Aram Ter-Ghevondyan
Encyclopedia
Aram Ter-Ghevondyan was a preeminent Armenian
historian
and scholar who specialized in the study of historical sources and medieval Armenia
's relations with the Islamic world
and Oriental studies
. His seminal work, The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia, is an important study on the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
. From 1981 until his death, Ter-Ghevondyan headed the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Armenian Academy of Sciences
and he additionally held an honorary doctorate from the University of Aleppo
and was an associate member of the Tiberian Academy of Rome
.
during the massacres of the Armenian Genocide
. In the late 1940s, his family repatriated to Soviet Armenia and there he was immediately admitted to Yerevan State University
. Ter-Ghevondyan graduated from the university's faculty of philology
of Oriental languages in 1954. Pursuing higher studies, he was accepted to the Oriental Studies
Department at Leningrad State University. There, he met the renowned Armenian scholars Hrachia Acharian
and Joseph Orbeli
. He was especially fond of the guidance and advice Orbeli provided him with, as he repeatedly remarked after he had completed his studies, "Once more, fate had smiled upon me, [for] my adviser was Academician Hovsep [Joseph] Orbeli." He defended his dissertation, The Emirate of Dvin from the Ninth to Eleventh Centuries, and was awarded his kandidat nauk in 1958.
s and emirate
s. From 1958 to 1981, he worked at the Institute of History at the Armenian Academy of Sciences
(AAS) with a special emphasis in philology, historiography and the study of historical sources. His first significant work devoted to Bagratuni Armenia
's relations with the Islamic world was The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia and was published in 1965. The book was highly praised and found to be of such great importance that it was translated from Armenian into English by American Byzantine scholar Nina Garsoïan, and later into Arabic by Aleksan Keshishyan. Ter-Ghevondyan's doctoral work centered on the political and cultural links between Armenians and Arabs during the medieval era and he defended his dissertation once more and received his doktor nauk
in 1977. Titled Armenia and the Arab Caliphate, Ter-Ghevondyan's work was published by the AAS in the same year.
In 1981, thanks to Ter-Ghevondyan's efforts, the institute of Oriental Studies at the AAS was established and he was appointed to be the inaugural holder of the chair for the study of primary sources. He continued on with his research and in the same year, he completed the translation of the excerpts of the work of the 13th century Arab chronicler Ibn al-Asir, as part of a series initiated by the AAS to translate historical sources about Armenia and Armenians from their original languages into Armenian. He translated from classical to modern Armenian, wrote the introductions and commentaries on, in 1982 and 1983 respectively, the works of Armenian historians Ghevond (History) and Agatangeghos
(History of Armenia). In 1983, Ter-Ghevondyan became a professor at Yerevan State University and taught the courses "Ancient and Medieval History of the Arab World" and "An Introduction to Arabic Philology."
Due to his death in February 1988, many of Ter-Ghevondyan's works were left unpublished. His monograph, Armenia in 6th to 8th Centuries, was published posthumously in 1996. He was the author of over 100 articles and a regular contributor to the Arab-related entries in the Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia (1974–1987) and wrote numerous chapters in the second and third volumes of the History of the Armenian People (vol. ii, 1984; vol. iii, 1976).
. N.S. 2, 1965 "Le Prince d’Arménie à l’époque de la domination arabe." Revue des Études Arméniennes. Tome III, 1966. "La survivance de la division administrative Kust-i-Kapkoh sous le califat." Revue des Études Arméniennes. N.S. 5, 1968. "Սասունի 749-752 թթ. անհայտ ապստամբությունը Խալիֆայության դեմ." ("The Obscure Rebellion of Sasun in 749-752 Against the Caliphate"). Patma-Banasirakan Handes. № 3, 1971. Армения и apaбcкий Халифат. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1977. L'Armenie et la conquete arabe," in Armenian Studies/Études Arméniennes in Memoriaum Haig Berbérian. Dickran Kouymjian (ed.) Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 1986. Հոդվածների Ժողովածու (Collection of Articles). With introduction by Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan. Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 2003.
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and scholar who specialized in the study of historical sources and medieval Armenia
Medieval Armenia
-Prelude:Western Armenia had been under Byzantine control since the partition of the Kingdom of Armenia in AD 387, while Eastern Armenia had been under the occupation of the Sassanid Empire starting 428. Regardless of religious disputes, many Armenians became successful in the Byzantine Empire and...
's relations with the Islamic world
Islamic studies
In a Muslim context, Islamic studies can be an umbrella term for all virtually all of academia, both originally researched and as defined by the Islamization of knowledge...
and Oriental studies
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
. His seminal work, The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia, is an important study on the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
The medieval Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia , was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni in 885 following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule...
. From 1981 until his death, Ter-Ghevondyan headed the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Armenian Academy of Sciences
Armenian Academy of Sciences
The Armenian Academy of Sciences is the primary body that conducts research in and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in the Republic of Armenia. It was founded on November 29, 1943...
and he additionally held an honorary doctorate from the University of Aleppo
University of Aleppo
University of Aleppo is a public university located in Aleppo, Syria. It is the second largest university in Syria after the University of Damascus....
and was an associate member of the Tiberian Academy of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
Education
Ter-Ghevondyan was born in Cairo, Egypt to an Armenian family which had fled from the town of Marash in the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
during the massacres of the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. In the late 1940s, his family repatriated to Soviet Armenia and there he was immediately admitted to Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University
Yerevan State University is a university in Yerevan, Armenia. Founded on May 16 1919, it is the largest university in the country with 110 departments. Of its 3,150 employees, 1,190 comprise the teaching staff which includes 25 academicians, 130 professors, 700 docents , and 360 assistant lecturers...
