By the decision of the government in July 16, 1993 the military-applied college after king Varazdat was taken from the department of physical culture, sports and youth oft he Government and put under the authority of the Interior ministry. In August 18, 2000 the educational institution was renamed as the Academy of the Interior ministry of RA, and in April 28, 2011 - Educational center of police of RA. In 2013 to the Educational center was given the museum of police. From March 25, 2016 by the order of the director of the Educational center was established «Stronghold of Law», a scientific-methodological journal where are publishing articles dealing with the field of jurisprudence on three languages (Armenian, Russian and English).

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By: Mariam Khanzadyan Institute of Oriental Studies NAS RA

The article is an attempt to bring together historical data regarding the genealogy of Zabel, queen of Armenian Cilician kingdom (1226-1252), particularly her maternal lineage. Generally the sources refer to Zabel’s mother as the representative of the Royal dynasty of Cyprus. But some interesting facts in the genealogy of the latter point to the existence of both Armenian-Byzantine and Armenian-French lineages.
The statement consists of 4 parts:

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By: Ruben Safrastyan Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA

The problem of the role of Armenians in the process of the political modernization of the Ottoman empire during the reforms of Tanzimat (1830-1870s) yet has not been a subject of special complex study. The common view which circulates among Osmanists and Armenologists which considers them as «subjects» of reformatory activities is a result of predominantly empiric approach with using quite limited facts and does not take into account essential peculiarities of the functioning of the complicated structure - the multi-religious and multi-ethnic Ottoman society of the period of intense formative processes.

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By: Knarik Avakian Institute of History of NAS RA

During the Stalinian period (1924-1953), hundreds of clergymen, without denominational distinction, including the Armenian Catholic priests, were martyred along with the innocent population of Armenia.
The cases relating to 8 Armenian Catholic priests (Fathers: Nerses Yakub Akinian, Petros Harutyun Davtian, Hakob Petros Antonian, Anton Sahak Petoyan, Alexan Petros Ghazarian, Barsegh Kerob Minassian, Alexan Poghos Hakobian, Stepan Mkrtich Ter-Martirossian) repressed in the years 1928-1937 were being kept in the Archive of the Ministry of National Security (previously: State Security Committee – SSC) of the Republic of Armenia, in the Fund of Quashed Cases (AMNS RA FQC).
The experts from the cases of some of the repressed Armenian Catholic priests are presented in this paper.

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By: Nelli Minasyan Armenian State Pedagogical University

The main purpose of this research is to show the role of Pan-Turkic ideas in the ideology of the Nationalist Action Party (NAP) and their transformations from the foundation of the party till now. The nationalistic and Pan-Turkic ideas were put at the basis of the NAP's ideology by Alparslan Türkeş which was presented in the doctrine of the “Nine Lights”. On the other hand, Islam was also highlighted for the party, which was considered the part of the Turkic culture and identity. NAP and its structures, the groups of “Ideologists” and “the Gray Wolves” were more active in the 1970s. The NAP’s activity was banned after the military coup of 1980, but it didn’t last long. It isn’t a secret that the Pan-Turkism ideas flourished after the collapse of the USSR, when the Turkish-speaking states became independent. In this regard the NAP's role is also important, because its presence is strong in the political system of Turkey. After the death of Alparslan Türkeş, Devlet Bahçeli became the leader of NAP. In our opinion, there were not any significant changes in the ideology of this party, because the Pan-Turkism and the nationalism continue to be the main ideas of the party.

