Pavel Chobanyan

P. Chobanyan’s academic interests were also linked with the history of Armenian communities of India, Italy and Jerusalem. He discovered and published new ratifications of 17th-18th centuries about the history of Armenia, Armenian Church and Artsakh.

Since 2013 Pavel Chobanyan held chief-editor’s position of the international scientific editorial board Journal of Armenian Studies. and edited eleven issues of the journal.

His “The Phenomenon of Shushi” (2013) and “Artsakh. Demographic and Localization Issues in the context of NKR Security” (2014) are very valuable collective monographs that were published as an appendix of “Armenian Army” military journal in the special editions of “Working Notebooks” under the RA MoD National Defense Research University, where he had been as a project coordinator, academic editor and author of the major articles.

From 2007 as a Senior Analytical Scientist his knowledge was used at the National Defense Research University of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia. Pavel Chobanyan worked in different fields of Social Sciences. He was equally interested in Armenia’s political relations with Russia and countries in the Middle East, Armenian communities and their spiritual-cultural life, the history and bibliographic heritage of Georgia, the patterns of Armenian public life development, the contribution of Transcaucasian nations in the world history and many other issues that are reflected in his bibliography.

In 2006 he defended his Doctoral dissertation titled “Armenian-Russian-Georgian relationships in the second half of the 18th century”.

In 2006 P. Chobanyan’s monograph titled “Armenian-Russian-Georgian relationships in the second half of the 18th century” was published.

He has been a member of several scientific and editorial boards for many years. From 1999 to 2003 he had been a deputy editor of Patma-Banasirakan Handes (Historical-Philological Journal). In those years under the consistent supervision of Academician Mkrtich Nersisyan, his goal-oriented and hard-working qualities contributed to the prosperity of Patma-Banasirakan Handes, which was very important in Armenian studies, as well as to the process of discovery and publication of ratifications of the Armenian-Russian interrelations.

In 1999 Makar Barkhudaryan’s topographical works named “Artsakh” were republished with the introduction of P. Chobanyan.

Professor Chobanyan had also been engaged in pedagogical activities. He taught at David Anhaght University, Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan (from 1995 to 2008), Yerevan State University and Yerevan School of Mekhitarist Congregation.

With the emergence of internal and external challenges connected with the newly established Republic of Armenia, there was a greater need for impartial and academically devoted researchers like Pavel Chobanyan. In 1991, he took part in the important socio-political processes of Post-Soviet era. He was included in the Pardon Committee under the RA President.

After collecting large number of sources from the archives and libraries of Tbilisi and Moscow, in 1981 he published his research titled “Georgian travel notes and their information about Armenians”. In 1990 the collection of documents titled “Armenian-Russian relationships in the second half of the 18th century (from 1760 to 1800)” was published, which was prepared with the participation of P. Chobanyan.

Professor Chobanyan began his academic activity from the Institute of Oriental Studies of the NAS RA and due to his hard work he managed to become a Deputy Director of the Institute. From 1977 to 1985 he was a junior researcher of the Department of “Caucasian Byzantine Studies” and from 1995 to 1996 he was the Head of the Division “Christian Orient” at the same institute. From 1985 to 1995 he also worked at the Institute of History of NAS RA as a senior researcher. More than 10 years (from 2002 to 2013) he was the scientific Deputy Director at the Institute of Oriental Studies of NAS RA. From 2013 till his last days Professor Chobanyan chaired Department of “Eastern Sources and Historiography” at the Institute of Oriental Studies of NAS RA.

From 1974-1976 P. Chobanyan undertook his PhD in Caucasian and Georgian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences conducting his research at the Korneli Kekelidze Georgian National Center of Manuscripts under the supervision of Yelena Metreveli – the head of the above-mentioned Institute, renowned specialist in Georgian Studies and Academician. In 1982 he defended his Candidate’s dissertation titled “Armenians in the Middle East according to Georgian itineraries”.

Pavel Ashoti Chobanyan (Armenian: Պավել Աշոտի Չոբանյան, 15 March 1948, Shakashen, Goygol district, Azerbaijan SSR - 19 May 2017, Yerevan, Armenia), was an Armenian historian.

Pavel Chobanyan was born in Khanlar city of the Goygol district in Azerbaijan SSR on March 15, 1948 (native village was historical Pip-Zaglik). In 1973 he graduated with honors from the Archeology, Ethnography and Source Studies Department of the Yerevan State University.