The Reverend

Ghevont Alishan
Portrait of Alishan from his 1901 book Hayapatum (Հայապատում, "Armenian History")
ChurchCatholic Church
Personal details
Born(1820-07-06)July 6, 1820
Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
DiedNovember 9, 1901(1901-11-09) (aged 81)
Venice, Kingdom of Italy
NationalityArmenian
DenominationArmenian Catholic
ResidenceSan Lazzaro degli Armeni

Ghevont Alishan (Armenian: Հայր Ղեւոնդ Ալիշան) (July 6, 1820 – November 9, 1901) also spelled Ghevond Alishan, or Leonzio Alishan in Italian or Léonce Alichan in French) was an ordained Armenian Catholic priest, historian and a poet. He was awarded by the Legion of Honour of the French Academy (1866), an honorary member of the Asian Society of Italia, Archeological Society of Moscow, Venice Academy and Archeological Society of Saint-Petersburg.

John Ruskin wrote that he "always looked upon him Padre Alishan as a sort of saint; he has been our friend for a great many of years."[1]

He was a member of the Mekhitarist Congregation on Saint Lazarus Island in Venice beginning in 1838. He was the director of the Armenian College in Paris in 1859-1861.

In 1885 he created the first modern Armenian flag. His first design was a horizontal tricolor, but with a set of colors different from those used on the Armenian flag of today. The top band would be red to symbolize the first Sunday of Easter (called "Red" Sunday), the green to represent the "Green" Sunday of Easter, and finally an arbitrary color, white, was chosen to complete the combination. While in France, Alishan also designed a second flag inspired by the national Flag of France. Its colors were red, green, and blue respectively, representing the band of colors that Noah saw after landing on Mount Ararat.

A bust of Alishan, created in 1903 by the sculptor Andreas Ter-Marukian, is displayed in the National Gallery of Armenia.[2]

Biography

Alishan was born on July 6, in Constantinople, in the family of a numismatist-archaeologist. After receiving his primary education at the local Chalikhian College (1830-1832), he continued his studies at the Mkhitaryan School in Venice (1832-1841). Later, he worked as a teacher at the Raphael College (1841-1850, then 1866-1872), inspector (from 1848), editor of "Bazmavep" (1849-1851), teacher at the Muratian College in Paris (1859-1861). Since 1872, the famous Armenian completely devoted himself to scientific activities. Alishan was a laureate of the Legion of Honor of the French Academy (1886), an honorary member and doctor of the Philosophical Academy of Jena, a member of Italian and Russian scientific societies. He died on November 9, 1901 and was buried in St. Lazar Island of Venice.

Publications

  • Armenian popular Songs: translated into English by the R. Leo M. Alishan DD. of the Mechitaristic Society, Venice, S. Lazarus, 1852.
  • Etude de la patrie: physiographie de l'Arménie: discours prononcé le 12 août 1861 à la distribution annuelle des prix au collège arménien Samuel Moorat, Venise, S. Lazar, 1861.
  • «Յուշիկք հայրենեաց հայոց» (Memories of the Armenian Homeland) 1869.
  • «Շնորհալի եւ պարագայ իւր» ('Shnorhali ew paragay iwr', Armenian History). 1873, Venice.
  • «Շիրակ» (Shirak) 1881.
  • Deux descriptions arméniennes des lieux Saints de Palestine, Gènes, 1883.
  • «Սիսուան» (Sisouan) 1885.
  • «Այրարատ» (Ayrarat) 1890.
  • «Սիսական» (Sisakan) 1893.
  • «Հայապատում» ('Hayapatum', Armenian History). 1901, Venice.

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Works of John Ruskin, Volume 32. G. Allen. 1907. p. 305.
  2. ↑ Museum label
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