Arsacid dynasty of Armenia
The Arsacid dynasty, known natively as the Arshakuni dynasty, ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 54 to 428. They are a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia, Arsacid Kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad Dynasty until 62 when Tiridates I secured Arsacid dynasty of Parthia rule in Armenia. An independent line of Kings was established by Vologases II in 180, the first appearance of an Arsacid on the Armenian throne came about in 12 when the Parthian King Vonones I was exiled from Parthia due to his pro-Roman policies and Occidental manners. Artabanus III did not waste time after deposition of Vonones I, Armenia was given in 18 to Zeno the son of Polemon I of Pontus, who assumed the Armenian name Artaxias. The Parthians under Artabanus III were too distracted by internal strife to oppose the Roman-appointed King, zenos reign was remarkably peaceful in Armenian history. Tiberius, sent an Iberian named Mithridates, who claimed to be of Arsacid blood, Mithridates successfully subjugated Armenia to the Roman rule and deposed Arsaces inflicting huge devastation to the country.
Surprisingly, Mithridates was summoned back to Rome where he was kept a prisoner, another civil war erupted in Parthia upon Artabanus IIIs death. In the meantime Mithridates was put back on the Armenian throne, with the help of his brother, Pharasmanes I, civil war continued in Parthia for several years with Gotarzes eventually seizing the throne in 45. In 51 Mithridates’ nephew Rhadamistus invaded Armenia and killed his uncle, the governor of Cappadocia, Julius Pailinus, decided to conquer Armenia but he settled with the crowning of Radamistus who generously rewarded him. The current Parthian King Vologases I, saw an opportunity, invaded Armenia, the harsh winter that followed proved too much for the Parthians who withdrew, thus leaving open doors for Radamistus to regain his throne. Unhappy with the growing Parthian influence at their doorstep, Roman Emperor Nero sent General Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo with an army to the east in order to install Roman client kings. After Tiridates I escaped, Roman client king Tigranes VI was installed and in 61 he invaded the Kingdom of Adiabene, Vologases I considered this as an act of aggression from Rome and restarted a campaign to restore Tiridates I onto the Armenian throne.
Trajan marched towards Armenia in October 113 to restore a Roman client king in Armenia, envoys from Osroes I met Trajan at Athens, informing him that Axidares had been deposed and asking that Axidares elder brother, Parthamasiris, be granted the throne. Trajan declined their proposal and in August 114 captured Arsamosata where Parthamasiris asked to be crowned, Parthamasiris was dismissed and died mysteriously soon afterwards. As a Roman province Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Lucius Catilius Severus of the gens Catilia, eventually compromise with the Parthians was reached and Parthian Vologases was placed in charge of Armenia. Vologases IV, son of legitimate Parthian king Mithridates IV, dispatched his troops to seize Armenia in 161, encouraged by the spahbod Osroes, Parthian troops marched further West into Roman Syria. Marcus Aurelius immediately sent Lucius Verus to the Eastern front, in 163, Verus dispatched General Statius Priscus, who was recently transferred from Britain along with several legions, from Syrian Antioch to Armenia.
As a result of an epidemic within the Roman forces, Parthians retook most of their lost territory in 166, after a few intervening Roman and Parthian rulers, Vologases II assumed the throne in 186
Urartu
Urartu, known as Kingdom of Van, was an Iron Age kingdom centred on Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. It corresponds to the biblical Kingdom of Ararat, the language appears in cuneiform inscriptions. It is argued on linguistic evidence that came in contact with Urartian at an early date. That a distinction should be made between the geographical and the entity was already pointed out by König. The landscape corresponds to the plateau between Anatolia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Caucasus Mountains, known as the Armenian Highlands. The kingdom rose to power in the mid-ninth century BC, the heirs of Urartu are the Armenians and their successive kingdoms. The name Urartu comes from Assyrian sources, Shalmaneser I recorded a campaign in which he subdued the entire territory of Uruatri, the Shalmaneser text uses the name Urartu to refer to a geographical region, not a kingdom, and names eight lands contained within Urartu. Urartu is cognate with the Biblical Ararat, Akkadian Urashtu and Armenian Ayrarat, the Urartian toponym Biainili was adopted in the Old Armenian as Van, Վան.
