Portal:Armenia

WikiPortal Armenia / ՎիկիՊորտալ Հայաստան

Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստան, Hayastan, Հայք, Hayq), officially the Republic of Armenia, is a country in Eurasia (Eastern Europe/Western Asia) to the east of the Black Sea, located in the South Caucasus. A former republic of the Soviet Union, it shares borders with Georgia in the North, Turkey in the West, Iran in the South, and Azerbaijan in the East. Armenia has both a rich culture and history and takes its place as one of the oldest civilizations in the world, dating back to Biblical Noah and his Ark. Armenia was first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion in AD 301. Since then, the Armenian people have identified strongly with their Christian faith.

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The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian: Հայկական Սովետական Սոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն; Russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика) was the name of Armenia when it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union. From March 12, 1922 to December 5, 1936 it was part of the Transcaucasian SFSR together with the Georgian SSR and the Azerbaijan SSR. Armenians enjoyed a period of relative stability under Soviet rule. Life under the Soviet Union 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 Moscow. Additionally, the Armenian alphabet was reformed to increase literacy among the populace. The situation was difficult for the church which struggled under Communism.

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The Coat of Arms of Armenia

The Coat of Arms of Armenia consists of an eagle and a lion supporting a shield. The coat of arms combines new and old symbols. The eagle and lion are ancient Armenian symbols dating from the first Armenian kingdoms that existed prior to Christ. The shield itself consists of many components. In the center is a depiction of Mount Ararat, where Noah's ark came to rest after the great flood. Surrounding Mount Ararat are symbols of old Armenian dynasties. In the lower left is the emblem of the Artaxiad Dynasty that ruled in the 1st century BC. In the upper left is the emblem for the Bagratuni dynasty that ruled during the Middle Ages, between 7th and 11th centuries. That dynasty was destroyed by the Byzantine Empire's encroachment and by Seljuk invasions in the 11th century AD. In the upper right is the emblem of the first dynasty to reign over a Christian Armenia, the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia. This dynasty ruled from the 1st century AD to 428 AD. In the lower right is the emblem of the Rubenid dynasty. This dynasty reigned in Lesser Armenia (also known as Cilicia), a state that expanded and prospered during the 12th and 13th centuries, until the Mamelukes and Turks eventually conquered it.

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Selected biography

Coin of Tigranes II. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΤΙΓΡΑΝΟΥ ("[coin] of King Tigranes").

Tigranes the Great (Armenian: Տիգրան Մեծ, translit. Tigran Mets or Dikran Medz ) (ruled 95 BCE-55 BCE) (also called Tigranes II and sometimes Tigranes I) was a king of Armenia. Tigranes was born around 140 BCE and was the son or nephew of Artavasdes I.

Tigranes had been a hostage until the age of 40 at the court of King Mithradates II of Parthia who defeated the Armenians in 105 BCE. After the death of King Tigranes I in 95 BCE, Tigranes bought his freedom by handing over "seventy valleys" in Atropatene (Azerbaijan) to the Parthians (Strabo 11.14.15). He deposed Artanes, the last king of Armenian Sophene and a descendant of Zariadres (Strabo XI. 532). He invaded Cappadocia in 93 BCE on behalf of Mithradates II, but was driven back by Sulla in 92 BCE.

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Did you know...

...that as his last words before succumbing to wounds caused by an assassination by political rivals, Arpiar Arpiarian, who is considered the founder of realism in modern Armenian literature, uttered the words "I am Armenian"?

...that the medieval Noraduz cemetery contains the largest cluster of khachkars (stone crosses) in Armenia?

...that the Akhtala monastery was originally an Armenian Apostolic monastery that was converted into an Eastern Orthodox monastery in the 1200s?

...that in 362 AD, the rhetorician Prohaeresius, a friend of the pagan Emperor, was allowed to keep his teaching post in spite of a ban on Christians but resigned in protest?

...that the first three Ministers of the Privy Treasury of the Ottoman Empire were Armenian, the first being Hagop Kazazian Pasha?

...that Ani, a medieval city once rivaling Constantinople, was ransacked by Mongols and now stands in ruin?

...that Tigranakert was a center of Armenian culture until the Armenian Genocide of 1915, when the population was eradicated and replaced by Kurds?

...that Haghpat Monastery (pictured) in Armenia was placed on the World Heritage List over 1,000 years after it was founded?

...that Trdat the Architect reconstructed the dome of the Hagia Sophia in 989 and built the Cathedral of Ani?

...that the Armenian oil magnate Alexander Mantashev hand picked fifty talented young Armenians and sent them to study at the best universities of Europe and Russia?

...that one of the finest khachkar memorial stones is located at Goshavank Monastery in Armenia, the place where the law of Armenia was first codified by Mkhitar Gosh in the late 12th and early 13th century?

...that the vestry of Makaravank Monastery (pictured) in Armenia served two adjacent churches?

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Armenia news

News from Armenia

March 4: Fierce fighting between Azerbaijani and Karabakh Armenian forces occurred in northeastern Nagorno-Karabakh, reported to be the most serious ceasefire violation in months.(AHN)
March 4: Orinants Erkir leader Artur Baghdasarian blames former president Levon Ter-Petrossian for the political unrest in Armenia.(ArmeniaLiberty)
March 4: Broadcasts of Radio Free Europe have been suspended in Armenia as part of the ongoing state of emergency. (International Herald Tribune)
March 4: The United Nations urges an end to the state of emergency in Armenia. (ArmeniaLiberty)
March 4: Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has expressed "his support to the people and authorities of Armenia" (The Messenger)
March 3: Human Rights Watch demands a "prompt and independent investigation" into the political unrest in Armenia. (ArmeniaLiberty)
March 3: The OSCE has called for "political dialogue" in Armenia. (ArmeniaLiberty)
March 3: Armenian police have arrested 30 opposition activists accused of causing political unrest. (BBC)
March 3: The Armenian Revolutionary Federation blames former president Levon Ter-Petrossian for the political unrest in Armenia. (ArmeniaLiberty)
March 2: Eight people have been killed in the post-election unrest between Armenian authorities and the opposition. (EurasiaNet.org)
March 1: Armenian President Robert Kocharian declares a state of emergency following political unrest in Yerevan. (BBC)
March 1: The Armenian police broke up opposition rallies held by former president Levon Ter-Petrossian. (ArmeniaLiberty)
February 29: Orinants Erkir leader Artur Baghdasarian agrees to join a coalition government with president-elect Serzh Sargsyan.(ArmeniaLiberty)