Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
Michael Mazman
Staff Writer
With the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, several historically Armenian regions of Artsakh were surrendered to Azerbaijan – leaving thousands of monuments exposed and in danger of defacement and destruction. With these historic Christian sites in the hands of the Azeris, the risk of further “de-Armenization” in the Nagorno-Karabakh region is incredibly high.
On February 27, 2021, the Society for Armenian Studies (SAS), in collaboration with the Syrian Studies Association (SSA), held a discussion panel with the title “Heritage Imperiled: Wartime Destruction of Antiquities from Syria to Artsakh.” The panel was moderated by SSA board member, Dr. Heghnar Watenpaugh, who is a professor of art history at the University of California, Davis.
Professor Watenpaugh opened the discussion by introducing Dr. Christina Maranci, professor of Armenian art and architecture at Tufts University and award-winning author of numerous publications on medieval Armenian art and architecture. Professor Maranci began by describing the broad scope of the monuments in the regions of Nagorno-Karabakh occupied by Azerbaijan.
“Some sites in this incredible range [of monuments] date back to the earliest periods of Christianity, while others were built as recently as the twentieth century,” stated Dr. Maranci. She continued that the wide variety of these regionally historic artifacts, which are now under Azeri control, “makes the extent for potential damage very great.”
Dr. Maranci also addressed Azerbaijan’s destructive policies in the past as a precedent for what might happen to today’s monuments in the region. She cited the state-sponsored destruction of the Armenian cemetery in Julfa, Nakhichevan as cause for concern.
To this day, Azerbaijan continues to deface Armenian inscriptions on monuments in an attempt to strip away the true historical roots of the region. Recently, Azeri politicians and public figures have taken to social media to “deliberately misrepresent the origin of these Christian monuments by claiming that they are not Armenian, but rather Caucasian-Albanian.” This process, often referred to as “artwashing,” is a calculated effort by Azerbaijan to remove the long-time Armenian presence in the region.
The next speaker was Dr. Ani Avagyan, chair of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) National Committee of Armenian Museums. Dr. Avagyan’s main focus was on the effect of Artsakh war on the Armenian museums and their collections in Nagorno-Karabakh. The data from her discussion was astounding – out of 22 museums operating in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, 12 have been destroyed, along with over 20,000 pieces of cultural art and heritage.
Dr. Avagyan spoke primarily about the six museums in Shushi, the cultural center of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. “Only the collection from one of these museums, the Shushi Carpet Museum, was partially evacuated,” stated Avagyan. The Shushi Carpet Museum was established in 1992, in a large 19th century house which was used as a Soviet maternity ward. The original collection consisted of over 210 unique exhibits, however only a portion of the carpets could be evacuated to Armenia in early September. On February 20, 2021, the Tamanyan National Museum-Institute of Architecture in Yerevan “opened a beautiful exhibition of the saved carpets.”
The next speaker was Dr. Salam Al Kuntar, lecturer and assistant professor in classics at Rutgers University. Dr. Al Kuntar spoke about the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria over the last decade. “Syria is home to six world heritage sites… and all six of them have been damaged in one way or another.” These cultural monuments have been subject to unprecedented destruction by way of collateral damage and also targeted bombings. The perpetrators of these attacks are many – the Syrian Armed Forces (SAF), the Islamic State (ISIS), Shi’a militias, Syrian rebels during the Syrian civil war, and more recently, Turkish and Russian airstrikes.
In the wake of Syria’s perpetually unstable political atmosphere, Al Kuntar and her colleagues started the “Safeguarding the Heritage of Syria and Iraq Project” as a platform for the preservation of Syrian heritage. They provide training workshops for Syrian and Iraqi professionals to teach them proper conservation techniques and aid the evacuation of artifacts to safer cities like Damascus.
The final speaker was Dr. Stephennie Mulder, associate professor of Islamic art and architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. Professor Mulder made several observations regarding the reactions that global media has towards different kinds of cultural cleansing throughout the Middle East. While her discussion was mainly focused on the countries of Iraq and Syria, her thoughts apply to the ongoing crisis situation in Armenia as well.
“Although it was hardly reported in the Western media, June of 2014 was the beginning of the ISIS movement of cultural destruction that targeted local communities first and foremost,” stated Dr. Mulder. These initial attacks were primarily targeted towards the ancient Christian sites in Mosul, including the tomb of the Prophet Jonah and the monastery of Saint Elijah. Although this series of destructive episodes devastated the local communities in the region, “it wasn’t until the January and February of 2015 that ISIS got the attention of the world when they published that infamous video of themselves destroying sculptures with sledgehammers in the Mosul Museum.”
Professor Mulder made it a point to indicate the difference in the reactions to these events. She attributed this phenomenon to the idea of “global heritage,” or the thought-process that cultural heritage belongs to all people and it is the world’s duty to protect it. Professor Mulder claimed that “this idea denudes the sites of local cultural participation and engagement by reducing their relevance to the local populations.” By expecting all nations of the world to make a collective effort to protect endangered cultural monuments, a diffusion of responsibility has taken place with regard to resisting cultural genocide. Such is the case for the destruction of antiquities and monuments in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, perpetuated by Azerbaijan.
Professor Watenpaugh concluded the presentation with closing remarks and facilitated the question-and-answer portion of the panel. From the information presented by the panelists, it is clear to see that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is currently in the midst of a cultural crisis with its historical monuments under the constant threat of defacement and destruction.
Despite Azerbaijan’s attempts to erase memories and rewrite history, the stories will never be lost in the Armenian people. While our physical monuments continue to be destroyed, the Armenian culture will be preserved forever in spirit; something that no man or nation can destroy.