Joseph Emin
Encyclopedia
Joseph Emin (August 2, 1726 - August 2, 1809, Calcutta), was a prominent figure of the Armenian national liberation movement who travelled to various European countries and Russia in order to secure support for the liberation of Armenia from Persia and the Ottoman Empire
. He married Thangoom-Khatoon (1748 - 14 September 1843) in 1776, whose grave lies next to his.
, Persia, in 1726 at a time when the empire was in turmoil, following the Afghan
occupation of Isfahan
and the fall of the Safavids. As a child Emin had witnessed firsthand the troubles of his family and other Christians at the hands of local Muslim officials. In 1744 Emin moved to India to join his merchant father in Calcutta. As a young man, not unlike Israel Ori
before him, Emin resolved to dedicate his life to the liberation of Armenia. When he came into contact with the British military in Calcutta, he realized that the Armenians needed both education and skill in the contemporary Western art of warfare if they hoped to regain independence.
, the future British statesman and political writer, with whose support he gained access to the circles of British intellectuals and nobility. He received sponsorship from Hugh Percy
the Duke of Northumberland
and was admitted to the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich
, where he remained for thirteenth months after which he enlisted as a volunteer in the British and Prussian armies during their war against France in order to gain practical experience.
, passing through the Armenian areas of the Ottoman Empire on his way. His initial strategy for liberating Armenia involved attempting to motivate the Catholicos of Echmiadzin
toward the idea of first liberating Ottoman Armenia and then Persian Armenia and then proceeding to secure the cooperation of the Armenian meliks of Karabagh
and King Erekle II
of Georgia
, who, after the death of Nadir Shah, had liberated his country from the Persian yoke and reestablished the Georgian Kingdom. However Emin was disappointed with the ignorance of the Armenian clergy and the passive and apathetic leadership. He decided to return to London to pursue other avenues for his liberation plans.
to whom he presented his plans to go to Georgia, enter the service of King Erekle II, and help liberate Armenia. Emin entered Tiflis (now Tbilisi
) in 1763 with a letter of recommendation from Count Voronstov to King Erekle II and accompanied by a large group of Armenian volunteers who had joined him from Armenian settlements in the North Caucasus
. In Tiflis Emin stressed to the king the historical links between the Armenian and Georgian peoples and the monarchs legitimate rights to extend his rule over his ancestral lands (see Origin of the Bagratid dynasties
), assuring him that a small but disciplined army could easily cross over into Armenia, where a general revolt against Persian and Ottoman rule would take place. Tens of thousands of volunteer fighters, mostly gathered by Hovhan, the head of the religious order of St. Karapet Monastery in Moush, Western Armenia, would assist him in defeating the Muslim forces, allowing the establishment of a joint Kingdom of Armenia and Georgia. While King Erekle initially showed some interest in Emin's plans he eventually saw Emin as a challenger and a few months after his arrival into Tiflis Emin was forced to leave Georgia and cross into the Northern Caucasus. Emin remained in the region for the following five years, spending a lot of time among the mountain tribes, with whose assistance he was finally able to reach Karabagh and the mountainous Zangezur
region in Armenia where he tried to pursue his liberation plans with the local Armenian nobles and the Armenian Bishop of Gandzasar. Realizing he needed the help of the Georgian king for any hope of success, he returned briefly to Georgia again only to be ordered to leave.
. Emin remained in India for the rest of the his life, and devoted his time and energy to keeping the idea of the liberation of Armenia alive. Emin wrote his memoirs where he described all his numerous and dangerous adventures. The book was entitled as Life and Adventures of Joseph Emin, 1726-1809, written by himself, and first published in London in 1792. A second edition was prepared and published in Calcutta in 1918 by Emin's great granddaughter who added all the preserved letters written by Emin in English.
who added many letters and documents letters written by Emin. He also has descendants living in Calcutta and Russia, but more notably in London, England. Emin was also a descendant of Emin the First (or Emin the Great), who is thought to have held a position of considerable power in Armenia during the early 1500s. None of Emin's remaining descendants have retained the name 'Emin', and thus it has been lost.
