Հայոց վանքերի ու բնակավայրերի անուանումներ պարսկերէն վաւերագրերում

Abstract

Armenian monasteries and settlements are named in Persian documents in ways different from those registered in Armenian sources and are closer in pronunciation to Muslim names. This fact has enabled many Azeri falsifiers to claim the ethnic 'Azeriness' of Armenian villages and regions, and to politicise their claims rather than sticking to scientific research and intentions. These falsifications have gone to the extent of claiming Turkish origin for not only Armenian villages but also whole regions and provinces including Yerevan, Nakhichevan and Karabagh. The paper analyses the transformation of these toponyms in Persian, Turkish and Russian sources as a reflection of the development of the relations between the Armenian population of the South Caucasus and their nomadic neighbours. The author underlines the main features of these transformations and proves that the changed toponyms had nothing to do with the ethnic composition of these villages and regions. The paper notes that these names were more acceptable for the Turkish nomadic tribes, who since the 12th Century had made certain Armenian regions their preferred winter and or summer grazing lands. The paper notes that these nomadic tribes constituted the backbone and the military forces of the ruling powers, like the Qara Qoyunlus, Aq Qoyunlus, Safavids, Afsharids and Qajars. The article analyses the modes of corruption of these toponyms, for example: a. Derived from the Armenian original names but underwent certain changes to fit the phonetical system of the Persian and Turkish languages. b. The result of misreadings and attempts to give suitable meanings and explanations in Persian or Turkish. c. Direct translations from Armenian, sometimes with the addition of the Persian verbal noun "kent" (meaning built by). d. The result of historical facts, which the region was identified with, like the name Chukhur Sa'ad given to the Yerevan region in the 15th Century, and Karabagh. e. Denoting certain handicrafts (Qazanchi - pot maker in Turkish, Chanakhchi - bowl maker in Turkish, Chomlakchi - ceramist in Turkish) which male adults were occupied with alongside agriculture.