George A. Bournoutian (; fa, جورج بورنوتیان, 25September 1943 – 22 August 2021) was an
Iranian-American
Iranian Americans are United States citizens or nationals who are of Iranian ancestry or who hold Iranian citizenship.
Iranian Americans are among the most highly educated people in the United States. They have historically excelled in busine ...
professor, historian, and author of
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
descent. He was a Professor of History and the author of over 30 books, particularly focusing on
Armenian history
The history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions historically and geographically considered ''Armenian''.
Armenia is located ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
. He taught
Iranian history
The history of Iran is intertwined with the history of a larger region known as Greater Iran, comprising the area from Anatolia in the west to the borders of Ancient India and the Syr Darya in the east, and from the Caucasus and the Eurasian Step ...
at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, and Armenian history at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
,
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
,
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
, the
University of Connecticut
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...
,
Ramapo College
Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a public liberal arts college in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college ...
, and
Glendale Community College and Russian and Soviet history at Iona College. Bournoutian was one of the 40 editors of the ''
Encyclopaedia Iranica
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
''.
Biography
George Bournoutian was born in
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
into an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
family. He grew up in Iran, and he received his High school diploma from the Andisheh (Don Bosco) institution in Tehran. He immigrated to the United States in 1964. He received his M.A. degree in 1971 and his Ph.D. in History (Armenian and Iranian studies) in 1976 at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
("Eastern Armenia on the Eve of the Russian Conquest", also published as a book in 1982, and 1992).
He was a member of the
Middle Eastern Studies Association
Middle East Studies Association (often referred to as MESA) is a learned society, and according to its website, "a non-profit association that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encoura ...
, Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies, Iranian Studies Association, Society for Armenian Studies, and Association Internationale des Etudes Armeniennes.
George Bournoutian was also an avid world traveler. He was fluent in
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
, and
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
, and had a reading command of
French. He accompanied his senior and graduate students on annual trips to Armenia and Transcaucasia, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia, South and Central America and Antarctica.
Honours
* Recipient NDEA Title VI Fellowship (1973-1975)
* Recipient of IREX Fellowship, USSR (1973-1974)
* Recipient of Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowship (Columbia University, 1978-1980)
* Ranked top merit award seven years at Iona College
* Recipient of twenty publication and research grants (1990-2010)
* Recipient of numerous travel and research grants from Iona College
Degrees
George Bournoutian's degrees;
* B.A. (UCLA, 1970); M.A. (UCLA, 1971); Ph.D. (UCLA, 1976) History.
* B.A. Thesis: "The Armenian Community of Isfahan (Iran) in the 17th Century."
Published in 2 parts in The Armenian Review in 1971-1972.
* M.A. Thesis: "The Rise of National and Political Consciousness among the Armenian, Georgian and Turko-Tatar Peoples and Their Role in the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907." Published in The Armenian Review in 1973.
* Ph.D. Thesis: "Eastern Armenia on the Eve of the Russian Conquest."
Publications
From the Kur to the Aras: A Military History of Russia’s Move into the South Caucasus and the First Russo-Iranian War, 1801-1813, Brill, 2020.* A Concise History of the Armenian People (7th printing, 2018) Mazda Publishers
* Tarikh-e mokhtasar-e Maredom-e Armani. Persian Translation of a Concise History of the Armenian people. Tehran, 2019.
Armenia and Imperial Decline: The Yerevan Province, 1900-1914. Routledge Pub, 2018.*The 1820 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Shirvan, Gibb Memorial Series, Cambridge, 2016. Topic: A primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province Prior to its Annexation by Russia.
*The 1819 Russian Survey of the Khanate of Sheki, Mazda Pub. 2016. Topic: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of an Iranian Province Prior to its Annexation by Russia.
* The 1829-1832 Russian Surveys of the Khanate of Nakhichevan, Mazda Pub. 2016. A A Primary Source on the Demography a\nd Economy of an Iranian Province prior to its Annexation by Russia.
* Arumenia-jin no-Rekishi, Japanese Translation of A Concise History of the Armenian People, Tokyo, 2016
* From Tabriz to St. Petersburg: Iran's Mission of Apology to Russia in 1829. Mazda Pub, April 2014
* A History of the Armenian People: Prehistory to 1500 Ad (1993) Mazda Publishers
* The 1823 Russian Survey of the Karabagh Province: A Primary Source on the Demography and Economy of Karabagh in the Early 19th Century. 2011, 467pp. Second edition, 2012.
* Mawgez Tarikh al-Sha`b al-Armani. Arabic translation of A Concise History of the Armenian people, Cairo, 2012
* Hay Zhoghovrdi Hamarod Patmut`yun. Armenian translation of A Concise History of the Armenian People, Yerevan, 2012
* Kratkaia istoriia armianskogo naroda (Russian translation of A Concise History of the Armenian People, Yerevan, 2014.
