#Bookinist armenia archive#

Etchmiadzin Cathedral by Malcolm Manners CC BY Д«y the way, the first Armenian printing house was founded in 1771 also in Etchmiadzin. The first church was built in 301 CE there, and the current building has survived both the Armenian Genocide and Soviet aggressive atheism. It was located at the Etchmiadzin Cathedral.

#Bookinist armenia archive#

The term means вЂњrepository of manuscriptsвЂќ and the first archive like that is mentioned in the 5 th century CE, in the writings of a contemporary Armenian chronicler and historian Ghazar Parpetsi. Today the Matenadaran is a research institute and a museum (Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts). The first choice for a book lover is to visit the Matenadaran. A cuneiform stone or tablet is already a stretch. However, IвЂ™m usually more interested in objects that could be called вЂњbooksвЂќ. You can see some Urartian cuneiform stones in the History Museum of Armenia in Yerevan. There are examples of the Ancient writing remaining in Armenia. The kingdom of UrartuВ was its predecessor and there was some influence from Assyrian Empire. Of course, there was something in between 5500 and the moment when Armenia was established as a country. So, itвЂ™s no surprise there is a long-standing tradition ofВ creating manuscripts in the country. And Armenia is the first officially Christian country in the world. As it happens, quite a lot in the early Christian culture relied upon a new book format: codex. My current bookbinderвЂ™s concern with Armenian history lies somewhere in the late Antiquity and early Medieval times. There also is evidence, that people lived in the territory of modern Armenia some 5500 years ago. However, I couldnвЂ™t miss a chance to search for some bookish landmarks.ДЄrmenian culture could be traced back to at least a moment 2500 years ago and there was an Armenian state already in the 2 nd century BCE. That was a spontaneous decision, made partially because we donвЂ™t need a visa to get to the country (by the way, EU and US nationals do not need a visa to visit Armenia, this applies both for tourism and business trips). My wife and I had a weekend getaway in Armenia recently.