This article deals with the relationship between the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Mamluk Sultanate during the reign of Lewon IV (r. 1320–1341). This study uses two different groups of sources: colophons of Armenian manuscripts and various Arabic chronicles. The first description about the Mamluks found in the Armenian colophons during Levon’s reign details the dispatch of Catholicos Kostandin Drazarkec’i as a negotiator in 1325, while Arabic sources also describe Armenian emissaries arriving in Cairo in roughly the same year. In 1335, both the Armenian colophon and Arabic sources report the Mamluk invasion in Cilicia. However, while the Arabic sources describe a subsequent massacre of Muslims by inhabitants in Ayas, the Armenian source describes the imprisonment and slaughter of Armenians by “infidels” in Jerusalem as retaliation against the murder of an Arab qadi in Ayas. From these records of 1336, one can see that the Armenian fortress called “Nłir” is equivalent to the Arabic place name “al-Naqīr.” In 1337, both sources record a huge Mamluk raid of Cilicia. Especially al-ʿAynī and his Syrian source, al-Jazarī, provide more detailed information about the Mamluk expedition, while the other source, al-Yūsufī, tends to describe the relationship with the post-Ilkhanate regime in Iran. Thus the reign of Lewon IV marked the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia’s last period of stability between the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ilkhanate.

This article is research on the geographical description of Armenia and its regions under the predominance of the Mongol Empire and its successor state, the Ilkhanate. The information of the Arabic and Persian geographical works and travelogues of European authors are considered with the purpose to come to a rather deep understanding of the topic. These sources provide detailed descriptions of the territorial divisions of Armenia, focusing on the administrative units. The research also touches upon the geographical concepts of “Little Armenia” and “Greater Armenia,” delineating their semantic and territorial inclusions during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

Het‘um II who reigned over the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia at the turn of the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries is a unique personage who strove to safeguard the country in a tangled political and military situation and curiously did not hesitate to show his passionate devotion to Franciscan spirituality so as to abdicate the throne and to become himself a Franciscan friar. His approaching the Roman Church reminds us of the artistic relationship between Armenia and Italy, which has occasionally been noted. This paper looks for further evidence of this, especially in the representation of martyrdom, in which a number of martyrs are being beheaded in cruel manners. Martyrdom was a key event which made Armenia the first Christian state of the world, and at the same time was an important theme to be pictorialized for Franciscans who were seeking for an ideal, alternative to the excessively rigorous, then anathematized poverty since around the 1310s.

Our article explores the multifaceted cultural and artistic interactions that occurred in New Julfa since its foundation. Established during the Safavid period, New Julfa became a vibrant crossroads connecting various parts of the world, making such interactions inevitable. During this time, Safavid art absorbed European influences, embracing what was then novel and exciting. Regional dynamics and interests further shaped this cultural exchange. The process of interaction did not happen in a specific moment (we can’t say the exact day, time, or year); rather, it unfolded naturally over time, influencing New Julfa and its artists. Our aim is to present a comprehensive view of the environment in New Julfa, showcasing how European, Persian, and Armenian art seamlessly influenced one another. The echoes of these interactions are visible in Armenian churches, the luxurious mansions of the Khojas, and the richly illuminated manuscripts created in this vibrant community. That is why we choose a broad topic as the title of our article which would briefly summarize the material we have collected on this subject over the years.

During the early modern period, Armenians became increasingly engaged in commercial activities on a global scale. Notably, Armenian merchants from New Julfa, a quarter for Armenians located on the outskirts of Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid dynasty, achieved a high level of renown. These merchants were active in numerous regions, extending from Europe to India and Southeast Asia. Conventional research has focused exclusively on the merchants from New Julfa, while the commercial activities of other Armenians have received comparatively little attention.

This study will examine the activities of non-Julfan merchants based on a diary of a merchant from Agulis, a city in the Armenian Highlands. The study reveals that merchants from Agulis placed a higher value on their hometown connections and membership to the Armenian Church; furthermore, they were not active in eastern regions such as Iran, but focused their efforts predominantly in western areas such as Anatolia, Izmir and Istanbul, and even Europe. It is also evident that the merchants derived substantial profits from the procurement of silk, a special product of the Caucasus, and Persian goods and commodities, particularly in Tabriz, and occasionally in Isfahan. These goods were subsequently traded in prominent Anatolian cities within the Ottoman Empire.

This paper researches the problem of the disputes around the throne of the Catholicoses of all Armenians during the seventeenth to early nineteenth centuries, with a particular focus on the role and impact of the Ottoman powers. A historical comparative analysis of the various sources of the period, including the Ottoman documents of the Matenadaran, has allowed us to enhance the research of this destructive struggle with new details, and reveal the significant influence of external political forces on the course of events. Based on the observations made, it can be stated that the Ottoman government had an indirect but active participation in the disputes around the throne of the catholicosate of Holy Etchmiadzin. The goal of this policy was to maintain the influence of the Ottoman Empire over the Armenian Church and to ensure the appointment of a leader aligned with its interests.

This paper focuses on the commercial network of Armenian merchants in the Eastern Caucasus from the late eighteenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century, utilizing mainly Russian documents. During this period, the Eastern Caucasus experienced significant turmoil due to the virtual collapse of the Safavid dynasty. In such an environment, Armenian merchants formed communities in various parts of the region and established a trade network connecting Russia and Iran.

It seems that waterways connected to Baku, the largest port city in the Eastern Caucasus, were largely controlled by Armenian merchants from Astrakhan. Meanwhile, Armenians living in the Eastern Caucasus were primarily involved in land-based trade through Baku, Derbent, and Kizlyar. Particularly, Kizlyar, which had the largest Armenian community in the Eastern Caucasus, was very significant as the gateway to Russia. A wide range of merchandise brought from the south and the surrounding mountainous areas was collected here and then transported to Astrakhan by Kizlyar’s Armenian merchants, who often conducted their business in relatively small groups. They sometimes entered the dangerous mountain areas courageously and engaged in various activities there, such as fishing and trade.

The Armenian merchants in the Eastern Caucasus, despite occasionally facing troubles with the mountaineers, local rulers, and among themselves, cleverly survived the turbulent times.

A small steatite bowl with a tube carved with a hand design was unearthed from Stratum MIII by B. Mazar and colleagues at Tel ‘En Gev in 1961. Northern Syria is relevant to the manufacture of bowls of this kind, which are often assumed to have been brought into the Southern Levant after Assyrian domination during the seventh century BC. However, this study revisits their distribution pattern and date, and suggests that although these bowls were likely produced in the ‘Amuq Plain in northern Syria, they were already found in the Southern Levant from before the mid-ninth century BC, when they began to be manufactured in Syria. Therefore, these bowls from the Southern Levant, including that from Tel ‘En Gev, may reflect the Aramaean impact on the area, prior to the mid-nineth century BC.