Victor Langlois (20 March 1829 – 14 May 1869) was a French historian, archaeologist, professor,

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

, and orientalist who specialized in the study of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Langlois was particularly known for his work on

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

history and culture. He authored more than thirty books on Armenian history.

Life and work

Victor Langlois was born on rue Sygogne in

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, France on 20 March 1829. He was educated at the

École Nationale des Chartes The École Nationale des Chartes (; ) is a French ''grande école'' and a constituent college of Université PSL, specialising in the auxiliary sciences of history, historical sciences. It was founded in 1821, and was located initially at the A ...

and

Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales (; ), abbreviated as INALCO, is a French Grand Etablissement with a specializing in the teaching of languages and cultures from the world. Its coverage spans languages of Central Europ ...

. On 7 May 1852, at the age of 23, he received orders from the French government to visit the predominantly Armenian populated area of

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

to carry out studies about historic French and Armenian relations. In particular, Langlois was tasked with studying Armenian-French relations during the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, and to uncover archaeological findings. Remaining in Cilicia until 1853, Langlois published a book on his findings in 1861 entitled ''Voyage dans la Cilicie et dans les montagnes du Taurus'' (''Travels in Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains'').

Terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...

figures which he had found in his excavations in the necropolis of Tarsus were exhibited in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. Between the year 1857 and 1861, Langlois traveled in Italy in order to discover more historical information concerning the relations between France and Armenia during the Crusades. His other works relate to Egyptian and Georgian numismatics (1852), and to the convent of

San Lazzaro degli Armeni San Lazzaro degli Armeni (, "Saint Lazarus of the Armenians"; sometimes called Saint Lazarus Island in English; ) is a small island in the Venetian Lagoon which has been home to the monastery of the Mekhitarists, an Armenian Catholic congregati ...

of the Armenian Mekhitarist congregation, with an outline of Armenian history and literature (1862). During this time, in 1863, he published a book about the massacres of Armenians by Turks entitled ''Les Arméniens de la Turquie et les Massacres du Taurus'' (''The Armenians of Turkey and the Taurus massacres''). In 1867 he published ("

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

and its monasteries"), with a photo-lithographic reproduction of the geography of Ptolemy, of which the Greek manuscript of the 17th century is preserved in that monastery. He became a professor at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The first volume of his ''Collection des historiens anciens et modernes de l'Arménie'', a translation from the

Armenian language Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...

, was published in 1868, under the auspices of the Egyptian-Armenian prime minister

Nubar Pasha Nubar Pasha GCSI (; ; January 1825 – 14 January 1899) was an Egyptian-Armenian politician and the first Prime Minister of Egypt. He served as Prime Minister three times during his career. His first term was between August 1878 and 23 February 1 ...

, but he did not live to complete the work.

Works

Some of Victor Langlois' published works include: *''Rapport sur l'exploration archéologique de la Cilicie et de la Petite-Arménie pendant les années 1852–1853'' (1854) *''Essai historique et critique sur la constitution sociale et politique de l'Arménie sous les rois de la dynastie roupénienne'' (1860) *''Voyage dans la Cilicie et dans les montagnes du Taurus'' (1861) *''Étude sur les sources de l'Histoire d'Arménie de Moïse de Khorène'' (1861) *''Notice sur le couvent arménien de l'île Saint-Lazare de Venise'' (1863) *''Mémoire sur la vie et les écrits de Grégoire Magistros, duc de la Mésopotamie, auteur arménien du XIe siècle'' (1869) *''Collection des historiens anciens et modernes de l'Arménie'' (1869) *''Histoire des Arméniens'' (1880) *''Historicorum Graecorum et Syriorum reliquiae in Armeniorum scriptis servatae'' (1884)

Gallery

Among Langlois' illustrations in his books concerning Armenian history include: LANGLOIS(1861) p379 - INSCRIPTIONS ARMENIENNES DE TARSOUS.jpg, Armenian inscriptions in Tarsus LANGLOIS(1861) p481Monnaie d'Hethoum II.jpg, Coins from the reign of Hetoum II LANGLOIS(1861) p079 Monnate, Leon II. roi armenien de la Cilicien (1185-1219).jpg, Coins from

Leo II, King of Armenia Leo II or Leon II (occasionally numbered Leo III; , ''Levon II''; c. 1236 – 1289) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1269''Cambridge Medieval History'', Volume IV, p. 634/1270 to 1289. He was the son of King Hetoum I and ...

's reign LANGLOIS(1861) p243 - CHATEAU ARMENIEN DE GORGHIOS.jpg, The Armenian castle of

Corycus Corycus (; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; ; , lit. "maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (for ...

LANGLOIS(1861) p417 Eglesie Armeniens de Tarsous, Inscriptions.jpg, Inscriptions on the Armenian church in Tarsus Lampron castle.jpg, Armenian castle of

Lampron Lampron (; ; ) is a castle near the town of Çamlıyayla in Mersin Province, Turkey. While part of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the Middle Ages, the castle was known as Lampron and was the ancestral home of the Armenian Hethumid princes. ...

References

External links

Description of the Armenian Monastery on the Island of St. Lazarus-Venice
''(full view)''
Voyage dans la Cilicie et dans les montagnes du Taurus
''(full view)''
Collection des historiens anciens et modernes de l'Arménie
''(full view)''
Les Arméniens de la Turquie et les massacres du Taurus
''(full view)''
Numismatique de l'Arménie au moyen âge
''(full view)''
Documents pour servir à l'histoire des Lusignans de la Petite Arménie
''(full view)''
Le Trésor des Chartes d'Armenie ou cartulaire de la Chancellerie royale des Roupeniens
''(full view)'' Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Langlois, Victor 1829 births 1869 deaths People from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime 19th-century French archaeologists French numismatists 19th-century French historians 19th-century French educators French orientalists French ethnographers Armenian studies scholars École Nationale des Chartes alumni Academic staff of the Collège de France San Lazzaro degli Armeni alumni