Excerpts


*LINGUIST PUBLISHERS ILLUSTRATED BOOKS ON ARMENIA & KARABAKH FINE ART, HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY & RELIGION**

Product page

Table of contents

Text Excerpt

Interior images

Our books
about Armenia

About Author

THE CHRONICLES OF KARABAKH.
1989 - 2009

River Araks. Nakhidzhevan.
The Agulis (Gokhtn) Region of Nakhidzhevan is a centre for Armenian ethnic songs and folk tales. At the end of the 19th Century there were eight thousand Armenian households and twelve Armenian churches in the town of Agulis, including the churches dedicated to St. Stepanos, St. Tovma, St. Minas, St. Christopher and more… They have all been destroyed and no Armenians live in Agulis any longer.

Khatchkar from Old Dzhuga, 1602.
In 1986, the Russian architectural historian and member of the Academy of Sciences, Anatoly Jacobson, published the following comment: "The khatchkars of Dzhuga are an irreplaceable and – in many ways – unique treasure, created by mankind. Their source stretches back to ancient Armenian art." In 2003, the Azeri authorities trained their artillery on the cemetery in Dzhuga.

A few kilometres to the East of the village of Angekhakot is the megalithic centre of Zorats Karer (Powerful Stones), which dates back to 5th–3rd Millennia B.C. This area is an enigma, which will continue to confuse and intrigue scientists for centuries to come. The Armenian radio-physicist, Academician Paris Geruni, propounds the theory that the village of Karaundzh – the Armenian Stonehenge – is the oldest astronomical laboratory of any yet discovered on the Earth. This ancient observatory comprises 222 vertical standing stones ranging from 1.5–2.8 metres in height and weighing up to 8.5 tonnes, set in a circle. Some of the stones have circular conical holes 4–5 cms in diameter bored through them. Academician Geruni suggests that the megalithic stone composition of Karaundzh was used by ancient man as an observatory to track the movement of the Sun, the Moon and other heavenly bodies.

Statue of the famous Armenian military leader Garegin Nzhde (1886–1955) at the foot of Mount Khustup.
As Nzhde writes in his memoirs: "In mid-1921, after the Dro sub-division had left Syunik and Karabakh, I took on the command of the defence of all Syunik… Thanks to the heroic defence of Syunik, the Armenian intelligentsia, the Dashnaktsutiun Party and revolutionary and military factions in the Armenian community were saved."

The Road of Life, which twists and turns over the mountainsides, linking the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh with the outside world, led us further and further on towards our meeting with Karabakh. We drove past the fang-like slopes of Goris and in the ravine, we glimpsed Hin Khndzoresk, a city built out of a cascade of caves hanging on the sides of a canyon. If you head downwards, the sunlight catches rectangular engraved stones on a sheer mountain spur. This is a secret, precious place, where you can come face to face with the history of Syunik and Artsakh. The ashes of the military leader Mkhitar Sparapet are buried under one of these stones..

Statue of David Bek. Sculptor Sergei Bagdasarian. 20th Century. Kapan.
In 1723, an independent Armenian princedom was formed in Syunik and Artsakh, with its centre at Kapan. The legendary Armenian military leaders David Bek, Lord Parsadan, his son Bali, Mkhitar Sparapet and Prince Stepanos Shaumyan from Karabakh all fought here against the Turkish and Persian invaders. Stepanos left us his memoirs.

General Valerian Madatov, a hero of the 1812 war with Napoleon and the Russo-Persian War of 1827.
After the Franco-Russian war, Madatov was given command of all the Russian forces in Karabakh, Shamkhor and Nukha for more than ten years. The settlement of Avetaranots (Chanakhchi) and its surrounding lands and villages all belonged to Valerian Madatov.

The sculptor Armen Hakopian in his studio. 1989.
I had already developed my films and was working in Moscow on my book, when I learned from the newspapers that dreadful times had come upon the Armenians of Karabakh and that unarmed people were being killed in and around their houses. The sculptor Armen Hakopian was one of them. He was killed when he left his workshop to ask a riot policeman why he was shooting at the people.

On New Year’s Day 1992, Azeri forces, supported by 10 tanks, attacked the Armenian village of Khramort from the direction of Agdama and set it on fire. This marked the start of wide-scale military action and for the next three years, Karabakh was drenched in blood. For three years, a people deserving only of admiration, held off the onslaught of the Azerbaijani fascists. Initially, the Armenians were fighting virtually unarmed, while the Azerbaijanis were supplied with tanks, aircraft, helicopters and long-range weaponry.

Once these people had experienced the scent of freedom, they could no longer be cowed by blockades, deportations or agonies in the torture chambers of Azerbaijan. The Azeri forces, armed to the teeth, broke through the defence forces of Shaumian and Mardakert, by raining down the iron fist of a Soviet motorised division. But they could not break down the spirit of this people. The Armenians could not complain, because there was no-one to complain to. No-one would listen to them. They fought and died.

Dadivank is one of the largest monastic monuments of mediaeval Armenia.
In manuscript sources, the monastery is called Arakelots, which means "Monastery of the Apostle" in Armenian. Mkhitar Gosh also called it "Arakela-dir", which means "Founded by the apostle" in Armenian. These manuscripts are harking back to the fact that the first chapels were constructed on the grave of the 1st Century apostle.

