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Zakaryan L., Sukiasyan H. Childhood in the Armenian Rural Environment of Transcaucasia in the Second Half of the 19th Century

L. Zakaryan
Institute of History, NAS of the RA
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
ORCID: 0009-0005-4497-5410
E-mail: lilit_zakaryan@mail.ru

 

H. Sukiasyan
Institute of History, NAS of the RA
Yerevan, Republic of Armenia
ORCID: 0009-0009-3062-2285
E-mail: hamosukiasyan@gmail.com

 

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ABSTRACT. The second half of the nineteenth century was a period of Enlightenment-driven initiatives within Armenian society, accompanied by a reevaluation of historical heritage, folk traditions, and daily life. These developments were significantly shaped by reforms in education and healthcare, as well as by public debates taking place across the Russian Empire. This article examines nineteenth-century conceptions of childhood as articulated by contemporary observers in the Armenian rural environment of Transcaucasia. Although childhood had not yet emerged as a distinct object of scholarly inquiry, the available materials offer rich insights into children’s lives, educational practices, schooling, and child healthcare. The study employs an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on ethnographic research and Armenian-language periodicals from the second half of the nineteenth century, as well as more recent ethnographic studies. This is the first scholarly work to examine the topic within this specific historical and cultural context. The findings reveal that Armenian intellectuals, who recorded prevailing rural practices, not only highlighted the hardships of peasant childhood but also contributed to broader debates on education, child health, early marriage, and child labor. This research enriches interdisciplinary scholarship on childhood by demonstrating how educational thought and political and socio-economic realities of the Russian Empire influenced emerging understandings of childhood in the Armenian context.

 

KEYWORDS: childhood, gerdastan, early marriages, labor, education, child healthcare

 

DOI 10.31250/2618-8600-2025-4(30)-154-177
UDC 37+930.85

 

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