Jalaleddin (novella)


Jalaleddin was the first of Raffi's famous works of historical fiction and a milestone in modern Armenian literature. The novella was first published in serialized form across eight issues of Mshak, a Tiflis-based Armenian newspaper, in 1878. Its title is based on the name of Sheikh Jalaleddin, a Kurdish chief who led his forces on a violent campaign against Armenian and Assyrian villages in the eastern part of Van province at the beginning of the last Russo-Turkish War. While the story is fictional, Raffi based the historical details on eyewitness accounts. Much of the key historical information provided by Raffi corresponds with British correspondents who were in the Eastern Ottoman Empire at the time.

Translations

French translation

The first translation of Jalaleddin was completed in French by A. Tchobanian, appearing between 1896 and 1897 in Revue des revues across five issues.

Russian translation

A Russian translation by N. Bogaturova was published in 1911.

English translations

K. Andreassian.
Donald Abcarian.
Beyon Miloyan and Kimberley McFarlane.