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The first Armenian periodical, Azdarar, began publication in Madras—now Chennai—in October 1794. Edited by Reverend Harutyun Shmavonian, it appeared monthly for 18 issues, through March 1796. Its story is also a window into the Armenian merchants, religious institutions and printing culture already established in the city.
What was Azdarar?
Azdarar—also rendered Azadarar—is identified by scholars and reference works as the first Armenian periodical. It was a monthly publication, not simply a one-off pamphlet, and its 18 issues ran from October 1794 through March 1796. Anna Sirinian’s scholarly abstract and Encyclopaedia Iranica support that chronology and the description of it as the first Armenian periodical.
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The exact day the first issue appeared is less certain than the month: published accounts give different dates in October 1794. The secure formulation is that Azdarar began that month.
Why did the journal emerge in Madras?
Madras was already a significant Armenian center long before the journal appeared. Encyclopaedia Iranica describes it as the most important Armenian settlement in India and reports that Julfan merchants had settled there as early as 1666. An Armenian church dates to 1712, and printing in the city had an earlier history: the first publication listed from the Madras press was a legal treatise in 1772.
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That context matters. Azdarar grew from an established community with merchants, religious institutions and access to print, rather than appearing in isolation or being published in the Armenian homeland. The available evidence does not establish a single motive for choosing Madras over a homeland location.
Merchants, print and editorial influence
Scholar Anna Sirinian notes that Shmavonian’s contacts among Madras’s Armenian merchants were essential to the undertaking. She also identifies contemporary English journalism in India as an important model for the journal’s conception, contents and editorial organization. The evidence supports that broader influence, not the claim that one particular English newspaper was its definitive template.
Who was Harutyun Shmavonian?
Reverend Harutyun Shmavonian was the editor of Azdarar. His name appears in different transliterations, including Yarutʻiwn Šmawonean and Haruthiun Shmavonian; this article uses Harutyun Shmavonian for consistency. His role connected the publication to the Armenian community in Madras, including the merchant contacts that helped make the project possible.
How long did it publish?
The publication is consistently described as monthly and comprising 18 issues. Sirinian and Encyclopaedia Iranica give March 1796 as the endpoint; the University of Illinois guide describes 18 consecutive months ending in February 1796. A 2013 Armenian commemorative archive also gives March 1796. The most widely supported concise chronology is October 1794 through March 1796, while the February date reflects a discrepancy in the record.
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Why is Azdarar a landmark?
Azdarar marks the beginning of Armenian periodical publishing and shows how a dispersed community could use print to communicate across distance. In a retrospective quotation reported by Scroll in 2017, historian Sebouh Aslanian asked what Armenian journalism’s history would be without the journal. In the same story, Hari Vasudevan, Professor Emeritus of Calcutta University, described it as “the first attempt to speak for the community which was scattered across many port cities.”
The city’s role is central to that history: Madras supplied an existing Armenian community and print setting in which the periodical could be produced. The journal’s significance therefore lies both in its place as the first Armenian periodical and in the transregional community it served.
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Where to see an issue
A digitized December 1794 issue is cataloged on Wikimedia Commons; its file description attributes the source to the National Library of Armenia. It offers a way to encounter the publication itself rather than relying only on later descriptions.
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