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By: Vahan Melikyan Doctor in History, Institute of History, NAS RA

As a separate intermediary period in the activities of the Transcaucasian Seim could be regarded the formation of the new government.
In March 13 (26), 1918, at the 17th session of the Seim N.Chkheidze, the chairman reported that the «praesidium of the Seim was requested to invite a person who could take the responsibility to form the government».
Reminding the deputies that the new government follows the program-declaration of the Seim, E. Gegechkori presented the priorities of the government.
At first place was the problem of «firm peace and restoration of neighborly relations with Turkey».
All parties responded to the establishment of the new government.
In the period of the February revolution coalition meant the cooperation of socialist and bourgeois elements in the same cabinet. Meanwhile, the European vision of coalition means the introduction in the cabinet of the representatives of different political parties. In normal conditions European governments were mostly homogeneous, i.e. they consist of one party, which comprises majority in the parliament (for example, England).
During exceptional situations, in order to consolidate the state was permitted to organize coalitionary, interparty cabinets.
In the Transcaucasian new government the principle of coalition was put into practice according to European and Russian models. «The formation of our cabinet, concludes «Kavkazskoe slovo» - is a result not of the agreement between two compact socialist and non-socialist groups but of more compound combination - socialist, bourgeois-feudal and national ones».
Thus, in March 13, 1918 the new government of Transcaucasia was formed. It was a coalitionary one which brought together three authoritative Transcaucasian political parties, the latters expressing the interests of the three main peoples of the region. The program of the homogeneous post-October socialist government was not realized and it was impossible since many parties which consider themselves as socialist-revolutionary, were mostly nationalistic, especially Tatar-Muslim groups.
It could be said that after the Bolshevik coup the «socialist» complexity of ARF was released from its chains and the national tendencies began to prevail.
The classical Georgian socialist-Menshevik elite, in the context of the departure from Soviet Russia, termination of the Bolshevism in Baku and separate negotiations with the Turkey, also had gained absolutely nationalistic character; in fact, these forces who had formed the power and government under the socialist and revolutionary slogans, finally declared the national character and perspectives of this state.
In the Transcaucasian Seim the problem of the independence of the region first was debated in February 22, in the 9th session.
The doubledealing and political falsification is seen clearly in the fact that the independence of Transcaucasia exactly was associated with Turkey, more to say, that was the demand of Turkey in the negotiations at Trapizon. This time N. Zhordania was tangled in his political formulations when he insists that «the problem is placed as the next; here it should be the Turkish orientation and Turkish invasion, or we must declare our independence in order to avoid it». The denial of the Russian orientation he tries to justify with the absence of the «Russian bayonet», again neglegting the the Armenian factor. According to N. Zhordania, «Russia himself has gave up its own orientation and suggests us to stand on our own feet».
So, in February 22, 1918 (after May 5 - V.M.) first time the Seim had discussed the probm of independence on the level of state and the government.
It directly was connected with the «shameful» territorial concessions at Brest-Litovsk, negotiations at Trapizon, a possible Turkish invasion and the alternative of the Sovietization of Transcaucasia.
In this discussions were fully revealed the positions and strategy of three leading political forces of Transcaucasia.

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By: Lilit Safrastyan Yerevan State University

Armenian- Iranian relations which originated still in the IMILL. BC, include military-political, economic and cultural spheres. During the centuries Armenian intellectuals were greatly interested in Persian history, language and literature and their studies devoted to them enriched our historiography, philology and fiction.Later these studies provided a framework for Persian scholars for the evaluation of Armenian historiography and sources which contain numerous valuable information about the history and culture of Persia.

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By: Jahukyan Gevork Academician of NAS RA

Gevorg Jahukyan was an outstanding Armenian linguist, the long-termed director of the Institute of Language, Armenian National Academy of Sciences. His studies cover a wide spectrum of Armenian linguistics.
The monograph of which the last chapter is extracted below, presents the earliest study of G. Jahukyan devoted to the problem of the pre-literary period of the Armenian language. Unfortunately, this valuable study still remains unaccessible to those who is not familiar with Russian.
Indeed, some suggestions which are based on an outdated data as well as traditional view on the problem of the Indo-European ancestral home exploited by the author were revised since the publication of the monograph, nevertheless G. Jahukyan's fundamental study occupies a seminal place in Armenian linguistics.