Hence the names Kingdom of Van or Vannic Kingdom, scholars such as Carl Ferdinand Friedrich Lehmann-Haupt believed that the people of Urartu called themselves Khaldini after the god Ḫaldi. Boris Piotrovsky wrote that the Urartians first appear in history in the 13th century BC as a league of tribes or countries which did not yet constitute a unitary state. In the Assyrian annals the term Uruatri as a name for this league was superseded during a period of years by the term land of Nairi. Scholars believe that Urartu is an Akkadian variation of Ararat of the Old Testament, Mount Ararat is located in ancient Urartian territory, approximately 120 kilometres north of its former capital. In addition to referring to the famous Biblical mountain, Ararat appears as the name of a kingdom in Jeremiah 51,27, mentioned together with Minni, in the early sixth century BC, Urartu was replaced by the Armenian Orontid Dynasty. Shupria was part of the Urartu confederation, there is reference to a district in the area called Arme or Urme, which some scholars have linked to the name of Armenia.
At its apogee, Urartu stretched from the borders of northern Mesopotamia to the southern Caucasus, including present-day Armenia, archaeological sites within its boundaries include Altintepe, Toprakkale and Haykaberd. Urartu fortresses included Erebuni, Van Fortress, Anzaf, schulz discovered and copied numerous cuneiform inscriptions, partly in Assyrian and partly in a hitherto unknown language. Schulz re-discovered the Kelishin stele, bearing an Assyrian-Urartian bilingual inscription, a summary account of his initial discoveries was published in 1828. Schulz and four of his servants were murdered by Kurds in 1829 near Başkale and his notes were recovered and published in Paris in 1840
Iron Age
The Iron Age is an archaeological era, referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World when the dominant toolmaking material was iron. It is commonly preceded by the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia with exceptions, meteoric iron has been used by humans since at least 3200 BC. Ancient iron production did not become widespread until the ability to smelt ore, remove impurities. The start of the Iron Age proper is considered by many to fall between around 1200 BC and 600 BC, depending on the region, the earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC, which were found in burials at Gerzeh, Lower Egypt. They have been identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful hammering, meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its metallic state, required no smelting of ores. Smelted iron appears sporadically in the record from the middle Bronze Age. While terrestrial iron is abundant, its high melting point of 1,538 °C placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC.
Tins low melting point of 231, recent archaeological remains of iron working in the Ganges Valley in India have been tentatively dated to 1800 BC. By the Middle Bronze Age, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects appeared in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, African sites are turning up dates as early as 1200 BC. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of iron production in around 1200 BC. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of objects was fast. As evidence, many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during this time, more widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at lower cost. Thus, even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. Increasingly, the Iron Age in Europe is being seen as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East, in ancient India, ancient Iran, and ancient Greece. In other regions of Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th century BC in Central Europe, the Near Eastern Iron Age is divided into two subsections, Iron I and Iron II.
Iron I illustrates both continuity and discontinuity with the previous Late Bronze Age, during the Iron Age, the best tools and weapons were made from steel, particularly alloys which were produced with a carbon content between approximately 0. 30% and 1. 2% by weight. Steel weapons and tools were nearly the same weight as those of bronze, steel was difficult to produce with the methods available, and alloys that were easier to make, such as wrought iron, were more common in lower-priced goods
Battle of Avarayr
The Battle of Avarayr was fought on 26 May 451 AD on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan between the Armenian Army under Vardan Mamikonian and Sassanid Persia. It is considered one of the first battles in defense of the Christian faith in history, the battle is seen as one of the most significant events in Armenian history. The commander of the Armenian forces, Vardan Mamikonian, is considered a national hero, the Kingdom of Armenia under the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia was the first nation to officially convert to Christianity, in 301 AD under Tiridates III. In 428, Armenian nobles petitioned Bahram V to depose Artaxias IV, as a result, the country became a Sassanid dependency with a Sassanid governor. He summoned the leading Armenian nobles to Ctesiphon, and pressured them into cutting their ties with the Orthodox Church as he had intended, Yazdegerd II himself was a Zoroastrian rather than a Christian, and his concern was not enforcing a Nestorian orthodoxy but securing political loyalty. But Yazdegerds policy created, rather than forestalled, a Christian rebellion in Armenia, when news about the compulsion of the nobles reached Armenia, a mass revolt broke out, on their return, the nobility, led by Vardan Mamikonian, joined the rebels.
