Studying the Concept of Titles in the Relationship between Armenians and the Qajar Government in Documents (Case Study of 96 Documents of the Persian Decrees of the Matenadaran of the Qajar Period)

This study investigates the function and significance of titles within the official documents of the Qajar era, focusing on Persian decrees (farmāns) addressed to the Armenian community. Through an analysis of 96 documents from the Matenadaran collection, this research demonstrates that titles transcended ceremonial honorifics to become instrumental in establishing power relations and political legitimacy. In the dynamic between the Qajar state and its Armenian subjects, titles served as markers of socio-political inclusion, precisely defining the status of Armenian religious and social leaders within the imperial hierarchy. A close examination of the lexicon and combination of these titles reveals a symbolic language through which the state simultaneously reinforced minority loyalty and delineated the boundaries of its authority. Conversely, the Armenian elite's acceptance and deployment of these titles represented a strategic form of cultural adaptation and negotiation with central power. This study concludes that titles in Qajar documents were carriers of complex political and social messages, functioning as a vital communicative mechanism for managing state-minority relations. The diversity and evolution of titulature in these decrees reflect the broader political, social, and cultural developments of the Qajar period.