Abstract:

Armenians had compiled some church law collections until the 12th century, but they did not have any national law code (codex) regulating social life. The law code written by Mkhitar Gosh in 1184 aimed to fulfill this need and became the first national law code in Armenian history. The law code of Gosh deeply affected the Armenian community and was used by Armenians in various parts of the world for many centuries. This law code has particular importance in terms of Turkish history. Since the law code was written at a time when Turkish rule in Anatolia had been established, it provides important data in terms of understanding the socio-cultural structure of that period. Therefore, this study, on the one hand, focuses on the aim of writing the law code, its sources, implementation, and impact on the Armenian society, and on the other hand, it aims to reveal how the relations with the “others” were regulated in the medieval Armenian community through the articles of law code. In this regard, the articles of the law code were examined via two different Armenian editions along with its English translations. The study has also made use of secondary sources concerning the law code and the period. As a result of this study, it was seen that Mkhitar Gosh wrote the law code to prevent interactions between Armenians and the “others”, and to prevent the erosion of Armenian identity. However, by examining the articles of law code, it is revealed that Armenians had in fact interacted with “others”, and consequently, cross-cultural marriages and conversions were experienced in medieval times.

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