1.
Armenia
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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 later 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 also 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
2.
Ararat Province
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Ararat, is a province of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is the town of Artashat, the province is named after the biblical Mount Ararat. It is bordered by Turkey from the west and Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic from the south and it surrounds the Karki exclave of Nakhichevan which has been controlled by Armenia since its capture in May 1992 during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. Two former capitals of Armenia are located in the modern-day Ararat Province, Artaxata and it is also home to the Khor Virap monastery, significant as the place of Gregory the Illuminators 13-year imprisonment and the closest point to Mount Ararat within Armenian borders. Ararat Province is named after the historic Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia, according to Movses Khorenatsi and the Ashkharatsuyts medieval Armenian geographical book of Anania Shirakatsi, Ayrarat was one of the 15 provinces of Armenia Major. It was considered the province of the Armenian Highland. Most probably, the term Ararat derives from the Hebrew name of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, Ararat has an area of 2,090 km². It occupies the east of the part of modern-day Armenia. From the north, it has borders with Armavir Province, Yerevan, from the east, its bordered by Gegharkunik and Vayots Dzor. Iğdır Province of Turkey and Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic respectively form the western and southern borders of the province, historically, the current territory of the province mainly occupies the Vostan Hayots canton of Ayrarat province of Ancient Armenia. The mountains of Yerakh are located at the centre of the province, approximately, 30% of the territory is plain, while the rest is dominated by mountains. The highest point of Ararat province is the Spitakasar peak of Gegham mountains with a height of 3560 meters, the lowest point is 801 meters at the Araks valley. Araks, Hrazdan, Azat and Vedi, are the 4 major rivers the flow through the province, the climate is highly diversified in the province. It ranges between extremely arid climate at the plains and cold snowy climate at the heights. The region of modern-day Ararat Province is among the earliest locations that was settled by the people of the Armenian Highland and it mainly includes the 3 cantons of Vostan Hayots, Urstadzor and Arats of the historic Ayrarat province. Vostan Hayots was known since the establishment of the Artaxiad Kingdom of Armenia at the beginning of the 2nd century BC, the ancient Armenian capitals of Artaxata founded in 176 BC, and Dvin founded during the 4th century AD, were both located within the Vostan Hayots canton. The other cantons of Urtsadzor and Arats were first mentioned in the 5th century AD by Yeghishe the historian in his History of Vardan and the Armenian War historical work. After the fall of the Armenian Kingdom in 428, the became part of the Sasanian Empire of Persia until the Arab conquest of Armenia in the mid-7th century
3.
Vehicle registration plate
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A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate or a license plate, is metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identification purposes. The registration identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric ID that uniquely identifies the owner within the issuing regions database. The first two letters indicate the state to which the vehicle is registered, the next two digit numbers are the sequential number of a district. Due to heavy volume of vehicle registration, the numbers were given to the RTO offices of registration as well, the third part indicates the year of registration of the vehicle and is a 4 digit number unique to each plate. In some countries, the identifier is unique within the entire country, whether the identifier is associated with a vehicle or a person also varies by issuing agency. In the vast majority of jurisdictions, the government holds a monopoly on the manufacturing of vehicle registration plates for that jurisdiction. Thus, it is illegal for private citizens to make and affix their own plates. Alternately, the government will merely assign plate numbers, and it is the owners responsibility to find an approved private supplier to make a plate with that number. In some jurisdictions, plates will be assigned to that particular vehicle for its lifetime. If the vehicle is destroyed or exported to a different country. Other jurisdictions follow a policy, meaning that when a vehicle is sold the seller removes the current plate from the vehicle. Buyers must either obtain new plates or attach plates they already hold, as well as register their vehicles under the buyers name, a person who sells a car and then purchases a new one can apply to have the old plates put onto the new car. One who sells a car and does not buy a new one may, depending on the laws involved, have to turn the old plates in or destroy them. Some jurisdictions permit the registration of the vehicle with personal plates, in some jurisdictions, plates require periodic replacement, often associated with a design change of the plate itself. Vehicle owners may or may not have the option to keep their original plate number, alternately, or additionally, vehicle owners have to replace a small decal on the plate or use a decal on the windshield to indicate the expiration date of the vehicle registration. Plates are usually fixed directly to a vehicle or to a frame that is fixed to the vehicle. Sometimes, the plate frames contain advertisements inserted by the service centre or the dealership from which the vehicle was purchased. Vehicle owners can also purchase customized frames to replace the original frames, in some jurisdictions licence plate frames are illegal
4.
