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About Armenia

A brief Introduction to Armenia

Armenia, although spanning a long history, has still yet to be "discovered" by contemporary travelers as the jewel that it is. Few visitors to this country escape being captivated by the charm of this beautiful, ancient land and its hospitable people. The countryside is studded not only with natural meadows, rocky peaks, rugged valleys, tranquil rivers, serene deserts and beautiful forests; but boasts also a treasure-trove of beautiful historic churches and ancient manuscripts, as well as other intriguing creations. These include a 1st century Roman-Armenian temple, petroglyphs and an Armenian "Stonehenge".
Modern Armenia is an interesting mix of East and West. As an explorer in the current Republic of Armenia you will experience a mix of attitudes and behavior, physical manifestations and environmental footprints, resulting from Armenia's rich history. The influence of seventy years of Soviet rule and the struggle with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh have also contributed to what Armenia is today. The spectrum of Armenian people is wide, from businessmen to local farmers and shepherds deeply connected with the land. Especially outside the cities, people are very hospitable and like to invite visitors into their simple homes to share a cup of Armenian coffee, and often an impromptu meal.

History

Armenians refer to themselves as "hay" and the country as "Hayastan", originating from the legend of the great warrior, Haik, who defeated the Persian warrior Bell. The people of Armenia, Armens are already mentioned in ancient cuneiform tablets of Darii I of Persia and in Homer's Iliad. Although little is known about the first inhabitants of today's Armenia, significant petroglyphs in the Geghama Mountains prove the existence of human beings in this region before 12,000 BC.

Early History and Dynasties

Contemporaries of ancient Shoumers, Accadians, and Egyptians, the territory historically inhabited by Armenians covered the mountainous Armenian plateau. Located in Transcaucasia, modern Armenia represents only parts of the eastern fringe (approximately 10 percent) of the traditional Armenian homeland.
The Urartu Dynasty. In the 9th century BC, the first Armenian Kingdom, the Urartu Kingdom was founded. The Urartu dynasty made it a powerful state able to fend off Assyrian invaders and win a number of battles, becoming the most powerful state in the Near East during the 8th century. In this period (782 BC), the castle of Erebuni was founded, whose name later evolved to Yerevan. The kingdom was eventually conquered in 714 BC by the Assyrians. During the 6th century, another Indo-European people, coming from central Anatolia, occupied the Urartu territory: according to the leading scientific theory these were Hayks or Armenians. The Armenians didn't manage to maintain their independence for long and were incorporated in the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. Later they became part of Alexander the Great's Empire and further of the Seleucid Empire.
The Artashes dynasty. The Artashes dynasty was established in 190 BC. Under its rule Armenia was expanded and became independent. A new capital was built, Artashat, and Armenia's role in the region increased reaching its largest extent under Tigran the Great. His realm most likely stretched across the mountainous Armenian plateau-from the Black Sea in Eastern Anatolia and the Mediterranean in the west to the Caucasus Mountains in the north to Iraq and Iran in the south. But Rome felt threatened by its strength, and various campaigns reduced the empire to a local unthreatening kingdom.
The Arshakuni dynasty. In the 1st century AD, Trdat claimed the Armenian throne and became the founder of the Arshakuni dynasty. Under this dynasty (53 BC - 429 AD), and after many years of Roman domination, Armenia again became independent and a key political power in the region.

Christianity and Armenian Alphabet

Although Armenia has a long history of pre-Christian religion and many pagan traditions remain to this day, the rise of Christianity helped catalyze the culture of Armenia. In 301 under the dynasty of Arshakuni, Armenia became the first nation in the world to officially adopt Christianity as the state religion. In the following years, a monk known as Mesrob Mashtots developed the Armenian alphabet, which was used to spread Christian gospel as well as to translate and thus preserve many ancient Greek and other works, some of which have been lost in the original Greek. The development of the alphabet also paved the way for the "golden age" of Armenian literature (5th century) when a broad range of literary and historical pieces were created forming the basis of a rich tradition.

Middle Ages

Medieval Armenia was divided into small princedoms and kingdoms-independent polities which likely helped prevent it from being conquered by Persia from the East or Rome (and later Byzantium) from the West. This powerful social system predominated in Armenia throughout the middle ages. As the independent kingdoms of greater Armenia gradually collapsed thousands of Armenians fled to the Mediterranean coast where several princes established what became the kingdom of Cilicia. The Cilician state, adopting both principals of the Crusaders and relations with the West, became the strongest in the Near East. Cilicia fell to the Mamluks in 1375. For the next several centuries, Armenia saw continued invasions by Turks and Mongols and was once more divided between the Ottoman Turks and the Persians. Numerous Armenians fled to Europe and India. Populations shrank and much of the country reverted to agriculture. During the 18th and 19th centuries, Russia took control of most of the South Caucasus. By 1828 much of Armenia's current territory was ceded by Persia to the Russian Empire.

Modern Era

As the Ottoman Empire declined in the late 19th century, Armenians living in Turkey (about 2.5 million people in 1890) experienced seizures of property, arbitrary taxation, and periodic attacks. Some Armenians began to organize opposition and the Turkish leadership, Abdul Hamid II, responded by sanctioning the massacre of hundreds of thousands of Armenians from 1894- 1896. On April 24th 1915 the Ottoman Turks ordered the arrest of the leaders of the Armenian community, who were executed. Then they turned to civilians and in what is referred to as the "first genocide of the 20th century", the Young Turks systematically forced Armenians from their homes and either killed them on the spot or marched them through valleys and mountains towards the deserts of Syria. As many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed or died in the process.

Brief independence and the Soviet Period

At the end of World War I in 1918, an independent republic of Armenia was established, including current day Armenia, Karabagh, Nakhijevan, and Khars regions. However, this republic-full of refugees and others burdened with much poverty, disease, and hunger-lasted only until late 1920. Threatened by Kemalists in Turkey, Armenia was on the other hand coveted by Lenin, for whom the Caucasus region represented a first step towards Persia and Turkey. In 1922 Armenia officially joined the Soviet Union. Under Soviet rule, industrialization started in Armenia. Roads, electricity and irrigation infrastructures appeared, while the economy and production system developed according to a scheme that rendered Armenia totally dependent on the other Soviet States countries and especially Russia.

Armenia Today

The current Republic of Armenia, "Hayastani Hanrapetutyun" in Armenian, has a de jure population of 3,210,300. It is estimated that about 800,000 people left Armenia between 1991 and 2001. The territory consists of 29,743 sq km, divided into 11 provinces (marz): Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak, Syunik, Tavush, Vayots Dzor and Yerevan. Armenia is bordered by Azerbaijan to the West, Iran to the South, Azeri exclave of Nachitchevan and Turkey to the East, and Georgia to the North. Only the borders with Georgia and Iran, which represent one sixth of the total borders, are open. Armenians represent 97% of the total population. The other major ethnic group, the Yezidi Kurds make about 2%, the remaining one percent includes Russian, Greeks and Assyrians. You will certainly see Yezidi white or green tents during your hikes, since most of them are semi-nomadic living in the mountains during the summer. The large majority of Armenians belong to the Apostolic Church. Yezidi people are generally Zoroastrian.

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