Yazdegerd II, hearing the news, gathered an army to attack Armenia. The 66, 000-strong Armenian army took Holy Communion before the battle, the Armenians were allowed to maintain a core of their national army led by a supreme commander who was traditionally of the Mamikonian noble family. The Armenian cavalry was, at the time, practically a force greatly appreciated as a tactical ally by both Persia and Byzantium. In this particular case, both officers and men were motivated by a desire to save their religion and their way of life. The Persian army, said to be three times larger, included war elephants and the famous Savārān, or New Immortal, following the victory, Yazdegerd jailed some Armenian priests and nobles and appointed a new governor for Armenia. The Armenian Church was unable to send a delegation to the Council of Chalcedon, the Armenian Church would reject the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon, instead adhering to Miaphysitism. Armenian resistance continued in the following the battle, led by Vardans successor and nephew.
In 484 AD, Sahag Bedros I signed the Nvarsak Treaty, the Armenians see the Battle of Avarayr as a moral victory,26 May is considered to be a holy day by Armenians, and is one of the most important national and religious days in Armenia. Persian Armenia Zoroastrianism in Armenia Elishe, History of Vardan and the Armenian War,1982 Visions Of Ararat, Writings On Armenia By Christopher J. Walker, Page 3 Dr. Abd al-Husayn Zarrin’kub Ruzgaran, tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi Sukhan,1999
Mamikonian
Mamikonian or Mamikonean was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th century. They ruled the Armenian regions of Taron, Sasun and their patron saint was Saint Hovhannes Karapet whose monastery of the same name they fiercely defended against the Sassanid invaders. The origin of the Mamikonians is shrouded in the mists of antiquity, moses of Chorene in his History of Armenia claims that three centuries earlier two noblemen of Chem origin and Konak, rose against their half-brother, the king of Chenk. They were defeated and fled to the king of Parthia who, braving the Emperors demands to extradite the culprits, sent them to live in Armenia, another 5th-century Armenian historian, Pavstos Buzand, seconded the story. In his History of Armenia, he mentions that the Mamikonians descended from the Han Dynasty of China. This genealogical legend may have part of an agenda by the Bagratid dynasty of Armenia to take away the legitimacy off the Mamikonian dynasty.
More recent theories, suggests that the Chank are to be identified either with the Tzans, the family first appears in the early 4th century. The Mamikonian increased their property further with the death of the last hereditary Patriarch of Armenia,428, when they inherited many Church lands through the marriage of his only daughter to Hamazasp Mamikonian. The first known Mamikonid lord, or nakharar, about whom anything certain is known was a certain Vatche Mamikonian, the family reappears in chronicles in 355, when the bulk of their lands lay in the province of Tayk. At that point the chief was Vassak Mamikonian, who was the sparapetof Armenia. Later, the office of sparapet would become hereditary possession of the Mamikonians, Vassak Mamikonian was in charge of the Armenian defense against Persia but was eventually defeated through the treachery of Merujan Artsruni. Following the defeat, Vassaks brother Vahan Mamikonian and multiple other feudal lords defected to the Persian side, the Emperor Valens, interfered in Armenian affairs and had the office of sparapet bestowed on Vassaks son Mushegh I Mamikonian in 370.
Four years Varasdates, a new king, confirmed Mushegh in office, the latter was subsequently assassinated on behest of Sembat Saharuni who replaced him as sparapet of Armenia. On this event, the leadership passed to Musheghs brother, Manuel Mamikonian. The Mamikonids at once broke into insurrection and routed Varasdates and Saharuni at Karin, together with his sons Hemaiak and Artches, took the king prisoner and put him in a fortress, whence Varasdates escaped abroad. Zarmandukht, the widow of Varasdates predecessor, was proclaimed queen. Emmanuel came to an agreement with the powerful Sassanids, pledging his loyalty in recompense for their respect of the Armenian autonomy and laws. Upon the queens demise in 384, Manuel Mamikonian was proclaimed Regent of Armenia pending the minority of her son Arsaces III and had the infant king married to his daughter Vardandukht and it was Manuels death in 385 that precipitated the countrys conquest by the Persians in 386-387
House of Hasan-Jalalyan
The House of Hasan-Jalalyan was an Armenian dynasty that ruled the region of Khachen from 1214 onwards in what are now the regions of lower Karabakh, Nagorno-Karabakh and small part of Syunik. It was named after Hasan-Jalal Dawla, an Armenian feudal prince from Khachen, through their many patronages of churches and other monuments, the Hasan-Jalalyans helped cultivate Armenian culture throughout the region. Hasan-Jalal traced his descent to the Armenian Aranshahik dynasty, a family that predated the establishment of the Parthian Arsacids in the region. Hasan-Jalals ancestry was almost exclusively Armenian according to historian Robert H. Hasan-Jalals grandfather was Hasan I, Vakhtank II married Khorishah Zakarian, who was herself the daughter of Sargis Zakarian, the progenitor of the Zakarid line of princes. When he married the daughter of the Aṛanshahik king of Dizak-Balk, Mamkan, in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, Hasan-Jalal’s origins became a part of a larger debate revolving around the history of Artsakh between Armenian and Azerbaijani scholars.
