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Ghevont Alishan

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The Reverend

Ghevont Alishan
Portrait of Alishan from his 1901 book Hayapatum (Հայապատում, "Armenian History")
ChurchCatholic Church
Personal details
Born(1820-07-06)July 6, 1820
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
DiedNovember 9, 1901(1901-11-09) (aged 81)
Venice, Kingdom of Italy
DenominationArmenian Catholic
ResidenceSan Lazzaro degli Armeni

Ghevont Alishan (Armenian: Ղեւոնդ Ալիշան; July 6, 1820 – November 9, 1901)[a] was an Armenian Catholic priest, historian, educator and poet. He was a prolific author throughout his long career and gained recognition from Armenians and European academic circles for his contributions to Armenian literature and scholarship.[1]

Born to an Armenian Catholic family in Constantinople, he received his education at the academy of the Armenian Catholic Mekhitarist Congregation on Saint Lazarus Island in Venice and joined the order in 1840. Between 1840 and 1872, he held a number of teaching and administrative positions in his order's educational institutions in Venice and Paris. During this period, he gained renown as a poet, writing mainly in Classical Armenian on both patriotic and religious themes. He is regarded as one of the first Armenian Romantic poets.[1]

After 1872, Alishan devoted himself to his scholarly work. He notably wrote a number of long works on the historical provinces of Armenia and prepared for publication many old Armenian texts. Most of his works are in Armenian, but he also wrote in, and was translated into, French, English and Italian.[1]

Biography[edit]

Alishan, born Kerovpe Alishanian, was born on July 18 [O.S. July 6], 1820, in Constantinople, in the family of numismatist and archaeologist Bedros-Markar Alishanian.[1] His family was Armenian Catholic.[2] After receiving his primary education at the local Chalikhian College (1830–1832), he continued his studies at the Mkhitarist school in Venice (1832–1841). He became a member of the order in 1838[1] or 1840 and was ordained as a priest.[2][3] From 1841 to 1850, he worked as a teacher and, from 1848, principal at the Raphael College in Venice. From 1849 to 1851, he was the editor of the Mekhitarists' scholarly journal Bazmavep. From 1852 to 1853, he toured Europe, traveling to England, Austria, Germany, France, Belgium and Italy.[2] From 1859 to 1861, he was a teacher and principal at the Muradian College in Paris. He again worked at the Raphael College in 1866–1872. In 1870, he became the acting head of the Mekhitarist Congregation. After 1872, he completely devoted himself to his scholarly activities.[1]

In his later years, Alishan was honored by a number of European academic institutions.[2] He was a laureate of the Legion of Honor of the French Academy (1886), an honorary member and doctor of the Philosophical Academy of Jena, an honorary member of the Asian Society of Italy, the Archeological Society of Moscow [ru], the Venice Academy and the Archeological Society of Saint-Petersburg.[1]

He died on November 22 [O.S. November 11], 1901, and was buried on Saint Lazarus Island in Venice.[4]

Armenian flag[edit]

In 1885 Alishan created the first modern Armenian flag. His first design was a horizontal tricolor, but with a set of colors different from those used on the Armenian flag of today. The top band would be red to symbolize the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), the green to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. While in France, Alishan also designed a second flag inspired by the national flag of France. Its colors were red, green, and blue, representing the band of colors that Noah saw after landing on Mount Ararat.[citation needed]

Gallery[edit]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Armenian popular Songs: translated into English by the R. Leo M. Alishan DD. of the Mechitaristic Society, Venice, S. Lazarus, 1852.
  • Etude de la patrie: physiographie de l'Arménie: discours prononcé le 12 août 1861 à la distribution annuelle des prix au collège arménien Samuel Moorat, Venise, S. Lazar, 1861.
  • «Յուշիկք հայրենեաց հայոց» (Memories of the Armenian Homeland) 1869.
  • «Շնորհալի եւ պարագայ իւր» ('Shnorhali ew paragay iwr', Armenian History). 1873, Venice.
  • «Շիրակ» (Shirak) 1881.
  • Deux descriptions arméniennes des lieux Saints de Palestine, Gènes, 1883.
  • «Սիսուան» (Sisouan) 1885.
  • «Այրարատ» (Ayrarat) 1890.
  • «Սիսական» (Sisakan) 1893.
  • «Հայապատում» ('Hayapatum', Armenian History). 1901, Venice.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Also spelled Ghevond Alishan, or Leonzio Alishan in Italian or Léonce Alichan in French

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Devrikyan, Vardan (2002). "Alishan Ghevond". In Ayvazyan, Hovhannes (ed.). Kʻristonya Hayastan hanragitaran [Christian Armenia encyclopedia] (PDF) (in Armenian). Yerevan: Armenian Encyclopedia Publishing House. pp. 26–27.
  2. ^ a b c d Manoukian, Jennifer (2022). Leerssen, Joep (ed.). "Alishan, Ghevont". Encyclopedia of Romantic Nationalism in Europe. Study Platform on Interlocking Nationalisms. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  3. ^ Bardakjian, Kevork B. (2000). A Reference Guide to Modern Armenian Literature 1500-1920. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. p. 273. ISBN 0-8143-2747-8.
  4. ^ Muradyan, Samvel (2021). Hay nor grakanutʻyan patmutʻyun: Usumnakan dzeṛnark [History of modern Armenian literature: Educational guide] (PDF) (in Armenian). Vol. 1. Yerevan State University Publishing House. p. 208. ISBN 978-5-8084-2500-2.

External links[edit]

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