Paghtasar Dpir

Paghtasar Dpir, or Baghdasar Tbir (, 7 June 1683 – 1768) was an Armenian poet, musician, scientist, printer, and a luminary of national and educational movements. He is considered a leading figure during the revitalization period of Armenian culture.

Biography Paghtasar Dpir was born in Istanbul in 1683 to parents who had recently migrated from Kayseri. He was educated in local schools and continued his studies with Bishop Astvatsatur Jughayetsi, Legate of the Armenian Catholicos of Etchmiadzin. In 1741, Paghtasar Dpir was appointed headmaster of the secular school of the Armenian Patriarchate in Kumkapu. Many of his students become leading personalities, such as Simeon I of Yerevan, Catholicos of Etchmiadzin, and the poet Petros Ghapantsi.

Linguistic contributions Paghtasar Dpir occupies an important position among cultural figures of the late Middle Ages, who believed that Classical Armenian (grabar) must be revitalized and applied as a literary language. They wanted to tie the new literature with the old through the active application of classical Armenian, aspiring to tap into the rich cultural heritage of the Middle Ages. They strove to make Classical Armenian more accessible to the masses through their work without submitting to the vernacular.

Lyric poetry Paghtasar Dpir has made an appreciable contribution to the development of modern Armenian poetry. The themes and temperament of his works is, in general, traditional, yet he frequently infuses ideas of freedom and liberalism. He writes not only about love, as troubadours of his time, but also about social, religious and moral issues. His songbook entitled Tagharan pokrik Paghtasar Dpri (Little songbook of Paghtasar Dpir, 1723) was reprinted seven times with additions and revisions. In the years spanning from 1720 to 1760, Paghtasar Dpir contributes to literary and printing activities. He assembles a series of scientific, comparative armenological works and prepares editorials for historical, philosophical and theological books. He works with publishers such as Astvadzatur Dpir and his successors.

Many Armenian classical historical literary works are published under his supervision, many of them for the first time. Among those are Zenob Glak's Girk patmutian yerkrin tarono (History book of the land of Taron, 1719) and Girk vor kochi harants vark (Book that is called the life or our fathers, 1720), Arakel Siunetsi's Adamagirk (The book of Adam, 1721), Simeon Jughayetsi's Girk tramabanutian (Book of logic, 1728), Grigor Narekatsi's Matian voghbergutian (Book of Sorrow, 1726), Grigor Tatevatsi's Girk hartsmants (Book of Questions, 1729) and Davit Anhaght's Girk sahmanats (Book of definitions, 1731).