Ottoman 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...
. He married Thangoom-Khatoon (1748 - 14 September 1843) in 1776, whose grave lies next to his.
Early life
Emin was Born in HamadanHamadan
-Culture:Hamadan is home to many poets and cultural celebrities. The city is also said to be among the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities.Handicrafts: Hamadan has always been well known for handicrafts like leather, ceramic, and beautiful carpets....
, Persia, in 1726 at a time when the empire was in turmoil, following the Afghan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
occupation of Isfahan
Isfahan (city)
Isfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan, Sepahan or Hispahan, is the capital of Isfahan Province in Iran, located about 340 km south of Tehran. It has a population of 1,583,609, Iran's third largest city after Tehran and Mashhad...
and the fall of the Safavids. As a child Emin had witnessed firsthand the troubles of his family and other Christians at the hands of local Muslim officials. In 1744 Emin moved to India to join his merchant father in Calcutta. As a young man, not unlike Israel Ori
Israel Ori
Israel Ori was a prominent figure of the Armenian national liberation movement and a diplomat that sought the liberation of Armenia from Persia and the Ottoman Empire.-Early life:...
before him, Emin resolved to dedicate his life to the liberation of Armenia. When he came into contact with the British military in Calcutta, he realized that the Armenians needed both education and skill in the contemporary Western art of warfare if they hoped to regain independence.
Life in England
In 1751, against his fathers wishes Emin left for London. His first four years there were filled with misery and hard labour, and he was deprived of any financial assistance from his father. However in 1755 Emin experienced a turning point in his life. He met and befriended Edmund BurkeEdmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
, the future British statesman and political writer, with whose support he gained access to the circles of British intellectuals and nobility. He received sponsorship from Hugh Percy
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland
Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, KG, PC was an Engish peer, landowner and art patron.He was born Hugh Smithson, the son of Langdale Smithson and grandson of Sir Hugh Smithson, 3rd Baronet from whom he inherited the baronetcy in 1733...
the Duke of Northumberland
Duke of Northumberland
The Duke of Northumberland is a title in the peerage of Great Britain that has been created several times. Since the third creation in 1766, the title has belonged to the House of Percy , which held the title of Earl of Northumberland from 1377....
and was admitted to the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
, where he remained for thirteenth months after which he enlisted as a volunteer in the British and Prussian armies during their war against France in order to gain practical experience.
Initial efforts to liberate Armenia
Emin left London in 1759 and traveled to EchmiadzinEchmiadzin
Mother Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin is a 4th century Armenian church in the town of Ejmiatsin, Armenia. It is also the central cathedral of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church....
, passing through the Armenian areas of the Ottoman Empire on his way. His initial strategy for liberating Armenia involved attempting to motivate the Catholicos of Echmiadzin
Catholicos of Armenia
The Catholicos of All Armenians is the chief bishop of Armenia's national church, the Armenian Apostolic Church. It is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that do not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon. The first Catholicos of All Armenians was Saint Gregory the Illuminator...
toward the idea of first liberating Ottoman Armenia and then Persian Armenia and then proceeding to secure the cooperation of the Armenian meliks of Karabagh
Artsakh
Artsakh was the tenth province of the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until 387 AD and afterwards a region of Caucasian Albania from 387 to the 7th century. From the 7th to 9th centuries, it fell under Arab control...
and King Erekle II
Erekle II
Erekle II was a Georgian monarch of the Bagrationi Dynasty, reigning as the king of Kakheti from 1744 to 1762, and of Kartli and Kakheti from 1762 until 1798. In the contemporary Persian sources he is referred to as Erekli Khan, while Russians knew him as Irakli...
of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, who, after the death of Nadir Shah, had liberated his country from the Persian yoke and reestablished the Georgian Kingdom. However Emin was disappointed with the ignorance of the Armenian clergy and the passive and apathetic leadership. He decided to return to London to pursue other avenues for his liberation plans.
