{{short description|1858 novel by Khachatur Abovian}} {{Infobox book | name = Wounds of Armenia | image = Wounds of Armenia 1959 cover.jpg | image_size = 180px | caption = Cover of the 1959 edition | author = Khachatur Abovian | language = Eastern Armenian | genre = Historical novel<ref name="Dum-Tragut">{{cite book|last=Dum-Tragut|first=Jasmine|title=Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian|year=2009|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|location=Amsterdam|isbn=9789027238146|page=3}}</ref><ref name="Baladouni">{{cite book|last=Baladouni|first=Vahé|title=Hmayeak Shēms: A Poet of Pure Spirit|year=2010|publisher=University Press of America|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=9780761850540|page=91|author2=Gery, John }}</ref><ref name="Kurkjian">{{cite book|last=Kurkjian|first=Vahan M.|authorlink=Vahan Kurkjian|title=A History of Armenia|year=2008|publisher=Indo-European Publishing|location=Los Angeles|isbn=9781604440126|page=338}}</ref> | pub_date = 1858 }}
'''''Wounds of Armenia''''' ({{langx|hy|Վերք Հայաստանի|translit=Verk’ Hayastani}}){{Efn|Traditional orthography: {{lang|hy|Վէրք Հայաստանի}}}} is an 1841 historical novel by Khachatur Abovian. Written in the Araratian (Yerevan) dialect,<ref name="Panossian">{{cite book|last=Panossian|first=Razmik|authorlink=Razmik Panossian|title=The Armenians from kings and priests to merchants and commissars|url=https://archive.org/details/armeniansfromkin00razm|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Columbia University Press|location=London|isbn=9780231511339|page=[https://archive.org/details/armeniansfromkin00razm/page/143 143]}}</ref> ''Wounds of Armenia'' is considered Abovian's ''masterpiece''.<ref name="Baladouni"/><ref name="Bardakjian"/> It is Abovian's debut novel, the first Armenian novel<ref name="Heritage of Armenian Literature"/>{{Efn|Mesrop Taghiadian published the novels ''Vep Vardgisi'' (1846) and ''Vep Varsenkan'' (1847) in Classical Armenian prior to the publication of ''Wounds of Armenia'',<ref>Hacikyan et al. (2005) p. 204</ref> although Abovian wrote the novel earlier, in 1841.}} and the first modern Eastern Armenian literary work.<ref name="Nichanian"/><ref name="Kazanjian"/> Thanks to ''Wounds of Armenia'', Abovian is acknowledged as the founder of the modern Eastern Armenian language.<ref name="Baladouni"/><ref name="Bardakjian">{{cite book|last=Bardakjian|first=Kevork B.|title=Wayne State University Press|year=2000|publisher=Wayne State Univ. Press|location=Detroit|isbn=9780814327470|page=[https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto00bard/page/135 135]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/referenceguideto00bard/page/135}}</ref>
It was first published in 1858 in Tiflis, which was the cultural center of Russian Armenians before the Russian Civil War,<ref>{{cite book|last=Petrosian|first=Irina|title=Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore|year=2006|publisher=Yerkir Publ.|location=Bloomington, Indiana|isbn=9781411698659|page=8|author2=Underwood, David |quote=Money, jobs, and success were attainable in Tiflis, which became virtually the center of Eastern Armenian life. At the beginning of the 20th century, Tiflis had a population of 350,000, while Yerevan had only 35,000.}}</ref> ten years after Abovian's disappearance.<ref name="Kazanjian"/>
==Name== The book's full title is ''Wounds of Armenia: Lamentation of a Patriot'' ({{Lang|hy|Վերք Հայաստանի. ողբ հայրենասիրի}}).<ref>Baladouni (2005) p. 4</ref><ref>Hacikyan (2005) p. 89 "Khachatur Abovian (1809-48) is regarded as one of the founders of Eastern Armenian ashkharhabar, with his milestone work Verk Hayastani kam Voghb hayrenasiri (Wounds of Armenia, or lamentation of the patriot)."</ref>
==Background== thumb|A page from Abovian's manuscript of the novel Khachatur Abovian was born in Kanaker, a small village near Yerevan in 1809 which was part of Qajar Iran at the time. In 1827, Yerevan was captured by the Russians. From 1830 to 1836, Abovian studied at the Imperial University of Dorpat (nowadays in Tartu, Estonia).<ref>{{cite book|last=Khachaturian|first=Lisa|title=Cultivating Nationhood in Imperial Russia: The Periodical Press and the Formation of a Modern Armenian Identity|year=2009|publisher=Transaction Publishers|page=52|isbn=978-1-4128-0848-4}}</ref> Abovian wrote the book in 1841.<ref name="Panossian"/><ref name="Heritage of Armenian Literature"/><ref name="Nichanian">{{cite book|last=Nichanian|first=Marc|title=Writers of Disaster: Arm. Literature in the Twentieth Century|year=2002|publisher=Gomidas Inst.|location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=9781903656099|page=87}}</ref><ref name="Kazanjian">{{cite book|last=Kazanjian|first=David|title=Loss: The Politics of Mourning|year=2003|publisher=University of California Press|location=Los Angeles|isbn=9780520232365|page=144}}</ref><ref name="Hovanesian">{{cite book|last=Hovanesian|first=Zareh|title=The philatelic History of Armenia|year=2000|publisher=Z. Hovanesian|isbn=9780615119984|page=146}}</ref>
==Plot== The story which Abovian named ''Wounds of Armenia'' is based on an incident which happened in his hometown Kanaker during the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828.
