15.febb.2022: Vahram Shemmassian, head of the Armenian Studies Program at California State University

New book examins the history of Armenians of Musa Dagh Մուսա Լեռ- January 20, 2021 Horizon News։
Vahram Shemmassian, head of the Armenian Studies Program at California State University, Northridge, explores the history of Armenian resistance in the Musa Dagh region of the Ottoman Empire in his latest book, The California State University Northridge (CSUN) informs.
The Musa Dagh Armenians abandoned their villages for a second, and final, time when the area was annexed by Turkey. In the face of the complete decimation of the Armenian communities of the Ottoman Empire, Musa Dagh became a symbol of the Armenian will to survive. The Forty Days of Musa Dagh
(Մուսա Լեռ) was the site of the famed resistance during the Armenian Genocide. Of the hundreds of villages, towns, and cities across the Ottoman Empire whose Armenian population was ordered removed to the Syrian desert, Musa Dagh was one of only four sites where Armenians organized a defense of their community against the deportation edicts issued by the Young Turk regime beginning in April 1915. By the time the Armenians of the six villages at the base of Musa Dagh were instructed to evict their homes, the inhabitants had grown suspicious of the government's ultimate intentions and chose instead to retreat up the mountain and to defy the evacuation order. Musa Dagh, or the Mountain of Moses, stood on the Mediterranean Sea south of the coastal town of Alexandretta (modern-day Iskenderun).

With a few hundred rifles and the entire store of provisions from their villages, the Armenians on Musa Dagh put up a fierce resistance against a number of attempts by the regular Turkish army to flush them out. Outnumbered and outgunned, the Armenians had little expectations of surviving the siege of the mountain when food stocks were depleted after a month. Their only hope was a chance rescue by an Allied vessel that might be patrolling the Mediterranean coast. When two large banners hoisted by the Armenians were sighted by a passing French warship, swimmers went out to meet it. Eventually five Allied ships moved in to transport the entire population of men, women, and children, more than four thousand in all. The Armenians of Musa Dagh had endured for fifty three days from July 21 to September 12, 1915. They were disembarked at Port Said in Egypt and remained in Allied refugee camps until the end of World War I when they returned to their homes. As part of the district of Alexandretta, or Hatay, Musa Dagh remained under French Mandate until 1939. The Musa Dagh Armenians abandoned their villages for a second, and final, time when the area was annexed by Turkey.
Մուսա լեռան հայերը լքեցին իրենց գյուղերը երկրորդ և վերջին անգամ, երբ տարածքը միացվեց Թուրքիային: Օսմանյան կայսրության հայ համայնքների լիակատար ոչնչացման պայմաններում Մուսա լեռը դարձավ հայի գոյատևման կամքի խորհրդանիշը։
Նոր գիրքն ուսումնասիրում է Մուսա լեռան հայերի պատմությունը - 20 հունվարի, 2021թ. «Հորիզոն» թերթ։
Վահրամ Շեմմասյանը՝ Կալիֆորնիայի պետական համալսարանի Նորթրիջի հայագիտական ծրագրի ղեկավարը, իր վերջին գրքում ուսումնասիրում է Օսմանյան կայսրության Մուսա լեռան շրջանում հայկական դիմադրության պատմությունը։
“The Armenians of Musa Dagh: From Obscurity to Genocide Resistance and Fame 1840-1915” is the second book by the Armenian scholar that chronicles the lives of the Armenian people living in the Ottoman Empire, as well as their resistance during the Armenian genocide. His first book in the series was “The Musa Dagh Armenians: A Socioeconomic and Cultural History, 1919-1939.”
«Մուսա լեռան հայերը. անհայտությունից մինչև Ձեղասպանության դիմադրություն և համբավ 1840-1915 թթ.» հայ գիտնականի երկրորդ գիրքն է, որը ներկայացնում է Օսմանյան կայսրությունում ապրող հայ ժողովրդի կյանքը, ինչպես նաև նրանց դիմադրությունը Հայոց Ձեղասպանության ժամանակ: Շարքի նրա առաջին գիրքը «Մուսա լեռան հայերը. սոցիալ-տնտեսական և մշակութային պատմություն, 1919-1939» գիրքն էր:
Shemmassian said he sees parallels between what happened 100 years ago to what is happening today in the region, with the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh sandwiched between the two states.

“Turkey has been providing Azerbaijan with arms, and terrorists from Syria to help dispose of Armenians and, more specifically, to ethnically cleanse the country in order to obtain land,” he said. “The same resistance against tyranny and extermination that happened in the past is occurring again now, as an attempt to fully dispose of Armenian culture and the people apart of it.”
«Թուրքիան Ադրբեջանին զենք է տրամադրում, իսկ ահաբեկիչներին Սիրիայից՝ օգնելու հայերին ոչնչացնելուն և ավելի կոնկրետ՝ էթնիկական զտում իրականացնելու երկիրը՝ հողեր ձեռք բերելու համար», - ասաց նա։ «Բռնակալության և բնաջնջման դեմ նույն դիմադրությունը, որը տեղի է ունեցել նախկինում, նորից կրկնվում է հիմա՝ որպես հայկական մշակույթը և նրանից զատ ժողովրդին ամբողջությամբ տնօրինելու փորձ»։
“The Armenians of Musa Dagh” is a comprehensive history of the people of Musa Dagh, who rose to prominence with their resistance to the genocide in 1915. Shemmassian presents a thorough analysis of the social, economic, religious, educational, and political history of the six villages that constituted Armenian Musa Dagh. He focuses on the important period of the mid-19th to the early 20th century, offering new insights into the people whose courage and persistence ultimately led to their successful self-defense.

The last (and longest) chapter of his book details the Armenian resistance to genocide, he said.

“We are all angry about what’s happening with Armenia and Azerbaijan, because they are finishing what Turkey started during World War I,” Shemmassian said. “Many war crimes were committed against Armenia last year, almost identical to the genocide that was happening a century ago.

In addition to his work, Shemmassian pointed to ​“The Forty Days of Musa Dagh,​” a novel by Franz Werfel that tells the struggles the Armenian community faced, as a work that can help people understand, on a more intimate level, what happened to the Armenian people during the Genocide.

The publication of “The Armenians of Musa Dagh” comes on the heels of an anonymous $3 million gift to CSUN’s Armenian Studies Program, to support research and scholarships for students.

Shemmassian said he hopes his books provide a historical context for what is happening in Armenia today, as the past continues to influence Armenians.

“The final product, the publication of my books, is the most fulfilling feeling that one can have,” he said. “They are a legacy. At some point, we all die. I’m glad that I’m leaving something behind for future generations to read and learn.”

Vartanian