Mesrop Taghiadian information

Mesrop Taghiadian
Bust of Mesrop Taghiadian in the village of Karbi in Armenia
Native name	Մեսրոպ Դաւթեան Թաղիադեան
Born	2 January 1803 Yerevan, Erivan Khanate, Qajar Iran
Died	10 June 1858 Shiraz, Fars, Qajar Iran
Resting place	Shiraz
Occupation	Writer, educator
Nationality	Armenian
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Mesrop Davtian Taghiadian or Taghiadiants (Armenian: Մեսրոպ Դաւթեան Թաղիադեան;^[a] 2 January 1803 – 10 June 1858) was a nineteenth-century Armenian writer, educator and journalist. He wrote prolifically in Classical Armenian and is regarded as one of the first Armenian authors of the Romantic movement, as well as one of the earliest modern Armenian fiction writers.

Taghiadian was born in Iranian-ruled Armenia, but lived most of his life away from his homeland. He was educated at the seminary of Etchmiadzin and traveled throughout Armenia with his teacher collecting folk songs and oral traditions. He attained the rank of deacon in the Armenian Church. Taghiadian emigrated to India to pursue further education. He graduated from Bishop's College in Calcutta (then ruled by the British East India Company, now modern Kolkata) in 1830 and published his first literary works during his time there. In 1831, Taghiadian left India and unsuccessfully attempted to establish a school of his own, first in New Julfa, Iran, then in Armenia. He worked as a teacher in Iran and married Tangkhatun Setian, the daughter of an Armenian merchant, who died in 1837. Taghiadian then lived briefly in Constantinople, where he narrowly escaped a plot against him by the Armenian Patriarch and again settled in Calcutta. In the 1840s and 1850s, he published an Armenian periodical, Azgaser, and ran an Armenian school for boys and girls. Having closed his periodical and school and frequently clashing with other members of the Armenian community of Calcutta, Taghiadian decided to return to Armenia. He fell ill and died on the way to Armenia in Shiraz, Iran in 1858.

Taghiadian wrote works of fiction in prose and verse, as well as educational and historical works, travelogues, articles and translations of European authors. Among his notable works are the novels Vep Vardgisi (1846) and Vep Varsenkan (1847) and the long poem Sos yev Sondipi (1848). In his literary works, Taghiadian sought to both entertain and educate readers. His works preach the virtues of enlightenment, unity and patriotism to Armenians. He called on Armenians in the diaspora to immigrate to their homeland. In the pages of Azgaser, he also commented on non-Armenian matters, criticizing European colonialism.

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