Title: The Invention of History. Azerbaijan, Armenia and the Showcasing of Imagination.
Author: Rouben Galichian
Place of publication: London
Publisher: Gomidas Institute
Release date: 2010
In 1918, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, there appeared to the north of the Arax River a new country named Azerbaijan, bearing the same name as the Persian province of Azerbaijan across the Arax River. Since the early 1960s various historians and scientists of this newly founded country have been trying to prove that the population of this land are indigenous to the area and the direct descendants of the Christian Albanians, as well as those of the Mongols and Seljuks. They have also claimed that the Armenians arrived in this area in the 1800s. These assertions are used to claim that multitude of Christian monuments in this region are Albanian, not Christian Armenian, and therefore part of the Albanian-Azerbaijani-Turkic heritage. This book tries to uncover the truth behind these claims and related allegations and demonstrate the truth. The paradox, that the Azerbaijani authorities are the rightful owners of all Christian monuments in the South Caucasus, while destroying most of the same monuments, is difficult to comprehend. Could it be that the targeted monuments are not Albanian but irrefutably Armenian? The book contains chapters discussing a few early maps of the area, historical facts, travelers' reports and other sources proving the existence of Armenians and their culture in these areas. In addition, it shows evidence of the fallacy of the Azeri claims regarding the alleged destruction perpetrated by the Armenians. Quite the contrary, it exposes evidence of how the Azeri authorities are remorselessly eradicating all Armenian monuments by any available ways and means. [1]