Hemşinliler: Kültür ve Tarih

"History and Identity among the Hemshin," in Richard G. Hovannisian, ed., Armenian Pontus: The Trebizond-Black Sea Communities (UCLA Armenian History and Culture Series, Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces, Vol. 8). Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, 2009, pp. 371-402.

In the 15th-16th centuries Eghnovit was reputed as one of the centers of Armenian writing where a number of most valuable manuscripts were born. The population of Eghnovit did its best to resist the forced Islamization of the region of Hamshen. As a result, the national identity of the Hamshenids was preserved until the late 19th century. The Monastery Khachekar  of Eghnovit  (Elevit) was a popular pilgrimage destination until the 20th century. The etymology of the toponym Eghnovit (egh-, eghnik – deer + hovit – a valley) speaks of its Armenian origin, thereby rejecting the attempts of Turkish authors to identify Turkish stems in it.