A young Armenian girl named Taguhi is kidnapped by soldiers of Hossein Khan Sardar, the head of the Erivan Khanate. Aghasi, who is the main hero, kills the Sardar's men and saves her. The Persian governor's brother Hassan decides to punish Aghasi and thus destroys a number of Armenian towns.<ref name="Kurkjian"/><ref name="Heritage of Armenian Literature"/>
== Evaluation == The 2005 book ''The Heritage of Armenian Literature'' by Agop Jack Hacikyan et al. argues that "though symbolic, the incident [central to the plot], was sufficiently potent to arouse sentiments of patriotism, national pride, and dignity". The authors then note that "the book, reads like a poem, in which the author, like a son, is having an honest, forthright talk with the people, in their own Kanaker dialect". They claim "its message is direct and strong: an appeal from the bottom of the heart".<ref name="Heritage of Armenian Literature">{{cite book|last1=Hacikyan|first1=Agop Jack|authorlink1=Agop Jack Hacikyan|last2=Basmajian|first2=Gabriel|last3=Franchuk|first3=Edward S.|last4=Ouzounian|first4=Nourhan|title=The Heritage of Armenian Literature: From the eighteenth century to modern times|year=2005|publisher=Wayne State University Press|location=Detroit|isbn=9780814332214|page=213}}</ref>
==Publications and translations== The novel was first published in 1858 in Tiflis (modern-day Tbilisi, Georgia).<ref name="Dum-Tragut"/><ref name="Baladouni"/> It was later published during the Soviet era (1948, [http://books.am/book/more/id/139232/bname/Verq-Hayastani-oghb-Hayrenasiri-/lang/am 1959] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130424011241/http://books.am/book/more/id/139232/bname/Verq-Hayastani-oghb-Hayrenasiri-/lang/am |date=2013-04-24 }}, [http://www.armenianbooksclub.com/armenian_books.asp?book_publisher=&which_field=books&sort_type=ASC&offset=31450 1975] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130410125314/http://www.armenianbooksclub.com/armenian_books.asp?book_publisher=&which_field=books&sort_type=ASC&offset=31450 |date=2013-04-10 }}) and in independent Armenia ([https://books.google.com/books?id=hpD1AAAACAAJ 2005], [https://books.google.com/books?id=1o3hFYxqB9YC&q=Wounds+of+Armenia 2009]). Since now the novel had 16 publications in Armenian in separate books.{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
The novel was translated for the first time into Russian (by Sergey Shervinsky). In 1948, the Russian translated edition was published in both in Yerevan and Moscow and later republished in 1955, 1971 and [http://ru.hayazg.info/%D0%90%D0%B1%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%8F%D0%BD_%D0%A5%D0%B0%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80_%D0%90%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%87/%D0%A0%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%90%D1%80%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8._%D0%A1%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B1%D1%8C_%D0%BF%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B0 1977] in Yerevan.<ref>{{cite web|last=Акопян|first=П. О.|script-title=ru:Хачатур Абовян и его "Раны Армении"|url=http://armenianhouse.org/abovyan/wounds-of-armenia/intro.html|publisher=ArmenianHouse.org|accessdate=22 March 2013|language=ru}}</ref> In 1978 and 2005 it was published in Moscow.
In 2005, Vahé Baladouni translated the preface of Abovian's novel into English. It was published in Yerevan by the Museum of Literature and Art. ({{ISBN|9993060607}}, {{OCLC|76872486}})
The novel has also been published in Latvian (1960), Lithuanian (1980) and Romanian (2015).{{Citation needed|date=March 2024}}
==See also== *Modern Armenian *Classical Armenian *Yerevan dialect
== Notes == {{Notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[http://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/%D5%8E%D5%A5%D6%80%D6%84_%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%AB The full text at the Armenian WikiSource] *[http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction/Original/Abovyan_Khachatur/Verq_Hayastani.htm?page=1&interface_language=am The full text at the Eastern Armenian National Corpus]
{{Armenian language|state=expanded}} {{Authority control}} Category:1841 novels Category:1840s debut novels Category:1858 books Category:Armenian novels Category:Historical novels Category:Armenian-language novels Category:Novels set in Armenia