A new hope
Emin returned to England in early 1761 from where he secured passage to Russia from Prince Golitsyn, the Russian Ambassador to England. In St. Petersburg he met with the Russian Imperial Chancellor, Count VorontsovMikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov
Count Mikhail Illarionovich Vorontsov was a Russian statesman and diplomat, who laid foundations for the fortunes of the Vorontsov family....
to whom he presented his plans to go to Georgia, enter the service of King Erekle II, and help liberate Armenia. Emin entered Tiflis (now Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
) in 1763 with a letter of recommendation from Count Voronstov to King Erekle II and accompanied by a large group of Armenian volunteers who had joined him from Armenian settlements in the North Caucasus
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus is the northern part of the Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian Seas and within European Russia. The term is also used as a synonym for the North Caucasus economic region of Russia....
. In Tiflis Emin stressed to the king the historical links between the Armenian and Georgian peoples and the monarchs legitimate rights to extend his rule over his ancestral lands (see Origin of the Bagratid dynasties
Origin of the Bagratid dynasties
The Origin of the Bagratid dynasties – Bagratuni in Armenia and Bagrationi in Georgia – were the longest-reigning royal families in the Caucasus , starting as princely houses and attaining to the royal status in both countries in the 9th century...
), assuring him that a small but disciplined army could easily cross over into Armenia, where a general revolt against Persian and Ottoman rule would take place. Tens of thousands of volunteer fighters, mostly gathered by Hovhan, the head of the religious order of St. Karapet Monastery in Moush, Western Armenia, would assist him in defeating the Muslim forces, allowing the establishment of a joint Kingdom of Armenia and Georgia. While King Erekle initially showed some interest in Emin's plans he eventually saw Emin as a challenger and a few months after his arrival into Tiflis Emin was forced to leave Georgia and cross into the Northern Caucasus. Emin remained in the region for the following five years, spending a lot of time among the mountain tribes, with whose assistance he was finally able to reach Karabagh and the mountainous Zangezur
Zangezur
Zangezur may refer to:* Syunik, alternative name of an Armenian geographic-historic region, nowadays one of the provinces of Armenia* Kapan, former name of a city in Armenia...
region in Armenia where he tried to pursue his liberation plans with the local Armenian nobles and the Armenian Bishop of Gandzasar. Realizing he needed the help of the Georgian king for any hope of success, he returned briefly to Georgia again only to be ordered to leave.
Return to India
After his second failed attempt to persuade King Erekle, Emin left Georgia, and passing through Armenia and Persia, returned to India in 1770, where he tried to secure financial support from Armenian merchants to go back to Armenia to maintain a 'few troops' there. But facing clerical opposition again, he failed. Bitterly disillusioned, he rejoined the British Army under Warren HastingsWarren Hastings
Warren Hastings PC was the first Governor-General of India, from 1773 to 1785. He was famously accused of corruption in an impeachment in 1787, but was acquitted in 1795. He was made a Privy Councillor in 1814.-Early life:...
. Emin remained in India for the rest of the his life, and devoted his time and energy to keeping the idea of the liberation of Armenia alive. Emin wrote his memoirs where he described all his numerous and dangerous adventures. The book was entitled as Life and Adventures of Joseph Emin, 1726-1809, written by himself, and first published in London in 1792. A second edition was prepared and published in Calcutta in 1918 by Emin's great granddaughter who added all the preserved letters written by Emin in English.
Descendants and Heritage
Emin's book (The Life and Adventures of Joseph Emin) was revised by his great-great granddaughter Amy ApcarApcar family
For more than a century the Apcar family was prominent in commerce and industry in India.Aratoon Apcar was the founder of Apcar & Co in 1809 and Senior Member until his death, 54 years later. He came to India in 1795, first to Mumbai and then to Kolkata in 1830...
who added many letters and documents letters written by Emin. He also has descendants living in Calcutta and Russia, but more notably in London, England. Emin was also a descendant of Emin the First (or Emin the Great), who is thought to have held a position of considerable power in Armenia during the early 1500s. None of Emin's remaining descendants have retained the name 'Emin', and thus it has been lost.