During the recent war, Azerbaijani helicopters fired rockets on the white stone Monastery of the Three Youths. Now fragments of carved stones, blown out of the walls by the explosions, lie in a heap of dust by the portal of the cathedral church. An extensive inscription, carved into the pediment of the portal tells of the construction of the cathedral church in the 18th Century.

A coin of the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius I (610–641).
It shows the Emperor Heraclius I with his son and joint ruler Constantine III. Gold, solid. The Emperor Heraclius was born in 575 in Cappadocia into an Armenian family. Heraclius was a great general, who defended the Empire in the five-year war against the Persians and laid the foundations of Byzantine statehood for the next 500 years. He died on 11th February, 641, having founded the Heraclian (Armenian) dynasty, which ruled Byzantium for 100 years (611–711).

Half an hour’s drive from the village of Vank, in the Koshik Anapat Hermitage, Orbeli first saw images of Armenian warriors from the pre-Mongol era depicted on khatchkars. "Everyday images on the 12th and 13th Century cruciform stones of Khachen" was Orbeli’s third work dedicated to the history of Karabakh.

"The travels of Johann Schiltberger through Europe, Asia and Africa from 1394–1427" tells of the travels of a German crusader through the countries of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, Iran, the territories of the Golden Horde, Iraq, Syria and Egypt over the space of thirty-four years. There are chapters in the book dedicated to Armenia and to Karabakh in particular.

Barrels made by «Varanda» factory are highly sought after by the wine-makers of France, Australia, South Africa, Greece, Bulgaria and a number of other countries. Wines and spirits which have been matured in oak casks are highly prized on the world market. Hundred year-old Karabakh mountain oaks, which are felled only in the Winter specifically for this purpose, form one of the best materials in the world for producing cognac and wine barrels.

There are five chambers in the Azokh cave at the moment. People lived in the first chamber for the longest period. In the fifth, second and first layers the archaeologists found bones and honed tools and they found fireplaces with coals and baked stones at all levels. In 1968 during the excavation of the first chamber, the archaeologists found the lower jaw of a Neanderthal and uncovered traces of pre-historic art. That’s known as the Ashel period and it dates back to approximately 250,000–300,000 years ago.

The ruins of Agdam – a sombre monument to the recent war. These ruins attest to the fact that the Armenians of Karabakh have fought and will continue to fight to save their country despite overwhelming odds. The mosque, which still stands amongst the ruins underlines for the visitor the fact that the people of Karabakh were not fighting against Moslems or against Islam, but against racists from Baku.

Khndogni is an autonomous sort of wine, part of the ancient culture of this country. The grape is indigenous to this region and has grown only here from time immemorial. It goes into making the most famous wine of Karabakh, which has been awarded gold medals at European exhibitions.
Khndogni from Karabakh is a true masculine wine, like a French Bordeaux.
Khndogni is a way of meeting the highlanders of Karabakh. It is the story of a love for the vineyards and the ancient vines. There is no other wine like it, believe me.

Ghevond Alishan (1820–1901), Armenian poet, philologist, historian and member of the Catholic Mechitarist congregation in Venice.
Ghevond Alishan is the author of fundamental works on Armenian history, ethnography, geography and culture, including: "Ancient beliefs of the Armenians", "Shnorali and the problems of his works", "The flora of Armenia", "Legends about Armenia", "Sisvan", "Sisakan", "Ararat", and "Armenia and Venice in the 13th–14th Centuries and 15th–16th Centuries". In 1866, he was awarded the L?gion d’honneur. He was also a member of the Italian Asiatic Society, the Moscow Archaeological Society and the Viennese Academy of Philosophy.

The fortified towers of Ayas, the principal trading port of Cilician Armenia. 13th Century.
Historical materials confirm that the Armenians were skilful sailors and ship-builders. The ships they built were sturdy and capable of long sea voyages. Armenian naval maps and navigational instruments survive, including an astrolabe with inscriptions in Armenian, which is currently held in Oxford.
It is known that in the 12th–14th Centuries, Armenian merchants reached the furthest ports of the Mediterranean Sea and they later sailed to the Indian Ocean, reaching Java, Sumatra and Ceylon.

The valley, in which the town of Hadrut is situated, lies 900 metres above sea level. It is surrounded on the West, North and South by high mountains. The valley stretches for 16–20 kilometres and has been planted with orchards, filled with apple trees, pear trees, mulberry trees, peach trees, alycha* trees, aiva* trees, pshat trees, plum trees, pomegranate trees, almond trees and vines. The old walnut trees stand out amongst the others because of their height. There are a huge number of them here.

The Armenians of Hadrut are a brave, war-like people, savage when it comes to battles, but gracious in peacetime. Like most representatives of warlike races, they are passionate about their natural surroundings, art and poetry. This love is born of the local landscape: the mountain ranges, topped with forests, the settlements surrounded by flowering gardens and strips of ploughed fields on a background of the white peaks, sparkling in peaceful silence.

For one thousand five hundred years so far, this prayer of a hard-working and noble people has resounded on the summit of Dizapayt. It is a Prayer for Peace.
Lord, if I have understood you correctly, all wisdom, all beauty and culture in the world you created consists in having all the people on Earth – Buddists, Jews, Christians and Muslims, Catholics and Hugenots, Othodox and Monophisites, "the infidels and the righteous" – living in peace at last, so that it can be seen that our world is diverse, but God is one. The Earth is here for us all!

Tuesday, May 09, 2006 History of Armenia