By: Aram Kosyan Doctor in History, Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA, aramkosyan@yahoo.com

The plain of Erzurum is one of those parts of historical Armenia that had played an important role in the political and economic life of our region throughout centuries, beginning from the IV mill. BC until early modern times. In the article are presented several key aspects of this area – geographical position, environment, economic potential, and brief archaeological history.

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By: Artsrun Hovhannisyan PhD, Associate Professor, Colonel, Vazgen Sargsyan Military Academy of the MoD RA, Head of the Institute of Command and Staff, arcrunhovhannisyan@gmail.com

In the ancient world, it was accepted that a talented general can do everything. He must be able to train the troops, teach the commanders how to behave in every situation, he should personally plan the actions and finally implement and follow this complex mechanism. Military historians were inspired by such generals who crushed the enemy, and as a rule they were kings and emperors. However, the more military science developed and became more complicated, the less space was left for such commanders to operate. Back in 1640, the English general Oliver Cromwell created a planning organ for his troops, which was the prototype of modern headquarters. During the reign of the Prussian king Frederick II the Great (1740-1786), the office of the General-Quartermeister, the planning body for the operations of the troops, was created. In 1763 Friedrich II established a military academy in Berlin. In 1800-1803 in Prussia, Colonel Christian von Massenbach and General Karl von Le Coq founded the idea of the Main Staff (General Stab / Staff). Basically, in the Prussian army, that institute was formed little by little starting from 1785, which included only officers who graduated from the Potsdam Military Academy. It is accepted that even, in 1766-1771 and 1783, France also had a Main Staff. Moreover, according to some researchers, the French Headquarters were more suitable for their role. At the same time, the theoretical foundations of military science were being laid in Europe.

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

In 1908 the Young Turk coup, the restoration of the constitution and the measures taken by the government raised certain hopes and great enthusiasm among the Armenians of Van, because from the point of view of the security of personal and national interests, the Armenians preferred the new constitutional rather than the old Abdul Hamid II dictatorial order. A period of rallies, meetings, fraternization of the Armenian and Turkish peoples began among the Armenian and Turkish population, which was a novelty in the social and political life of Ottoman Turkey. The Armenian political prisoners of Van were released, the activities of national parties were declared legal, and many figures of the Armenian liberation struggle were universally honored. However, the Young Turk revolution not only did not introduce revolutionary changes, but also caused deep despair among the Armenians of Van province.

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By: Gegham Hovhannisyan Senior researcher at the Institute of History, NAS RA, PhD in Historical Sciences, Associate Professor, gegham.hovhannisian@mail.ru

In 1887 the theoreticians of the Hunchakyan party, which was founded in Geneva, unlike other parties, believed that after the liberation of the Armenian people from Turkish and then Russian rule, a socialist social order should be established in democratic Armenia. Going ahead of the natural development of events, Hunchakyans were engaged in propaganda of socialism in Western Armenia in the late 1880s - early 1890s.

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By: Hovhannes Aleksanyan PhD in History, Institute of History NAS RA, alhovhannes@gmail.com

During the Soviet years, the number of the Armenian population increased significantly, population movements were not significant. In the 1990s, population migration from Armenia began, the main destination of which is the Russian Federation and post-Soviet countries, the European Union, the USA, etc. The region’s socioeconomic, military, and political instability as well as the perspective’s ambiguity were the determining factors. For a variety of reasons, the trend and rate of Armenians returning to their homeland have been apparent in recent years.

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By: Lilit Qosyan Institute of History NAS RA, Junior Researcher, L.Qosyan@gmail.com

Part of the Western Armenians who survived the mass massacres organized by Abdul Hamid II in 1890s was forced to migrate and settle down around the world. Only 50,000 refugees found shelter in Eastern Armenia. The latter survived owing to various funds. However, aid and alleviating the condition of the Western Armenian refugees to some extent did not solve the difficult problem of their survival. It was necessary to take steps to return them to their place of birth, which was a vital necessity for the Western Armenians. The catastrophic decrease in the number of the Armenian people had a very negative impact on the demography of Western Armenia, which was an important part of the policy adopted by the sultan. That is why hundreds of depopulated settlements were inhabited by Muslim tribes. Under the name of “muhajirs” (refugees), they settled down in Western Armenia and Cilicia.

