Biography

Achemian was born in 1838 in Ortagiugh, a suburb of Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

 and received his early education in a local Armenian school. Beginning in 1852, he continued his education in Murat-Raphaelian school in Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 where he developed his literary talent under Ghevond Alishan. He returned to Constantinople in 1858 and started working for State Telegraph Administration, he kept this job for most of his life.

Achemian's poems were published in various newspapers and periodicals, and were eventually collected into three books. Zhbitk yev Artasuk (Smiles and Tears, 1871), Luys yev Stverk (Light and Shadow, 1878) and Garnan Hover (Winds of Spring, 1892). In 1908 he published all three books as one volume and added more poems that he wrote since the last publishing. He also published collection of translated foreign poems, Zanazan targmanutiunk (Diverse translations).

Achemian's poems are written in refined Modern Armenian

Armenian language

The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

, they are delicate and reach in rhymes that impart a certain musicality. He was a poet of the romantic school, but kept traces of classicism. He was a renowned poet in his time, but he was unwilling or unable to change his style of poetry which lost its flavor in 1880's.