RAA Foundation to publish online archive of Armenian inscriptions found in India

The Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) Foundation is preparing to publish its comprehensive archive of Armenian inscriptions found in India on its official website.

The RAA expedition, led by the late monument expert Samvel Karapetian, began its work in India in 2011. Over the course of 21 days, the team photographed and documented Armenian inscriptions in nine former Armenian-populated settlements: Agra, Bombay, Gwalior, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Madras, Chinsurah, Saidabad, and Surat. Every inscription was recorded, regardless of its size, content, state of preservation, or language—whether Armenian, Persian, English, Latin, Georgian, French, or Portuguese.

Following more than thirteen years of meticulous study, the findings were published in 2024 in a volume authored by Raffi Kortoshian, entitled “The Inscriptions of the Major Armenian Settlements of India.” The work includes a total of 2,291 inscriptions, approximately 80% of which are published for the first time.
In recent years, new materials have emerged that shed further light on the history, culture, and daily life of the Armenians of India. It has therefore become essential to present this unique collection of inscriptions alongside other valuable historical sources.

To make these materials accessible to scholars, Armenologists, and researchers worldwide, the RAA Foundation is preparing to publish the entire collection of inscriptions (in addition to the book), complete with photographs and illustrations, on its website: www.Armenianarchitecture.org.