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By: Aelita Doloukhanyan Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan

Armenian State Pedagogical University         after Khachatur Abovyan

The latest version of the systematization of Armenian philosophical thought of the 5th - 6th centuries, which is now in scientific circulation and has not lost its monumental significance, is described in the work Formation of Philosophical Science in Ancient Armenia (5th - 6th centuries) by academician Sen Arevshatian. The author wrote it in Russian, presenting his deep research comments to a wider circle of scientists.
Sen Arevshatian was not only a skilled researcher of Armenian philosophical thought of the 5th - 6th centuries, but also of the entire Middle Ages, as the Armenian Middle Ages began from the Golden Age and lasted until the 17th - 18th centuries.
It is extremely important that the works of the Armenian philosophers of the 5th - 6th centuries are investigated in the context of ancient and all-Christian philosophical thought.
In the book The Formation of Philosophical Science in Ancient Armenia (5th - 6th centuries) Sen Arevshatian presents the development of Armenian philosophical thought from the adoption of Christianity as State religion in Armenia until the first half of the 6th century. The scientist provides accurate scientific systematization of the phases of patristic philosophy. The main achievement of this systematization is to make it evident that at the end of the 5th century and in the first half of the 6th century, Armenian philosophical thought was keeping pace with the philosophical thought of civilized Christian countries and was professing such advanced ideas of its time, which have not lost their relevance even now.

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The Vilayet of Erzeroum lies due north of Bitlis and Van, and is likewise a border province. It consists principally of the upper valleys of the Kara-Su (Western Euphrates) and the Tchorok. The fortress-city of Erzeroum itself is situated in a plain which collects the head-waters of the former river; Erzindjan, a place of almost equal importance, lies further west, about 120 miles down stream; while Baibourt, in the Tchorok valley, is the most important place on the high road from Erzeroum to Trebizond. The districts north of the Kara-Su are as civilised as the rest of Anatolia; but south of the river, in the great peninsula enclosed by the two arms of the Euphrates, lies the mountain-mass of Dersim, inhabited by wild, independent tribes of Kizil-Bashis and Kurds, who played an active part in the destruction of their Armenian neighbours.
In the Vilayet of Erzeroum the deportations began at the end of May and during the first days of June. Reports from a particularly trustworthy source state that, by the 19th May, more than 15,000 Armenians had been deported from Erzeroum and the neighbouring villages, and that, by the 25th May, the districts of Erzindjan, Keghi and Baibourt had also been "devastated by forced emigration." Our information concerning Erzeroum itself was at first somewhat scanty, but since its capture by the Russians it has been visited by representatives of various relief organisations in the Caucasus, who have obtained circumstantial accounts of what happened in the city and the surrounding villages. They report that, out of an Armenian population estimated at 400,000 souls for the Vilayets of Erzeroum and Bitlis, not more than 8,000-10,000 have survived - in other words, that 98 per cent. of the Armenians in these vilayets have been either deported or massacred.
We are also particularly well informed with regard to Baibourt and Erzindjan, and the documents in this section may be noted as a clear case in which independent testimonies exactly bear one another out.

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By: Robert Curzon

*Robert Curzon, 14th Baron Zouche (16 March 1810 - 2 August 1873), was an English diplomat and traveller. In 1842-1843 Curzon was joint British Commissioner in Erzurum as part of the British-Turkish-Persian-Russian boundary commission sitting to delineate the Turkish and Persian frontier.

The passages extracted from the account of his long-termed stay at Erzurum are devoted mainly to Armenians, their political history, church, and script, including manuscripts (Preface and pp.191-253). Although the sources used by the author are not cited and several suggestions contradict to modern scholarship, the book of R.Curzon submits new details to the understanding of the Armenian history and culture several decades before the tragic early XX century.

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By: Alisa Dumikyan Institute of History NAS RA

Among other countries, Armenia occupies a significant place in antique and medieval maps. Based on the notes of French travellers, maps were drawn up, which are valuable sources for studying the geography and history of political, economic, spiritual and material culture of Armenia. In the XVII-XIX centuries the civilizational appreciation of Armenia in France has taken place in the light of the biblical perceptions of world historical and spiritual phenomena. The Book of Genesis served as a basis for European, particularly French cartographers and geographers, to identify Armenia as a country of Eden and of the mountain where the Ark dwells. 

