1.
Artaxias I
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Artaxias I was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries. By the end of the 3rd century BC, the kingdom of Armenia was made up of around 120 dynastic domains ruled by nakharars, even though Alexander the Great did not conquer Armenia, Hellenistic culture had strongly impacted Armenian society. When Antiochus the Great wrestled Armenia from Orontid rule, he appointed Artaxias as strategos, the population of the previous Yervanduni capital of Yervandashat was transferred to Artashat. In these inscriptions Artashes claims descent from the Yervanduni Dynasty, King Artaxias, Artaxias was married to Satenik, daughter of the king of Alans. They had six sons, Artavasdes, Vruyr, Mazhan, Zariadres, Tiran, Artaxias founded a capital, Artaxata on the Araks River near Lake Sevan. Hannibal took refuge there at his court when Antiochus could not protect him any longer, Artaxias was taken captive by Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he attacked Armenia around 165 BC. It is said that when Hannibal fled from the Romans and came to Armenia, he suggested different projects to the Armenian king, when he saw the beautiful landscape and nature in Armenia he drew a sketch for the future city. Then he took Artashes to the spot and asked him to supervise the building of the city. Thus a big and beautiful city was named after the king, Artashat, Artaxias I entry in Encyclopaedia Iranica Artashes biography King Artashes Illustrations About King Artashes
2.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
3.
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
4.
Administrative divisions of Armenia
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Armenia is subdivided into eleven administrative divisions. Of these, ten are provinces, known as marzer or in the singular form marz in Armenian, Yerevan is treated separately and granted special administrative status as the countrys capital. The chief executive in each of 10 marzer is the marzpet, in Yerevan, the chief executive is the mayor, appointed by the president. The following is a list of the regions population, area. Figures are from the National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia, note that the area of the Gegharkunik Province includes Lake Sevan which covers 1,278 square kilometres of its territory. To sort the information, use the devices in the table headings. Each community is self-governing and consists of one or more settlements, settlements are classified as either towns or villages. As of 2007, Armenia includes 915 communities, of which 49 are considered urban and 866 are considered rural, the capital, Yerevan, also has the status of a community. Additionally, Yerevan is divided into twelve semi-autonomous districts, ISO 3166-2, AM National Statistical Service of the Republic of Armenia Armenia Provinces on Statoids. com
5.
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
6.
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
7.
Armenian language
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The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. Like Hellenic Greek, it has its own branch in the language tree. It is the language of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It has historically been spoken throughout the Armenian Highlands and today is spoken in the Armenian diaspora. Armenian has its own script, the Armenian alphabet, introduced in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots. Armenian is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages and it is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological developments within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization, although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups, Armenia was a monolingual country by the 2nd century BC at the latest. Its language has a literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Its vocabulary has been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages, particularly Parthian, and to an extent by Greek, Persian. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian, with which most contemporary dialects are mutually intelligible and he is also credited by some with the creation of the Caucasian Albanian alphabet. In The Anabasis, Xenophon describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. W. M. However, unlike shared innovations, the retention of archaisms is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. Some of the terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, loan words from Iranian languages, along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that the similarities between the two meant that Iranian and Armenian were the same language. The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann used the method to distinguish two layers of Iranian loans from the older Armenian vocabulary. Meillets hypothesis became popular in the wake of his Esquisse, eric P. Hamp supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis, anticipating even a time when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian. Nevertheless, as Fortson comments, by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, graeco--Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family, ancestral to the Greek language, the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages. Graeco-Aryan unity would have divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-third millennium BC
8.
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
9.
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
10.
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
11.
Artaxata
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The name of the city is derived from Iranian languages and means the joy of Arta. Founded by King Artaxias I in 176 BC, Artaxata served as the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia from 185 BC until 120 AD, some sources have also indicated that Artashes built his city upon the remains of an old Urartian settlement. Strabo and Plutarch describe Artashat as a large and beautiful city, a focal point of Hellenistic culture, Armenias first theatre was built here. Artashes also built a citadel and added other fortifications, including a moat and its economic wealth can be gauged in the numerous bathhouses, markets, workshops administrative buildings that sprang up during the reign of Artashes I. The city had its own treasury and customs, the amphitheater of Artashat was built during the reign of king Artavazd II. The remains of the walls surrounding the city built by King Artashes I could be found in the area. During the reign of Tigranes II, the Armenian kingdom expanded and conquered territories in the south and west. Due to the remoteness of Artashat in the context of the empire. However, in 69 the Roman general Lucullus invaded Armenia, defeated Tigranes forces at the outskirts of Tigranakert, Artashat was restored as capital of Armenia in 60 B. C. However, the city remained a hotly contested military target for the two centuries. It was occupied by Capadocian legions under the Roman general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo, after Emperor Nero recognized Tiridates I as king of Armenia in 66, he granted him 50 million sesterces and sent architects and construction experts to help in the reconstruction of the ruined city. The city was temporarily renamed Neronia, in honor of its sponsor, Artashat remained the capital of Armenia until 120 when the see of power was moved to Vagharshapat during the reign of Vologases I 117/8–144. However, after losing its status as a capital to Vagharshapat and later Dvin, the exact location of ancient Artashat was identified during the 1920s, with archaeological excavations beginning in 1970. The archaeological site is 8 kilometres south of the city of Artashat. The modern town of Artashat was founded by the Soviet government in 1945,8 km northwest of the ancient city and it was given the status of an urban community with the merge of three villages, Upper Ghamarlu, Lower Ghamarlu and Narvezlu. The town has grown gradually as a hub during the Soviet period. In 1995, with the new law of the administration of the Republic of Armenia
12.
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
13.
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
14.
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
15.
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
16.
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
17.
