Raffi was one of the most influential Armenian writers and political commentators of the 19th century. His works included social and political commentaries, as well as epic novels. The Five Melikdoms of Karabagh (Khamsayi Melikoutiunneru) is one of Raffi’s scholarly works, where he drew on a range of manuscripts, books and oral sources to write a remarkably detailed history of Karabagh. The focus of his study were the first five Armenian melikdoms (noble houses) that ruled this region, as Karabagh passed from Persian to Russian rule. Full of great detail and astute observations, The Five Melikdoms of Karabagh allows us to better understand this region today.