1849 Dadian Historical Map of Armenia, from the First Armenian Atlas

An exceptional discovery, this 1849 historical map of Armenia appeared in the Illustrated World Atlas, the first atlas published in the Armenian language. The map and atlas are a reflection of a growing Armenian national consciousness in the mid-19th century, which would eventually clash with the late Ottoman state with terrible consequences.

A Closer Look

Coverage includes much of Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Levant as far south as Baghdad (ՊԱՂՏԱՏ) and as far east as western Persia. Regions, cities, towns, and villages are labeled throughout, with both historic and modern names where applicable, such as Aleppo (Հալեպ), also noted as Beroea (Բերիա) and Qaghron (Քաղհրոն, perhaps referring to its ancient name Ḥalpa). Waterways and elevation are depicted in great detail. Various features are noted on the map, as indicated in the legend at bottom, including major roads and the boundaries between empires (the Ottomans, Persia, Russia). Two measures of longitude are included, from Paris and Yerevan (Ararat) and four scales are included at bottom-left.

The Earliest Armenian Atlas

This map came from the 1849 Illustrated World Atlas (Ատլաս Աշխարհացոյց Պատկերաց), the first modern atlas published in the Armenian language, sometimes referred to as 'the Venetian Atlas' (Վենետիկի Ատլասից) based on its place of publication. The subtitle of the atlas ('ըստ արքունի աշխարհագրաց Գաղղիոյ, Անգղիոյ, Գերմանիոյ եւ Ռուսաց...') credits geographers from Britain, France, Germany, and Russia as source material. The maps themselves were engraved in Paris and printed at San Lazzaro (or San Lazzaro degli Armeni), an island in the Venetian Lagoon that has been home to a Mekhitarists Armenian Catholic monastery since 1717. The monks there established a publishing house in 1789 that became a critical center of Armenian cultural production in the 19th century, including the publication of works on the language, history, geography, and literature of Armenia.

As noted here, the production of the atlas was financed by 'Hovhannes Amiratsi,' a member of the Armenian elite (called the amira) in Ottoman society, whose full name was Hovhannes Amira Dadian (or Dadean, Յովհաննու ամիրայի Տատեան). He was a member of a wealthy family of well-connected entrepreneurs in Istanbul. The atlas included ten maps, which followed a lengthy preface, depicting the solar system and the continents. This is one of two maps in the atlas to prominently feature Armenia itself, the other being a map of the Ottoman Empire (the two being the penultimate maps in the atlas).

Armenians in the Late Ottoman Period

In the 19th century, the situation of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire was shaped by a complex mix of legal inequality, growing national consciousness, intermittent reform, and increasing persecution. Like other religious minorities within the Ottoman Empire, Armenians paid a special tax but were granted internal religious autonomy and maintained their distinct culture, language, and history. There was also an Armenian elite, mostly residing in Istanbul (Constantinople) and other cities like Smyrna (Izmir), that was intertwined with the Ottoman state and the elite members of other ethnic and religious groups. However, due to wars and migration, by the 19th century, Armenians were no longer a distinct majority within their historic homeland ('Western Armenia'), while at the same time being dispersed throughout the Ottoman Empire and between the Ottoman and Persian Empires.

As with other ethnic and religious minorities in the Ottoman Empire (and other multiethnic empires like Austria-Hungary), Armenian identity flourished in the 19th century through the arts, publications (such as this atlas), educational institutions, and civic organizations. Initially, these efforts were actually encouraged by the Sublime Porte as part of reforms meant to improve the lot of non-Muslim minorities in the empire, and thus forestall any separatist movements. However, the situation of the Armenians was complicated by the intervention of the Russian Empire, which was dedicated to an expansionist program at the expense of the Ottomans and sought to promote Armenian separatism for its own ends. Towards the late 19th century, the Armenian national movement became emboldened and increasingly radical as the Ottoman Empire tottered. The Ottoman response was even more radical still, resulting in armed clashes, outright rebellion, and massacres of Armenians in 1894-1896, presaging the even more horrific genocide during World War I (1914 - 1918).

Publication History and Census

As discussed above, this map appeared in the very rare 1849 Illustrated World Atlas, the first atlas published in the Armenian language. The only known institutional holding of the atlas is at the National Library of Armenia, whose copy is also cataloged and photographed as part of the British Library's Endangered Archives initiative. The atlas has only come to market twice in recent years, both times fetching a price in the tens of thousands.