New publication, ”The History of the Land of Artsakh”

New publication The History of the Land of Artsakh –

Ka‘ren Ketendjian and Robert H. Hewsen will present the new publication The History of the Land of Artsakh on Sunday, January 26, at the Ararat-Eskijian Museum, Mission Hills, CA.  

Abp. Sargis Hasan-Jalaliants’ History of the Land of Artsakh (Patmutiwn Aghuanits Ashkhari), written in the first quarter of the 19th century, continues the work of his earlier relative Isaiah (Esai) Hasan-Jalaliants, in presenting the history of Karabagh in the period of the Armeno-Persian and Russo-Persian wars (1722-1827), a crucial period in the history of the region.  The elder Jalaliants’ history was translated by George Bournoutian; newly published by Mazda Publishers is The History of the Land of Artsakh in a translation by Ka‘ren Ketendjian, edited and with an introduction by Robert H. Hewsen.

The subject of this book is the history of Karabagh in the period of the Armeno-Persian and Russo-Persian wars (1722-1827), a region, which the author refers to as the “land of Aghuank.” 

The author, Archbishop Sargis Hasan-Jalaliants, begins his narrative with an account of the deeds of Avan yüzbashi (i.e. centurion), the leader of the Armenian rebellion against foreign rule at the time of Peter the Great’s invasion of the Persian Empire in 1722, an invasion that took place after the Afghan invasions of Persia and the fall of the Safavid dynasty. His narrative continues with the Ottoman invasion of Persian Armenia and the resistance offered to it by the Armenian meliks (petty princes) of Karabagh through the reigns of Nadir Shah and Agha Muhammad Khan.

Besides recording much oral history not found elsewhere, Archbishop Sargis conveys many geographical indications as well as vivid descriptions of fortresses and melikal residences. Valuable, too, is Archbishop Sargis’ descriptions of the deeds of the celebrated Avan yüzbashi and of Melik Egan of Dizak, and of the wars of Panah Khan of Karabagh. Most important of all his historical data, however, is the author’s preservation of the Dashnagir or “Alliance Charter” in which the meliks present the terms under which they hoped to live under Russian suzerainty and which form almost a constitution for the famed Khamsa Melikutiunere or federation of the five principle melik houses of Karabagh. 

A native of Erevan, Armenia, Ka‘ren V. Ketendjian received his master’s degree from V. I. Brusov Foreign Language Institute in Armenia where he studied English and Russian languages and literature. Mr. Ketendjian received his juris doctor degree from San Joaquin College of Law. 

Born in New York City, Robert H. Hewsen received his doctorate from Georgetown University where he studied Armenian history under the late pioneer Armenist Cyril Toumanoff.  From 1967 to 1999, he taught Russian and Byzantine History at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, as well as other major universities.  Dr. Hewsen is the author of numerous scholarly works, including the landmark Armenia: A Historical Atlas.