23 mai 2023
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.54503/1829-4073-2023.1.5-15
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Aelita Dolukhanyan, « The History of Artsakh in the Works of French Armenologists », HAL-SHS : sciences politiques, ID : 10.54503/1829-4073-2023.1.5-15
In their writings on the history of Armenia, all French Armenologists have noted that the country had fifteen provinces. Of those provinces, Artsakh was the tenth. It was always Armenian and under the control of Armenians until the beginning of the 19th century when Artsakh’s Meliks (ruling princes, hereditary Armenian nobility) voluntarily joined the Russian Empire in order to protect themselves from the Muslim incursions. The French Armenologists cite those historical facts about the past of Artsakh not only on the basis of the Armenian sources, but also based on the accounts of foreign historians and the narratives of their contemporary writers. Additionally, the French Armenologists consistently cite Shushi as the important center of Artsakh. The facts of the historical borders of Armenia are also ascertained in the accounts of Ancient Greek historians Herodotus (c. 484 – c. 425 BCE) and Strabo (61BCE – c. 21 CE). Notably, Strabo was also a geographer. Antoine-Jean Saint-Martin (1818) and our contemporary, prominent Armenologist Jean-Pierre Mahé have documented in their works that Artsakh has always been Armenian.Artsakh was handed over to Azerbaijan in 1921 due to of the demands made by Kemal Ataturk in order to normalize the relations between the Bolshevik government and Turkey.Historical Caucasian Albania that was on the territory of modern-day Azerbaijan, which corresponds to the Northern Persian province of Adurbadagan (“Atrpatakan” in Armenian), for long periods of time was governed by Armenian kings. The Albanian Apostolic Church was under the religious jurisdiction of the Armenian Apostolic Church since 705 CE. Caucasian Albania’s state language was Armenian. In fact, Caucasian Albania was ruled by one of the branches of the Armenian Bagratid dynasty. The French Armenologists have documented this aswell. This is further reinforced by the fact that the Caucasian Albania’s Armenian King Goric’s copper coins have Armenian writing on both sides. The French Armenologists have also documented the resistance and liberation movement by Armenians against any Muslim oppression or domination.