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By: Vanik Virabyan Doctor in History, Kh. Abovyan Armenian State Pedagogical University, Chair of Armenian History,
vanik.virabyan@mail.ru

In 1917-1918, the unpredictable course of events led to the re-establishment of the Armenian statehood, which forced the creation of its own armed forces as a guarantee of its existence, which made the young republic dependent on almost all powers in terms of arms acquisition, in particular after the October 1917 Russian coup. From the Entente countries, Britain and France, which became major actors in the Transcaucasian region and were guided by their hidden deep interests, the assistance to the Republic of Armenia was conditional, partial, inadequate and in many cases outdated. Allied military-political representations in Transcaucasia and Armenia gradually replaced the initially cautious approach with outspoken pro-Muslim practices, and the interests of Britain and other countries became more in tune with Azerbaijan and Georgia. Armenia appeared in the role of a beggar for help, including the delivery of weapons and ammunition, which was incomplete, low-quality, accidental, completely outdated.

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By: Lilit Sarvazyan PhD, Associate Professor at the Yerevan State Pedagogical University, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Sociology and Law of NAS RA, lilit.sarvazyan@gmail.com

The presence of legal culture in the Western Armenian reality has been significantly contributed to by the political publicity reflected in Armenian periodicals and journals. In this respect, the “Eastern Press”  published in Smyrna at the end of the 19th century, whose editor Matteos Mamuryan repeatedly commented on legal and political issues, was of exceptional importance. Its concept is based on the ideas of protection of historical and political rights of the nation, national-civilizational identity and freedom of self-government. Analyzing the legal philosophical ideas of American and Western European thinkers, Mamuryan reinterpreted them in the context of national existence and compared them with the legal views of Armenian authors.

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By: Alexander Manasyan Corresponding Member of NAS RA, Head of the Chair of Theoretical Philosophy and Logics, Yerevan State University, manasyan-a22@mail.ru

The article examines and assesses a) the departure of the UN Sixth Committee from the initial installation of the introduction of the Nuremberg principles into the system of international law jus cogens; b) the flawedness of the exclusion of the very possibility of qualifying the behavior of the state as internationally criminal is substantiated; c) the methodologically vulnerable aspects of the study of the topic of state responsibility for international criminal acts in the International Law Commission are indicated and possible ways of overcoming them are proposed.

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By: J.Bryce

In this chapter I shall attempt to give a sort of general sketch of the Russian territories lying to the south of the Caucasus, the richest, and, for the present at least, geographically the most important of all the Asiatic dominions of the Czar. It is, like the rest of this book, a record of first impressions only, but of impressions formed, as I venture to believe, without any pre-existing bias, and to a considerable extent tested by comparison with the conclusions which other travellers have reached. And even for first impressions there is this much to be said, that the risk of errors of observation and of hasty generalisation has some compensation in the freshness with which things present themselves to a new-comer. Occasionally he is struck by aspects of society or politics which are really true and important, but which one who has lived long in a country finds so familiar that they have ceased to stimulate his curiosity, and would perhaps be omitted from his descriptions. This may supply some justification for the apparent presumption of a traveller who admits that he had to see, and now has to write, more hastily than he could have wished. What I have got to say of particular parts of the country, such as Tiflis, the capital, and Armenia, is reserved for later chapters. 