Iranian languages
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The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, which in turn are a branch of the Indo-European language family. The speakers of Iranian languages are known as Iranian people, historical Iranian languages are grouped in three stages, Old Iranian, Middle Iranian, and New Iranian. Of the Old Iranian languages, the better understood and recorded ones are Old Persian and Avestan, Middle Iranian languages included Middle Persian, Parthian, and Bactrian. As of 2008, there were an estimated 150–200 million native speakers of Iranian languages, ethnologue estimates there are 86 Iranian languages, the largest among them being Persian, Pashto and Kurdish. The term Iranian is applied to any language which descends from the ancestral Proto-Iranian language, Iranian derives from the Persian and Sanskrit origin word Arya. The use of the term for the Iranian language family was introduced in 1836 by Christian Lassen, robert Needham Cust used the term Irano-Aryan in 1878, and Orientalists such as George Abraham Grierson and Max Müller contrasted Irano-Aryan and Indo-Aryan. Some recent scholarship, primarily in German, has revived this convention, the Eastern Iranian languages subdivided into, Southeastern, of which Pashto is the dominant member, Northeastern, by far the smallest branch, of which Ossetian is the dominant member. All Iranian languages are descended from an ancestor, Proto-Iranian. In turn, and together with Proto-Indo-Aryan and the Nuristani languages, the Indo-Iranian languages are thought to have originated in Central Asia. The Andronovo culture is the candidate for the common Indo-Iranian culture ca.2000 BC. It was situated precisely in the part of Central Asia that borders present-day Russia. Of that variety of languages/dialects, direct evidence of two have survived. These are, Avestan, the two languages/dialects of the Avesta, i. e. the liturgical texts of Zoroastrianism, Old Persian, the native language of a south-western Iranian people known as Persians. Indirectly attested Old Iranian languages are discussed below, Old Persian is the Old Iranian dialect as it was spoken in south-western Iran by the inhabitants of Parsa, who also gave their name to their region and language. The language of the Avesta is subdivided into two dialects, conventionally known as Old Avestan, and Younger Avestan. These terms, which date to the 19th century, are slightly misleading since Younger Avestan is not only much younger than Old Avestan, the Old Avestan dialect is very archaic, and at roughly the same stage of development as Rigvedic Sanskrit. Unlike Old Persian, which has Middle Persian as its known successor, such hypothetical Old Iranian languages include Carduchi and Old Parthian. Additionally, the existence of unattested languages can sometimes be inferred from the impact they had on neighbouring languages, such transfer is known to have occurred for Old Persian, which has a Median substrate in some of its vocabulary
18.
Asha
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Asha is the Avestan language term for a concept of cardinal importance to Zoroastrian theology and doctrine. In the moral sphere, aša/arta represents what has called the decisive confessional concept of Zoroastrianism. The opposite of Avestan aša is druj, lie, the significance of the term is complex, with a highly nuanced range of meaning. It is commonly summarized in accord with its implications of truth and right, order. For other connotations, see meaning below and its Old Persian equivalent is arta-. In Middle Iranian languages the term appears as ard-, the word is also the proper name of the divinity Asha, the Amesha Spenta that is the hypostasis or genius of Truth or Righteousness. In the Younger Avesta, this figure is commonly referred to as Asha Vahishta. The Middle Persian descendant is Ashawahist or Ardwahisht, New Persian Ardibehesht or Ordibehesht, in the Gathas, the oldest texts of Zoroastrianism and thought to have been composed by the prophet himself, it is seldom possible to distinguish between moral principle and the divinity. Later texts consistently use the Best epithet when speaking of the Amesha Spenta, Avestan aša and its Vedic equivalent ṛtá both derive from Proto-Indo-Iranian *ṛtá- truth, which in turn continues Proto-Indo-European *h2r-to- properly joined, right, true, from the root *h2ar. The word is attested in Old Persian as arta and it is unclear whether the Avestan variation between aša and arta is merely orthographical. Benveniste suggested š was only a convenient way of writing rt, Avestan druj, like its Vedic Sanskrit cousin druh, appears to derive from the PIE root *dhreugh, also continued in Persian دروغ / drūġ lie, German Trug fraud, deception. Old Norse draugr and Middle Irish airddrach mean spectre, spook, the Sanskrit cognate druh means affliction, afflicting demon. Aša cannot be rendered by some single word in another tongue but may be summarized as follows, It is, first of all. This true statement, because it is true, corresponds to an objective, recognized in it is a great cosmic principle since all things happen according to it. This cosmic force is imbued also with morality, as verbal Truth, la parole conforme, the correspondence between truth, reality and an all-encompassing cosmic principle is not far removed from Heraclitus conception of Logos. Both Avestan aša/arta and Vedic ŗtá- are commonly translated as truth as this best reflects both the meaning of the term as well as the opposition to their respective antonyms. The opposite of Avestan aša/arta is druj-, lie, similarly, the opposites of Vedic ṛtá- are ánṛta- and druh, likewise lie. That truth is also what was understood by the term as attested in Greek myth of, Isis and Osiris 47, Plutarch calls the divinity Αλήθεια Aletheia
19.
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
20.
Artaxiad dynasty
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The Artaxiad dynasty or Ardaxiad dynasty ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and their main enemies were the Romans, the Seleucids and the Parthians, against whom the Armenians had to conduct multiple wars. According to the geographer Strabo, Artaxias and Zariadres were two satraps of the Seleucid Empire, who ruled over the provinces of Greater Armenia and Sophene respectively. After the Seleucid defeat at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, they revolted and declared their independence, scholars believe that Artaxias and Zariadres were not foreign generals but local figures related to the previous Orontid dynasty, as their Irano-Armenian names would indicate. According to the Encyclopaedia Iranica, the Artaxiads were a branch of the earlier Orontid dynasty of Iranian origin attested as ruling in Armenia from at least the 5th century BCE, Artaxias is regarded as one of the most important kings in Armenian history. He presented himself as a descendant of Orontids, although it is unknown if he was in fact related to that dynasty. In the beginning of his rule, parts of the Armenian Highlands with Armenian speaking populations remained under the rule of neighbouring states, Artaxias made the reunification of those lands under his domain a priority. Greek geographer and historian Strabo recounts the conquests of Artaxias towards West, East, according to Strabo and Plutarch, Artaxias also founded the Armenian capital Artaxata with the aid of the Carthaginian general Hannibal who was being sheltered from the Romans within Artaxias court. The population of the previous Orontid capital of Ervandashat was transferred to Artaxata, in these inscriptions Artaxias claims descent from the Orontid Dynasty, King Artaxias, the son of Orontid Zariadres. During this time, the Armenian rulers incorporated many Greek elements and this is shown by the contemporary Armenian coins. They followed Greek models and have inscriptions in the Greek language, some coins describe the Armenian kings as Philhellenes. Knowledge of Greek in Armenia is also evidenced by surviving parchments, Tigranes successor Artavasdes II even composed Greek tragedies himself. Nevertheless, Armenian culture still retained a strong Iranian element, particularly in religious matters, during the reign of Tigranes the Great, the kingdom of Armenia was at the zenith of its power and briefly became the most powerful state to the Roman east. Artaxias and his followers had already constructed the base upon which Tigranes built his empire, despite this fact, the territory of Armenia, being a mountainous one, was governed by nakharars who were largely autonomous from the central authority. Tigranes unified them in order to create internal security in the kingdom, the borders of Armenia stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. At that time, the Armenians had become so expansive, that the Romans and Parthians had to join forces in order to beat them, Tigranes found a more central capital within his domain and named it Tigranocerta. Large territories were taken from Parthians, who were forced to sign a treaty of friendship with Tigranes, iberia, Albania, and Atropatene also lost territories and the remainder of their Kingdoms became vassal states. The Greeks within the Seleucid Empire offered Tigranes the Seleucid crown in 83, after which the Armenian empire reached as far south as modern Acre, Roman involvement in Asia Minor brought Tigranes empire to an end
21.
