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History of Armenia

The history of Armenia covers the topics related to the history of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the Armenian people, the Armenian language, and the regions of Eurasia historically and geographically considered Armenian.[1]

For the book, see History of Armenia (book). For a timeline, see Timeline of Armenian history.

Armenia is located between Eastern Anatolia and the Armenian highlands,[1] surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat. The endonym of the Armenians is hay, and the old Armenian name for the country is Hayk' (Armenian: Հայք, which also means "Armenians" in Classical Armenian), later Hayastan (Armenian: Հայաստան).[1] Armenians traditionally associate this name with the legendary progenitor of the Armenian people, Hayk. The names Armenia and Armenian are exonyms, first attested in the Behistun Inscription of Darius the Great. The early Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi derived the name Armenia from Aramaneak, the eldest son of the legendary Hayk.[2] Various theories exist about the origin of the endonym and exonyms of Armenia and Armenians (see Name of Armenia).


In the Bronze Age, several states flourished in the Armenian highlands, including the Hittite Empire (at the height of its power), Mitanni (southwestern historical Armenia), and Hayasa-Azzi (1600–1200 BC). Soon after the Hayasa-Azzi were the Nairi tribal confederation (1400–1000 BC) and the Kingdom of Urartu (1000–600 BC). Each of the aforementioned nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people.[3][4] Yerevan, the modern capital of Armenia, dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I at the western extreme of the Ararat plain.[5] Erebuni has been described as "designed as a great administrative and religious centre, a fully royal capital."[6]


The Iron Age kingdom of Urartu was replaced by the Orontid dynasty, which ruled Armenia first as satraps under Achaemenid Persian rule and later as independent kings.[7][8] Following Persian and subsequent Macedonian rule, the Kingdom of Greater Armenia was established in 190 BC by Artaxias I, founder of the Artaxiad dynasty. The Kingdom of Armenia rose to the peak of its influence in the 1st century BC under Tigranes the Great before falling under Roman suzerainty.[9] In the 1st century AD, a branch of the ruling Arsacid dynasty of the Parthian Empire established itself on the throne of Armenia.


In the early 4th century, Arsacid Armenia became the first state to accept Christianity as its state religion. The Armenians later fell under Byzantine, Sassanid Persian, and Islamic hegemony, but reinstated their independence with the Bagratid kingdom of Armenia in the 9th century. After the fall of the kingdom in 1045, and the subsequent Seljuk conquest of Armenia in 1064, the Armenians established a kingdom in Cilicia, which existed until its destruction in 1375.[10]


In the early 16th century, much of Armenia came under Safavid Persian rule; however, over the centuries Western Armenia fell under Ottoman rule, while Eastern Armenia remained under Persian rule.[11] By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia was conquered by Russia and Greater Armenia was divided between the Ottoman and Russian empires.[12]


In the early 20th century, the Ottoman government subjected the Armenians to a genocide in which up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed and many more were dispersed throughout the world via Syria and Lebanon. In 1918, an independent Republic of Armenia was established in Eastern Armenia in the wake of the collapse of the Russian Empire. This republic fell under Soviet rule in 1920, and Armenia became a republic within the Soviet Union after its founding. In 1991, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the modern-day independent Republic of Armenia was established.[13][14][15]

Armenian Resistance During the Armenian Genocide

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

History of Georgia (country)

History of Iran

History of Nagorno-Karabakh

History of Russia

History of the Caucasus

History of Western Asia

List of Armenian Kings

List of Armenian territories and states

List of Patriarchs of Armenia

Politics of Armenia

President of Armenia

Timeline of Armenian history

Timeline of Armenian national movement

Timeline of modern Armenian history

Zakarid Armenia

Gasimov, Zaur (2011), , EGO - European History Online, Mainz: Institute of European History, retrieved: March 25, 2021 (pdf).

The Caucasus

(2014). Historic Maps of Armenia: The Cartographic Heritage. Print info. London. ISBN 978-1-908755-20-9. OCLC 893915777.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Galichian, Rouben

Stopka, Krzysztof (2016). . Kraków: Jagiellonian University Press. ISBN 9788323395553.

Armenia Christiana: Armenian Religious Identity and the Churches of Constantinople and Rome (4th–15th century)

. Black Garden. NYU (2003). ISBN 0-8147-1945-7

de Waal, Thomas

Khudaverdyan, Anahit Yu. "." Anthropological Review 78.2 (2015): 213–228.

Palaeopathology of human remains of the 1st century BC–3rd century AD from Armenia (Beniamin, Shirakavan I)

Archived 24 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Arak29 Origins of Armenian people (Arm.)

Archived 28 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine

Arak29 Origins of Armenian people (Eng.)

(book by Vahan Kurkjian)

History of Armenia

Archived 3 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine (ancient history)

Armenia at Livius.Org

from 1827, via the World Digital Library

"History of Armenia, by Father Michael Chamich; from B. C. 2247 to the Year of Christ 1780, or 1229 of the Armenian Era"

(by Robert Bedrosian)

Armenian Historical Sources

(by Dicran E. Siramarc)

Armenia and the Pontus

list of rulers for Armenia

Rulers.org — Armenia

Background Note: Armenia

Minasyan, Sergey: "Armenia's Attitude Towards its Past: History and Politics" in the

Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 8

Ter-Gabrielyan, Gevorg: "The Archeology of Future Literature: Digging out Prose from Independent Armenia's History" in the

Caucasus Analytical Digest No. 14