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By: Kristine Melkonyan PhD, Institute of Oriental Studies, NAS RA, chmelkonyan@orient.sci.am

After the Second World War, the possibility of changing the situation of the Soviet-Turkish borders set by the Treaty of Kars at any moment created an atmosphere of fear in Turkey. Although later, in 1953, the USSR officially renounced the territorial claims presented to Turkey in 1945, the issue of reaffirmation of the Kars Treaty has become one of the most sensitive topics for the Turkish side in Soviet-Turkish relations. After the restoration of independence of Armenia in 1991, it was moved to the agenda of Armenian-Turkish relations, so the study of the topic has relevance in our days.

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By: Armenuhi Ghambaryan

On 9 October 1919, the special civilian mission of the Republic of Armenia arrived in New York. The delegation under Kajaznouni was joined by a member of the Armenian delegation in Paris, Garegin Pasdermajian (Armen Garo), who was appointed the RA Plenipotentiary Representative to the United States. H. Kajaznouni was authorized to provide solutions both to economic and political problems. Upon arrival his mission went to Washington to present Armenia’s problems to the American government. On 10 October 1919 H. Kajaznouni, as the Chairman of the mission and G. Pasdermajian as the diplomatic representative of the Republic, spoke at the hearings entitled "Maintenance of Peace in Armenia" in the Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the United States Senate.
The statements of the Armenian delegates, who spoke about relief and military assistance to Armenians, as well as about the recognition of the Republic, played considerable role in shaping the opinions of the members of the subcommittee. After testifying at the subcommittee, the representatives of the Republic of Armenia met with a number of high-ranking American officials, including Secretary of State R. Lansing. During the meeting with R. Lansing, in response to recognize the Republic of Armenia, presented by H. Kajaznouni, the American official advised them to submit an official memorandum.
Thus, the Memorandum entitled “The Republic of Armenia” was prepared under the guidance of Kajaznouni and submitted to the Secretary of State by G. Pasdermajian on 28 October 1919. Later on, it was presented to the Senate by its member H. C. Lodge . On 10 November 1919, the Memorandum was printed as a Senate Document № 151 of the 1st Session of the 66th Congress in a separate booklet.
The document contained brief, but rich information about the Republic of Armenia. The representatives of the Armenian Republic tried to convey to the US Government that the young Republic of Armenia, having overcome the hardships of the last year and a half and despite the still existing serious difficulties of various kinds, was already an established state worthy of international recognition.
The requested memorandum did not play a special role in the political orientation of the United States towards Armenia, and only half a year later, in April 1920, the United States de facto recognized the Republic of Armenia.

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Multidisciplinary Studies in Honour of Theo Maarten van Lint Series: Armenian Texts and Studies, Volume: 6
Editors: Federico Alpi, Robin Meyer, Irene Tinti, and David Zakarian, Brill, 2023, 564 p.

From pilgrimage sites in the far west of Europe to the Persian court; from mystic visions to a gruesome contemporary “dance”; from a mundane poem on wine to staggering religious art: thus far in space and time extends the world of the Armenians. A glimpse of the vast and still largely unexplored threads that connect it to the wider world is offered by the papers assembled here in homage to one of the most versatile contemporary armenologists, Theo Maarten van Lint. This collection offers original insights through a multifaceted lens, showing how much Armenology can offer to Art History, History, Linguistics, Philology, Literature, and Religious Studies. Scholars will find new inspirations and connections, while the general reader will open a window to a world that is just as wide as it is often unseen.

Edited by Hans-Lukas Kieser, Seyhan Bayraktar, and Khatchig Mouradian, Afterword by Raymond Kevorkian, I.B. Tauris, 2023, 304 p.

This book deals with the lasting impact and the formative legacy of removal, dispossession and the politics of genocide in the last decade of the Ottoman Empire. For understanding contemporary Turkey and the neighboring region, it is important to revisit the massive transformation of the late-Ottoman world caused by persistent warfare between 1912 and 1922. This fourth volume of a series focusing on the “Ottoman Cataclysm” looks at the century-long consequences and persistent implications of the Armenian genocide. It deals with the actions and words of the Armenians as they grappled with total destruction and tried to emerge from under it. Eleven scholars of history, anthropology, literature and political science explore the Ottoman Armenians not only as the major victims of the First World War and the post-war treaties, but also as agents striving for survival, writing history, transmitting the memory and searching for justice.