Khor Virap
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The monastery was host to a theological seminary and was the residence of Armenian Catholicos. Khor Viraps notability as a monastery and pilgrimage site is attributed to the fact that Gregory the Illuminator was initially imprisoned here for 14 years by King Tiridates III of Armenia, Saint Gregory subsequently became the kings religious mentor, and they led the proselytizing activity in the country. In the year 301, Armenia was the first country in the world to be declared a Christian nation, a chapel was initially built in 642 at the site of Khor Virap by Nerses III the Builder as a mark of veneration to Saint Gregory. Over the centuries, it was repeatedly rebuilt, in 1662, the larger chapel known as the St. Astvatsatsin was built around the ruins of the old chapel, the monastery, the refectory and the cells of the monks. Now, regular services are held in this church. It is one of the most visited sites in Armenia. The place of imprisonment virap nerkin came to be known as the Virap or khor, Khor Virap is located on a hillock in Pokr Vedi, the village is 4 kilometres from the main highway. Yerevan, the capital and largest city of Armenia, is 30 kilometres to the north and it is situated about 100 metres away from the closed Turkish-Armenian border and defended by Russian military establishments that guard the troubled border zone. The monastery is surrounded by green pasture lands and vineyards within the Ararat plain and is in view of Mount Ararat, the Arax River flows close-by and the monastery is opposite of Aralık, Turkey. King Artashes I, founder of the Artashesid dynasty, established his Armenian capital at Artashat around 180 BC and it is believed that Hannibal, the Carthaginian General who was persecuted by Rome, was also instrumental in establishing Artashat. Artashat remained the capital of the dynasty till the reign of King Khosrov III when it was moved to Dvin, subsequently, Artashat was destroyed by the Persian King Shapur II. Artashat is close to the hillock of Khor Virap, until its chapel was built, Khor Virap was used as royal prison. When King Tiridates III ruled over Armenia, his assistant was the Christian Grigor Lusavorich who preached the Christian religion, however, Tiridates, a pagan was not pleased and he subjected Gregory to severe torture. In addition, Gregorys refusal to sacrifice to the goddess Anahita provoked the king to torture him. He was then forgotten and the King pursued his wars and persecution of Christians, however, Gregory did not die during his 13 years of imprisonment. His survival was attributed to a Christian widow from the town who, under the influence of strange dream vision. During this period, the Roman Emperor Diocletian wanted to marry a beautiful girl and they found a girl named Rhipsime in Rome who was under the tutelage of Abbess Gayane in a Christian nunnery. When Rhipsime heard about the marriage proposal, she fled to Armenia to avoid the marriage
22.
Movses Khorenatsi
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Movses Khorenatsi was a prominent Armenian historian from the period of Late Antiquity and the author of the History of Armenia. Khorenatsi is credited with the earliest known work on the history of Armenia written in Armenian, but was also a poet, or hymn writer. The History of Armenia was written at the behest of Prince Sahak of the Bagratuni dynasty and has had an impact on Armenian historiography. It was used and quoted extensively by later medieval Armenian authors, Khorenatsi is considered to be the father of Armenian history, and is sometimes referred to as the Armenian Herodotus. Khorenatsis work became the first attempt of a history of Armenia. Movses identified himself as a disciple of Mesrop Mashtots, inventor of the Armenian alphabet. Movses was believed to have born in the village of Khorni in the Armenian province of Taron or Turuberan sometime in 410. However, some contend that if he was born here. They instead move the location of his birth from Taron to the Armenian province of Syunik and he received his education in Syunik and was later sent to be taught under the auspices of Mesrop Mashtots, the creator of the Armenian alphabet, and Catholicos Sahak Partev. The students left Armenia sometime between 432 and 435, first they went to Edessa where they studied at the local libraries. Then they moved towards Jerusalem and Alexandria, after studying in Alexandria for five to six years, Movses and his classmates returned to Armenia, only to find that Mesrop and Sahak had died. Given this atmosphere and persecution by the Persians, Movses went into hiding in a village near Vagharshapat and lived in relative seclusion for several decades. Gyut, Catholicos of All Armenians, one day met Movses while traveling through the area and, unaware of his true identity, Movses was initially silent, but after Gyuts students encouraged him to speak, Movses made a marvelous speech at the dinner table. One of the Catholicos students was able to identify Movses as a person Gyut had been searching for, it was understood that Gyut was one of Movses former classmates. Gyut embraced Movses and, being either a Chalcedonian Christian, or, at least, tolerant of them, brought his back from seclusion. Movses agreed to do so and he finished his book sometime in 482 and his work is a first historical record that covered the whole history of Armenia from a very ancient period until the death of the historian. His History served as a textbook to study the history of Armenia until the eighteenth century, Movses lived for several more years, and he died sometime in the late 490s. Three possible early references to Movses in other sources are usually identified, but there is no indication in Parpetsi that this Movses had composed any historical works
23.
Akhurian River
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The Akhurian, Akhuriyan, Akhuryan or Akhouryan is a river in the South Caucasus. The Akhurian drains an area of about 9,500 square kilometres and has length of 186 kilometres. When the Byzantine army arrived in the province of Shirak in 1041, Vahram then selected a body of 30,000 infantry and 20,000 cavalry, forming three divisions, which fought against the Byzantines. A battle ensued in which the invaders were routed with great slaughter, the fight was so ferocious that the effusion of blood flowing into the Akhurian River is said to have coloured its waters completely red. The Byzantines left 21,000 dead behind and this victory allowed Vahram Pahlavuni along with Catholicos Petros Guedadarts to crown Gagik II king of Armenia and subsequently take the fortress of Ani, which had been in the hands of Vest Sarkis. Several medieval bridges once existed over the Akhurian River, the bridge at Ani may date back to the Bagratuni Dynasty. More likely it dates to the thirteenth century, an inscription found nearby said that building work was done on the approach to the bridge in the early fourteenth century. The bridges single arch has fallen, leaving only tall abutments that were part of a fortified gate. Nineteenth-century travelers reported a guardhouse next to the bridge, but this has since disappeared, Geography of Armenia Geography of Turkey Rivers and lakes in Armenia
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Plutarch
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Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist, Plutarchs surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the town of Chaeronea, about 80 km east of Delphi. The name of Plutarchs father has not been preserved, but based on the common Greek custom of repeating a name in alternate generations, the name of Plutarchs grandfather was Lamprias, as he attested in Moralia and in his Life of Antony. His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are mentioned in his essays and dialogues. Rualdus, in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus, recovered the name of Plutarchs wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, interestingly, he hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. The exact number of his sons is not certain, although two of them, Autobulus and the second Plutarch, are often mentioned. Plutarchs treatise De animae procreatione in Timaeo is dedicated to them, another person, Soklarus, is spoken of in terms which seem to imply that he was Plutarchs son, but this is nowhere definitely stated. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius from 66 to 67, at some point, Plutarch took Roman citizenship. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, at his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Many of these dialogues were recorded and published, and the 78 essays, Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the matters of the town. The Suda, a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Emperor Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria, however, most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province, and Plutarch probably did not speak Illyrian. Plutarch spent the last thirty years of his serving as a priest in Delphi. He thus connected part of his work with the sanctuary of Apollo, the processes of oracle-giving
25.
