The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century [Hardcover]

Richard G. Hovannisian (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0312101694 | ISBN-13: 978-0312101695 | Publication Date: August 15, 1997

Edited by the leading historian of the Republic of Armenia, this is the definitive history of an extraordinary country - from its earliest foundations, through the Crusades, the resistance to Ottoman and Tsarist rule, the collapse of the independent state, its brief re-emergence after World War I, its subjugation by the Bolsheviks, and the establishment of the new Republic in 1991. Written by the foremost experts on each period in Armenia's history, this book is a major contribution to understanding the complexities of Transcaucasia. Armenia is a cradle of civilization situated on one of the world's most turbulent crossroads. This volume examines the question of Armenian origins and traces domestic and international relations, society and culture through the five dynastic periods, spanning nearly two thousand years. The challenge facing the Armenian people was to maintain as much freedom as possible under the shadow of powerful neighbouring empires. The adoption of Christianity had a permanent impact on the course of Armenian history and culture. These were the heroic, colourful and harsh feudal centuries of Armenia.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[This book] provides us with the most dependable general history of the Armenians written in the English language. . .a treasure trove of information and explanation." --Canadian Journal of History

About the Author

Richard G. Hovannisian is the Holder of the Armenian Educational Foundation Chair in Modern Armenian History at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. He is the author of Armenia on the Road to Independence (1967) and The Republic of Armenia, 4 volumes (1971-1996), ans he has edited three volumes on the Armenian genocide. A Guggenheim Fellow, he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia in 1991 and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Erevan State University, Armenia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 386 pages
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan (August 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312101694
• ISBN-13: 978-0312101695
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,399,587 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent overview of an extremely complex, dense history, June 11, 1999

By 

Evan Trent, ([e-mail]) (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century (Hardcover)

This is about as good as it gets in terms of an overview of Armenian history. Armenia is an incredibly fascinating study in the context of the Middle East, and the world's history at large. Containing a series of contributions on various topics by leading scholars in the field and edited by one of the foremost scholars, Hovannisian, this is an outstanding read and should be on any Armenian or history scholar's shelf.

4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Armenian History by Turkey, July 19, 2010

By 

Rob - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century (Paperback)

This book is a grossly falsified Armenian Studies Book. This author and his close associates, which include Ronald Suny, James Russell, Peter Cowe, Alina Ayvazian, and Simon Payaslian, are promoting the False Armenological School in the United States which corrupts and distorts Armenian history and culture parallel to the Turkish design. They make numerous false claims about Armenian History. To note a few: They claim that the Armenian people are colonists and newcomers to the Historic Armenian Highland, arriving only in the 6th Century BC to destroy the Urartians. Complete nonsense! The Armenians are considered the descendents of Urartu and have been in that region thousands of years longer than this book claims! It is further mentioned that the Armenians of today are the product of intermingling of different ethnic groups! Absolutly ridiculous. More nonsense is their belief that Karabakh historically belongs to Azerbaijan as they believe the Turkish/Azeri myth that Azeris were the direct descendents of the Caucasian Albanians! The Ancestors of todays Azeri Turks were a Turkic speaking tribe that began their invasion of the Caucasus from Central Asia only in the 11th Century. These are just a few to mention...

Do yourself a favor and don't study this corrupt version of Armenian history that has been modified to please the Turkish government and cause.

The National Academy of the Republic of Armenia (Department of Armenology and Social Sciences) expressed its serious disappointment regarding such intentional falsifications found in THIS history book! It further emphasized that the continuous usage of such a textbook is harmful for students studying Armenian history. April 7, 2009.

2 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ABOUT GEOGRAPHY OF THE AREA, September 20, 2005

By 

NATELA POPKHADZE (Tbilisi in Georgia i.e. Kartu) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times, Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiquity to the Fourteenth Century (Paperback)

The author of the chapter 1- Robert H.Heusen is sincere at p.2 saying that other local ethnicities were indigeneous to the area where Armenia was established much later-e.g.the Khaldeans,the Urartians etc.;that ancient authors wrote about it clearly.I would add that Strabo in the Ic.wrote in his Geography of the World that the Armenian political unit was created by a certain general of the army of another country on the land snatched from the Iberians/Moskhians; this is in vol 5 of Strabo,the Loeb Classical Library edition in 1936;this is the area where the Republic of Armenia was created in 1918.I recently learned that its name was planned to be 'Republic of Erevan'(not Armenia) and the League of the Nations promised to the government of Kartu i.e. Georgia that the creation of Armenia in Caucasia was a temporary measure-F.Nansen from that League of the Nations desired to create some footing somewhere in the world for refugees driven out from the Balkans and that soon the League of the Nations would move the Republic of Armenia and her Armenian and other refugees-unwanted citizens of Turkey-to the Mediterranean.These facts are known from materials published by F. Nansen available in English and some translated into Russian now on the web.The creation of that republic and that of Azerbaijan in 1918 in the area was the gross violation of the human rights of the indigeneous nation called by several names:the Iberians,the Moskhians,the Kardi etc. R.Heusen is absolutely right in telling readers that even before World War I,the Armenians were a minority in what became the Republic of Armenia in 1918.After reading those truthful remarks it was a sad surprise to me to see on the next page "a map of the historical Armenia" encompassing greater territory than the Great Britain.R.Heusen wrote the former was 238,000 square miles against 228,000 square miles of the latter.The term Armenian Plateau is frequently used by the author.It is unwelcome as other names were usually used for that plateau.Moses Khorenatsi is discussed at several pages.It is over two centuries that he is widely denounced for being a fictitious author and therefore called Pseudo-Moses Khorenatsi.I have thoroughly researched materials on that author in publications,in unpublished archives of Prof.Mikheil Tamarashvili known as Michele Tamarati in Rome and Paris.Many authors in XIX century revealed the absurdity of the writings attributed to him:among them Mr.Lenormann,Ilia Chavchavadze criticised that pseudo author and his promoters from the Mkhitarist congregation in Venice- Western Europe for spreading false information.'Gate of Alans' (p.152)usually has a better term in historical sources:the Gate of Aragvi.Metsamor mentioned at p.49 is the distorted term from Kartu term 'Metsamuli' meaning 'Cherry colour'-as nearby clyffs are reddish with minerals.This Kartu/Kartuli designation was given to those clyffs,the nearby village and the river by ethnic Kartu population millenia ago before aliens-Armenians among them-immigrated to that area-some as refugees,others as invaders accompanying alien armies.Authors of this book mention a huge number of writings of persons- including the ancient Persians,Greeks,Romans,Kartu(Shota Rustaveli,History of Kartly,Dionysius the Areopagite,Georgian Chronicle(p.242);myriad of modern authors and those of XIX-XX cc.The book is clearly addressed to modern young ethnic Armenians and teach them that they are entitled not only to what was made the Republic of Armenia in 1918(itself an abuse of the human rights of another-indigeneous nation that has created a kingdom including the territory of that area in much early days),but to the region'greater than the Great Britain'.Still I give to the authors of this book 'excellent', i.e. 5 stars- for excellent misinformation.