Gabriel Sundukyan (Armenian: ) was an outstanding Armenian writer and playwright, the founder of modern Armenian drama. Born in Tiflis, in a wealthy Armenian family, Sundukian learned both classical and modern Armenian, French, Italian and Russian, studied at the University of Saint-Petersburg, where he wrote a dissertation on the principles of Persian versification. Then he returned to Tiflis and entered the civil service. In 1854-58 he was banished to Derbend (Dagestan, Russia). In 1863, the Armenian theatre company of Tiflis staged his first play, Sneezing at Night's Good Luck. His...