Aras (river)
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The Aras or Araxes is a river in and along the countries of Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It drains the south side of the Lesser Caucasus Mountains and then joins the Kura River which drains the north side of those mountains and its total length is 1,072 kilometres. Given its length and a basin that covers an area of 102,000 square kilometres, in the classical antiquity the river was known to the Greeks as Araxes. Its modern Armenian name is Araks or Arax, historically, it was known as Yeraskh. Its Old Georgian name is Rakhsi, in other languages, it is known as Turkish, Aras, Persian, ارس, Aras, Kurdish, Erez, Azerbaijani, Araz. The Aras rises near Erzurum, Turkey and it meets with the Akhurian River southeast of Digor, flows along the closed Turkish-Armenian border, and then near a corridor that connects Turkey to Azerbaijans Nakhchivan exclave. It then flows along the Iranian-Armenian and the Iranian-Azerbaijan border, the Zangmar, Sariso, Ghotour River, Hajilar River, Kalibar River, Ilghena River, Darreh River and Balha River are the major tributaries of the Aras from the south. In Turkey the Ghareso river flows in on the left side, the Akhurian, Metsamor, Hrazdan, Azat, Vedi, Arpa, Vorotan, Voghdji and Meghri rivers flow in from the Armenian north side. The Khachin River, Okhchi River, Kuri River and Kandlan River flow in from the Azerbaijan north side, in Armenian tradition, the river is named after Arast, a great-grandson of the legendary Armenian patriarch Haik. The name was later Hellenized to Araxes and was applied to the Kura-Araxes culture, but many times it is the Volga River which is called Araxes especially in Herodotus History 1.202. The river is mentioned in the last chapter of the Aeneid VIII by Virgil, as angry at the bridge, since the Romans built a bridge over it. By some, the river Aras has been associated with the otherwise unidentified Gihon and Pishon rivers mentioned in the chapter of the Bible. In modern history, the Aras gained significance as a political boundary. Iran and the Soviet Union later built the Aras Dam on the Aras in the Poldasht area creating the Aras Reservoir, the Meghri Dam is under construction near the Armenian town of Meghri. During the Cold War, some Iranian communists escaped to USSR using this river, also Samad Behrangi, an Iranian author of childrens books, drowned in the River Aras. It is one of Turkeys two yearly active bird ringing stations, between 2006 and 2015, more than 65,000 birds of 198 species were ringed and 258 bird species were observed at this station. Fifty-five percent of the 471 bird species found in Turkey are recorded at this wetland, the number of ringed and observed 258 bird species comprises 85 percent of the 303 bird species at Iğdır Province. Seven new bird species were observed during the bird ringing activities in 2012 alone, including the raptor Shikra or Little Banded Goshawk, kuzeyDoga started the www. savearas. org campaign which has gathered over 61,500 signatures
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Ararat Plain
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The Ararat plain is one of the largest of the Armenian Plateau. It stretches west of the Sevan basin, at the foothills of the Geghama mountains, in the north, the plain borders on Mount Aragats, and Mount Ararat in the south. It is divided two sections by the Aras River, the northern part located in Armenia, and the southern part in Turkey. The Medieval Armenian historian Moses of Khoren recorded in his History of Armenia that the Ararat plain was named after King Ara the Handsome, the great-grandson of Amasya. The Ararat plain and the Sevan basin experience abundant sunshine and are the sunniest areas in Armenia, the shortest duration of sunshine is in mid-mountain areas of the forest zone. In the foothills, there is rarely a sunless day between the months of June and October, the Ararat plain makes up 4% of Armenias total land area, and yet it yields 40% of Armenias farm production. This area has been occupied since the Neolithic or the Early Chalcolithic times, at Aratashen, first pottery appears at the end of the fifth millennium BC, or before 4000 BC
6.