Strabo
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Strabo was a Greek geographer, philosopher, and historian who lived in Asia Minor during the transitional period of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus, Strabos life was characterized by extensive travels. He journeyed to Egypt and Kush, as far west as coastal Tuscany and as far south as Ethiopia in addition to his travels in Asia Minor and the time he spent in Rome. Travel throughout the Mediterranean and Near East, especially for scholarly purposes, was popular during this era and was facilitated by the relative peace enjoyed throughout the reign of Augustus. He moved to Rome in 44 BC, and stayed there, studying and writing, in 29 BC, on his way to Corinth, he visited the island of Gyaros in the Aegean Sea. Around 25 BC, he sailed up the Nile until reaching Philae and it is not known precisely when Strabos Geography was written, though comments within the work itself place the finished version within the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Some place its first drafts around 7 BC, others around 17 or 18 AD, the latest passage to which a date can be assigned is his reference to the death in AD23 of Juba II, king of Maurousia, who is said to have died just recently. He probably worked on the Geography for many years and revised it steadily, on the presumption that recently means within a year, Strabo stopped writing that year or the next, when he died. The first of Strabos major works, Historical Sketches, written while he was in Rome, is completely lost. Strabo studied under several prominent teachers of various specialties throughout his life at different stops along his Mediterranean travels. His first chapter of education took place in Nysa under the master of rhetoric Aristodemus, Strabo was an admirer of Homers poetry, perhaps a consequence of his time spent in Nysa with Aristodemus. At around the age of 21, Strabo moved to Rome, where he studied philosophy with the Peripatetic Xenarchus, despite Xenarchuss Aristotelian leanings, Strabo later gives evidence to have formed his own Stoic inclinations. In Rome, he learned grammar under the rich and famous scholar Tyrannion of Amisus. Although Tyrannion was also a Peripatetic, he was more relevantly a respected authority on geography, the final noteworthy mentor to Strabo was Athenodorus Cananites, a philosopher who had spent his life since 44 BC in Rome forging relationships with the Roman elite. Athenodorus endowed to Strabo three important items, his philosophy, his knowledge, and his contacts, moreover, from his own first-hand experience, Athenodorus provided Strabo with information about regions of the empire which he would not otherwise have known. Strabo is most notable for his work Geographica, which presented a history of people. Although the Geographica was rarely utilized in its antiquity, a multitude of copies survived throughout the Byzantine Empire. It first appeared in Western Europe in Rome as a Latin translation issued around 1469, the first Greek edition was published in 1516 in Venice
26.
Ancient Carthage
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Carthage was the Phoenician city-state of Carthage and during the 7th to 3rd centuries BC, included its sphere of influence, the Carthaginian Empire. The empire extended over much of the coast of North Africa as well as encompassing substantial parts of coastal Iberia, Carthage was founded in 814 BC. At the height of the prominence it served as a major hub of trade. The city also had to deal with potentially hostile Berbers, the inhabitants of the area where Carthage was built. In 146 BC, after the third and final Punic War, Roman forces destroyed, redesigned, nearly all of the other Phoenician city-states and former Carthaginian dependencies subsequently fell into Roman hands. According to Roman sources, Phoenician colonists from modern-day Lebanon, led by Dido, Queen Elissa was an exiled princess of the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. At its peak, the metropolis she founded, Carthage, came to be called the city, ruling 300 other cities around the western Mediterranean Sea. Elissas brother, Pygmalion of Tyre, had murdered Elissas husband, Elissa escaped the tyranny of her own country, founding the new city of Carthage and subsequently its later dominions. Details of her life are sketchy and confusing, but the following can be deduced from various sources, according to Justin, Princess Elissa was the daughter of King Belus II of Tyre. When he died, the throne was jointly bequeathed to her brother, Pygmalion and she married her uncle Acerbas, also known as Sychaeus, the High Priest of Melqart, a man with both authority and wealth comparable to the king. This led to increased rivalry between the elite and the monarchy. Pygmalion was a tyrant, lover of both gold and intrigue, who desired the authority and fortune enjoyed by Acerbas, Pygmalion assassinated Acerbas in the temple and kept the misdeed concealed from his sister for a long time, deceiving her with lies about her husbands death. At the same time, the people of Tyre called for a single sovereign, in the Roman epic of Virgil, the Aeneid, Queen Dido, the Greek name for Elissa, is first introduced as a highly esteemed character. In just seven years, since their exodus from Tyre, the Carthaginians have rebuilt a successful kingdom under her rule and her subjects adore her and present her with a festival of praise. Her character is perceived by Virgil as even more noble when she offers asylum to Aeneas and his men, who have recently escaped from Troy. A spirit in the form of the god, Mercury, sent by Jupiter, reminds Aeneas that his mission is not to stay in Carthage with his new-found love, Dido. Virgil ends his legend of Dido with the story that, when Aeneas tells Dido, her heart broken, as she lay dying, she predicted eternal strife between Aeneas people and her own, rise up from my bones, avenging spirit she says, an invocation of Hannibal. The settlements at Crete and Sicily were in conflict with the Greeks
27.
Hannibal
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Hannibal Barca, was a Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in history. His father Hamilcar Barca was the leading Carthaginian commander during the First Punic War and his younger brothers were Mago and Hasdrubal, and he was brother-in-law to Hasdrubal the Fair. One of his most famous achievements was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army which included war elephants from Iberia over the Pyrenees, Hannibal occupied much of Italy for 15 years but was unable to march on Rome. An enemy counter-invasion of North Africa forced him to return to Carthage, after the war, Hannibal successfully ran for the office of sufet. During this time, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as advisor to Antiochus III the Great in his war against Rome. Antiochus met defeat at the Battle of Magnesia and was forced to accept Romes terms and his flight ended in the court of Bithynia, where he achieved an outstanding naval victory against a fleet from Pergamon. He was afterwards betrayed to the Romans and committed suicide by poisoning himself, military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge called Hannibal the father of strategy, because his greatest enemy, Rome, came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal. This praise has earned him a reputation in the modern world. The English form of the name is derived from the Latin, Greek historians rendered the name as Anníbas Bárkas. Hannibals name was recorded in Carthaginian sources as ḤNBʻL and its precise vocalization remains a matter of debate. Suggested readings include Ḥannibaʻl or Ḥannibaʻal, meaning grace of Baʻal, Baal is gracious, or Baal has been gracious, or Ḥannobaʻal, Barca was the surname of his aristocratic family, meaning shining or lightning. It is thus equivalent to the Arabic name Barq or the Hebrew name Barak or the ancient Greek epithet keraunos, in English, his clan are sometimes collectively known as the Barcids. As with Greek and Roman practice, patronymics were a part of Carthaginian nomenclature. Hannibal was one of the sons of Hamilcar Barca, a Carthaginian leader and he was born in what is present day Tunisia. He had several sisters and two brothers, Hasdrubal and Mago and his brothers-in-law were Hasdrubal the Fair and the Numidian king Naravas. He was still a child when his sisters married, and his brothers-in-law were close associates during his fathers struggles in the Mercenary War, in light of Hamilcar Barcas cognomen, historians refer to Hamilcars family as the Barcids. However, there is debate as to whether the cognomen Barca was applied to Hamilcar alone or was hereditary within his family, if the latter, then Hannibal and his brothers also bore the name Barca. After Carthages defeat in the First Punic War, Hamilcar set out to improve his familys, with that in mind and supported by Gades, Hamilcar began the subjugation of the tribes of the Iberian Peninsula
28.
