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Robert H. Hewsen

Robert H. Hewsen
BornMay 20, 1934
New York City, US
DiedNovember 17, 2018[1]
Fresno, California
Alma materGeorgetown University
Known forArmenia: A Historical Atlas (2001)
Scientific career
FieldsHistory of Armenia and the Caucasus
InstitutionsRowan University
Doctoral advisorCyril Toumanoff

Robert H. Hewsen (born Hewsenian; May 20, 1934 – November 17, 2018) was an American historian and professor of history at Rowan University. He was an expert on the ancient history of the South Caucasus.[2] Hewsen is the author of Armenia: A Historical Atlas (2001), a major reference book,[3] acclaimed as an important achievement in Armenian studies.[4][5]

Biography

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Hewsen was born Robert H. Hewsenian[6][7] in New York City in 1934. His Armenian father came to the U.S. from Smyrna (now Izmir).[8]

He spent seven years in Europe with the US Air Force and studying.[9] He received his B.A. in history from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1967. The same year he joined the history department of Rowan University, where he taught Byzantine and Russian history for more than 30 years. After retiring from Rowan University in July 1999, Professor Hewsen lectured at University of Chicago, Columbia University, California State University, Fresno and University of California, Los Angeles.[10]

He was the president of the Society for Armenian Studies in 1988–89.[11] He was also the co-founder and president of the Society for the Study of Caucasia, which was active from 1989 to 1997.[12]

Works

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Hewsen wrote many books and articles on the history of the Caucasus, especially Armenia. His seminal contribution to the field is Armenia: A Historical Atlas (2001). The book received wide critical acclaim.[13][14][15] Michael E. Stone said it "has no rival in Armenian studies", calling it a "pioneering and largely definitive work" and the "best atlas of Armenia ever prepared."[4] Merrill D. Peterson wrote that it "may by itself be considered a monument of American scholarship."[16] Nina Garsoian also described it as monumental.[17] Charles King wrote that the book is an "outstanding achievement not only as a geographical reference but also as a guide to the demographic and political history of the entire Caucasus."[18] Adam T. Smith wrote of the Atlas as "an important milestone in the development of Armenian studies."[5]

Books
Book chapters
Articles

References

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  1. ^ "Remembrances: Robert H. Hewsen" (PDF). Rowan Magazine. Rowan University: 46. Spring 2019. Robert H. Hewsen, 84, of Fresno, Calif., formerly of Pitman and Cherry Hill, died Nov. 17, 2018.
  2. ^ de Waal, Thomas (2003). Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan Through Peace and War. New York: New York University Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-8147-1945-9. ...the [Caucasian] Albanian question. Fortunately, Professor Robert Hewsen of Rowan College, New Jersey, the foremost expert on this period of Caucasian history, was able to advise.
  3. ^ Hovannisian, Richard G. (2002). Armenian Tsopk/Kharpert. Mazda Publishers. p. xiv. ...and recently published Armenia: A Historical Atlas, a major reference work with an extensive bibliography.
  4. ^ a b "Armenia: A Historical Atlas by Robert H. Hewsen Review by: Michael E. Stone". Slavic Review. 62 (1): 174–175. Spring 2003.
  5. ^ a b Smith, Adam T. (2004). Tsetskhladze,Gocha (ed.). Ancient West and East, Volume 3. Brill. pp. 186–188.
  6. ^ In 1959–62, he signed Hewsenian for articles in the Armenian Review: The Legend of Akhtamar (A Ballad), by Robert H. Hewsenian[1] and A Visit to New Nakhichevan, Translation by Robert Hewsenian [2]
  7. ^ "Volume 12 (1959-1960)". The Armenian Review. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ^ Ghazarian, Salpi (July 2001). "Armenia: More Than A Historical Atlas". Armenian International Magazine: 70. (archived)
  9. ^ Biographical note in Ararat magazine, 1961[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "News of Members". Armenian Studies Program, California State University, Fresno. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014.
  11. ^ "We are sorry to bear the sad news of the passing of the preeminent Armenologist Prof. Robert Hewsen". Society for Armenian Studies. December 3, 2018. Archived from the original on 18 October 2024.
  12. ^ "The Annual of the Society for the Study of Caucasia". iucat.iu.edu. Archived from the original on 18 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Armenia: A Historical Atlas by Robert H. Hewsen Review by: Nicholas B. Breyfogle". Russian Review. 66 (1): 136–137. January 2007. Robert Hewsen is to be vigorously applauded for the publication of his historical atlas of Armenia.
  14. ^ Whitby, Mary (2007). Byzantines and Crusaders in Non-Greek Sources, 1025-1204. British Academy. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-19-726378-5. Excellent atlas that, despite its title, encompasses the whole of Caucasia, including the various Georgian lands.
  15. ^ Kaldellis, Anthony (2019). Romanland: Ethnicity and Empire in Byzantium. Harvard University Press. p. 313. ISBN 9780674986510. For the historical geography of Armenia, the maps in Hewsen, Armenia, are invaluable.
  16. ^ Peterson, Merrill D. (2004). "Starving Armenians": America and the Armenian Genocide, 1915-1930 and After. University of Virginia Press. p. 174.
  17. ^ Garsoian, Nina (2005). "Armenian historiography in crisis". In Straw, Carole; Lim, Richard (eds.). The Past Before Us: The Challenge of Historiographies of Late Antiquity. Brepols Publishers. p. 54. ISBN 9782503514567. A monumental historical Atlas of Armenia has finally appeared...
  18. ^ King, Charles. The Ghost of Freedom: A History of the Caucasus: A History of the Caucasus. Oxford University Press. p. 269.
  19. ^ Cowe, S. Peter (1997). "Review of The Geography of Ananias of Širak (AŠXARHAʿCOYʿC), the Long and the Short Recensions: Introduction, Translation and Commentary". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 117 (2): 379–380. doi:10.2307/605516. ISSN 0003-0279.
  20. ^ Full text of Robert W. Edwards: The Vale of Kola: A Final Preliminary Report on the Marchlands of Northeast Turkey. – the following mention in the text: "In his forthcoming article “North Central Armenia, I: The Principality of Tayk'” R. Hewsen accepts Adontz's identification (Armenia, 21 f, 68*) of Buxa in the Gahnamak with the gawat of Botxa in the Asxarhac‘oyc‘ to conclude that the Dimak‘seans controlled one of the three principalities of Tayk."
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