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By: Khomizuri Georgi Institute of Geology NAS RA

Since late 1970s the author began to study the geotectonic ideas of antiquity and Middle ages. In the mid - 1980s he came to a conclusion that only a thorough review and analyses of studies not only on natural philosophy, but also geographers, poets and play writers could give a chance for the complete understanding of the initial stages of geotectonic ideas.
Recently he began to study the initial phases of the geological ideas in Armenia, as well as the writings of Armenian historians, poets and novelists, foreign travellers who visited Armenia and studies of the historians of geography, devoted to the latters (J. Baker, I.Yu. Krachkovskij, I.P. Magidovich etc.). In 2013 appear the studies of D.Yu. Beknazaryan and R. Galichyan dealing with this problem. Strikingly, in any of these studies is mentioned Xanthus, the Lydian historian of the V century BC, the first researcher of Armenia, and some other authors. Due to the specialization of the present author (history of geology), we shall limit our survey with the description of travels which could be useful for the historians of geography for their studies in the future.
In the article we shall focus on 58 travellers, natural philosophers and historians who visited Armenia from the V century BC until the end of the XVIII century. The study reaches until early XIX century, since exactly beginning from this period (Caucasian expedition of A.A. Musin-Pushkin, studies by F. Dubois de Montpéreux and H. Abich) a thorough geographical and geological study of Armenia took place. In our study are emphasized those authors who wrote about the natural phenomena or to its natural resources. It should be mentioned that in most cases we do not possess with full texts of authors (a task that must be done in the future).

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By: Christine Melkonyan

Abstarct: The monograph of Ch. Melkonyan, the senior researcher of the Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA, sponsored by the Ministry of Diaspora RA, is dedicated to the activities of the Armenian Diaspora in regard to the Armenian Question which had recieved a strong impetus from the second half of the XX century, especially since 1960s. The monograph covers about half a century, from 1940s until late 1980s, reaching the collapse of the USSR. 

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The Hittite cuneiform texts relating to 2nd millennium BC, which contain valuable information about the western regions of the Armenian Highland, are quite important for the study of history of early communities, state formations of this region and the pre-history of Armenian ethnos. As is known, the Hittite sources have been first studied for the interpretation of the earliest Armenian history and language actually from the beginning of Hittitology, since 1920s when they were put into scientific circulation. Several Armenian (and not only Armenian) Hittitologists and Armenologists had made use of Hittite cuneiform texts dealing with the Armenian Highland, which cover a time span of over two hundred years (XV-XIII c. BC). Among them N. Martirosyan, Gr. Kapancyan, L. Barseghyan, V. Khachatryan, G. Jahukyan, N. Mkrtchyan, A. Kosyan, A. Petrosyan, R. Ghazaryan, H. Hmayakyan, M. Khanzadyan should be distinguished.

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Volume 1 (1890-1914). 1056 p. Volume 2 (1915-1922). 1040 p. Compiled and edited by Rev. Vahan Ohanian, Ara Ketibian, Mekhitarist Publication, 2018.

These volumes draw upon extensive American newspaper accounts about the fate of Armenians from 1890 to 1922 in the Ottoman Empire/Turkey. They, along with companion volumes, documents the Armenian experience of inequality, persecution, precursor massacres and the Armenian Genocide. The collection is part of a series of volumes that bring together thousands of pages of daily newspaper accounts that are invaluable reference work in revealing the fate of the Armenian people.
These are part of a comprehensive publishing project led by Rev. Vahan Ohanian (Mekhitarist Congregation) and Ara Ketibian. The series involves a planned ten books that systematically document the accounts from six leading American newspapers: The New York Times, The Boston Daily Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Christian Science Monitor, The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post. Such cumulative daily newspaper reports provide a documentary base from which to confront contemporary state-sponsored genocide denial that seeks to cast doubt about what happened in history. The witness accounts are a time capsule, but a powerfully moving one, even today.