Gregory the Illuminator
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Saint Gregory the Illuminator is the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was a leader who is credited with converting Armenia from paganism to Christianity in 301. Armenia thus became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion, Gregory was the son of the Armenian Parthian nobles Anak the Parthian and Okohe. His father Anak, was a Prince said to be related to the Arsacid Kings of Armenia or was from the House of Suren, Anak was charged with assassinating Khosrov II, one of the kings of the Arsacid dynasty and was put to death. Gregory narrowly escaped execution with the help of Sopia and Yevtagh and he was taken to Caesarea in Cappadocia where Sopia and Yevtagh hoped to raise him. Gregory was given to the Christian Holy Father Phirmilianos to be educated and was brought up as a devout Christian, upon coming of age, Gregory married a woman called Miriam, a devout Christian who was the daughter of a Christian Armenian Prince in Cappadocia. From their union, Miriam bore Gregory two children, their sons Vrtanes and Aristaces, through Vrtanes, Gregory and Miriam would have further descendants and when Gregory died, Aristaces succeeded him. At some point Miriam and Gregory separated in order that Gregory might take up a monastic life, Gregory left Cappadocia and went to Armenia in the hope of atoning for his fathers crime by evangelizing his homeland. At that time Tiridates III, son of the late King Khosrov II, Gregory was eventually called forth from his pit in c.297 to restore to sanity Tiridates III, who had lost all reason after he was betrayed by Roman emperor Diocletian. Diocletian invaded and vast amounts of territory from western provinces of Greater Armenia became protectorates of Rome, in 301 Gregory baptized Tiridates III along with members of the royal court and upper class as Christians. Tiridates III issued a decree by which he granted Gregory full rights to begin carrying out the conversion of the nation to the Christian faith. The same year Armenia became the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion, the newly built cathedral, the Mother Church in Etchmiadzin became and remains the spiritual and cultural center of Armenian Christianity and center of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Most Armenians were baptized in Aratsani and Yeraskh rivers, two princes from Ujjain, India had founded a large kingdom in Armenia in 165 BCE and they established 22 cities covering most of modern Armenia. According to Zenob Glak, one of the first disciples of Gregory the Illuminator, the saint of Armenia. In 302, Gregory received consecration as Patriarch of Armenia from Leontius of Caesarea, in his later years, Gregory withdrew to a small sanctuary near Mount Sebuh in the Daranali province with a small convent of monks, where he remained until his death. After his death his corpse was removed to the village of Thodanum and his remains were scattered near and far in the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno. His head is believed to be now in Armenia, his hand at Echmiadzin. In the 8th century, the iconoclast decrees in Greece caused a number of orders to flee the Byzantine Empire
29.
Tiridates III of Armenia
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In 301, Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to embrace Christianity officially. Tiridates III was the son of Khosrov II of Armenia by an unnamed mother, Tiridates had one known sibling, a sister called Khosrovidukht and was the namesake of his paternal grandfather, Tiridates II of Armenia. Anak was captured and executed along with most of his family, while his son, Gregory the Illuminator, were sheltered in Caesaria, being the only surviving heir to the throne, Tiridates was quickly taken away to Rome soon after his father’s assassination while still an infant. He was educated in Rome and was skilled in languages and military tactics, in addition he firmly understood, the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi described him as a brave and strong warrior who participated in the battles against enemies. He personally led his army to victories in many battles, in 270 the Roman emperor Aurelian engaged the Sassanids, who had now replaced the Parthians, on the eastern front and he was able to drive them back. Tiridates, as the heir to the now Persian-occupied Armenian throne, came to Armenia and quickly raised an army. When Tiridates returned to Armenia, he made the city of Vagharshapat, for a while, fortune appeared to favour Tiridates. He not only expelled his enemies, but he carried his arms into Assyria, at the time the Persian Empire was in a distracted state. The throne was disputed by the ambition of two contending brothers, Hormuz and Narses, the civil war was, however, soon terminated and Narses was universally acknowledged as King of Persia. Narses then directed his force against the foreign enemy. The contest then became too unequal, Tiridates once more took refuge with the Romans. The Roman-Armenian alliance grew stronger, especially while Diocletian ruled the empire and this can be attributed to the upbringing of Tiridates, the consistent Persian aggressions and the murder of his father by Anak. With Diocletians help, Tiridates pushed the Persians out of Armenia, in 299, Diocletian left the Armenian state in a quasi-independent and protectorate status possibly to use it as a buffer in case of a Persian attack. The traditional story of the conversion of the king and the nation is based on the fifth-century work of Agathangelos titled “The History of the Armenians. Christianity in Armenia had a strong footing by the end of the 3rd century but the nation by, Tiridates was no exception as he too worshiped various ancient gods. During a pagan religious ceremony Tiridates ordered Gregory to place a wreath at the foot of the statue of the goddess Anahit in Eriza. Gregory refused, proclaiming his Christian faith and his fury was only exacerbated when several individuals declared that Gregory was in fact, the son of Anak, the traitor who had killed Tiridates’s father. Gregory was tortured and finally thrown in Khor Virap, an underground dungeon
30.
Moat
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A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams. In older fortifications, such as hillforts, they are referred to simply as ditches. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental and they could also act as sewerage. Some of the earliest evidence of moats has been uncovered around ancient Egyptian castles, one example is at Buhen, a castle excavated in Nubia. Other evidence of ancient moats is found in the ruins of Babylon, and in reliefs from ancient Egypt, Assyria, and other cultures in the region. Evidence of early moats around settlements has been discovered in archaeological sites throughout Southeast Asia, including Noen U-Loke, Ban Non Khrua Chut, Ban Makham Thae. The use of the moats could have been either for defensive or agriculture purposes, moats were excavated around castles and other fortifications as part of the defensive system as an obstacle immediately outside the walls. In suitable locations they might be filled with water, a moat made access to the walls difficult for siege weapons, such as siege towers and battering rams, which needed to be brought up against a wall to be effective. A water-filled moat made the practice of mining, digging tunnels under the castles in order to effect a collapse of the defences, segmented moats have one dry section and one section filled with water. Dry moats cut across the part of a spur or peninsula are called neck ditches. Moats separating different elements of a castle, such as the inner and outer wards are cross ditches, the shared derivation implies that the two features were closely related and possibly constructed at the same time. The term moat is also applied to natural formations reminiscent of the artificial structure, the walls were further protected from infantry attack by wet or dry moats, sometimes in elaborate systems. When this style of fortification was superseded by lines of forts in the mid-19th century. The Walls of Benin were a combination of ramparts and moats, called Iya and it was considered the largest man-made structure lengthwise, second only to the Great Wall of China and the largest earthwork in the world. With more recent work by Patrick Darling, it has established as the largest man-made structure in the world. It enclosed 6,500 km² of community lands and its length was over 16,000 km of earth boundaries. It was estimated that earliest construction began in 800 and continued into the mid-15th century, the walls are built of a ditch and dike structure, the ditch dug to form an inner moat with the excavated earth used to form the exterior rampart
31.
