View source for Snare of Glory

{{Short description|18th-century Armenian political text}}
{{Infobox book
| name              = A Book Called Snare of Glory
| title_orig        =
| translator        =
| image             = Vorogayt Parats.jpg
| caption           = Title page and illustration of ''Snare of Glory''
| author            = [[Shahamir Shahamirian]]
| illustrator       =
| cover_artist      =
| country           = India
| language          = [[Armenian language|Armenian]]
| series            =
| genre             =
| publisher         =
| release_date      =
| english_release_date =
| media_type        = Print
| pages             =
| isbn              =
| preceded_by       =
| followed_by       =
| pub_date          = 1787–89 (listed as 1773 on the title page)
}}
[[File:Shahamir Shahamiryan.jpg|thumb|Portrait of [[Shahamir Shahamirian]], the main author of the work]]
'''''A Book Called Snare of Glory'''''{{Efn|Hereafter simply ''Snare of Glory''. Subtitle: ''To Prevent All Disorderly Deeds'' ({{langx|hy|Վասն կալանաւորելոյ ամենայն գործ անկարգութեան|translit=Vasn kalanavoreloy amenayn gorts ankargut’ean}})}} ({{Langx|hy|Գիրք անուանեալ որոգայթ փառաց|translit=Girk’ anvaneal vorogayt’ p’ar’ats’}}, sometimes shortened to {{transliteration|hy|'''Vorogayt Parats'''}}) is an [[Armenian language|Armenian]] political and legal treatise written by [[Armenians|Armenian]] merchant and intellectual [[Shahamir Shahamirian]] and his son Hakob Shahamirian, and published between 1787 and 1789 (although its title page gives the date as 1773). It contains a proposed [[constitution]] for a future independent Armenian state along [[parliament]]ary and [[Republicanism|republican]] lines. It was published at the author's printing press in [[Madras]] (modern-day [[Chennai]], [[India]]). It is regarded as a landmark in Armenian intellectual and literary history and one of the earliest and most significant expressions of the ideals of [[Age of Enlightenment|the Enlightenment]] in the Armenian context. It has also been called the first constitution in Asia.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=preface}}
''Snare of Glory'' consists of two main parts: a long introduction with historical and theoretical analysis, probably authored in part by Shahamirian's son Hakob (to whom the entire book is erroneously attributed on the title page), and the actual text of the draft constitution. The second, main part of the book is a draft constitution consisting of 521 articles, addressing issues ranging from the rights of citizens, the system of government, social and economic structure, education system and military of the future Armenian state. It declared all citizens of the future state to be born free and equal before the law, with freedom of speech, religion and economic activity. The political and economic system, however, was to be one that would favor Armenians of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Gregorian confession]].
== Background ==
[[Shahamir Shahamirian]] (1723–1797) was an Armenian from [[New Julfa]] in [[Iran]] who moved to India in the 1740s and became the wealthiest Armenian merchant in [[Chennai|Madras]] after inheriting his uncle's fortune.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2023|p=307}} At the time, Madras was home to a small but prosperous and influential community of about 200–240 Armenian merchants, mostly of New Julfan origin.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2011|pp=51–52}} In the second half of the eighteenth century, the fortunes of the Armenian merchants of India were declining because of the expansion of the British [[East India Company]] and its state-chartered monopoly in trade.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2011|pp=213–214}}{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|p=250}} This is thought to have influenced the social, political and cultural views of Indo-Armenians like Shahamir Shahamirian.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2011|pp=213–214}}{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|p=250}} Faced with shrinking commercial prospects in India, they became more concerned with Armenian education and national consciousness and with the state of their ancestral homeland, Armenia, then divided between the [[Ottoman Empire]] and [[Afsharid Iran|Iran]].{{Sfn|Aslanian|2011|pp=213–214}}{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|p=250}} Shahamir Shahamirian was one of the most prominent figures of this Armenian revival in Madras. Although Shahamirian was not well educated,{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|p=250}} he took a keen interest in literary and political matters and hired English and Armenian tutors.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982b|p=418}} He also hired [[Movses Baghramian]], a learned Armenian from [[Karabakh|Karabagh]], to educate his sons Hakob and Yeghiazar.{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|pp=250–251}} Shahamirian's ideas were influenced by Baghramian, as well as [[Joseph Emin]], an Indo-Armenian who had traveled to Europe and spent years trying to organize a rebellion to free Armenia from Muslim rule.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982b|p=418}}{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|pp=243–251}}{{Sfn|Diloyan|1981}}
