These factors certainly explain the relatively large number of Armenian manuscripts that have survived, compared with manuscripts in Greek, Latin or Georgian. Based on data from library catalogues, we can put the number of Armenian manuscripts at a little over 30,000, perhaps even 31,000. This may seem a low figure, but anyone who is familiar with Armenian history and the succession of destroyed towns and monasteries - not forgetting the tragic events of 1915 - will regard the figure of 30,000 as almost miraculous. It is particularly impressive when we consider, for example, that around 55,000 Greek manuscripts have survived, along with 300,000 Latin manuscripts and 12,000 Georgian manuscripts. Armenian manuscripts thus constitute an extremely significant cultural heritage and show the vitality and creativity of a cultural in contact with the Latin West, Byzantium, and the Iranian world, which fed an the works of classical antiquity and was eventually able to produce its own treasures.
