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Armenia |
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The Republic of Armenia, or Armenia
(Armenian: Հայաստան, Hayastan, Հայք, Hayq), is a
landlocked country in the southern Caucasus,
between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea,
bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the
north, Azerbaijan to the east and Iran (Persia)
and the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan to the
south. Armenia is a member of the Council of
Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent
States and for centuries has been on the
crossroads between the West and East.
Origin of the name
The original Armenian name for the country was
Hayq, later Hayastan, translated as the land of
Haik, and consisting of the name Haik and the
Persian suffix '-stan' (land). According to
legend, Haik was a great-great-grandson of Noah
(son of Togarmah, who was a son of Gomer, a son
of Noah's son, Japheth), and according to an
ancient Armenian tradition, a forefather of all
Armenians. He is said to have settled below
Mount Ararat, travelled to assist in building
the Tower of Babel, and, after his return,
defeated the Babylonian king Bel (believed by
some researchers to be Nimrod) on August 11,
2492 BC near Lake Van, in the southern part of
historic Armenia (presently in Turkey).
Hayq was given the name Armenia by the
surrounding states, as it was the name of the
strongest tribe living in the historic Armenian
lands, who called themselves Armens. It is
traditionally derived from Armenak or Aram (the
great-grandson of Haik's great-grandson, and
another leader who is, according to Armenian
tradition, the ancestor of all Armenians). Some
Jewish and Christian scholars write that the
name 'Armenia' was derived from Har-Minni, that
is 'Mountains of Minni' (or Mannai).
Pre-Christian accounts suggest that Nairi,
meaning land of rivers, was an ancient name for
the country's mountainous region, first used by
Assyrians around 1200 BC; while the first
recorded inscription bearing the name Armenia,
namely the Behistun Inscription in Iran, dates
from 521 BC.
History
Main article: History of Armenia
Armenia has been populated by humans since
prehistoric times, and has been proposed as the
site of the Biblical Garden of Eden.
Armenia was a regional empire with a rich
culture in the years leading up to the 1st
century, spanning from the shores of the Black
Sea to the Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
during the rule of Tigranes the Great.
Armenia's strategic location between two
continents has subjected it to invasions by many
peoples, including the Assyrians, Persians,
Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Turks and Mongols.
In AD 301, Armenia became the first state to
adopt Christianity as its official state
religion, twelve years before the Roman Empire
granted Christianity official toleration under
Galerius, and some 30-40 years before
Constantine was baptised. There had been various
pagan communities before Christianity, but they
were converted by an influx of Christian
missionaries.
Having changed between various dynasties --
including Parthian (Iranian), Roman, Arab,
Mongol and Persian occupations -- Armenia was
substantially weakened. In 1500's, the Ottoman
Empire and Safavid Persia divided Armenia among
themselves.
In 1813 and 1828, present-day Armenia
(consisting of the Erivan and Karabakh khanates
within Persia) was temporarily incorporated into
the Russian Empire. After a short-lived
independent republic established after the
Bolshevik Revolution in Petrograd, Armenia was
incorporated into the USSR. Between 1922 and
1936 it existed as the Transcaucasian Soviet
Federated Socialist Republic (with Georgia,
Armenia, and Azerbaijan), and from 1936 to 1991
as the Armenian SSR.
During the final years of the Ottoman Empire
(1915-1922), a large proportion of Armenians
living in Anatolia perished as a result of what
is termed the Armenian Genocide, regarded by
Armenians and the vast majority of Western
historians to have been state-sponsored mass
killings. Turkish authorities, however, maintain
that the deaths were a result of a civil war
coupled with disease and famine, with casualties
incurred by both sides. Most estimates for the
number of Armenians killed range from 650,000 to
1,500,000, and these events are traditionally
commemorated yearly on April 24. Armenians and a
handful of other countries worldwide have been
campaigning for official recognition of the
events as genocide for over 30 years, but there
are also many countries who are pressured not to
officially characterize the Armenian massacres
as Genocide.
Armenia remained preoccupied by a long conflict
with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mostly
Armenian-populated enclave that, Armenians
allege, Stalin had placed in Soviet Azerbaijan.
A military conflict between Armenia and
Azerbaijan began in 1988, and the fighting
escalated after both countries gained
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By
May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian
forces controlled not only Nagorno-Karabakh but
also the surrounding districts of Azerbaijan
proper. The economies of both countries have
been hurt in the absence of a peaceful
resolution.
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Background:
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Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to
formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century).
Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries
Armenia came under the sway of various empires
including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and
Ottoman. It was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and
the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain
preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim
Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily
Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet
Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and
Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the
struggle escalated after both countries attained
independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May
1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces
held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a
significant portion of Azerbaijan proper. The
economies of both sides have been hurt by their
inability to make substantial progress toward a
peaceful resolution. |
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Location:
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Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey |
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Geographic coordinates:
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40 00
N, 45 00 E
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Map references:
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Asia
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Area:
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total: 29,800 sq km
water: 1,400 sq km
land: 28,400 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Maryland |
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Climate:
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highland continental, hot summers, cold winters
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Terrain:
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Armenian Highland with mountains; little forest
land; fast flowing rivers; good soil in Aras River
valley |
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Nationality:
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noun: Armenian(s)
adjective: Armenian |
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Ethnic groups:
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Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly
Yezidi Kurds) 4% (2002)
note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all
Azeris had emigrated from Armenia |
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Religions:
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Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi
(Zoroastrian/animist) 2% |
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Languages:
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Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2% |
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Currency:
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dram
(AMD) |
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Currency code:
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AMD
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Exchange rates:
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drams
per US dollar - 564.08 (January 2002), 555.08
(2001), 539.53 (2000), 535.06 (1999), 504.92 (1998),
490.85 (1997) |
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