. Ter-Ghevondyan graduated from the university's faculty of philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
of Oriental languages in 1954. Pursuing higher studies, he was accepted to the Oriental Studies
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
Department at Leningrad State University. There, he met the renowned Armenian scholars Hrachia Acharian
Hrachia Acharian
Hrachia Hakobi Acharian was a prominent Armenian linguist, etymologist and philologist, Professor, Academic of Armenian Academy of Sciences, a member of French Linguistic Association and Czechoslovakian Institute of Oriental studies.He studied at...
and Joseph Orbeli
Joseph Orbeli
Joseph Orbeli , 1887 – February 2, 1961) was a renowned Soviet orientalist and academician of Armenian descent who specialized in medieval history of Southern Caucasus and administered the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad from 1934 to 1951...
. He was especially fond of the guidance and advice Orbeli provided him with, as he repeatedly remarked after he had completed his studies, "Once more, fate had smiled upon me, [for] my adviser was Academician Hovsep [Joseph] Orbeli." He defended his dissertation, The Emirate of Dvin from the Ninth to Eleventh Centuries, and was awarded his kandidat nauk in 1958.
Academic career
As a scholar who was fluent in Arabic, Ter-Ghevondyan had a profound interest in the history of the medieval Arab caliphateCaliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
s and emirate
Emirate
An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim monarch styled emir.-Etymology:Etymologically emirate or amirate is the quality, dignity, office or territorial competence of any emir ....
s. From 1958 to 1981, he worked at the Institute of History at the Armenian Academy of Sciences
Armenian Academy of Sciences
The Armenian Academy of Sciences is the primary body that conducts research in and coordinates activities in the fields of science and social sciences in the Republic of Armenia. It was founded on November 29, 1943...
(AAS) with a special emphasis in philology, historiography and the study of historical sources. His first significant work devoted to Bagratuni Armenia
Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia
The medieval Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia , was an independent state established by Ashot I Bagratuni in 885 following nearly two centuries of foreign domination of Greater Armenia under Arab Umayyad and Abbasid rule...
's relations with the Islamic world was The Arab Emirates in Bagratuni Armenia and was published in 1965. The book was highly praised and found to be of such great importance that it was translated from Armenian into English by American Byzantine scholar Nina Garsoïan, and later into Arabic by Aleksan Keshishyan. Ter-Ghevondyan's doctoral work centered on the political and cultural links between Armenians and Arabs during the medieval era and he defended his dissertation once more and received his doktor nauk
Doktor nauk
Doktor nauk is a higher doctoral degree, the second and the highest post-graduate academic degree in the Soviet Union, Russia and in many post-Soviet states. Sometimes referred to as Dr. Hab. The prerequisite is the first degree, Kandidat nauk which is informally regarded equivalent to Ph.D....
in 1977. Titled Armenia and the Arab Caliphate, Ter-Ghevondyan's work was published by the AAS in the same year.
In 1981, thanks to Ter-Ghevondyan's efforts, the institute of Oriental Studies at the AAS was established and he was appointed to be the inaugural holder of the chair for the study of primary sources. He continued on with his research and in the same year, he completed the translation of the excerpts of the work of the 13th century Arab chronicler Ibn al-Asir, as part of a series initiated by the AAS to translate historical sources about Armenia and Armenians from their original languages into Armenian. He translated from classical to modern Armenian, wrote the introductions and commentaries on, in 1982 and 1983 respectively, the works of Armenian historians Ghevond (History) and Agatangeghos
Agathangelos
Agathangelos , appropriately so named, was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us...
(History of Armenia). In 1983, Ter-Ghevondyan became a professor at Yerevan State University and taught the courses "Ancient and Medieval History of the Arab World" and "An Introduction to Arabic Philology."
Due to his death in February 1988, many of Ter-Ghevondyan's works were left unpublished. His monograph, Armenia in 6th to 8th Centuries, was published posthumously in 1996. He was the author of over 100 articles and a regular contributor to the Arab-related entries in the Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia (1974–1987) and wrote numerous chapters in the second and third volumes of the History of the Armenian People (vol. ii, 1984; vol. iii, 1976).
Published works
Արաբական Ամիրայությունները Բագրատունյաց Հայաստանում. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1965. "Chronologie de la ville de Dvin (Duin) aux 9e et 11e siècles." Revue des Études ArméniennesRevue des Études Arméniennes
Revue des Études Arméniennes is a prominent French language academic journal dedicated to the study of Armenian history, art history, philology, linguistics, literature. The journal was founded by two French scholars who specialized in Armenian studies in Paris in 1920, Frédéric Macler and Antoine...
. N.S. 2, 1965 "Le Prince d’Arménie à l’époque de la domination arabe." Revue des Études Arméniennes. Tome III, 1966. "La survivance de la division administrative Kust-i-Kapkoh sous le califat." Revue des Études Arméniennes. N.S. 5, 1968. "Սասունի 749-752 թթ. անհայտ ապստամբությունը Խալիֆայության դեմ." ("The Obscure Rebellion of Sasun in 749-752 Against the Caliphate"). Patma-Banasirakan Handes. № 3, 1971. Армения и apaбcкий Халифат. Yerevan, Armenian SSR: Armenian Academy of Sciences, 1977. L'Armenie et la conquete arabe," in Armenian Studies/Études Arméniennes in Memoriaum Haig Berbérian. Dickran Kouymjian (ed.) Lisbon: Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 1986. Հոդվածների Ժողովածու (Collection of Articles). With introduction by Vahan Ter-Ghevondyan. Yerevan: Yerevan State University Press, 2003.
- "The Armenian Rebellion of 703 Against the Caliphate" in The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims. Andrew G Bostom (ed.) New York: Prometheus Book, 2005.