An International Handbook, Edited by: Jost Gippert and Jasmine Dum-Tragut, De Gruyter Mouton, 2023,735 p., ill. 27 col. ill. 88, tables 46

By consequence of the Karabakh War in 2020 and due to Azerbaijanian revisionism concerning the history, culture and cultural monuments of the region, the discussion on Caucasian "Albania", which is little known in the West in both academic and public circles, has been reignited. The handbook provides an overview of the current state of research on the Caucasian "Albanians" in an objective, scientifically sound manner. The contributions are not necessarily intended to reveal new scientific findings but rather to summarise approved knowledge. The volume brings together internationally renowned scholars, researchers and practitioners from various fields of studies reporting on and reviewing the state of research concerning the Caucasian "Albanians", their history and archaeology, their language and written monuments, their religion, church history and their art, including their relation to the Udi people of today. The companion is intended to neutrally introduce the readership to the subject of Caucasian Albania from various perspectives.
Unique handbook on the historical Albania of the Caucasus based on long-time research by international experts highly interdisciplinary and up-to-date

Volume 3, Modern Times, 
Editor in Chief: Ruben Safrastyan
Yerevan, Zangak, 2023, 600p., 24 ill.

The third volume of the History of Neighbouring Contries of Armenia includes the history of Iran, the Arab countries, Georgia, the Ottoman Empire and the region of Eastern Caucasus from the end of 18th to the beginning of 20th centuries.

Collective Identity in the Transnational 20th Century, Talar Chahinian (Anthology Editor), Sossie Kasbarian (Anthology Editor), Tsolin Nalbantian (Anthology Editor), I.B. Tauris, 2023, 328 p.

From genocide, forced displacement, and emigration, to the gradual establishment of sedentary and rooted global communities, how has the Armenian diaspora formed and maintained a sense of collective identity? This book explores the richness and magnitude of the Armenian experience through the 20th century to examine how Armenian diaspora elites and their institutions emerged in the post-genocide period and used “stateless power” to compose forms of social discipline. Historians, cultural theorists, literary critics, sociologists, political scientists, and anthropologists explore how national and transnational institutions were built in far-flung sites from Istanbul, Aleppo, Beirut and Jerusalem to Paris, Los Angeles, and the American mid-west. Exploring literary and cultural production as well as the role of religious institutions, the book probes the history and experience of the Armenian diaspora through the long 20th century, from the role of the fin-de-siècle émigré Armenian press to the experience of Syrian-Armenian asylum seekers in the 21st century. It shows that a diaspora’s statelessness can not only be evidence of its power, but also how this “stateless power” acts as an alternative and complement to the nation-state.

By: Anushavan Zakaryan Doctor in Philology, Editor-in-Chief of the Historical and Philological Journal, patmhandes@rambler.ru