Ermeni Tarihi. Turkish Translation of A Concise History of the Armenian People, Aras Yayincilik: Istanbul, 2011 & 2016.* Arak`el of Tabriz: Book of History (One-volume revised edition)
010 xiii+637 cloth.
* A Brief History of the Aghuank` Region, 1702-1723 (Esayi Hasan Jalaleants`)
009 009 may refer to:
* OO9, gauge model railways
* O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport
* 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California
* British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent
* BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9
* ...
History of Ganje and Karabagh by Catholicos Esayi. xi+125 paper. Topic: History/Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan.
* Jambr (Simeon of Erevan)
009 009 may refer to:
* OO9, gauge model railways
* O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport
* 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California
* British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent
* BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9
* ...
History of the Armenian Church to 1780 by Catholicos Simeon of Erevan. xv+519 paper.
* The Travel Accounts of Simeon of Poland (2007). Travel journal of an Armenian from Poland to Italy, Egypt, Syria, Holy Land, and Turkey. xiv+373, paperback.
* Historia Sucinta del Pueblo Armenio (2007). Spanish translation of A Concise History of the Armenian people ix+505, paper. Buenos Aires.
* Tigranes II and Rome (2007). English translation of H. Manandyan's classic work. xi+202, paper. Topic: History/Iran, Armenia and Rome in the first century BC.
* The History of Vardapet Arak`el of Tabriz (2 vols.), 2005-2006. xix+1-280; xx+281-619, paperback.
he most important primary source on the political and socioeconomic conditions of the territory of Armenia in the 17th century - Critical Text.* Two Chronicles on the History of Karabagh (2004), by Mirza Adigozal Beg and Mirza Yusuf. xvi+298, paper. Topic: History/Armenia, Iran, Azerbaijan.
* The Chronicle of Deacon Zak`aria of K`anak`er (2004), Chronicle of the Abbot of Hovhannavank Monastery on the condition in Armenia.xii+359, paper. Topic: History/Armenia, Iran, Georgia.
* The Journal of Zak`aria of Agulis (2003), journal of an Armenian silk merchant from Armenia who traveled to Europe via the Ottoman Empire. vii+243, paper. Topic: History/Armenia, Iran, Georgia, Ottoman Empire.
* A Concise History of the Armenian People (various editions). 2002-2012. ix+521, paper and cloth.
* Armenians and Russia: A Documentary Record, 1626-1796 (2001) OOP. Documents from the Archives of Russia, Armenia, and Georgia. xiv+512, cloth. Topic: History/Russia, Iran, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan.
* History of the Wars, 1721-1738 (1999) by Abraham of Erevan. vi+111, paper.Topic: History/Iran, Armenia, Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan.
* The Chronicle of Abraham of Crete (1999) by Catholicos Abraham of Crete. vi+190, cloth. Critical Text. Topic: History/Iran-Armenia.
* Russia and the Armenians of Transcaucasia: A Documentary Record, 1797-1889 (1998): Documents from the Archives of Russia, Armenia, and Georgia. xv+578, cloth.
* A History of the Armenian People, Vol. II: 1500 to the Present (1994). viii+237, paper. Reprinted with corrections 1996, revised third edition 1998. OOP. Used as main text at a number of universities.
* A History of Qarabagh (1994) Mirza Jamal Javanshir. vi+157+62, cloth. (includes facsimile of original manuscript), OOP.
* A History of the Armenian People, Vol. I: Pre-History to 1500 A.D. (1993). xviii+174, paper. Reprinted with corrections in 1995, third edition 1997. OOP. Used as the main textbook at UCLA, Rutgers, Tufts, CSU-Fresno etc. Topic: History/Armenia.
* The Khanate of Erevan under Qajar Rule, 1795-1828. Persian Studies Series, number 13, Bibliotheca Persica, Iran Center, Columbia University, New York, 1992, pp. xxvii+355, cloth. OOP.
*
Eastern Armenia in the Last Decades of Persian Rule, 1807-1828
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
* Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
* Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air ...
. Studies in Near Eastern Culture and Society, number 5, Von Grunebaum Center, UCLA, Undena, 1982, pp. xxii+290, cloth and paper. OOP. Topic: History/Armenia, Russia, Iran.
References
External links
IONA School of Arts and Science, Department of History- Faculty: George BournoutianGeorge A. Bournoutian
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bournoutian
1943 births
2021 deaths
21st-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers
American people of Armenian descent
Armenian studies scholars
Columbia University faculty
Ethnic Armenian historians
Historians from California
Iona College faculty
Iranian people of Armenian descent
Iranian emigrants to the United States
Iranologists
New York University faculty
Writers from Isfahan
Rutgers University faculty
Tufts University faculty
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
University of Connecticut faculty