HISTORY OF VARDAPET ARAKeL of TABRIZ, Vol I

Annotated translation, Introduction, and Critical text by George Bournoutian

Vardapet Arak‘el of Tabriz (d. 1670). The History of Father Arak‘el is the most important Armenian primary source dealing with contemporary events that occurred in Iran, Armenia, Ottoman Empire, and Georgia from 1602 to 1662. It describes the Jelali Revolt; the Armenian Community in Poland and its struggle against and eventual loss to Roman Catholicism, the corruption and decline of the Holy See of Ejmiatsin in the first half of the seventeenth century and its revival in the second half of that century. The life and acts of the various Armenian Kat‘oghikoi (Supreme Patriarchs) are especially interesting, since the author was present at the Holy See and privy to its inner secrets. It also details account of numerous martyrdoms; a rare and informative chapter on the Jewish community of Isfahan and their forced conversion to Islam; and four chapters on the history of Georgia. The founding and history of the famous monastic schools and hermitages are described in great details. Most importantly, the book has the best description of the forcible settlement of the Armenians in Iran by Shah Abbas I and its aftermath. This, the first English translation, will be of great use to scholars of Iranian, Armenian, Ottoman, and Georgian history.

Mazda Publishing (2005)