Among the foremost revisionists who expounded these views were Ziya Bunyadov, Mamedova herself asserted that Hasan-Jalal, based upon her interpretation of an inscription carved into the Gandzasar Monastery by the prince, was Caucasian Albanian. Armenian historians as well as experts of the such as Hewsen, reject her conclusions, along with the notion held in Azerbaijan. With the surrender of Ani to the Byzantine Empire in 1045 and the Byzantine annexation of Kars in 1064, Khachen used to be a part of Syunik until numerous Turkic invasions severed it from the rest of the kingdom. The reign of the Hasan-Jalalyan family was concentrated around the Terter, when his father Vakhtank died in 1214, Hasan-Jalal inherited his lands and took up residence in a castle at Akana in Jraberd. He was addressed with the titles tagavor or inknakal but took the title of King of Artsakh. Construction of the began in 1216 and lasted until 1238. On July 22,1240, amid great celebration during Vardavar celebrations and in the presence of nearly 700 priests including Nerses, the Catholicos of Albania, the church was consecrated.
Hasan-Jalals son John VII is considered to be the first to have established this practice when he became the Catholicos whereas his nephew, named John, became the second. The image of Hasan-Jalal on the drum of Gandzasars dome has him sitting cross-legged, muslim influence was seen in Hasan-Jalals name, as a fashion of the time, many Armenians adopted Arabic patronymics that lost any connexion with original Armenian names. Hasan-Jalals Armenian name was Haykaz but the Arabic words in his name, in fact, described his person, Hasan meant handsome, grand, Dawla and governance. Gandzasar became home to Armenias first completed Haysmavurk, a collection of short lives of saints and accounts of important religious events. The Haysmavurk was further developed by Kirakos Gandzaketsi, ever since, the Haysmavurk ordered by Hasan-Jalal became known as Synaxarion of Ter-Israel, it was mass printed in Constantinople in 1834. In 1236, the Ilkhanate Mongol armies invaded the Caucasus, prior to them entering Khachen, Hasan Jalal and his people were able to take refuge at Ishkhanberd
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
The Kingdom of Armenia, the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 321 BC to 428 AD. Its history is divided into successive reigns by three dynasties, Orontid and Arsacid. It is widely believed to be the region with which all Armenians descend from and it was one of the largest empires in the history of the Middle East. Under the Seleucid Empire, the Armenian throne was divided in two – Armenia Maior and Sophene – both of which passed to members of the Artaxiad dynasty in 189 BC. The remaining Artaxiad kings ruled as clients of Rome until they were overthrown in 12 AD due to their allegiance to Romes main rival in the region. During the Roman–Parthian Wars, the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia was founded when Tiridates I, throughout most of its history during this period, Armenia was heavily contested between Rome and Parthia, and the Armenian nobility was divided among pro-Roman, pro-Parthian or neutrals. From 114 to 118, Armenia briefly became a province of the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan, the Kingdom of Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires.
In 301, Tiridates III proclaimed Christianity as the religion of Armenia. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia in 387, the Kingdoms symbol and most famous icon was Mount Ararat, arguably the tallest mountain in the kingdom. The geographic Armenian Highlands, known as the highlands of Ararat, was inhabited by Proto-Armenian tribes which did not yet constitute a unitary state or nation. The highlands were first united by tribes in the vicinity of Lake Van into the Kingdom of Van, the kingdom competed with Assyria over supremacy in the highlands of Ararat and the Fertile Crescent. Both kingdoms fell to Iranian invaders from the neighbouring East in the 6th century BC and its territory was reorganized into a satrapy called Armenia. The Orontid dynasty ruled as satraps of the Achaemenid Empire for three centuries until the defeat against Alexander the Greats Macedonian Empire at the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC. After Alexanders death in 323 BC, a Macedonian general named Neoptolemus obtained Armenia until he died in 321 BC and the Orontids returned, not as satraps, Orontes III defeated the Thessalian commander Menon, who wanted to capture Spers gold mines.