The Shahamirians, Baghramian and their collaborators, known collectively as the Madras group, sought to rally Armenians in Armenia and the [[Armenian diaspora|diaspora]] to educate themselves about their history and struggle against foreign rule.{{Sfn|Diloyan|1981}}{{Sfn|Oshagan|1997|pp=145–146}} They advocated for the establishment of an independent Armenian state{{Efn|The Madras group also considered a joint Georgian-Armenian state under the rule of [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Heraclius II]] as a possibility.{{Sfn|Mayilyan|2000}}{{Sfn|Chobanyan|2006|pp=138–139}}}} and the return of Armenians from the diaspora to their homeland.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|pp=6, 68}}{{Sfn|Libaridian|1987|pp=65–66}} They were influenced by contemporary [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] ideas such as [[constitutionalism]], [[natural law]], [[popular sovereignty]] and [[Representative democracy|representative government]].{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|pp=6, 67}}{{Sfn|Oshagan|1999|pp=165–172}} They expressed their ideas in a series of works published using the Armenian printing press founded in Madras by the Shahamirians in 1770 or 1771.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2023|p=307}} The first of these works was {{transliteration|hy|Nor tetrak vor kochi hordorak}} ("New Booklet Called Exhortation") by Movses Baghramian, which analyzes Armenian history to determine the reasons for the loss of Armenian statehood and calls on Armenians to prepare to struggle for their liberty.{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|pp=250–251}} It advocates for the establishment of an Armenian state with a "firm constitution" and a "national parliament."{{Sfn|Ghougassian|1999|pp=250–251}} Two of the works published by the Madras press were authored by Shahamir Shahamirian: {{transliteration|hy|Tetrak vor kochi nshavak}} ("Booklet of Aim," 1783), which provided a communal constitution for the Armenians of Madras, and ''Snare of Glory'', which provided a constitution for a future independent Armenian republic.{{Sfn|Oshagan|1997|p=146}}
The final publication of ''Snare of Glory'' appears to have been delayed by the censuring of the activities of Shahamirian's group by [[Catholicos of All Armenians|Catholicos]] [[Simeon I of Yerevan|Simeon of Yerevan]] (head of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Church]] 1763–1780). In 1776, Catholicos Simeon reacted extremely negatively to the group's first book, {{transliteration|hy|Nor tetrak vor kochi hordorak}}, for its radical ideas.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|pp=69–73}} The Madras group had sent Simeon the work expecting to gain his support.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|p=69}} Instead, the Catholicos excommunicated the book's author, Movses Baghramian, and demanded that Shahamirian close down the printing press and destroy all copies of {{transliteration|hy|Nor tetrak vor kochi hordorak}}.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|pp=69–71}} Shahamirian also sent the Catholicos a manuscript copy of the introductory section ''Snare of Glory'' for inspection.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|p=|pp=70, 74–75}} It was only after Simeon's death in 1780 that the Madras press was able to resume its activities.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|p=75}}
After 1783, Shahamirian was in periodic contact with King [[Heraclius II of Georgia]], whom he saw as a potential ally for the realization of the Madras group's political goals.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982b}}{{Sfn|Mayilyan|2000|p=166}} Heraclius wrote to Shahamirian asking him to write a work to help improve the government of his realm.{{Sfn|Chobanyan|2006|p=139}} In a letter dated to 15 October 1787, Shahamirian wrote to Heraclius saying that he was unable to fulfill his request, but instead sent him a manuscript copy of the second, draft constitution part of ''Snare of Glory'', which had not yet been printed at that point.{{Sfn|Chobanyan|2006|pp=170–171}}{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter III}} Shahamirian also sent manuscript copies of the work prior to its publication to Catholicos [[Ghukas Karnetsi]] and [[Hovsep Arghutian (archbishop)|Hovsep Arghutian]], archbishop of the Armenians of Russia.{{Sfn|Ioannisyan|1989|pp=284–285}} ''Snare of Glory'' was finally printed sometime between late 1787 and 1789.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter III}}
=== Authorship ===
