REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

Short Form: Armenia

Geography
Location: Southwestern Asia
Armenia is east of Turkey and bordered by 3 countries: Turkey, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

Area
Admin Regions by Area

Total: 29,800 sq km
Land: 28,400 sq km
Water: 1,400 sq km

Population
Population by Administrative Regions

Total: 3,326,448
Ethnic groups: Armenian 93%, Azeri 1%, Russian 2%, other (mostly Yezidi Kurds) 4% note: as of the end of 1993, virtually all Azeris had emigrated from Armenia
Religions: Armenian Apostolic 94%, other Christian 4%, Yezidi (Zoroastrian/animist) 2%
Languages: Armenian 96%, Russian 2%, other 2%

Principal Cities
Cities Ranked by Population

Capital: Yerevan

ARMENIA

Armenia is a geographical region where the Armenian people were shared as a nation and lived over centuries to present day, thus creating a vast and rich heritage of unique history and culture. Greek historians named Armenia as such about 3,000 years ago. The first signs of Armenia can be traced in Sumerian cuneiform inscreiptions dating back to III millennium BC and the Hittites testify to the existence of a country called Hayasa, which is believed to be the cradles of Armenians. According to Assyro-Babylonian cuneiform inscriptions (13-7 cc. BC) Armenia was also called Nairi (country of rivers) which consisted of kingdoms consisting of over 60 tribes. According to the Bible, Armenia was called the Ararat Kingdom. Archeological excavations have revealed a unique and highly developed civilization in the kingdom Urartu (Ararat). A proof of that civilization is the town-fortress of Erebouni founded in 782 BC on the territory of Armenia's present capital city Yerevan. The Armenian kingdom again emenged in the region after the fall of the Urartu kingdom. Armenians are descendants of a branch of Indo-Europeans. As international trade became more active in the Hellenistic period, Armenia began trading with neighbouring and faraway countries and serving as a transit route for those countries. Many Armenian towns were founded during this period. Being on the crossroads of East and West, Armenia has always played the role of a connecting bridge in the region. One of the famous Silk Roads crossed Armenia. This favorable geographic position adversely affected Armenia, making it in apple of discord between competing powers. In 301, Armenia adopted Christianity thus becoming the first country in the world to proclaim it as a state religion (note that Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire in 313 by the Edict of Milan). The history of Christianity in Armenia refers to the time when Noah's Ark landed on Mt.Ararat. It continued through the times when Christ's Apostles St.Thaddeus and Bartholomew preached in Armenia around 100 AD and during the era of illumination with St.Gregory. Grigor Partev (later to be known as Saint Gregory) being of Parthian origin and raised in Caesarea, converted to Christianity to atone his father's sins. In attempting to establish Christianity in Armenia, Grigor was tortured and imprisoned by King Trdat, a fervent pagan. He spent twelve years in an underground cell at Khor Virap, when the king finally, sick with madness, released him on the request of his sister. In 301 AD, Grigor, renamed as St.Gregory the Illuminator, is said to have cured Trdat of his madness, who in turn converted the country's religion to Christianity. The Holy event of the 1700th anniversary of Christianity in Armenia was celebrated in 2001. The invention of the Armenian alphabet in 405 by Mesrop Mashtots is also a landmark in the millennial history of the Armenian people. In 451, with great heroism and heavy losses, Armenian troops won a victory over a 220,000 strong Persian army in the battle of Avarair. A lengthy national liberation movement ebded with the victory of Armenians and in 859 Ashot Bagratouni was recognized Prince of Princes and in 885 he was granted the title of Armenian King. From mid-IX century a notable rise was marked in the country's economic, spiritual, cultural and political life. Fortress of Ani, founded in the V century, became the nation's capital in 961 and became known as the town of "thousand and one churches". While Armenia lost sovereignty, another Armenian kingdom, Cilicia, rose on the southern costs of the Mediterranean and lasted about 300 years (1080-1375). In 1198 it was recognized as a sovereign kingdom by Byzantium. During 300 years of existence the Cilician kingdom seldom enjoyed peaceful days. Yet the Cilician kingdom left a rich cultural heritage of architecture, literature and manuscripts. After the fall of the Tatar Empire, the invasions into Armenia continued. The troops of Lenk Timur (Tamerlane, 1386) and Persian Shah Abbas the Great (1604) invaded Armenia devastating the country. After a long struggle in 1639 Western Armenia succumbed to Turkey and Eastern Armenia to Persian Empire. This predicament lasted until the 20s of the XIX century. In 1828 the Turkmenchay agreement finally united Eastern Armenia and the Western Armenian district of Kars to Russia. This was one of the consequences of the Russian-Turkish war 1877-1878. On May 28, 1918, Armenia declared its Independence. In 1920 Armenia became a Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991 Armenia regained Independence and has been flourishing as an Independent state with a democratic form of government.