ДАВНЬОВІРМЕНСЬКА “КАМ’ЯНЕЦЬКА ХРОНІКА” ЯК ДЖЕРЕЛО ДО ВИВЧЕННЯ ПРОСУВАННЯ ОСМАНСЬКОЇ ІМПЕРІЇ НА УКРАЇНСЬКІ ЗЕМЛІ В XV–XVII СТ.

Abstract

“Kamyanets Chronicle” was written in the 15–17th centuries in the Ancient Armenian language in the town Kamyanets, where in those times there was a significant Armenian colony. In 1896 the famous scholar of the Armenian studies Ghevond Alishan (1820–1901) published it in the historical documents edition “Kamenic” in Venice. The chronicle is being perceived as the historical document, which helps to better understand the separate episodes from the history of Ukraine and the neighboring lands, as well as the activities of the historical personalities of those times. There was the chronicler Ter-Hovhannes, who was keeping notes from 1560 to the 1605. The texts written by him state that Ter-Hovhannes was quite a knowledgeable person, had some knowledge in history, geography, spiritual literature. He as well mastered the classical Armenian language, which is very important as among Armenians of town Kamyanets in that time was widely common Armenian Kipchak language. The scholar divides the texts in the chronicle into 4 categories: а) those that highlight different aspects of lives of the Armenians of the 16–17th centuries, as well as the attitude of Armenians to the events of those times, b) those who describe the internal life of the town Kamyanets and peculiarities of the co-existance of the three main national groups – Ukrainian, Polish and Armenian, c) those devoted to the problems of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where Ukrainian lands were the part of it, d) those, who describe the complicated situation of the leading states’ relations in that important region, where their strategic interests interlinked. Particularly it concerns the relations of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth with Turkey which led the aggressive policy towards the neighboring countries. The Chronicle demonstrates that starting with invasion of Kafa (Theodosia) in 1475 in Crimea, the Osmanli Empire gradually conquered all the Black Sea region, including the principalities Moldova and Wallachia and started threatening the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The chronicler draws his attention to the existing contradictions between separate groups of its population, between Orthodox and Catholic people, between the leaderships of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Ukrainian Cossacks. The emotions reflected in the chronicle describe the chronicler as a person, who cared about those and other internal contradictions of the society of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where the Armenian community was the part. The pages of the chronicle reflect the complicated picture of the relations of the powerful countries in that important region, where their strategic interests where interlinked. All that gives us grounds to perceive the “Kamyanets Chronicle” not only in the context of the unique ethnoculture, which was created during the long time by the Ukrainian Armenians, but on the wider background of the cultural and historical processes, which took place in that part of Europe.