Yerevan
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Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia as well as one of the worlds oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural and it has been the capital since 1918, the thirteenth in the history of Armenia, and the seventh located in or around the Ararat plain. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, Erebuni was designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital. During the centuries long Iranian rule over Eastern Armenia that lasted from the early 16th century up to 1828, in 1828, it became part of Imperial Russia alongside the rest of Eastern Armenia which conquered it from Iran through the Russo-Persian War between 1826 and 1828. After World War I, Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire settled in the area, the city expanded rapidly during the 20th century as Armenia became part of the Soviet Union. As of 2011, the population of Yerevan was 1,060,138, according to the official estimate of 2016, the current population of the city is 1,073,700. Yerevan was named the 2012 World Book Capital by UNESCO, Yerevan is an associate member of Eurocities. One theory regarding the origin of Yerevans name is the city was named after the Armenian king, Yervand IV, the last leader of the Orontid Dynasty, and founder of the city of Yervandashat. However, it is likely that the name is derived from the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni. As elements of the Urartian language blended with that of the Armenian one, while looking in the direction of Yerevan, after the ark had landed on Mount Ararat and the flood waters had receded, Noah is believed to have exclaimed, Yerevats. In the late medieval and early periods, when Yerevan was under Turkic and later Persian rule. This name is widely used by Azerbaijanis. The city was known as Erivan under Russian rule during the 19th. The city was renamed back to Yerevan in 1936, up until the mid-1970s the citys name was spelled Erevan, more often than Yerevan, in English sources. The principal symbol of Yerevan is Mount Ararat, which is visible from any area in the capital, the seal of the city is a crowned lion on a pedestal with the inscription Yerevan. The lions head is turned backwards while it holds a scepter using the front leg. The symbol of eternity is on the breast of the lion with a picture of Ararat in the upper part, the emblem is a rectangular shield with a blue border. On 27 September 2004, Yerevan adopted an anthem, Erebuni-Yerevan, written by Paruyr Sevak and it was selected in a competition for a new anthem and new flag that would best represent the city
7.
Nakhchivan (city)
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The city of Nakhchivan is the capital of the eponymous Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, located 450 km west of Baku. The municipality of Nakhchivan consists of the city of Nakhchivan, the settlement of Əliabad and the villages of Başbaşı, Bulqan, Haciniyyət, Qaraçuq, Qaraxanbəyli, Tumbul, Qarağalıq, and Daşduz. It is spread over the foothills of Zangezur Mountains, on the bank of the Nakhchivan River at an altitude of 873 m above sea level. Armenian tradition claims Noah as the founder of Nakhichevan, and a mound of earth in the city is visited by many pilgrims as his grave. See Tomb of Noah and Noah’s Mausoleum and it should be noted that Armenian literature of the 5th through the 10th centuries does not have an Ark story. It is not until the 13th century that the Ark legends began to appear in Armenia, Nakhchivan was one of the prominent cities of the Armenian Kingdom under the Artaxides, Arshakides and Bagratides dynasties from the 2nd century BC until the 11th century AD. Herodotus wrote that the river of Araz flows from the mountains of Matean to the country of Nakhar, according to Sebeos, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius marched through the Nakhchivan region during his campaign against the Sassanid empire in 627-628. Some Armenian chroniclers additionally state that Heraclius destroyed the town of Nakhchivan before marching on to Ganzak, a legend that the city of Nakhchivan was founded by Noah developed during the Christian-era. At the beginning of the 12th century Nakhchivan became the capital of Atabeks state, at the start of the 20th century Nakhchivan was the capital of a district of Erivan Governorate of the Russian Empire. During Nagorno-Karabakh War, the city like the region fell under a blockade. Although the city has no land connection to Azerbaijan, it has increased connections with Turkey. During 1995 to 2012, Nakhchivan has undergone redevelopment with the regions GDP rising by a multiple of 48. The city is spread over the foothills of Zangezur chain, on the bank of the Nakhchivan River at an altitude of almost 1,000 m. The floods and soil erosion spiked because of the decreased forest cover along riverbanks, as a result, reforestation projects implemented in the city to encourage tree planting. Nakhchivan has a continental climate with short but cold, snowy winters and long. Traditionally, Nakhchivan was home to industry, handicraft, shoemaking and hatmaking. These industries have largely replaced. The city has a range of cultural activities, amenities
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Baku