Yerevan, 2023

David Ananun (David Hovhannes Ter-Danielyan), is one of the prominent figures of the Armenian reality of the first 30 years of the 20th century. He was born in Mets Shen village of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1880. He spent his years of adolescence and youth in Baku, serving in oil companies. In 1905, he joined the Armenian Social-Democratic Labor Organization (the so-called “specifics”) and became one of its leaders and prominent ideologists.
The renowned public-political figure, historian-economist, philosopher-sociologist, publicist-editor, literary critic D. Ananun left a rich scientific, political and literary legacy scattered on the pages of the periodical press. If all his published researches, articles, editorials, reviews, translations are put together, they can make dozens of volumes. However, the masterpiece of his works is the three-volume study “Public Development of Russian-Armenians” (vol. 1, Baku, 1916; vol. 2, Etchmiadzin, 1922; vol. 3, Venice, 1926). Using a large number of materials and statistical data in his studies, D. Ananun analyzed the patterns of economic, political and cultural development of Eastern Armenians, put forward the idea of the need for national consolidation. On how to address the issues of the Armenian national liberation movement and the Armenian Question, D. Ananun was in polemics with the Bolsheviks and ARF Dashnaktsutyun. He rejected the demagogy of ARF Dashnaktsutyun and the “ardent” internationalism of the Bolsheviks. He did not accept as well the role of class consciousness in history and gave priority to the consciousness of national identity. D. Ananun’s assessment on Russia’s progressive role in the social development of Armenian people in the 19th century retains its relevance.
In March 1918, D. Ananun took part in the defeat of the Musavat forces by the Baku Commune and the Armenian National Council. He was a special guardian-commissar who ensured the safety of the Muslims living or hiding in the Armenian part of the city.
Throughout his life activity, especially in 1918–1920, the situation in Nagorno Karabakh was of great concern to D. Ananun, who visited the region several times, shared his impressions and observations with the Armenian public through a series of articles. Among them, the article “Karabakh” stands out, in which he substantiates the necessity to reunite Karabakh with the “motherland” – Armenia.
At the beginning of July 1919, D. Ananun moved from Tiflis to Yerevan. He contributed to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia through his literary, cultural and socio-political activities. He held a number of state positions, edited the bi-weekly newspaper “Cooperation of Armenia”. He was in constant contact with the literary, cultural and public figures – Hovh. Tumanyan, Ash. Hovhannisyan, V. Teryan, Vrt. Papazyan, Leo, D. Demirchyan, Ye. Charents, St. Zoryan, P. Makintsyan, K. Mikaelyan and others.
After the establishment of the Soviet power in Armenia, D. Ananun took an active part in state building, particularly, in the cultural and educational sphere. He was a researcher at the Cultural and Historical Institute in Etchmiadzin, worked for the Institute’s “Banber” (“Herald”) periodical, and gave lectures on relevant topics. From 1923 to 1926 he was the Head of the Department of Revolution of the State Museum of Armenia. Thanks to his energetic efforts, he made a great contribution to the museum’s collection in the form of numerous documents, collections of newspapers, books, archival materials, items, and related funds. However, his political and ideological views, the fact that he belonged to “specifics” in the past, the ideas of “unification of Armenians” and national consolidation were sharply criticized, he was called a “nationalist” and a “harmful element”.
On July 28, 1927, D. Ananun was arrested as a “fierce enemy of the proletarian revolution and the Soviet power”, on April 27, 1928, he was sentenced to three years and exiled to the village of Ilyino, Tomsk region, Narim territory, then he was sent to a concentration camp in Ufa. After serving his sentence, he was forbidden to live in the central parts of the country, as well as in the Caucasus and he settled in Astrakhan. After some time, on August 16, 1939, he was again arrested and sentenced to 10 years of exile but, taking into account his age, he was sent to the camp in Astrakhan where he died in 1943. He was rehabilitated in 1989.

By: Artak Movsisyan Doctor of Sciences (History)
Ghazaryan Robert PhD in History
Ruslan Tsakanyan
Lianna Karapetyan

Yerevan, YSU, 2023, p. 194

The book represents the scientific edition and historical examination of the Mesopotamian cuneiform texts of the third millennium BC which are one of the most important sources of the ancient history of the countries and settlements of the Armenian Highlands.

By: Beniamin Mayilyan

Documents and materials, Yerevan, Copy Print, 2023, 331 p.

The collection includes the documents and materials that elucidate the activities of the Armenian National Council of Georgia. It unveils the public, political, social-economic, legal, educational, cultural and other pressing issues and challenges faced by Armenians in Georgia.

