National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
The Institute of Oriental Studies


The Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia (IOS NAS RA) was founded in 1971, on the basis of the Department of Oriental Studies, created in 1958.
The greatest credit for the foundation of the Institute must go to Academician M.G. Nersissyan and Prof. H.G. Injikyan (Chief of the Department of IOS since 1958 to 1971), the first Director of the IOS Academician G. Kh. Sarkissyan (1971-1994) and RA NAS correspondent member, the Director of the IOS 1994-2006 N.H. Hovhannisyan, the Director of IOS Academician R.A. Safrastyan (2006-2020). The present Director of IOS is Associate Prof. R.P. Ghazaryan since 2020.
The IOS studies the history, socio-political, international and regional relations, the culture, religion, the problems of national minorities and ethnic groups of the countries and peoples of the Middle East, Caucasus and Eastern Asia from antiquity to the present. From the geographical point of view this is conditioned by the circumstance that the Middle East and Caucasus are the regions which are the immediate neighbors of Armenia, whose ancient and modern history is closely interlaced with the history of the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, Persians, Byzantines, Georgians, Caucasian Albanians, Arabs, Kurds, Turks and other peoples. Besides, in most Arabic countries, Iran, Turkey, Georgia and Northern Caucasus there are active Armenian communities.
The IOS has the following Departments: The Ancient Orient, The Christian Orient, Arab Studies, Turkish Studies, Iranian Studies, International Relations and the Eastern Sources and Historiography. The IOS is preparing new specialists by means of post-graduate fellowships and MA course. The IOS has a Scholarly Council for the granting of scientific degrees of Ph. D. and Dr. Sc. in the fields of World History, Historiography and Source Study.
The IOS has wide contacts with famous foreign scientific centers through the exchange of scholars, literature and information, lectures, post-graduate fellowships, dissertations, etc.