Farida Mammadova

Farida Jafar gizi Mammadova (born 8 August 1936, Ali Bayramli) is an Azerbaijani historian who specialises in the history of ancient Caucasian Albania.

She is the author of numerous research papers, articles and books on Azerbaijani ancient and medieval history. She lectures at the Baku State University, Azerbaijan Pedagogical University, and is the head of the Department of Humanities in the Western University in Baku. Farida Mammadova works at the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan. In her research, she is known to be a disciple of the late Azerbaijani historian and the former vice-president of the Azerbaijani Academy of Sciences Ziya Bunyadov.

Mammadova's major contribution is in the study of the development of Caucasian Albania, its ethnic composition, political and social life, the development of Christianity in Caucasian Albania, Caucasian Albanian Church, arts and literatureFact|date=February 2008.

Her theories were criticized by foreign authors for the misinterpretation of historical sources and revisionism. [ [http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/albanskymif.html "Albanian Myth" (in Russian) / V.A. Shnirelman, "Voyni pamyati. Mifi, identichnost i politika v Zakavkazye", Moscow, Academkniga, 2003] ] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/in_depth/newsid_4670000/4670649.stm Thomas de Waal, Black Garden, chapter "Urekavank", in Russian, 2005] ]

Among the critics of Mammadova's works is Russian historian V.A. Shnirelman, who dedicated a whole chapter in his "Wars of Memory" book to Mammadova's mistakes, misinterpretations and to the influence of anti-Armenian authors V.L. Velichko and Ziya Bunyadov on her theories. [ [http://www.vehi.net/istoriya/armenia/albanskymif.html "Albanian Myth" (in Russian) / V.A. Shnirelman, "Voyni pamyati. Mifi, identichnost i politika v Zakavkazye", Moscow, Academkniga, 2003] ]

According to Thomas de Waal, Mammadova have grasped the Albanian theory "to supersede completely Armenians from Caucasus". "She has placed Caucasian Albania on the territory of modern Republic of Armenia: all the territories, churches and monasteries in Republic of Armenia have appeared Albanian". He describes Mammadova's theories as "an improved version of what became a very rough tool in Azerbaijan". [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/in_depth/newsid_4670000/4670649.stm Thomas de Waal, Black Garden, chapter "Urekavank", in Russian, 2005] ]

During her interviews Mammadova has made anti-Armenian statements:

And, it is known, that on whole planet exactly the Armenian people is distinguished by the absence of spiritual and other human values. [ [http://www.day.az/print/news/armenia/38422.html Фарида Мамедова: «Разрушив захоронение «Агадеде», армяне в очередной раз пытаются посягнуть на историю Азербайджана», Day.Az daily, January 06, 2006 (in Russian)] ]

In the world there are only two nations that have national identitiy, but have not statehoods. They are Jews and Armenians. The difference is that Jews have created their state on their historical homeland, and Armenians have created their state not on their historical native land. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/russian/in_depth/newsid_4670000/4670649.stm Thomas de Waal, Black Garden, chapter "Urekavank", in Russian, 2005] ]

Selected Publications

*The History of Albanians by Moses Kalankaytuk as a Source on the Social Organization of Caucasian Albania, Baku,1977.
*Political History and Historical Geography of Caucasian Albania, Baku, 1986
*Le problem de l'ethnos alban-caucasien, "L'antropoloqie sovietique", Paris, 1990
*Christianity in Caucasian Albania [http://www.karabakh-doc.azerall.info/ru/azerpeople/ap033.htm]
*Caucasian Albania and the History of Albanians, Baku (in Russian), 2005

External links

* [http://www.science.az/en/comembers/mamedovafrjr.htm Farida Mammadova Short Bio]

References