The authorship and date of publication of ''Snare of Glory'' have been debated by scholars.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|loc=p. 66, fn. 143}} The title page lists 1773 as the date of publication and Hakob Shahamirian (d. 1774), son of Shahamir, as its author.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|loc=p. 66, fn. 143}} The 1773 dating was accepted by most scholars as fact until the 1920s, when historian Tadevos Avdalbegyan demonstrated that this is impossible, as the text contains references to events that took place after 1773, such as the [[American Revolutionary War|American War of Independence]] and the death of Iranian ruler [[Karim Khan Zand]].{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|loc=p. 66, fn. 143}}{{Sfn|Avdalbegyan|1969|pp=258–263}} Additionally, on the basis of Shahamir Shahamirian's letters to the Georgian king [[Heraclius II of Georgia|Heraclius]], Avdalbegyan argued that ''Snare of Glory'' was published in 1787 or 1788 and was authored by Shahamir Shahamirian himself.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|loc=p. 66, fn. 143}}{{Sfn|Avdalbegyan|1969|pp=258–263}} However, most of the introductory section of the book was probably written in 1773 by Hakob Shahamirian, while the main section containing the details of the constitution was added later by his father.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|loc=p. 66, fn. 143}} Shahamirian attributed the entire book to Hakob in honor of his late son.{{Sfn|Avdalbegyan|1969|p=262}} Historians Abgar Hovhannisyan and Poghos Khachatryan suggest that Movses Baghramian and Joseph Emin also contributed to the composition of ''Snare of Glory''.{{Sfn|Ioannisyan|1989|p=286}}{{Sfn|Khachatryan|2002|pp=113–114}} Thus, the final version of the work was written over the course of more than a decade, with interruptions, and involved up to four authors.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter III}} Scholar Satenig Batwagan Toufanian concludes that this partly explains why the work "often lacks order and sometimes even coherence."{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter III}}
== Contents ==
''Snare of Glory'' consists of two main parts: a historical-theoretical introduction, and the text of the draft constitution of the future Armenian state. In the preface, the author explains the meaning of the title: the eponymous "snare of glory" is the system of laws laid out in the work that will "trap" pride or, in other words, constrain the ambition to be above the law or exploit others.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter III}}{{Sfn|Oshagan|1999|p=167}}{{Sfn|Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|2002|p=7}} The lengthy introduction identifies "despotic government" as the main cause of the Armenian people's suffering.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2023|pp=310–311}} It prescribes a state with a constitution, the [[rule of law]], and [[Representative democracy|representative government]] based on the principle of [[popular sovereignty]] as the solution.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2023|pp=310–311}}
The second, main part of the book is a draft constitution consisting of 521 articles, addressing issues ranging from the rights of citizens, the system of government, social and economic structure, education system and military of the future Armenian state.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}} It declares all citizens of the future state to be born free and equal before the law, with freedom of speech, religion and economic activity.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}} The political and economic system, however, was to be one that would favor [[Armenians]] of the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Gregorian confession]]. Only they were to be eligible to hold office and own property, while people of other confessions or faiths would only be allowed to rent land.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}} [[Apostasy]] by Gregorian Armenians was to be punishable by death.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}}{{Sfn|Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|2002|pp=75–76}} There would be no limitations on the right to be elected besides moral qualities. Deputies were to be elected for 3 years. The governing bodies were to be elected from among the deputies. Supreme and legislative power would be exercised by the parliament or senate, called the ''Hayots tun'' ("House of the Armenians"). A council of ministers consisting of 12 ministers and a president (called the ''nakharar'') would exercise executive power. The parliament was to have its own presidency made up of 14 members. The president would also fulfil the role of foreign minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The parliament was to supervise the activities of the council of ministers and have the right impeach the government.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}}
There was also another special method for electing the president mentioned in the draft. A member of one of the old Armenian royal houses could be elected president for life, if he upheld the laws promulgated by the parliament. This exception was included to interest King Heraclius II of Georgia, whom the Madras group saw as a potential ally for the liberation of Armenia. Heraclius was a member of the [[Bagrationi dynasty]], related to the [[Bagratuni dynasty|Bagratunis]] that once reigned as kings of Armenia.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}}
