Category: History

Published by the Research on Armenian Architecture (RAA) NGO, the atlas offers an all-embracing picture of Nakhijevan with maps of ethnic distribution, scriptoria, educational institutions and cultural monuments, both Christian and Islamic.

It also exposes the cultural genocide perpetrated by the Azerbaijani authorities of Nakhijevan.

Publication sponsor: Arthur Seredian, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Download PDF RAA-Nakhijevan-Atlas, English

Also available in Armenian

By Emanuele Aliprandi
MIA Publishers, Rome 2016

Historically, Nakhijevan has been one of the most prosperous regions under the rule of all Armenian kingdoms. Since the early history of the Armenian people until the 20th century, Nakhijevan was famous as a highly developed spiritual and cultural centre. In pre-Christian times the singers of Nakhijevan’s Goght’n province were very famous throughout Armenia. Then, in the early Christian period, the fi rst Armenian churches were founded in various areas of Nakhijevan. In this region, Mesrop Mashtots and his disciples preached and taught, gradually coming to the conclusion that Armenians needed their own alphabet. During the following centuries Nakhijevan became famous in one of the most signifi cant spheres of Medieval Armenian culture, that is. crafting stone crosses (khachkars).

After the collapse of Armenian statehood, the Nakhijevan region struggled to preserve its Armenian identity. In the late medieval period, the Armenian merchants of Agulis played an important role not only in regional trade deals, but also in the trade between the East and the West.
Continue reading ““The Story of Nakhijevan””