Tigranes the Great
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Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great was King of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House, Tigranes had been a hostage until the age of 45 at the court of King Mithridates II of Parthia after the Armenian defeat in 105 BC. Other sources give the date as much earlier, at around 112–111 BC, after the death of King Tigranes I in 95 BC, Tigranes bought his freedom, according to Strabo, by handing over seventy valleys in Atropatene to the Parthians. When he came to power, the foundation upon which Tigranes was to build his Empire was already in place, a legacy of the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artaxias I and this did not suit Tigranes, who wanted to create a centralist empire. He thus proceeded by consolidating his power within Armenia before embarking on his campaign and he deposed Artanes, the last king of Armenian Sophene and a descendant of Zariadres. During the First Mithridatic War, Tigranes supported Mithridates VI of Pontus and he rapidly built up his power and established an alliance with Mithridates VI, marrying his daughter Cleopatra. Tigranes agreed to extend his influence in the East, while Mithridates set to conquer Roman land in Asia Minor, by creating a stronger Hellenistic state, Mithridates was to contend with the well-established Roman foothold in Europe. The slaughter of 80,000 people in the province of Asia Minor was known as the Asiatic Vespers, the two kings attempts to control Cappadocia and then the massacres resulted in guaranteed Roman intervention. The senate decided that Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who was one of the consuls. Magadates was appointed as his governor in Antioch, the southern border of his domain reached as far as Ptolemais. Many of the inhabitants of conquered cities were sent to his new metropolis of Tigranocerta, at its height, his empire extended from the Pontic Alps to Mesopotamia, and from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. A series of victories led him to assume the Achaemenid title of King of Kings and he was called Tigranes the Great by many Western historians and writers, such as Plutarch. The King of Kings never appeared in public without having four kings attending him, cicero, referring to his success in the east, said that he made the Republic of Rome tremble before the prowess of his arms. Tigranes coin consist of tetradrachms and copper coins having on the obverse his portrait wearing a decorated Armenian tiara with ear-flaps, the reverse has a completely original design. There are the seated Tyche of Antioch and the river god Orontes at her feet, Mithridates had found refuge in Armenian land after confronting Rome, considering the fact that Tigranes was his ally and relative. The King of Kings eventually came into contact with Rome. The Roman commander, Lucullus, demanded the expulsion of Mithridates from Armenia – to comply with such a demand would be, in effect, to accept the status of vassal to Rome and this Tigranes refused. Charles Rollin, in his Ancient History, says, Lucullus reaction was an attack that was so precipitate that he took Tigranes by surprise, according to Roman historians Mithrobazanes, one of Tigranes generals, told Tigranes of the Roman approach
32.
Mediterranean Sea
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The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
33.
Tigranocerta
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Tigranocerta, Tigranakert was the capital of the Armenian Kingdom. It bore the name of Tigranes the Great, who founded the city in the first century BC, the name of the city means made by Tigran, and was possibly located near present-day Silvan or nearby Arzan, east of Diyarbakır, Turkey. It was one of four cities in historic Armenia named Tigranakert, the others were located in Nakhichevan, Artsakh and Utik. To create this city, Tigranes forced many people out of their homes to make up the population. Armenia at this time had expanded east to the Caspian Sea, west to central Cappadocia, the citys markets were filled with traders and merchants doing business from all over the ancient world. Tigranocerta quickly became an important commercial, as well as cultural center of the Near East. The magnificent theater that was established by the Emperor, of which he was a devotee, conducted dramas. Plutarch wrote that Tigranocerta was a rich and beautiful city where every common man, the Hellenistic culture during the Artaxiad Dynasty had a strong influence and the Greek language was in fact the official language of the court. Tigranes had divided Greater Armenia – the nucleus of the Empire – into four major strategic regions or viceroyalties. A Roman force under Lucius Lucullus defeated Tigranes at the Battle of Tigranocerta nearby in 69 BC, after the plunder, which included the destruction of statues and temples, the city was set ablaze. An abundant quantity of gold and silver was carried off to Rome as war booty, Lucullus took most of the gold and silver from the melted-down statues, pots, cups and other valuable metals and precious stones. During the pillage most of the inhabitants fled to the countryside. The newly established theater building was destroyed in the fire. The great city would never recover from this devastating destruction and it was again taken by the Romans under Corbulo, during the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63. During the Ottoman period, Armenians referred to the city of Diyarbekir as Dikranagerd, Battle of Tigranocerta Khachatryan, J. D. Hakobyan, N. F. Տիգրանակերտ մայրաքաղաքը. Yerevan, Armenian Academy of Sciences, 424–432, ancient and premodern Armenia Armenias 12 Capital Cities Exhibition Opened in Paris
34.
