John M. Douglas’s “The Armenians” is an outstanding history of the Armenian people, from the Armenian people’s ancient Thraco-Phrygian and Urartian origins in the 9th century BC, to the social, economic, and political struggles of the Republic of Armenia in the mid-1990s.

What really surprised me reading this book was how involved Armenians have been in world affairs. Rarely are Armenians discussed in any detail outside the context of Russian and Soviet history, or the current Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. As this book shows, however, Armenians have played an important, if behind-the-scenes, role throughout history. From rulers of Byzantium, to Armenian merchants and financiers aiding the British East India Company and the Mughal-Armenian ‘Queen of India’, to Soviet Armenians, such as Hamazasp Babadzhanian, Hmayak Babayan, and others, that fought in the Battle of Berlin and stormed the Reichstag, the Armenian people have an impressive history!

Truly an outstanding historical work! ( )