Ghazaros Aghayan

Ghazaros Aghayan
Ղազարոս Աղայան.jpg
Born16 April [O.S. 4 April] 1840
Bolnisi (Bolnis-Khachen) village, Tiflis Governorate (now Georgia)
Died3 July [O.S. 20 June] 1911
Tiflis, Russian Empire
Occupationwriter, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure
NationalityArmenian

Ghazaros (Lazarus) Aghayan (Armenian: Ղազարոս Աղայեան, 16 April [O.S. 4 April] 1840 – 3 July [O.S. 20 June] 1911) was an Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure.

Biography

Aghayan was born in Bolnisi village (also known as Bolnis-Khachen), Tiflis Governorate (now Georgia). He received his early education in Bolnisi, and at the age of thirteen he entered to the Nersisyan School in Tiflis. He left the school after one year because of his family's financial problems. Aghayan traveled between Tiflis, Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. In Moscow he cooperated with Hyusisapayl journal of Stepanos Nazarian, also worked as typesetter.

Throughout his life he pursued many careers and professions. He was a hunter, a factory worker and a farm labourer before he joined fellow writer Mikael Nalbandian in the Armenian cultural and intellectual revival of the 19th century.

In 1867 he returned to the Caucasus, worked as the manager of Etchmiadzin publishing house, and as an editor of “Ararat” monthly (1869-1870) of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. In 1870 he returned to Tiflis and dedicated himself to teaching. He taught in Akhaltskha, Alexandropol, Yerevan and Shushi, and supervised Armenian parochial schools of Georgia. As a teacher he supported the democratization of education. Aghayan demanded clearing schools from the influence of clergy. He is an author of textbooks for Armenian schools and works on education. He also collaborated on "Aghbyur", an illustrated monthly for children.

In 1895 he was arrested on charges of belonging to the Hnchak Party, exiled to Nor-Nakhichevan and then Crimea (1898-1900). He was then under the control of the tsarist gendarmerie until the end of his life. In May 1902, celebrated the 40th anniversary of his literary activity. In 1905 he took part in the October rally in Tiflis, calling for the tsar to be overthrown.

He obtained great popularity in the sphere of children’s literature. Aghayan has translated works of Alexander Pushkin and Ivan Krylov.

He died in Tiflis at the age of 71.

He was maternal grandfather of Lazar Sarian and Anatoliy Eiramdzhan and father-in-law of the painter Martiros Saryan.

Works

Vernatun members in 1903. Isahakyan, Aghayan, Hovhannes Tumanyan (sitting) and Shant, Demirchian (standing).
  • 1867 - "Arutiun and Manvel" (autobiographical novel)
  • 1872 - "Two sisters " (social novel)
  • 1888 - "Tork Angegh" (poems)
  • 1893 - "The Main Events of My Life " (memoirs)
  • 1881 - "Anahit" (tale)
  • 1887 - "Aregnazan" (fairy tale)
  • 1904 - "The Fairy Tales of Grandmother Gulnaz"
  • 1908 - "Arevik" (educational book)
The tombstone of Ghazaros Aghayan in Khojivank

Bibliography

  • Collection of Works in 4 Volumes, Ed. and commented by A. Asatryan and others, Yerevan, 1962-1963
  • Aghayan in Memoirs of Contemporaries, Yerevan, 1967. 529p.
  • Tork Angegh, by Ghazaros Aghayan, trans. by Agop J. Hacikyan, 80 pages, Gomidas Institute, ISBN 978-1903656761

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