Lucullus
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Lucius Licinius Lucullus was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. His command style received unusually favourable attention from ancient military experts and he also patronized the arts and sciences lavishly, transforming his hereditary estate in the highlands of Tusculum into a hotel-and-library complex for scholars and philosophers. He built the horti Lucullani, the famous Gardens of Lucullus, on the Pincian Hill in Rome and he died during the winter of 57-56 BC. and was buried at the family estate near Tusculum. The conquest agnomen of Ponticus is sometimes appended to his name in modern texts. In ancient sources it is ever attributed to his consular colleague Marcus Aurelius Cotta after the latters capture. Lucullus was a member of the prominent gens Licinia, and of the family, or stirps of the Luculli and he was grandson of Lucius Licinius Lucullus, and son of Lucius Licinius Lucullus, who was convicted for embezzlement and exiled in 102/1 from his Sicilian command of 103-2. His first known service was as tribune of soldiers serving in Sullas army in Campania during the bellum Italicum. Lucullus was probably the Quaestor mentioned as the officer in Sullas army who could stomach accompanying the Consul when he marched on Rome. In autumn of the same year Sulla sent Lucullus ahead of him to Greece to take over the command of the Mithridatic War in his name and he initially made Crete, and is said to have won over the cities to the Roman side. From there he crossed to Cyrene where the famous Hellenic colony in Africa was in dire condition following a vicious, after Lucullus had defeated the Mithridatic admiral Neoptolemus in the Battle of Tenedos, he helped Sulla cross the Aegean to Asia. After a peace had been agreed, Lucullus stayed in Asia, Lucullus, however, tried to lessen the burden that these impositions created. Lucullus returned in 80 BC and was elected curule aedile for 79, along with his brother Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, Plutarchs biography entirely ignores this period,78 BC to 75 BC, jumping from Sullas death to Lucullus consulate. Sulla dedicated his memoirs to Lucullus, and upon his death made him guardian of his son Faustus, shortly after this, in 74, he became consul, and defended Sullas constitution from the efforts of Lucius Quinctius. On arrival, Lucullus set out from his province to relieve the besieged Cotta in Bithynia and he harried the army of Mithridates and killed many of his soldiers. He then turned to the sea and raised a fleet amongst the Greek cities of Asia, with this fleet he defeated the enemys fleet off Ilium and then off Lemnos. Turning back to the land, he drove Mithridates back into Pontus and he was wary of drawing into a direct engagement with Mithridates, due to the latters superior cavalry. But after several battles, Lucullus finally defeated him at the Battle of Cabira. He did not pursue Mithridates immediately, but instead he finished conquering the kingdom of Pontus and his attempts to reform the rapacious Roman administration in Asia made him increasingly unpopular among the powerful publicani back in Rome
35.
Battle of Tigranocerta
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The Battle of Tigranocerta was fought on October 6,69 BC between the forces of the Roman Republic and the army of the Kingdom of Armenia led by King Tigranes the Great. The Roman force was led by Consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus, and his capital city of Tigranocerta was lost to Rome as a result. The battle arose from the Third Mithridatic War being fought between Roman Republic and Mithridates VI of Pontus, whose daughter Cleopatra was married to Tigranes, Mithridates fled to seek shelter with his son-in-law, and Rome invaded the Kingdom of Armenia. Having laid siege to Tigranocerta, the Roman forces fell back behind a river when the large Armenian army approached. Feigning retreat, the Romans crossed at a ford and fell on the flank of the Armenian army. Tigranes expansion into the Near East led to the creation of an Armenian empire that stretched almost across the entire region, with his father-in-law and ally securing the empires western flank, Tigranes was able to conquer territories in Parthia and Mesopotamia and annex the lands of the Levant. In Syria, he began the construction of the city of Tigranocerta, which he named himself, and imported a multitude of peoples, including Arabs, Greeks. The city soon became the headquarters in Syria and flourished as a great center for Hellenistic culture, complete with theaters, parks. This period of Armenian hegemony in the region, however, was coming close to an end with a series of Roman victories in the Roman–Mithridatic Wars. Lucullus sent an ambassador named Appius Claudius to Antioch to demand that Tigranes surrender his father-in-law, should he refuse, Tigranes refused Appius Claudius demands, stating that he would prepare for war against the Republic. Lucullus was astonished upon hearing this in the year 70, although he had no mandate from the Senate to authorize such a move, he attempted to justify his invasion by distinguishing as his enemy king Tigranes and not his subjects. In the summer of 69, he marched his troops across Cappodocia and the Euphrates river and entered the Armenian province of Tsopk, learning of Mithrobarzanes defeat, Tigranes entrusted the defense of his namesake city to Mancaeus and left to recruit a fighting force in the Taurus Mountains. Nevertheless, Lucullus legates were able to disrupt two separate detachments coming to the aid of Tigranes and even located and engaged the forces in a canyon in the Taurus. Lucullus, nevertheless, chose not to pursue Tigranes while he had a path towards Tigranocerta, he advanced. Tigranocerta was still a city when Lucullus laid siege to it in the late summer of 69. The city was fortified and according to the Greek historian Appian, had thick and towering walls that stood 25 meters high. Appian claims that Lucullus had embarked from Rome with only a single legion, upon entering Anatolia to make war against Mithridates, the overall size of this force consisted of 30,000 infantry and 1,600 cavalry. Historian Adrian Sherwin-White places the size of Lucullus force to 12,000 seasoned legionaries, the Roman army was further bolstered by several thousand allied Gallic, Thracian, and Bithynian infantry and cavalry
36.
Battle of Avarayr
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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, cavalry, following the victory, Yazdegerd jailed some Armenian priests and nobles and appointed a new governor for Armenia. The Armenian Church was also 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, thus, 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
37.
Yazdegerd II
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Yazdegerd II, was the sixteenth Sasanian emperor of Iran. He was the successor and son of Bahram V and reigned from 438 to 457, at the start of his reign, he continued his father’s policies. However, after time, he turned away from these. Each age has its own customs, in 440, Yazdegerd II waged a war against the Roman Empire, with little success for either side. The Romans, however, were invaded in their provinces by the Vandals, Making the Roman Emperor, Theodosius II, ask for peace and send his commander, Anatolius. In the ensuing negotiations in 440, both empires promised not to any new fortifications in Mesopotamia and that the Sasanian Empire would get some payment. In 453, Yazdegerd II moved his court to Nishapur in Khorasan to face the threat from the Huns and he spent many years at war against the Huns. According to the Šahrestānīhā ī Ērānšahr, Yazdegerd fortified the city of Damghan, after his wars against the Huns, Yazdegerds shifted his focus on Armenia, Caucasian Albania and the Roman Empire. Yazdegerd was known for his religious zeal in promoting Zoroastrianism, leading to persecutions of Christians, mostly Assyrians, under his reign,153,000 Assyrians were massacred solely in one city, Kirkuk. Advancing his pro-Zoroastrian policy, he battled an uprising of Armenian Christians in the Battle of Avarayr in 451, in his later years, Yazdegerd became engaged again with the Kidarites until his death in 457. He pursued strict religious policies and persecuted various minorities, decline and Fall of the Sasanian Empire, The Sasanian-Parthian Confederacy and the Arab Conquest of Iran
38.