By: Avetis Harutyunyan PhD of History, Professor at the ASPU Chair of Armenian History, avharutunyan@mail.ru

Echmiatsin: 2018, Echmiatsin ... publishing house, 308 p.

The monograph represents the religious and cultural life of the Armenian population of Vaspurakan province at the eve of the World War I until its end in 1918. The study is based on extensive archival documents, memoirs and secondary literature. The author focuses on the exceptional role of this part of historical Armenia during the troublesome period of Armenian history.

M. Stone was born in Leeds, England (October 22, 1938). In 1941 his family moved to Sydney, Australia, where he was raised. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Melbourne in Semitic Studies and the Classics in 1956-1960. At the same year he immigrated to Israel 1960. After a year-long acclimation program at the Hebrew University (1960-1961), M. Stone was transferred to Harvard University, USA and there completed a doctorate under the supervision of Professor Frank M. Cross in the Department of Near Eastern Languages (1961-1965). His doctorate addressed the conception of eschatology in 4 Ezra. Afterwards he became a lecturer in Comparative Religion at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1966 he returned to Israel, where became a lecturer in Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and in the following year - associate professor.
In 1980 M. Stone became full professor of Armenian Studies and was named as the Gail Levin de Nur Professor of Religious Studies. In 2007 he retired from the Hebrew University, where he continues his research and lecturing as a professor emeritus. M. Stone travelled much as a visiting scholar and held professorial positions at academic institutions worldwide.

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By: Albert Musheghyan Institute of Literature, NAS RA

Abstract: Aram, the 6th patriarch of the Haykid dynasty, who, according to Movses Khorenatsi, is the senior contemporary of Assyria's fabulous king Ninos, corresponds accurately to the King of Urartu, Aramu or Arame, mentioned in the Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions of the first half of the IX century BC. The latter ruled in the Armenian Highland, as the Armenian history tells, in 888-845 BC, and, according to N. Adontz, from 880 to almost 843-840 BC.
He was succeeded by Sarduri I (or Sedur) (845-825), the founder of the Van dynasty of Urartu, 11 rulers of which reigned from father to son until 590 BC (or 585); these were Ishpuini (825-810), Menua (810-786), Argishti I (786-764), Sarduri II (764-735), Rusa I (735-713), Argishti II (713-685), Rusa II (685-645), Sarduri III (645-635), the latter having been called Ishtarduri by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in his chronicle. Ashurbanipal ruled in 668-633 BC, which means that he was the contemporary of Rusa and his son.
It looks like the list of Urartu’s monarchs is being interrupted to this extent.
And despite this, taking into account the eight Urartian decorated inscriptions about the King Rusa Eremenahi (son of Erimena), the Urartologists had to place this Rusa in the end of the Urartian kings’ list as the 11th ruler of the Urartu's decline period, but now it turns out that it is a misunderstanding.
Here, as we can see, two kings bearing the name Rusa meet each other, one is called Hay in his country of Pa…, and the other is called Rusaše Erimenahiniše (Rusa, son of Erimena), the father of Rusa III in the inscriptions of the sculptured Bronze Collection. Putting these two testimonies side by side, we reveal a surprising fact that has not been seen so far - it is the son of Erimena, Rusa, who stands in front of us in the face of Rusa the Hay, a contemporary of Esarhaddon. It follows from the above mentioned that the transliteration Erimena (= hay) should be identical with the the tribal name of armeni mentioned in the records of Menua and Argishti I, which is being intentionally read as Urmeni and thus one tries to conceal the existence of Armenian ethnos in the Armenian Highland until the end of the VI century BC. Meanwhile, in the Babylonian and more ancient Akkadian cuneiform inscriptions contain only Armi, Armani, Armanum.
Some other geographical data could be referred to which undeniably confirm the identity of two different kings bearing the name Rusa; we will refer to those arguments on another occasion.

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