Inaugural Conference

Unfolding an Unacknowledged Written Cultural Heritage:
Armeno-Turkish Manuscripts, Prints and Newspapers

6-8 August 2025

 

Keynote: Sebouh Aslanian, Richard Hovannisian Endowed Chair in Modern Armenian History, UCLA
Armeno-Turkish as a heterographic literary field: Complicating Ottoman Convivencia 

 

The Mekhitarist Congregation in Vienna, founded in 1811, is a key repository of Armenian cultural heritage. Beyond its architectural and spiritual signifi cance, the Congregation holds more than 2,600 Armenian manuscripts, 150,000 books, and the worldʼs largest collection of Armenian newspapers and periodicals. 

Among these holdings is a remarkable corpus of Turkish-language texts written and printed in Armenian script between the late seventeenth and early twentieth centuries. These include manuscripts, printed books, and newspapers authored by members of Apostolic, Protestant, and Catholic communities. Despite their cultural and historical importance, these Armeno-Turkish materials remain largely unstudied.

A preliminary survey has identifi ed at least 62 Armeno-Turkish manuscripts, approximately 50 of which are written entirely in Armeno-Turkish or in a bilingual format with Armenian; 12 are in Armeno-Kipchak. The library also holds over 800 printed Armeno-Turkish volumes from the late eighteenth to early twentieth centuries, as well as numerous newspapers and periodicals, including major publications from the Tanzimat period (1839–1876).

In response to the lack of scholarly engagement, a project under the FWF Cluster of Excellence “EurAsian Transformations”  (https://eurasiantransformations.univie.ac.at) is currently working to document and analyze these texts both synchronically and diachronically. The project draws inspiration from landmark contributions such as Friedrich von Kraelitz-Greifenhorstʼs early study on Armeno-Turkish (1911/12), and Andreas Tietzeʼs 1991 edition of Akabi Hikâyesi (1851), the fi rst Turkish novel written in Armenian script.

To date, 51 Armeno-Turkish newspapers and journals—amounting to approximately 165,000 pages—have been digitized, with the support of the Congregationʼs Fathers and University of Vienna students trained in both Armeniann and Turkish. The digitization of Armenian newspapers and periodicals from 1794 up to 1925, also featuring Armeno-Turkish prints and newspapers, is made possible through the generous support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Digitization of the manuscripts and books is ongoing, laying the groundwork for future research.

The digitization of manuscripts and books made possible by Wien Kultur is progressing and laying the foundation for future research work. In this spirit, the conference brings together over 40 scholars from across the globe — from Los Angeles to Osaka — for the fi rst international gathering dedicated exclusively to Armeno-Turkish manuscripts, prints, and newspapers. The conference was made possible by the generous support of the following organisations: The City of Viennaʼs Department of Culture; the Cluster of Excellence EurAsian Transformations; the ÖFG // Österreichische Forschungsgemeinschaft (Austrian Research Association), and Ruhr University Bochum.

 

 

The Organising Committee

  • Hülya Çelik (Ruhr University Bochum)
  • Yavuz Köse (University of Vienna)
  • Ani Sargsyan (University of Hamburg)
  • Kübra Uygur (Brunel University of London)