Armenia is a country that connects Europe to Asia. More than 2,000 years ago, it was one of the most influential countries in the Middle East. Today, Armenia is a modern nation with talented and welcoming people, ancient history, historical monuments, rich culture, traditional hospitality, delicious and healthy food, beautiful nature, and a safe environment.
Armenians are one of the oldest nations in the world. The Armenian civilization dates back nearly 5,000 years. The original Armenian name for the country was Hayk, later Hayastan, meaning "the land of Haik." Haik is associated with the Sun God Orion.
Armenia lies in the highlands surrounding the biblical Mount Ararat, on which, according to tradition, Noah’s Ark came to rest after the flood. Armenians call themselves "Hay" and their country "Hayastan."
Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions from the 1st millennium B.C. mention the kingdom of Urartu, a federation of Armenian tribes that extended throughout the Armenian Highlands. One of the many strongholds built during the Urartu period is the Erebuni Fortress (782 B.C.), located within Yerevan, which gave its name to today’s capital. After Urartu, another Armenian kingdom was established by the Ervanduni Dynasty. This kingdom was eventually subdued by Achaemenid Persia. Following the invasions of Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C., Armenia became part of the Hellenistic world.
In 189 B.C., an independent Armenian state—Greater Armenia—was formed and ruled by the Artaxiad dynasty. Greater Armenia reached its height during the reign of Tigran the Great in the 1st century B.C. The vast Armenian empire of this period extended from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, and from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to the foot of the Caucasus Mountains, covering an area of 316,000 square kilometers, divided into 15 provinces. It was the third largest state in the Near East, after the Roman Empire and Parthia. The Kingdom of Greater Armenia lasted for 600 years.
The first centuries after Christ were marked by ceaseless wars between the Roman Empire and the powerful Parthian Empire. The battlefield between these two empires was Armenia, which was eventually divided into two parts—East and West—by the 4th century. However, long before that, in 301 A.D., Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion, becoming the first Christian nation in the world. After a hundred years, another major event occurred in Armenian history: in 405 A.D., the Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots.
During the Middle Ages, Armenia remained divided between Byzantium and Iran. After numerous rebellions against Arab rule, the Armenian Bagratid family succeeded in obtaining a degree of autonomy during the 8th century. In 885, Ashot Bagratuni was granted the title of King of Armenia, which was acknowledged by both the Arab Caliphate and Byzantium.
The destruction of the country began and was completed with the Tatar-Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Armenian noble families who had fled to the shores of the Mediterranean succeeded in establishing an independent Armenian state in the 11th century, known as Cilicia. In the 12th century, Levon of the Rubinian dynasty ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Cilicia, which lasted until the 14th century. The Cilician Kingdom served as a stronghold during the Crusades until it was destroyed by the Egyptian Mamluks.
In 1828, as a result of the Russo-Persian War, Eastern Armenia, along with the Erivan Fortress, was annexed by Russia, while Armenians in Western Armenia, under Turkish rule, were under constant threat of physical annihilation. The Turkish anti-Armenian policy reached its peak during World War I. From 1915 to 1916, the Turkish government committed the genocide of the Armenian population in Turkey. More than 1.5 million Armenians were killed, and many others were exiled. The great majority of historic Armenia lost its native population.
In Eastern Armenia, an independent Armenian Republic was formed in May 1918, which lasted for 2.5 years before being transformed into a Soviet Republic in 1920.
In 1988, in Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, the first and most powerful democratic movement in the former Soviet Union began, calling for the reunification of Karabakh with Armenia. The Karabakh movement was unprecedented not only for the Soviet Union but also for the entire totalitarian socialist system. It played a major role in implementing democratic changes in the country and eventually led to the restoration of Armenia’s independence and its de facto reunification with Nagorno-Karabakh.
On September 21, 1991, through a referendum, Armenia declared its independence. By the end of the same year, Armenia joined the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). In 1992, Armenia became a member of the United Nations.
