Dante and Armenia on the anniversary of the genocide
DANTE AND ARMENIA At the time of Dante modern Armenia was dominated by the Saljuq Turks, but there was an Armenian kingdom of Cilicia (also known as Little Armenia) created by Armenian refugees and located on the gulf of Alessandretta (Iskenderun) in modern Turkey. There is, however, no indication that Dante had any notion of Armenia and its people. Knowledge of the works of Dante was introduced into Armenian literature by the Mechitarist monks of the monastery of the same name, founded in 1715 [...]