Years of Blood

Presented for the first time in English, Mammad Said Ordubadi's Years of Blood: A History of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Clashes in the Caucasus, 1905-1906, provides detailed reports of the tragic events of those dramatic years. Written during the aftershock and completed in 1908, the book was not published until 1911, but immediately impressed for its use of local correspondents. Later, however, it was removed from public view as it did not comply with official ideology. Ordubadi was a celebrated historical researcher, journalist, novelist and librettist, but assessments of his writings made no mention of Years of Blood. Written in his native Azerbaijani in the Arabic script in use at that time, one of the principal sources on the Armenian-Muslim conflicts of 1905-1906 has remained obscured from scholarship until now. In view of the still unresolved Nagorno-Karabagh war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, this English translation of historical record is timely; for Ordubadi notes in his book a situation that continues today: 'Along with the Russian and Caucasian press, European and American publications speak heatedly and exhibit the closest interest in these events and their causes. We should also know that the articles published in the foreign press are full of contradictions and differences.'