essay in armenian

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Armenia from ethnogenesis to the dark ages: from a world history perspective: home, the class syllabus.

This guide will introduce select sources on Ancient and pre-modern Armenian history to its users.

Primary Sources: Ancient Period

• Strabo's Geographica-see: Book XI, Chapter 14
• Cassius Dio Roman History : Epitome of Book LXXI (On Armenia)
• Récit des malheurs de la nation arménienne. Aristakēs, Lastiverttsʻi, Vardapet, active 11th century.; Canard, Marius, editor.; Pērpērean, Hayk, 1887-1978.

Subject Guide

Persian Sources on Armenian History

• طبقات ناصرى / تاءلىف منهاج سراج جوزجانى ؛ تصحىح، مقابله و تحشىۀ عبد الحي حبىبى./ Ṭabaqāt-i Nāṣirī by Minhāj Sirāj Jūzjānī, 1193-1266. ISBN: 9789643314231
• زیج ایلخانی

Armenian E-Books from Haybooks

• On the Origins of the Armenian People

Հայ ժողովրդի ծագման ու հնագույն պատմության հարցեր / Ռաֆաել Իշխանյան, Երևան 1988

• On medieval Armenia

Արաբական արշավանքները Հայաստանում , in Մանր Հետազոտություններ / Հակոբ Մանանդյան (Hakob H. Manandyan – b. 1873), Երեվան 1932 (p. 22-64). See the table of contents (on Gallica)

Մամիկոնյանների ծագման ավանդությունը և պատմական իրականույթւոնը , Ա. Քեշիշյան, in Հայոց պատմության հարցեր, Հ. 1, 1997 (on Armenian Academic Research)

Ասորական աղբյուրներ , Հ. Ա, series “Օտար աղբյուրները Հայաստանի և հայերի մասին” Հ. 8, Երևան, 1976 (on Armenian Academic Research)

On glass and metal craftmanship in medieval Armenia :  Միջնադարյան Հայաստանի գեղարվեստական մետաղը IX-XIII դդ. ։ Միջնադարյան Հայաստանի հաղճապակին IX-XIV դդ ., Նյուրա Հակոբյան, Աղավնի Ժամկոչյան, Երևան : ՀՍՍՀ ԳԱ հրատ., 1981

• On Armenian Cilicia

Հայկական Կիլիկիա / Վահան Մ. Քիւրքճեան, Նիւ Եորք 1919 (139 p.), with a map . See the table of contents (on Gallica)

Other guides related to Armenian History

• Hist 177B: Armenia: From Pre-modern Empires to the Present
• Armenian Studies

Article Databases

Armenian Manuscripts

• Armenian Manuscripts at the French National Library
• Artstor: Armenian Manuscripts
• Manuscripts in the Libraries of the Greek and Armenian Patriarchates in Jerusalem

Armenian Sources

• Patmut'yun Nahangin Sisakan = History of the State of Sisakan

Primary Sources: Byzantine/ Sassanian Period

• "Vahram's Chronicle of the Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia, during the time of the Crusades"

Select Arabic Sources

• لكامل في التاريخ - ابن الأثير الإمام العلامة أبي الحسن علي بن أبي الكرم محمد بن محمد بن عبد الكريم بن عبد الواحد الشيباني المعروف بابن الأثير الجزري الملقب بعز الدين 630 هـ
• كتاب التحفة الملوكية فى الدولة التركية : تاريخ دولة المماليك البحرية فى الفترة من 711-648 هجرية / تأليف بيبرس المنصورى ؛ نشره وقدم له ووضع فهارسه عبد الحميد صالح حمدان.; Kitāb al-tuḥfah al-mulūkīyah fī al-dawlah al-Turkīyah : tārīkh dawlat al-Mama On Mamluk History (Baybars al- Mansuri's (d. 1324-25) Kitab al-Tuhfa al-mulukiyya jil-dawla al-Turkiyya)

Sources on Armenian Art and Monuments

Books from catalog.