Vagharshapat
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Between 1945 and 1995, the city was officially known as Ejmiatsin which is still commonly used colloquially and in official bureaucracy. It is thus known as a holy city. The 1989 census counted the population of the city as 61,000, the number has declined somewhat since, showing 58,388 in the 2001 census, and 46,540 in 2011. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the area of Vagharshapat was known as Artimed, derived from the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi or Vardgesavan by prince Vardges Manouk who rebuilt the settlement near the shores of Kasagh River, during the reign of king Orontes I Sakavakyats of Armenia. However, in his first book Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius has cited to the city as Valashabad, the name evolved into its later form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh, which is common in the Armenian language. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the Town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by king Vagharsh I to become known as Noarakaghak, the territory of ancient Vagharshapat was inhabited since the 3rd millennium BC. Many sites, such as Metsamor Castle, Shresh hill and Mokhrablur hill date back to the neolithic period, the first written records about Vagharshapat were found in the inscriptions left by the Urartian king Rusa II, where it was mentioned as Kuarlini. The inscription found in the site of ancient Vagharshapat cites to a water canal opened by king Rusa II. According to Movses Khorenatsi, the oldest name of Vagharshapat was Artimed, derived from the ancient Greek deity Artemis. Later, it was renamed Avan Vardgesi or Vardgesavan after being rebuilt by prince Vardges Manouk near the shores of Kasagh River, under the reign of king Tigranes the Great, the town was partly inhabited by Jewish captives. In the first half of the 1st century AD, under the reign of the Armenian Arsacid king Vagharsh I of Armenia, in his first book Wars of Justinian, the Byzantine historian Procopius has cited to the city as Valashabad, named after king Valash of Armenia. The name evolved into its form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh. Movses Khorenatsi mentioned that the Town of Vardges was entirely rebuilt and fenced by king Vagharsh I to become known as Noarakaghak, Vagharshapat has served as the capital of the Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia between 120 AD and 330 AD. As a spiritual centre of the entire Armenian nation, Vagharshapat has grown up rapidly and developed as an important centre of education, the city was home to one of the oldest educational institutions in Armenia founded by Mesrop Mashtots. The political capital of the Armenian kingdom was transferred to the city of Dvin in 336, Vagharshapat maintained its status as the countrys most important city until the fall of the Arsacid Kingdom in 428. The city has gradually lost its importance under the Persian rule, however, the first manuscript library in Armenia was founded in 480 in Vagharshapat. In 491, Catholicos Babken I of Armenia, along with the Albanian and Iberian bishops met in Vagharshapat, in 658 AD, Vagharshapat, along with the rest of the Ancient Armenian Highland, was conquered by the Arabs
39.
Dvin (ancient city)
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For the modern-day village in the Republic of Armenia, see Dvin. Dvin was a commercial city and the capital of early medieval Armenia. It was situated north of the ancient capital of Armenia. The site of the ancient city is not much more than a large hill located between modern Hnaberd and Verin Dvin, Armenia. Systematic excavations at Dvin that have proceeded since 1937 have produced an abundance of materials, ancient Armenian literary sources almost always give the name of the ancient city of Dvin as Dwin or Duin. Later authors favored the Dvin appellation, which is the most common form given in scholarly literature, the word is of Middle Iranian origin, and means hill. The ancient city of Dvin was built by Khosrov III of Armenia in 335 on a site of an ancient settlement, since then, the city had been used as the primary residence of the Armenian Kings of the Arsacid dynasty. Dvin boasted a population of about 100,000 citizens in various professions, including arts and crafts, trade, fishing, under Arsacid rule, Dvin prospered as one of the most populous and wealthiest cities east of Constantinople. According to Sebeos and Catholicos John V the Historian, Dvin was captured in 640 during the reign of Constans II, during the Arab conquest of Armenia, Dvin was captured and pillaged in 640, in the first raids. On January 6,642 the Arabs stormed and took the city, slaughtered 12,000 of its inhabitants, Dvin became the center of the province of Arminiya, the Arabs called the city Dabil. Although Armenia was a battleground between Arabs and Byzantine forces for the two centuries, in the 9th century it still flourished. Frequent earthquakes and continued Arab oppression led to the decline of the city from the beginning of the 10th century, during a major earthquake in 893, the city was destroyed, along with most of its 70,000 inhabitants. In 1064, the Seljuks occupied the city, the Shaddadids continued to rule the city as Seljuk vassals until the Georgian King George III conquered the city in 1173. In 1201-1203, during the reign of Queen Tamar, the city was again under Georgian rule, in 1236, the city was completely destroyed by Mongols. Saladin was born in Tikrit, Iraq, but his family had originated from the ancient city of Dvin, situated in the central square of the ancient city was the Cathedral of Saint Grigor. It was originally constructed in the 3rd century as a pagan temple with seven pairs of interior structural supports. The temple was rebuilt in the 4th century as a Christian church, in the middle of the 5th century, an exterior arched gallery was added to the existing structure. At the time that the cathedral was built, it was the largest in Armenia, ornate decorations adorned the interior and the exterior of the building
40.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
41.
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
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It was established in December 1920, when the Soviets took over control of the short-lived First Republic of Armenia and lasted until 1991. On August 23,1990, it was renamed the Republic of Armenia after its sovereignty was declared and its independence was recognized on 26 December 1991 when the Soviet Union ceased to exist. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the state of the post-Union Republic of Armenia existed until the adoption of the new constitution in 1995, the modern Armenian Hayastan derives from earlier Armenian Hayk’ and Persian -stān. Hayk’ derives from Old Armenian Haykʿ, traditionally derived from a legendary patriarch named Hayk, aram above was considered to be one of his descendants. Officially, the name of the republic was the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic as defined by the 1937 and 1978 constitutions. From 1828 with the Treaty of Turkmenchay to the October Revolution in 1917, Eastern Armenia was part of the Russian Empire, after the October Revolution, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenins government announced that minorities in the empire could pursue a course of self-determination. Following the collapse of the empire, in May 1918 Armenia, a number of Armenians joined the advancing 11th Soviet Red Army. The medieval Armenian capital of Ani, as well as the icon of the Armenian people Mount Ararat, were located in the ceded area. Additionally, Joseph Stalin, then acting Commissar for Nationalities, granted the areas of Nakhchivan, the republic began under the name the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia in 1920. From March 12,1922 to December 5,1936, Armenia was a part of the Transcaucasian SFSR together with the Georgian SSR, the Red Army, which was campaigning in Georgia at the time, returned to suppress the revolt and drove its leaders out of Armenia. With the introduction of the New Economic Policy, Armenians began to enjoy a period of relative stability, life under the Soviet rule proved to be a soothing balm in contrast to the turbulent final years of the Ottoman Empire. The Armenians received medicine, food, as well as other provisions from the central government, the situation was difficult for the Armenian Apostolic Church, however, which became a regular target of criticism in educational books and in the media and struggled greatly under Communism. After the death of Vladimir Lenin in January 1924, there was a power struggle in the Soviet Union. Armenian society and its economy were changed by Stalin and his fellow Moscow policymakers, in 1936, the TSFSR was dissolved under Stalins orders and the socialist republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia were established instead. For the Armenian people, conditions grew worse under Stalins rule, in a period of twenty-five years, Armenia was industrialized and educated under strictly prescribed conditions, and nationalism was harshly suppressed. Stalin took several measures in persecuting the Armenian Church, already weakened by the Armenian Genocide, in the 1920s, the private property of the church was confiscated and priests were harassed. Soviet assaults against the Armenian Church accelerated under Stalin, beginning in 1929, in 1932, Khoren Muradpekyan became known as Khoren I and assumed the title of His Holiness the Catholicos. However, in the late 1930s, the Soviets renewed their attacks against the Church and this culminated in the murder of Khoren in 1938 as part of the Great Purge, and the closing of the Catholicosate of Echmiatsin on August 4,1938
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