Until the year 1722, which is to say until the appearance of Davit Bek, the Armenian meliks had maintained their importance. They had their own fortresses, exercised hereditary rule over their own portion of the populace, entered into shifting alliances with various Persian or Turkish princes, fought in wars on their side and, like many vassal princes, paid special tribute to the succession of overlords who ruled over Armenia.

The land of Syunik [Karabagh] must be considered the foremost of these melikdoms, for here the meliks held power until the time of Russian rule [1813], and this for good reason. The country’s natural setting, with its mountains and forests, has since antiquity fostered a valorous spirit in the people. Being inured to repeated enemy attacks, when they were unable to resist they would forsake their pastures or lowlands and take shelter in inaccessible places. Their mountainous surroundings had instilled bravery and a predisposition to liberty in them. Unfortunately, the Armenian meliks had no common bond, and their selfish interests often put them at odds with each other. This being so, they were unable to combine their forces against the common enemy of the Armenian homeland. Each followed his own interests and, when it came time to pay tribute, each was willing to join forces with a Turkish or Persian overlord to invade the land of neighboring Armenian meliks.

Some of the meliks had maintained their independence, yet others ceded their authority to Persian princes in order to hang on to their status. The latter were obliged to bow to every whim of the princes, even if harmful to the interests of the Armenian people. They were forced to do their bidding, however evil it was, and they implemented entirely dishonorable practices within their own lands. And because the Persian princes had the right to change meliks as they pleased, a thoroughly corrupt rivalry broke out among the meliks, with each trying to displace the other by resorting to every kind of baseness and treachery and paying off the princes not just with money. Some even turned their own honorable daughters over to a prince, but they were an exception.

There were more honorable and influential meliks who had served as a bulwark between the Armenian people and the princes and kept their immediate impact on the people at a remove and protected them from oppression. It was the melik who collected the taxes and tribute to pay the prince. It was the melik who decided every sort of legal dispute or controversy among his people. And because the princes had poor relations even with each other and found it necessary to get along with the meliks, in times of adversity the melik was able to forsake one prince and with his entire populace attach himself to a rival prince.

Prior to Russian rule, that part of Armenia which is now ruled by Russia was divided into several self-contained khanates of which the most important were Karabagh, Kantsak, Shamap, Yerevan, and Nakhichevan. These khanates found themselves subject to constant enemy attack, and quarrels, plunder, bloodletting and devastation abounded among them. Although some of the khanates fell under Persian rule and the khans belonged to the same feudal order, it often happened that they would revolt in order to take advantage of the troubles among the Persian princes or the frequent changing of shahs in the wake of which there was a lapse of rule, and it didn’t take much for the shahs or their generals to grow weary of subduing their vassals. And thus, inner and outer disturbances held their unremitting sway.

If we add to this the Ottoman incursion at their doorstep and the attacks from the inhabitants of the Caucasus, we see that Armenia at that point was approaching a fateful showdown, one in which the predominant beating, pulverizing and oppressing nation was the very one that had, for a time, ruled over this land. And, it was in the midst of such havoc that the Armenian people and the Armenian meliks had to preserve their existence.

In 1722, frightening numbers of Lezgis, joining forces with other inhabitants of the Caucasus, launched an invasion into the Aghvan and Syunik regions and, having invaded the towns of Noukh, Shamakh and Kansak, went as far as Lake Sevan. The Armenian melik of Shamakh, Mousa Bekian, tried to slow the invasion of the barbarians but, being unable to oppose their frightful numbers, fell in the battle. The barbarians carried off many Armenian girls and boys and young women as booty to be sold in other regions, whereas the majority of the elderly were killed. The local inhabitants, seeking to take advantage of these disturbances, began stealing from the Armenians. The country fell into terror. Only those remained free who fled home, hearth and property to hide in the inaccessible nooks and crannies of mountain or forest. It was at that time that Prince Hovhannes gathered the scattered Armenians together, gave them encouragement and incentive and, putting together a sizable force, attacked the Lezgi. Though he was able to clear the land of these robbers and retrieve some portion of the goods lost through pillage, when the Lezgi withdrew they left Aghvan and Syunik to deal with the dire aftermath of their barbarities.

The torment and slaughter passed away and the people forgot everything.

But there was one young man who couldn’t forget all this bestial cruelty. He had seen that beautiful land where the ruins of fortresses, the broken fragments of once magnificent monasteries, the rubble of castles and every mountain and river reminded him of the ancient glory of the Armenian people. And now what was left. . . . ?

A LITTLE SHARD FROM DAYS OF OLD
[ By Tlgadintzi ]

Translation © 2018 Donald Abcarian

 

Kharpert, 10 April 1895
It was Easter again. That Sunday of the Resurrection favored us by keeping the clouds away from the sun, and All Souls Day on Monday followed suit. But then came rain and hail the likes of which would make you tremble.

That was Easter in our village in the old days, a time, as I best recall, when our eyes and ears were sweetly saturated with everything around us and there was always the resounding chorus of the dappled sparrows chirping away above.

Of course, first the eggs were thoroughly dyed in the juice of boiled onion skins and brought to a beautiful red. We took them and stuck them deep in our fists, proudly gripping them right up to the tip as if we held the whole world in our hands. And there was a craze to make willow whistles then, so I always carried a pocketknife with me so I’d be prepared when I found my willow tree. Wherever it was, I could find it with my eyes closed, and that would be my first success. And then, oh, what a piercing sound my whistle made, it traveled for miles around! To make sure it did so, I was very careful not to damage the twig when I removed the bark, but rapped the bark very gently all around with the handle of my knife until it slipped off of itself. Then, of course, before blowing it for the first time, I didn’t forget to say the words, ourí, ourí, astourí. . . .

With my egg in one hand and my whistle in the other, it was impossible for me to stay in one place for long. Like a little bird flitting about in a thicket, free and wild, I ended up in a thousand places at once.

On the main road drooling gangs of egg fighters were boldly confronting each other. I headed right for them and into the indescribable turmoil: “Wait your turn. Hold it up straight, tip to tip, then turn it around. Tic, tac, crunch, it cracked. Give it to me.” Oh, but to give up the broken egg, a very difficult proposition. The loser was a bit slow to give up his egg. He frowned and resisted but finally handed it over. That fight over, another one began nearby. Everywhere you looked were egg fights, men against men, boys against boys.

And then there was the dancing which I’ll never forget, the whole village in a great circle, taking up the whole road so that you couldn’t even squeeze by, old and young together, matrons and newlywed brides with fresh new clothing: green aprons, red vests, red slippers, the color red looking so perfect on everyone. In the center of the ring were those waiting to take the place of the dancers who got tired and family members who kept watch over the graceful movements of their young daughters, and young men who didn’t move from their spot for two or three days at a time, staying where they were as they studied the revolving circle for prospective fiancées.

Among the dancers, the brides of just one year wore veils, the women and girls had their faces open and revealed a thousand and one different appearances. The women’s purpose was to face each other across the circle and lead the singing of the song, thus encouraging the girls and new brides to greater boldness. With graceful rocking movements, their hands interlaced over their breasts, the dancers moved a step backward then forward but always to the right, then spun around with high skips, rejoined hands, swayed one way and the other and sang and sweated until the church bell rang in the evening.