Ancient History. ARMENIA

Ancient History Armenia is one of the oldest nations in the world. The historical homeland is the Armenian Highland, which together with neighboring territories of Asia Minor and the Iranian Plateau is considered to be the cradle of Indo-European nations. Armenians call themselves Hye and their country Hayastan. The Armenian "Hayasa" country is mentioned in Hittite sources from the second millennium B.C., which were found during archeological excavations in the capital of the Hittite state. Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions from the 1st millennium B.C. mention the Urartu kingdom, a federation of Armenian tribes, which extended throughout the Armenian Highland. The Urartu or "Ararat" kingdom was a highly civilized state, which left behind a rich cultural heritage. One of the many strongholds built during the Urartu kingdom includes Erebuni Fortress (782 B.C.), located within Yerevan and from which the today s capital city gets its name. After Urartu came another Armenian kingdom established by the Ervanduni Dynasty. This kingdom was eventually subdued by Achaemenian Iran. As a result of invasions of Alexander the Great in the IV century B.C. Armenia became part of the Hellenic world. In 189 B.C. an independent Armenian state Greater Armenia (Armenia Major)- was formed and ruled by the Artashesian dynasty. Greater Armenia reached its culmination of power during the reign of Tigran the Great in the 1st century B.C. The vast Armenian empire of this period extended from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea and from the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, comprising a territory of 316 thousand sq. km. divided into 15 provinces. It was the third largest state of the Near East, after the Roman Empire and Parthia. Tigran the Great s reign was a time of intensive construction of cities, of development of trade and arts. According to Greek geographer and historian Strabonis (1st century B.C.) all the people who lived in Armenian Highland spoke one language. The Armenian capital of that time, Artashat, was compared to Carthagen by great ancient author Plutharkos. He wrote about the beauty and glory of the city, which was located on the Silk Road, and served as a trade-bridge between the East and West. The Kingdom of the Greater Armenia survived for 600 years. The first centuries after Christ were wrought with ceaseless wars between Roman Empire and powerful Parthian empire. The battlefield between these two empires was Armenia, which as a result became divided into two parts - East and West by the 4th century. However, long before that, in 301 A.D., Armenia adopted Christianity as a state religion and became the first Christian nation in the world. After a hundred years Armenians celebrated another major event in their history: in 405 the Armenian alphabet was created. This alphabet is credited with fortifying Armenian language and culture and consequently saving Armenians from assimilation during the centuries of invasion and domination to come. Middle Ages Initially Armenia remained divided between Byzantium and Iran. Later, Armenia came under the rule of the Arab Empire. After numerous rebellions against Arab rule the Armenian Bagratid family succeeded in obtaining a degree of autonomy during the VIII century and in 885 Ashot Bagratuni was granted the title of King of Armenia, acknowledged as such by both the Arab Khalifat and Byzantium. The most prosperous period of Bagratid kingdom was in X-XI centuries. The invasion of Seljuk Turks and the new division of Armenia between Byzantium and Iran after the weakening of the Arab Khalifat resulted in Armenia s renewed subjugation. The destruction of the country was completed by the Tatar-Mongolian invasions of the XIII century. Armenian noble families that had fled to the shores of Mediterranean Sea succeeded in establishing an independent Armenian state in the XI century called Cilicia. In the XII century Levon of the Rubinian dynasty came to the throne of Cilician Kingdom, which existed till the XIV century. The Armenian nation had a chance to develop its culture and science in a relatively peaceful environment. The Cilician Kingdom served as an outpost during the Crusades until Egyptian Mameluks destroyed it.

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