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Baku is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located 28 metres below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world and it is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, alongside the Bay of Baku. At the beginning of 2009, Bakus urban population was estimated at just over two million people, officially, about 25 percent of all inhabitants of the country live in Bakus metropolitan area. Baku is divided into administrative districts and 48 townships. Among these are the townships on the islands of the Baku Archipelago, the Inner City of Baku, along with the Shirvanshahs Palace and Maiden Tower, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. According to the Lonely Planets ranking, Baku is also among the top ten destinations for urban nightlife. The city is the scientific, cultural and industrial center of Azerbaijan, many sizeable Azerbaijani institutions have their headquarters there. The Baku International Sea Trade Port is capable of handling two million tons of general and dry bulk cargoes per year, in recent years, Baku has become an important venue for international events. The city is renowned for its winds, which is reflected in its nickname. Indeed, the city is renowned for its fierce winter snow storms and this is also reflected in the citys nickname as the City of Winds. A less probable folk etymology explains the name as deriving from Baghkuy, baga and kuy are the Old Persian words for god and town respectively, the name Baghkuy may be compared with Baghdād in which dād is the Old Persian word for give. Arabic sources refer to the city as Baku, Bakukh, Bakuya, around 100,000 years ago, the territory of modern Baku and Absheron was savanna with rich flora and fauna. Traces of human settlement go back to the Stone age, from the Bronze age there have been rock carvings discovered near Bayil, and a bronze figure of a small fish discovered in the territory of the Old City. These have led some to suggest the existence of a Bronze Age settlement within the citys territory, further archeological excavations revealed various prehistoric settlements, native temples, statues and other artifacts within the territory of the modern city and around it. In the 1st century, the Romans organized two Caucasian campaigns and reached Baku, near the city, in Gobustan, Roman inscriptions dating from 84–96 AD were discovered. This is one of the earliest written evidences for Baku, during the 8th century Baku was the realm of the Shirvanshahs. The city frequently came under assault of the Khazars and the Rus, shirvanshah Akhsitan I built a navy in Baku and successfully repelled another Rus assault in 1170. After a devastating earthquake struck Shamakhy, the capital of Shirvan, the Shirvan era greatly influenced Baku and the remainder of Azerbaijan
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Tabriz
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Tabriz is the most populated city in the Iranian Azerbaijan, one of the historical capitals of Iran, and the present capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Located in the Quru River valley between the ridge of the volcanic cones of the Sahand and Eynali mountains, Tabrizs elevation ranges between 1,350 and 1,600 metres above sea level. The valley opens up into a plain that slopes down to the eastern shores of Lake Urmia,60 kilometres to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers, the city is considered a summer resort, Tabriz is named Worlds Carpet and Crafts City, it is also appointed as the exemplary tourism city in 2018 by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. With a population of 1.6 million, Tabriz is the biggest economic hub, the population consists mostly of Iranian Azerbaijanis and the most spoken language in the city is Azeri Turkish. Tabriz is a heavy industry hub for automobile, machine tools, refineries and petrochemical, textile. The city is famous for its handicrafts including hand-woven rugs and jewelry, local confectioneries, chocolates, dried nuts, and traditional food of Tabriz are recognized all around Iran as some of the best Iranian food. Tabriz is also a hub and a site for some of the most prestigious cultural institutes in the northwest of Iran. The city contains many historical monuments representing the transition of Iranian architecture in its long historical timelines. Most of the historical sites in the city belong to Ilkhanid, Safavid. From the early era, the city was pivotal in the development, movement. From the 19th century, it became the most important city in the country in numerous respects, as the closest Iranian hub to Europe, many aspects of the early modern modernisation in Iran started in Tabriz. During almost the entire Qajar period, it functioned as the seat for the prince as well. According to some sources, including Encyclopædia Britannica, the name Tabriz derives from tap-riz, in AD297, it became the capital of Tiridates III, king of Armenia. However, this story has an origin and no ancient source has recorded such event. This is based on accounts of Vardan, the Armenian historian in 13th century, the early history of Tabriz is not well-documented. The earliest inscription about Tabriz, referring to the city as Tarui or Tauris, is on the Assyrian King Sargon IIs epigraph in 714 BC, Tabriz has been chosen as the capital for some rulers commencing from Atropates era and his dynasty. A recent excavation at the site of the Iron Age museum, in the north of the Blue Mosque site, more likely the city has been destroyed multiple times either by natural disasters or by the invading armies
10.