The Seleucid Empires influence over Armenia had weakened after it was defeated by the Romans in the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, a Hellenistic Armenian state was thus founded in the same year by Artaxias I alongside the Armenian kingdom of Sophene led by Zariadres. Artaxias seized Yervandashat, united the Armenian Highlands at the expense of neighboring tribes, according to Strabo and Plutarch, Hannibal Barca received hospitality at the Armenian court of Artaxias I. The authors add a story of how Hannibal planned and supervised the building of Artaxata. The new city was laid on a position at the juncture of trade routes that connected the Ancient Greek world with Bactria, India
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire, called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social and religious influences as well.
Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire set the tone for the politics and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia.
However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
Vayots Dzor Province
Vayots Dzor, is a province of Armenia. It lies at the end of the country, bordering the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan form the west. It covers an area of 2,308 km², with a population of only 53,230, it is the most sparsely populated province in the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Yeghegnadzor, Vayots Dzor is home to the spa-town of Jermuk. The village of Gladzor in Vayots Dzor was home to the 13th, literally meaning the valley of sorrows, it is named after the Vayots Dzor canton of the historic Syunik province of Ancient Armenia, ruled by the Siunia dynasty. Situated at the end of modern-day Armenia, Vayots Dzor covers an area of 2,308 km². It is one of the most sparsely populated province in the country and it borders the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan form the west and the Shahumyan Region of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from the east. Domestically, it is bordered by the Gegharkunik Province from the north, Ararat Province from the northwest, the current territory of the province occupies most of the Vayots Dzor canton of the historic Syunik province of Ancient Armenia.
Vayots Dzor is mainly a mountainous region and it is mainly divided into 3 ranges, Vardenis mountain range at the north, Arpa range at the middle and Vayk range at the south. At a height of 3522 meters, the Vardenis volcano at the north is the highest point of the province, while the Areni valley, Vayots dzor has many rivers, mountains springs and mineral water. Arpa river has the most significant of them and it flows 92 km in the territory of Vayots Dzor. It originates in Vayots Dzor from the northwest hillside of Syunik plateau at a height of 3260 meters and it has a number of tributaries that form waterfalls such as the Jermuk Waterfall and the Herher waterfall. Yeghegis river is the tributary of Arpa. It flows into a valley that is protected by the government as a wildlife sanctuary, most of the rivers in Vayots Dzor are characterized with swift flow, deep fall and inclination. A large project was completed during the Soviet period, to transfer the water of Arpa river to Lake Sevan, thus, an underground water tunnel was opened in 1981 that starts from the basin of Kechut reservoir to transfer the flow of Arpa river into lake Sevan.
A number of lakes are found in the valley of Herher river. Vayots Dzor was first mentioned in the Armenian history by Movses Khorenatsi, during archaeological excavations, many sites and objects were found in the region dating back to the Paleolithic Era and the Bronze Age. Carvings on cliffs depicting scenes of hunting and animals were found, as a result of the archaeological studies, historians assumed that the region has been settled since prehistoric times
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. The Republic of Armenia constitutes only one-tenth of historical Armenia, Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia, in the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion, in between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation. The official date of adoption of Christianity is 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century, under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the fell in 1045. An Armenian principality and a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries.
By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, during World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, in 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the worlds oldest national church, as the countrys primary religious establishment. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD, Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which was proclaimed in 1991, the native Armenian name for the country is Հայք.
The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Հայաստան, by addition of the Persian suffix -stan, the further origin of the name is uncertain. It is postulated that the name Hay comes from one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states—the Ḫayaša-Azzi. The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun Inscription as Armina, the ancient Greek terms Ἀρμενία and Ἀρμένιοι are first mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus. Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamchian, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a descendant of Hayk
Arpa (river)
The Arpa is a river that flows through Armenia and Azerbaijans Nakhichevan exclave. It originates in the Vayots Dzor province of Armenia and is as a tributary of the Aras. It runs through many cities and towns and is known for its beauty. Spandaryan Reservoir lies on the river, the length of the Arpa river is 7.95 mi. The Noravank church and canyon, as well as the Areni wine region, are in the wrong direction, Yeghegnadzor has a few monuments in the surrounding area, but some are harder to access. Boloraberd, Mozrov Caves, and such are not so easily accessible, outside Yeghegnadzor are the ruins of Glazdor University and the adjoining monastery. Around Vayk there are restaurants along the river which consist of terraces built on its set in beautiful surroundings. Rivers and lakes in Armenia Geography of Armenia http, //findarmenia. org/eng/nature/arpa
