On June 27, the Diplomatic School hosted Rouben Galichian, the author of several well-known books on historic maps of Armenia and the region, as well as on the clashing histories in the region. An Honorary Doctor of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, and long-time researcher, Galichian has published several books on these topics, in English, Armenian and Russian, including “Historic Maps of Armenia. The Cartographic Heritage”, “Countries South of the Caucasus in Medieval Maps”, “The Invention of History”, and“Clash of Histories in the South Caucasus”.

Galichian spoke of the principles of map-making and how they evolved during history, types and peculiarities of different maps and inclusion of Armenia in maps throughout history. He also reflected on the use of some geographic names and distortion of historic realities by certain countries.