Goris
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Goris, is a town in the southern Syunik Province of Armenia. Located in the valley of river Goris, it is 254 km away from the Armenian capital Yerevan and 67 km from the provincial center Kapan, Goris is an urban community and the second largest city in Syunik. In the 2011 census its population was 20,591, down from 23,261 reported at the 2001 census, however, as per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Goris is 20,300. Throughout its history, Goris has been known as Kores and Gorayk, however, there are several explanations for the origin of the name. It is supposed that the name Goris is derived from the Indo-European prelanguage words gor, es, there was a dwelling in the ancient times in the same area of the town. The area of Goris has been settled since the Stone Age, Goris was first mentioned in the history by the Urartian period. King Rusa I left a cuneiform, where he mentioned that among the 23 countries conquered by him, the scientists suppose that it is the same Goris. During the Middle Ages, the town-settlement was situated in the part of the present Goris. It was called Kores and coincided with one of the villages of Goru, the current spelling of the name was first mentioned in 1624, in a handwriting by Barsegh Yerets. In 17-18th centuries princes Melik Husenyans ruled Goris, in the beginning of the 19th century, on 13 October 1813 according to the Gyulistan agreement, Goris fell under the domination of Emperial Russia. In 1870, the town of Goris was founded to become the centre of Zangezursky Uyezd. At the end of the 19th century the economical and cultural life of the town was greatly improved, with the establishment of the Republic of Armenia in 1918, Goris was included in the Zangezur province of the newly-founded republic. However, the republic had a short life, when the Red Army conducted massive military operations in the region during June-July 1921, attacking Syunik from the north. As a result of battles, the Republic of Mountainous Armenia capitulated on 13 July 1921. Under the Soviet rule, Goris has served as the centre of Zangezur gavar of Soviet Armenia. With the establishment of the Goris raion in 1930, the became the regional centre of the newly-founded district. In 1970, Goris was granted the status of a city of republican subordination, during the 1950s, the economy of the city has been boosted with the construction of many hydroelectric power plants int he area. Several new industrial firms were opened, and many residential districts were founded
11.
Stepanakert
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Stepanakert or Khankendi, originally called Vararakn, is the capital and the largest city of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, a de facto independent republic, recognized as de jure part of Azerbaijan. As of 2015, the population of Stepanakert is 55,200, Stepanakert meaning the city of Stepan is named after the Armenian Bolshevik revolutionary Stepan Shaumian. The name is formed of the words Stepan and kert meaning town, according to medieval Armenian sources, the settlement was first mentioned as Vararakn, a name that remained in use until 1847, when it was renamed Khankendi. Azerbaijani sources generally say that the settlement was founded in the eighteenth century as a private residence for khans of the Karabakh Khanate. The settlement was initially called Khanin Kendi, but then was shortened to Khankendi, after the conquest of the Karabakh Khanate by the Russian Empire the name Khankendi was charted on Russian maps. In time, Stepanakert grew to become the regions most important city and its population rose from 10,459 in 1939 to 33,000 in 1978. Several schools and two polyclinics were established, and an Armenian drama theater was founded in 1932 and named after Maxim Gorky, Stepanakert served as Nagorno-Karabakhs main economic hub, and by the mid-1980s there were nineteen production facilities in the city. The political and economic reforms that General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev had initiated in 1985 saw a marked decentralization of Soviet authority, Armenians, in both Armenia proper and Nagorno-Karabakh, viewed Gorbachevs reform program as an opportunity to unite the two together. On February 20,1988, tens of thousands of Armenians gathered to demonstrate in Stepanakerts Lenin Square to demand that the region be joined to Armenia. On the same day, the Supreme Soviet of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to join the Armenian SSR, fighting broke out over control of Nagorno-Karabakh which eventually resulted in Armenian control of the region and a connecting corridor to Armenia to the west. Prior to the conflict, Stepanakert was the largest city of the NKAO, by early 1992, that figure had dropped to 50,000. So destructive was the caused by the incessant bombardment, that a journalist for Time noted in an April 1992 article that scarcely a single building escaped damage in Stepanakert. The Azerbaijani military staged several attacks against the city, which were successfully repulsed by Armenian forces. It was not until May 9,1992, with the capture of Shusha, the city, nevertheless, continued to suffer aerial bombardment for the remainder of the war. There has been an unofficial cease-fire observed since 1994, Stepanakert has a humid subtropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system and a semi-arid climate according to the Trewartha climate classification system. In the month of January, the temperature drops to 0.5 °C. In August, it averages around 22.6 °C, during the Soviet era, there were no traditional churches in Stepanakert, although most of the population of the city were members of the Armenian Apostolic Church. The late-19th-century church of Saint George was destroyed in the 1930s to build the Stepanakert Drama Theatre, currently, the church of Surp Hakob opened in 2007 is the only church of the city
12.
Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
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The Kingdom of Armenia, also 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, Artaxiad 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, then 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 also 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
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