Public educators, researchers, community leaders, and the public at large are invited to attend a lecture and book presentation titled “Hamshen in Armenian Manuscripts and Ottoman Registers,” by Lusine Sahakyan. The lecture will be held on Thursday, January 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Tekeyan Cultural Association, located at 1901 Allen Ave, Altadena, CA 91001 and on Friday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Armenian Society of Los Angeles, located at 117 S Louise St, Glendale, CA 91205.

“Hamshen in Armenian Manuscripts” provides an in-depth historical-linguistic analysis of the colophons, produced by Hamsheni copyists in the Province of Hamshen and other spiritual centers during the period between the 13th and 17th centuries. The exclusive facts and evidence, contained in these sources, give an idea of the political, spiritual, and cultural life of the province – the language spoken, the activities of Armenia princes, the occupations of the populace, and folk beliefs. For the first time, demographic and language facts in the Province of Hamshen, within the mentioned period, are analyzed, based on the census data drawn from the Ottoman registers. In the annexes of the book, the reader will see photocopies of the colophons, created by Hamsheni copyists (130 pages), as well as the newly created map of the Province of Hamshen between the 15th to 17th centuries.

Lusine Sahakyan is an Associate Professor (Ph.D in Philology) in the Department of Turkic Studies at Yerevan State University. She was born in Yerevan, Armenia. Since 2008, she has been the head of the Department of Armenian-Ottoman Relations in the institute for Armenian Studies at YSU. She teaches “Modern Turkish,” “Turkish Literature,” “The problems of Turkish Source Studies and historiography,” “The Ethnopolicy of the Ottoman Empire,” and “Turkification policy of the Place names in the Ottoman Empire and in the Republic of Turkey.” She has participated in international conferences and has given lectures in the U.S., France, Greece, Iran, Canada, Lebanon and Russia. She is the author of numerous books and her research has been published in Armenian, English, Russian, and Turkish. In the result of field work implemented in the territory of Rise and Artvin, Dr. Sahakyan has prepared a documentary film about the Hamshentsi – the ethnographically distinctive people who live in Modern Turkey and whose forefathers were ethnically Armenian, but who were forcibly Islamized/”Turkified” by the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century, exploring their culture, language, folklore, toponyms, and lifestyle.

These special lecture events and book presentations are organized in cooperation by the American Armenian Family Association, Inc., Ararat Foundation, Armenian General Benevolent Union ( Pasadena-Glendale Chapters ), Armenian Society of Los Angeles, Christians In Need Foundation, Hamazkayin, Mashdots College, Nor Serount, Organization of Istanbul Armenians, and Tekeyan Cultural Association.

Both book presentations are open to the public and free of charge. The lectures will be presented in Armenian. There will also be a short cultural program, as well as a video presentation. For more information, call 818-303-5566.