Siruni, the National Archives fund and the Securitate
(Abstract)
Moving to Romania in 1922, Hagop Djololian Siruni distinguished himself in short time obtaining the support and guidance of well-known historians such as Nicolae Iorga or Aurelian Sacerdoțeanu. He published numerous studies and articles based on archival sources in scientific journals such as ”Analele Academiei Române”, ”Revista Istorică”, ”Balcania”, ”Hrisovul”, ”Arhiva Românească” or ”Revista Arhivelor”. Also, he had a special merit in the development of Oriental Studies in Romania by teaching Armenian and Turkish; the first generation of Romanian researchers in the field of Turkology owed their preparation to Siruni and his language courses.
However, the real ”treasure” that he left for the benefit of future generations of Orientalists is the ”Siruni Fond”, nowadays in custody of the National Archives of Romania. Composed of 1975 archival units and having the years 1597 and 1973 as time limits, the fond is too little known and used for scientific research. The reason why the documents and materials are in the possession of the Romanian Archives was the secret police agency involvement in the takeover of Siruni’s belongings.
Cuvinte cheie: armenologie, orientalistică, Siruni, Securitate, Arhivele Naționale
Keywords: Armenian studies, Oriental studies, Siruni, Securitate, National Archives