Early Modernity and Mobility: Port Cities and Printers across the Armenian Diaspora, 1512-1800

The book explores the history of Armenian printing establishments in early modern Europe and Asia, from 1512 to 1800. It links Armenian presses in nineteen locations, published a thousand editions with half a million printed volumes, and helped shape a new collective identity for early modern Armenians.

Format: Hardback
Length: 584 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2023
Publisher: Yale University Press

Early Modernity and Mobility delves into the intertwined histories of Armenian printing establishments in early modern Europe and Asia. Spanning from 1512, when the first Armenian printed codex emerged in Venice, to the close of the early modern era in 1800, Armenian presses operated in nineteen locations across the Armenian diaspora. These presses established connections between distant regions such as Amsterdam, Livorno, Marseille, Saint Petersburg, and Astrakhan, linking them to New Julfa, Madras, and Calcutta. During this period, Armenian presses published a staggering thousand editions, totaling over half a million printed volumes in Armenian script.

In his comprehensive exploration, Sebouh David Aslanian delves into the factors that determined the publication of specific books, the methods used to sell them across the diaspora, the readership, and the role that printed literature played in shaping a new collective identity for early modern Armenians. By examining the Armenian print tradition, Aslanian offers a broader narrative that sheds light on the formation of the diaspora itself. He argues that "confessionalism" and the solidification of boundaries between the Armenian and Roman churches served as the primary driving forces behind Armenian book history. Through his revisionist perspective, Aslanian contributes significantly to our understanding of the early modern origins of Armenian nationalism.

Weight: 1028g
Dimension: 166 x 242 x 39 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300247534