Armenian Studies in Georgia
Armenian studies or Armenology is a complex of humanitarian sciences, which covers the history, language, literature, life, and culture of the Armenian people. The foundation for systematic work in this field was laid on the verge of the 17th–18th centuries. In 1679, a Foundation of Armenian Manuscripts was created at the Royal (now — National) Library in Paris, and in 1701, Armenian catholic, Mkhitar Sebastatsi (1676–1749) founded the congregation (brotherhood) known as the Mekhitarists in Venice. Later, the Trieste (1776) and Vienna (1881) delegations were separated from the Venice brotherhood. Thus, two schools of Armenology were established in Europe: European (in Paris, Leipzig, Berlin and others) and national (Mekhitarists). From the 1920s, work conducted in Armenian studies spread widely in Armenia (university, institutes of the Academy of Sciences, Matenadaran).
Tbilisi State University became the center of Armenology in Georgia from the first days of its foundation (1918). The Chair of Armenian Studies was established in 1922 there (Head – L. Meliksetbegi). In 1945, the Department of Armenian Studies was opened at the Faculty of Oriental Studies. Today, along with its pedagogical activities, the department researches the issues of Armenian-Georgian linguistic (E. Dochanashvili, M. Robakidze) and literary (A. Kharatiani) relations, source and textual studies (Z. Aleksidze, N. Aptsiauri, A. Chantladze, R. Chubabria, T. Evdoshvili), history of art (Z. Skhirtladze). In 1986, the Cabinet of Caucasian Studies was established at the Chair of Armenian Studies, which was tasked with gathering complete material on Armenian monuments in the territory of Georgia and relevant studies.
I. Abuladze made a special contribution to Georgian Armenology. He created a school of specialists in Armenian and Georgian studies, who successfully use the achievements of Armenian studies and the monuments of Armenian writing in their scientific activities.
Fruitful research in Armenology is being conducted in other scientific centers as well. The most important problems of political and socio-economic contacts between Armenia and Georgia are studied at the Ivane Javakhishvili Institute of History and Ethnology (A. Abdaladze, G. Maisuradze, G. Cheishvili). Special attention is paid to the translation and annotation of Armenian sources of the late Middle Ages (L. Davlianidze, L. Janashia). A number of new studies were devoted to the research of Georgian epigraphy preserved in Armenia and Armenian epigraphy preserved in Georgia (G. Gagoshidze, V. Kekelia, N. Chantladze, T. Jojua). Georgian-Armenian literary relations of the new and recent period are mainly studied at the Shota Rustaveli Institute of Georgian Literature (B. Arveladze). Attention is paid to the Armenian sources of the Middle and late Middle Ages (K. Kutsia) at the Giorgi Tsereteli Institute of Oriental Studies, (R. Gorgadze, N. Saganelidze).
Modern Georgian Armenology is an independent Caucasological discipline, which studies adjacent problems of the history, culture, language and literature of the Georgian and Armenian peoples on the basis of abundant factual data.
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Z. Aleksidze