The draft constitution describes the structure, organization and powers of the other government organs and the court system. A supreme court would be established with elected members, as well as permanent local courts and juries for criminal cases. Many articles are devoted to issues of education, economic development, family relations and other issues. There was to be separation of church and state and schools would be separate from the church. Education would be compulsory for all citizens, regardless of gender. The state was to provide education and healthcare for the needy and orphans. The republic would be protected by a 90,000-strong standing army. Conscription would be carried out by lots: 5 men out of every 100 would serve for 7 years.{{Sfn|Grigorian|1982a}}
== Sources and influences ==
Scholars agree that the author(s) of ''Snare of Glory'' were influenced by the ideas of the European [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], but the means and extent to which they interacted with Enlightenment-era texts is somewhat unclear.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} Interaction with the British in Madras and the English-language press there was probably the main way that Shahamirian and his collaborators encountered these ideas.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} [[Levon Zekiyan|Boghos Levon Zekiyan]] and [[Vahé Oshagan]] write that the influence of the ideas of [[John Locke]] and [[Montesquieu]], such as the concept of the ''trias politica'', is especially apparent in ''Snare of Glory''.{{Sfn|Zekiyan|1997|p=340}}{{Sfn|Oshagan|1999|p=170}} Oshagan suggests that the constitution was an elaboration of the existing communal organization of the Armenians of Madras, supplemented with elements of the "British model in Madras,"{{Sfn|Oshagan|1999|p=69}} although Satenig Batwagan Toufanian writes that there is insufficient evidence to support this claim.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} Batwagan Toufanian also notes that few similarities are discernible with the "Astrakhan Code," a communal lawbook of the Armenians of [[Astrakhan]] written between 1750 and 1765, thought to be a codification of the rules of communal organization of the Armenians of [[New Julfa]], Shahamir Shahamirian's birthplace.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}}
The Bible is by far the most quoted source in ''Snare of Glory'', although the text does not reveal a very thorough knowledge of scripture.''{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}}'' Batwagan Toufanian writes that the Bible and Christian philosophy constitute the most familiar, but not necessarily the sole, conceptual framework for Shahamirian.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} The history of Armenia of [[Movses Khorenatsi]] is mentioned explicitly in the text and drawn from extensively, as well as the geography ''[[Ashkharhatsuyts]]'' formerly attributed to Khorenatsi but now attributed to [[Anania Shirakatsi]].{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} References to the history of the [[Roman Republic|Roman republic]] and [[Roman Empire|empire]] are inexactly attributed in the text to "accounts of the Roman geographers."{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} Batwagan Toufanian writes that Shahamirian probably learned about Roman history from some secondary sources, but it cannot be determined from which ones.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}} The use of Roman history as an instructive example on government and politics reflects a certain familiarity with contemporary European intellectual themes.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter VI}}
== Language ==
''Snare of Glory'' is written in [[Classical Armenian]] heavily mixed with vernacular and foreign words and containing many grammatical and orthographical errors.{{Sfn|Avdalbegyan|1969|p=259}}{{Sfn|Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|2002|pp=246–247}} Historian Tadevos Avdalbegyan describes the language of ''Snare of Glory'' as "illiterate, [[Macaronic language|macaronic]][...] Classical Armenian only in appearance."{{Sfn|Avdalbegyan|1969|p=259}}
== Impact and legacy ==
