Around the year 405, a monk named Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet so that his people could read the Bible and prayers in their own language, rather than in Greek or Syriac. The script outlived Persia, Byzantium, the Arab caliphate, the Mongols and the Ottoman Empire, and it is still used every day.
In this video we follow how the letters were made, why the church and the state needed them, how translation and manuscripts built a literature that lasted for centuries, and how the alphabet survived the printing press, the diaspora and modern Yerevan. We also look at the points where the origins of the letters are still debated.
In Yerevan, the Matenadaran institute of ancient manuscripts stands on a hill with a bronze monument to Mesrop Mashtots in front of it. It is one of the best places to see the story of the alphabet in person.
Subscribe if you enjoy the history of writing and culture in the Caucasus. Tell us in the comments whether you have visited the Matenadaran or the Mashtots monument, and which manuscript or alphabet you would like to explore next.
Chapters (approximate, adjust after editing):
00:00 Introduction
02:30 Armenia between Rome and Persia
05:00 Why an alphabet was needed
07:30 Mesrop Mashtots and Sahak
10:00 Making the letters and their origins
13:00 Translation, the Golden Age and schools
16:00 Avarayr and the survival of the language
18:30 The death of Mashtots and Oshakan
20:30 Medieval manuscripts and the Matenadaran
24:00 Printing and Eastern and Western Armenian
27:00 The alphabet today and conclusion
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