Introduction

The history of printing in the Armenian language is complicated and somewhat convoluted, but it began in Europe, as is the case with printing in many other Near Eastern languages. (Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac were all first printed in various cities in Italy between the late-fifteenth and early-sixteenth centuries). One of the main reasons for this European origin is that the technology of printing, a European invention, was not yet available in the Near East. As this new technology became more widely accessible, there was certainly opposition from the scribal community, who well realized the threat it posed to their livelihood. In addition, printing was looked upon with suspicion by Muslim rulers, and early attempts to print in the Near East were often thwarted by the authorities. In fact, printing in the Turkish language was not officially permitted in the Ottoman Empire until 1727.

The impetus for Armenians’ interest in printing was a long-standing desire to print the Bible in the Armenian language, a goal stimulated, in part, by exposure to Western European religious printed books transported to the Near East through trade and Catholic missionaries. However, printing the Bible was a huge, expensive project and the earliest Armenian printers began by printing more modest works. The first book printed in the Armenian language, the Urbat’agirk’ (Book of Friday) was produced in Venice in 1511 or 1512 by a mysterious printer known only as Yakob Meghapart, or Jacob the Sinful.