Gregory Areshian

Gregory Areshian (13 May 1949 – 2 August 2020) was an Armenian-American archeologist and historian who was a professor at American University of Armenia. He was the co-director of the international team of archeologists who, led by Boris Gasparyan, found the 5,500 years old shoe in and the oldest winery in Areni of which Areshian said:

For the first time, we have a complete archaeological picture of wine production dating back 6,100 years.

Areshian taught at 14 U.S. universities and colleges including; the University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Irvine, University of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, Platteville, and Amherst College. He is the author of more than 150 scholarly works published in 5 languages in 12 countries, mostly devoted to interdisciplinary studies in social sciences and the humanities with a special focus on the Middle East and Armenia in a broader historical context.

Early life Gregory Areshian was born on 13 May in 1949 in Yerevan. He has had a keen interest in history and archaeology when he was only five years old. He read a number of books on the history of warfare including Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico in French.

Education Areshian received his bachelor's and master's degree from Yerevan State University where he studied from 1966 to 1973. From 1973 until 1975 Areshian pursued his PhD studies at the Saint Petersburg State University under the supervision of Boris Piotrovsky. His thesis was "Iron in Ancient Western Asia".

Areshian knew 9 languages; English, Russian, Armenian, German, French, Latin, Turkish, Grabar and Urartian cuneiform.

Festschrift In 2017 a Festschrift was published in honor of Areshian under the title Bridging Times and Spaces: Papers in Ancient Near Eastern, Mediterranean and Armenian Studies. The editors of the volume were Pavel Avetisyan, a former student of Areshian and Yervand Grekyan.

Views Areshian saw himself as an Edwardian liberal, who believed in freedom of speech, but under one condition, that the person who exercises his freedom of speech is informed about the subject that one talks about. He also thought that freedom of speech should be preceded by freedom of thought. Areshian had an eclectic approach in both his historical as well as archeological works.

Death Areshian died on 2 August 2020, from complications related to COVID-19 in Astghik Medical Center. He had been diagnosed with COVID-19 three weeks earlier.