Important Islamicate and Islamic Manuscripts Databases

• Last Updated: Apr 1, 2024 4:26 PM
• URL: https://guides.lib.berkeley.edu/armenia

• About Armenia
• State Symbols

ARMENIAN CULTURE: FROM ANCIENT TIMES TO THE 21st CENTURY

“Armenia is the cradle of civilization,

one of the progressive and developed countries of the Ancient World”.

Franz Werfel, Austrian writer and humanist

The origins of Armenian culture date back to the time of the formation of Armenian tribal unions and state institutions. They are familiar to us due to excavation materials as well as preserved myths and religious beliefs. Numerous ancient settlements, Cyclopean fortresses and plentiful tombs (Metsamor, Lchashen, Vanadzor, etc.) were discovered on the territory of historical Armenia. Weapons, tools, household items, figurines and jewelry, that were found thereby, are indicative of ancient and high cultural development. The kingdom of Van (Ararat) (9th-7th centuries BC) played a special role in the formation and development of ancient Armenian culture. After the fall of Urartu, its famous cuneiform writing became a thing of the past. Urartian urban planning and fresco painting were distinguished by remarkable features, which were discovered during the excavations of the fortress cities of Erebuni (Yerevan), Argishtikhinili and Teishebaini. Not only numerous samples of buildings have been preserved, but also clay and metal products, weapons, armor and jewelry. It is worth mentioning the silver goblets (rhytons) with horsemen sculptures excavated in Arinberd (Teishebaini). Today architecture is one of the most fascinating art forms in Armenia, and richly adorned churches are undoubtedly a vivid confirmation of this.

Literature has always played an essential role in the development of Armenian national and cultural identity. Before the creation of the Armenian alphabet in the 5th century, Armenian legends and folk stories had been passed down through speech from one generation to the next or written down in foreign languages. Armenian manuscripts, gorgeously illustrated with miniatures, combine literary traditions and the art of illumination. The invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots, that reflects the Christian culture and highlights the richness of the Armenian language, gave a new impetus to the development of unique cultural traditions. This alphabet has not undergone any significant revision to the present day. One can admire Armenian literary and artistic history in the Matenadaran, Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, a unique institution in the world, which houses an extraordinary collection of 14,000 volumes including complete manuscripts, fragments and miniatures. The oldest manuscripts are parchments dating from the 5th and 6th centuries. 

The history of Armenian theater dates back more than 2000 years. At Matenadaran there are also a number of manuscripts concerning theater. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, there were performances staged in Artashat in 53 BC, and Armenian King Artavazd was also known for composing tragedies. Theater art is still very popular in Armenia with the majority of theatrical traditions preserved.

It was especially in the 19th century that Armenian painting experienced a remarkable breakthrough. Such painters of this period as the portraitist Hakob Hovnatanyan or the marine landscape artist Ivan Aivazovsky are internationally recognized to the present day. In the 20th century, Martiros Sarian gave to the world a new feel of nature depiction. It is also worth mentioning Arshile Gorky, who influenced a whole generation of young American painters in New York, such as Jean Carzou and Jean Jansem, whose glory arose in France. A visit to the Saryan Park in Yerevan will give you an incredible opportunity to get acquainted with some contemporary Armenian painters.

Armenia is also considered to be one of the oldest centers of carpet-weaving art in the world. In Armenia one can find numerous shops selling old and new carpets. In Yerevan’s flea market (Vernissage) visitors can have a view of counters full of Armenian motifs, including jewelry, precious and semi-precious stones, for example, obsidian, which is widely used in Armenia. 

Our country is also known for its khachkars : wooden sculptures that often reproduce the ancient steles engraved with crosses. 

Armenia is often called an open-air museum. Tourists can find more than 4000 historical monuments tracing back to different periods of the country's history, from prehistoric to Hellenistic times, from the beginning of the Christian era to the present day.