Republic of Armenia (Hayastan)
Summarizing the history of a country in under 2 pages is a feat, but here you are! With a short overview (and lots of helpful links) to get you started, this post gives you a solid basis on which to build your knowledge of Armenia's rich culture and heritage.
Modern Armenia is nearly exactly 1/12th the area of Germany – Armenia has 29,743km², and 1/12th of Germany's area is 29,764km². Neat! Ancient Armenia, however, was much larger than it is today. Its capital, Yerevan, has been around since 782 BC (29 years before the founding of Rome!). The Ararat Valley the capital lies in is one of the oldest settled regions, having been inhabited since the Stone Age.
One of Armenia's most noticeable geographic features is Mount Ararat (4,095m), which biblical tradition identifies as the mountain that Noah's ark rested on after the flood. (It formally became part of Turkey in 1921, but remains Armenia's main national symbol, and due to it being very visible from much of Armenia is to Armenians much like Mount Fuji is to the Japanese.) Early Christian Armenian chroniclers attributed Yerevan to be named after Noah's first word after the flood: "Yerevats" – "I see" or "it appeared", referring to the land he saw after all the flooding. It is, however, likely that the city's name is derived from the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni. (Urartu was the geographical region that predated the founding of Armenia, and under this name is the only country found on the Babylonian map of the world that still exists today.) Not far from Yerevan lies Lake Sevan, one of the major freshwater high-altitude lakes in the world and the largest in the Caucasus region.
In the 6th century B.C. Armenians settled in the kingdom of Urartu, and under Tigranes the Great (who reigned from 95–55 B.C. ) the Armenian empire reached its peak. At that time it was one of the most powerful empires in Asia, stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean sea. Throughout most of its long history, however, Armenia was invaded by a succession of empires, and thus Armenians became fiercely protective of their culture and traditions.
After a few centuries Armenia had acquired an impressive list of conquerors, featuring Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Mongols, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and Russians. Few of these empires had the wellbeing of their newest addition at heart, and Armenians suffered their worst mistreatment at the hands of the Ottoman turks, from the 16th century through World War I. Between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians are said to have died in the systematic extermination that, along with the Holocaust, led to the coining of the word "genocide". There have been political issues since then concerning the term and its validity, since Armenia and Turkey are of different opinions, and you can find out more on the website of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Armenian National Institute (among many other websites).
From 1922 to 1991 Armenia was part of the Soviet Union, declaring its independence upon the collapse of the state. During the Soviet era, however, Armenia became involved in a territorial dispute with Azerbaijan over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh that led to war – a war that technically is still ongoing today, though Armenia effectively controls the region. Citizens of the Republic of Armenia, as well as citizens of any other country who are of Armenian descent, are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan. If a person's passport shows any evidence of travel to Nagorno-Karabakh, barring a diplomatic passport, they are forbidden entry to the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Nowadays, an estimated 60% of the total 8 million Armenians worldwide live outside the country, with 1 million each in the United States and Russia. Armenia's president is Serzh Sarkisyan, and the monetary unit is Dram.
Armenians like to boast that everything originated in their country, and in some things Armenia truly has seniority. Not only was it the first country in the world to officially embrace Christianity as its religion (in 301 A.D.), but it also is home to the oldest winery in the world with the central Armenian Areni winery being over 6000 years old. The oldest leather shoe was also discovered in Armenia, looking remarkably well-preserved despite dating from 3500 BC. Then, there is "Armenia's Stonehenge", Karahunj, which in fact predates Stonehenge by 3,500 years, and was used for astrological observations.
Armenia also has a long history of art, such as the intricately carved khachkar (Armenian cross-stone) or their large variety of carpets. The English word “carpet”, in fact, is likely of Armenian origin. Unique mythology, folk tales, regional cuisine and traditional costumes are as much a part of Armenian culture as that of any other country, and this particular land is well worth a visit.