Because of its small print run (slightly more than 100 copies),{{Sfn|Zekiyan|1997|p=340}} the immediate impact of ''Snare of Glory'' and other works published by the Shahamirian press was small.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2023|p=375}} The Shahamirians were generally forgotten by the time their progressive ideas became more widespread among Armenians by the second half of the nineteenth century.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|p=79}} ''Snare of Glory'' was reprinted for the first time in [[Tbilisi|Tiflis]] in 1913.{{Sfn|Aslanian|2002|p=79}}{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}} Interest in the ''Snare of Glory'' and the other works of the Shahamirian press increased after the Sovietization of Armenia in 1920.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}} Soviet Armenian authors praised Shahamirian as the founder of the Armenian "bourgeois democratic movement," with ''Snare of Glory'' as the manifesto of this movement.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}} After the independence of Armenia in 1991, interest in ''Snare of Glory'' rose again in connection with the question of a new constitution and state institutions for independent Armenia.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}} Malik Telunts published an in-depth study of ''Snare of Glory'' in 1995, the year that the [[Constitution of Armenia]] was adopted.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}} A partial reprint of ''Snare of Glory'' was published in 1999, and a full translation into modern [[Eastern Armenian]] was published by Poghos Khachatryan in 2002.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}}{{Sfn|Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|2002}} Partial translations into Russian were made in the early 2000s.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter I}} In 2018, Satenig Batwagan Toufanian published a detailed study of ''Snare of Glory'' with a full translation of the work into French.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018}}
''Snare of Glory'' is sometimes erroneously called the first constitution in the world.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter II}}{{Efn|For example, the [[Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina]] were written and adopted earlier, in 1669.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=chapter I}}}} It is, however, the first constitution in Asia.{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=preface}} The authors Shahamir and Hakob Shahamirian are regarded as the first to import the concept of constitution into Armenian political thought; their portraits are displayed on the walls of the library of the [[Constitutional Court of Armenia]].{{Sfn|Batwagan Toufanian|2018|loc=preface}} [[Gagik Harutyunyan]], the former chairman of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, once referred to ''Snare of Glory'' as "essentially our first Constitution," which is "almost in conformance with today’s requirements for the protection of individual rights and freedoms[…]"{{Sfn|Panossian|2006|loc=p. 93, fn. 48}}
== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{Notelist}}
=== Citations ===
{{reflist}}
=== Bibliography ===
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* {{Cite book|title=Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|publisher=Hayastan |year=2002 |isbn=5-540-01746-3 |location=Yerevan |language=hy|translator-first=Poghos|translator-last=Khachatryan|ref={{harvid|Orogaytʻ Pʻaṛatsʻ|2002}}}}
* {{Cite book |last=Oshagan |first=Vahé |chapter=From Enlightenment to Renaissance: The Armenian Experience |author-link=Vahé Oshagan |editor-last2=Myers |editor-first2=David M. |publisher=Scholars Press |year=1999 |isbn=0-7885-0604-8 |editor-last=Hovannisian |editor-first=Richard G. |title=Enlightenment and Diaspora: The Armenian and Jewish Cases |location=Atlanta, Georgia |pages=145–180}}
* {{Cite book |last=Oshagan |first=Vahé |title=The Armenian People from Ancient to Modern Times |publisher=Macmillan |year=1997 |isbn=0-333-61974-9 |editor-last=Hovannisian |editor-first=Richard G. |volume=II |chapter=Modern Armenian Literature and Intellectual History from 1700 to 1915 |pages=139–174}}
* {{cite book |last=Panossian |first=Razmik |title=The Armenians: From Kings and Priests to Merchants and Commissars |publisher=Hurst & Company |year=2006 |isbn=1-85065-788-2 |location=London |author-link=Razmik Panossian}}
* {{Cite book |last=Khachatryan |first=Poghos |title=Hay grakanutʻyuně ev kʻristoneutʻyuně |publisher=HH GAA "Gitutʻyun" hratarakchʻutʻyun |year=2002 |isbn=5-8080-0015-7 |editor-last=Yeghiazaryan |editor-first=A. |location=Yerevan |pages=111–123 |language=hy |trans-title=Armenian literature and Christianity |chapter=Shahamiryannerě ev Mayr Atʻoṛ Surb Ējmiatsině |trans-chapter=The Shahamiryans and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin |display-editors=etal}}
* {{Cite book |last=Zekiyan |first=Boghos Levon |title=Armenian Perspectives |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=1997 |isbn=978-1-138-96380-1 |editor-last=Nicholas |editor-first=Awde |location=London |chapter=Modern Armenian Culture: Some Basic Trends Between Continuity and Change, Specificity and Universality |author-link=Levon Zekiyan |pages=323–354}}
== External links ==
* [https://digilib.aua.am/book/195/ Գիրք անուանեալ Որոգայթ փառաց], transcription of the 1913 edition at the AUA Digital Library of Armenian Literature
* [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/mdp.39076002687247 Scan of 1913 edition of ''Snare of Glory''] on [[HathiTrust]]
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[[Category:Armenian books]]
[[Category:1780s books]]
[[Category:Constitutions]]
[[Category:Armenian literature]]
[[Category:Early modern history of Armenia]]