By: Benjamin L. Alexander

I.B. Tauris, 2023, 264 p., 16 bw ill․

How has the distinctive Armenian-American community expressed its identity as an ethnic minority while ‘assimilating‘ to life in the United States? This book examines the role of community leaders and influencers, including clergy, youth organizers, and partisan newspaper editors, in fostering not only a sense of Armenian identity but specific ethnic-partisan leanings within the group‘s population. Against the backdrop of key geopolitical events from the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide to the creation of an independent and then Soviet Armenia, it explores the rivalry between two major Armenian political parties, the Tashnags and the Ramgavars, and the relationship that existed between partisan leaders and their broader constituency. Rather than treating the partisan conflict as simply an impediment to Armenian unity, Benjamin Alexander examines the functional if accidental role that it played in keeping certain community institutions alive. He further analyses the two camps as representing two conflicting visions of how to be an ethnic group, drawing a comparison between the sociology-of-religion models of comfort religion and challenge religion. A detailed political and social history, this book integrates the Armenian experience into the broader and more familiar narratives of World War I, World War II, and the Cold War in the USA.

By: Emma Chookaszian

Yerevan, 2023, 192 p.

This is the first monographic study of the second gospel of prince Vasak (Treasury of Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Ms. 2568/13), which was produced in the last quarter of the 13th century. The main focus of this monography is determining the age of prince Vasak‘s Gospel. The book offers a detailed analysis of both historical context and stylistic changes appearing in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia at the end of the 13th century. It also gives a comprehensive account of the manuscript itself and thoroughly examines the orientation and the aspirations of the artists and the commissioner of this manuscript.

By: Karen Mkrtchyan

Yerevan, Institute of History, NAS of Armenia, 2023, 257 p.

The book addresses the Armenian-Iranian political, economic, educational, scientific and cultural relationships in 1991-2005, as well as the role of the Armenian community which had a certain participation in that process.

By: Karine Bazeyan

Collection of materials, Shirak Armenology Research Center, 2023, 283 p.

This work presents the oral and written histories preserved in the local population about the realities of 1918-1921 in the territory of Shirak province, which mainly refer to the description of the two Turkish invasions of 1918-1920 and their aftermath. The collection includes the memories and oral histories from more than 40 settlements of Shirak region about the realities of 1918-1921 in Alexandrapol province and their socio-economic and cultural consequences, which were juxtaposed with literature and archival materials. Based on the above-mentioned materials, a map representing the consequences of the Turkish invasions was compiled.

By: Stepan Dadayan

Armav, 2023, 504 p.

The first edition of the book was published in 2017, under the title “Political history of Artsakh-Karabakh from Khamsa to autonomy, facts and fiction.” Tragic events of autumn 2020 forced the author to supplement it with new facts and conclusions. Particular attention is paid in the work to criticism of anti-scientific, historically unsubstantiated thoughts of Azerbaijani historians about the political history of Artsakh-Karabakh, an integral part of historical Armenia.

Doctor of Philological Sciences Anushavan H. Zakaryan, editor-in-chief of “Historical-Philological Journal”, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, celebrated his 70th birthday. The well-earned name of editor, publisher, journalist, pedagogue, researcher accompanies him from the very first steps in his work. His career is purely connected with the system of the National Academy of Sciences. Today, occupying the very important position of the editor-in-chief of this internationally renowned Armenian Studies journal, he simultaneously carries out effective activities in the field of scientific research.

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Alexander Keshishyan, the Syrian-Armenian famous ophthalmologist, intellectual, public figure, and big supporter of the centuries-long Armenian-Arab friendship is already 80-years old. By his patriotic selfless activity during his entire life A.Keshishyan contributed much to the strengthening of Armenian-Arab friendship. Rightfully, he could be regarded as the ambassador of Armenia in the Arab world.
A.Keshishyan was born in Aleppo in April 19, 1943 by Armenian father and Arab mother. He received his education in the Armenian Krtasirats school of Aleppo, then American Aleppo College, and Arab Raet al-Arabi schools. In 1964-1971 entered the Yerevan State Medical University (Armenia), the Department of Ophtalmology (supervisor Sergei Malayan). After graduating University in 1971-1974 he worked at the “Jebejyan Ophtalmological Center”, the only such institution in the Middle East.

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