ARMENIA.
Begins in the Fourth Century (§ 1).
The Armenian Alphabet. Translations (§ 2).
Original Armenian Literature. Moses of Chorene (§ 3).
The Eighth and Succeeding Centuries (§ 4). III. The Armenian Church.
Legends (§ 1).
Armenia is a country situated in western Asia between the Black and Caspian Seas and the Taurus and Caucasus Mountains. In its widest extent it lay between 37 and 49° east longitude, 37° 30' and 41° 45' north latitude. The Euphrates divided it into Great and Little Armenia, respectively east and west of the river. It is a lofty mountain-land with extensive plains, including the head waters of the Cyrus (Kur) and Araxes (Aras), which flow northward to the Caspian Sea, as well as of the Euphrates and Tigris. The mountains are well wooded and enclose deep and fruitful valleys. The winters are severe with much snow, the summers dry and
Gregory the Illuminator (§2).
History to 600 (§ 3).
To 1166 (§ 4).
Negotiations for Union with Rome
and the Greek Church (§ 5). From 1600 (§ 6). The Armenian Uniates (§ 7). The Evangelical Armenians (§ S). Armenians in America (§ 9).
hot. The native geographers regarded their land as the middle of the world.
I. History: The older history of Armenia is learned from Assyrian accounts and native cuneiform inscriptions. The Assyrians called the country Urartu (see Assyria), corresponding to the Biblical land or kingdom of Ararat (II Kings xix. 37; Isa. xxxvii. 38; Jer. Ii. 27). The native name for the people is Chaldini from Chaldis, their chief god. The oldest inhabitants are distinguished from the later by their language, which is allied to the Ural-Altaic family. Originally living east of Lake Van, the Urarteans pressed to the south and east and founded a kingdom as rivals of the Assyr-
RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Aries Armenia
ians. Their capital was the well-fortified gardencity Van-Tuspa. The temple of the national god Chaldis became the center of the theoi. The Old cratically organized kingdom. By Armenian means of the Menuas canal (at Kingdom — present the Shamiram Su), King Mento6oo B.C. uas supplied his city with water. Under his son, Argistis I., against whom Shalmaneser III. (783-773 B.C.) had to fight six times, the kingdom reached its height, but Tiglath-Pileser soon made an end to its glory and in 735 B.C. the capital Tuspa was destroyed. The weakened kingdom, nevertheless, continued in constant enmity with the Assyrians. Thither the sons and murderers of Sennacherib fled in 681. B.C. In the course of time better relations were brought about between the two kingdoms, and till 640 b.c. ambassadors of the king of Urartu went to Nineveh. The prophet Jeremiah is the last who mentions the kingdom, and after this it disappears from history (cf. C. F. Lehmann, Das vorarmenische Reichvon Van, in the Deutsche Rundschau, 1894- 95, pp. 353-369; also articles by Lehmann and W. Belck in Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, xxiv., 1892, 122-152, Zeitschrift fiir Assyriologie, vii., 1892, 255-267, Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft fiir Anthropologic, xxv., 1893, (61)-(82), and following years).
The advance of Indo-Germanic tribes in the sixth century b.c. added greatly to the population of Armenia. The Persians and Greeks 2. Indo- called this new element Armenians, Germanic whereas the people call themselves Immigra- Hayk, (plural of Hay) and their tion. The country Hayastan, claiming a mythical Armenians. Hayk as their ancestor. The newly immigrated Indo-Germanic tribes absorbed the aborigines. The Armenians were at first under Median, afterward under Persian sway. They took part in the general revolt under Darius I. (after 521 b.c), but, five times defeated, they remained quiet under the Achsemenidse. In the time of Xenophon, Armenia was divided into an eastern and western satrapy. It reached the zenith of its power under Tigranes I. (about 90-55 B.C.), a descendant of Artaxias. He extended the bounds of his kingdom, and took the title of King of Kings, but in 66 b.c. Armenia was reduced to its old limits. From that time on the kingdom leaned either toward the Parthians or Romans, till it became a Roman province under Trajan (114-117).
The overthrow of the Parthian Arsacidae and the establishment of the rule of the Sassanidee in Persia in 226 was of great importance for 3- The Per- Armenia. As relatives of the desian Period, throned legitimate heirs, the Arme- 226-642. nian princes were the sworn enemies of the Persian kings. In 238 the Armenian King Chosrov was murdered at the instigation of the Persians. During the following disturbances the latter succeeded in occupying the country temporarily and forcing upon it the hated Mazdaism, till in 261, by the victory of Odenathus 01 Palmyra, the country received its freedom. The king's son Trdat (Tiridates), who had fled to K-oman territory, restored the kingdom and main- I.-19
tained it in the closest connection wth Rome and in continual struggle with the Persians. The conversion of the king and people to Christianity necessitated a policy friendly to Rome, which came to an end by the unhappy issue of Julian's campaign and the disgraceful peace of Jovian, 363. The Persians occupied Armenia and King Arsaces (Arshak) was made a prisoner. Valens, perceiving the great mistake, made Arshak's son Pap king (367-374). But the nobility and priests had the upper hand. From 378 to 385 the kingdom was governed by the clerically inclined Manuel the Mamikonian. In 387 Theodosius the Great divided the kingdom with the Persians; the Romans received a piece of the West with Garin (Theodosiopolis), but four-fifths of Armenia came to Persia. Till 428 nominal Armenian kings ruled under Persian supremacy; then marzbans (" frontier-governors ") were appointed, some of whom were Armenians. On the whole, the Persians showed great consideration for the country. Many revolts favoring the Byzantines were unsuccessful, but after the Emperor Maurice reinstalled Chosrov Parvez in 591, the latter peacefully ceded almost all Armenia to the empire. With the rise of the Mohammedan power it fell under Arab rule.
The first century of the califs was an epoch of
national and literary development, and Ashot I.,
Bagratuni, belonging to an ancient
4. The Armenian dynasty, succeeded in 855
Califs and in becoming the prince of princes the Inroads and in obtaining in 885 the royal of the Turks crown from the calif. The new
— to 1 38 1. kingdom comprised not only Armenia, but also Albania and Iberia (Georgia). In 913 it became free, but was divided into petty kingdoms, of which that of the Artsrunians of Vaspurakan was the most important. Afraid of the aggressive Seljuks, Senekherim, the last Artsrunian, ceded his kingdom in 1021, and Gagik the Bagratunian in 1041, to the Byzantines, but they, too, could not withstand the great danger. The systematic cruel devastation of the country by the hordes of the Seljuks gave the deathblow to the political life and civilization of the Armenians at home. During these campaigns many Armenians withdrew to the Taurus and Cilicia. In 1080 a certain Rupen, probably a Bagratide, founded a small kingdom and a new dynasty (Rupenides). His brave successors conquered all Cilicia. With Byzantium they were not on friendly terms, but their relation to the states of the crusaders was close. Levon II. was crowned king in 1198. The Rupenides were followed in 1342 by the Lusinians of Cyprus. In connection with the Mongols and the West, the kingdom tried to withstand the assault of the Egyptian Mamelukes. But in 1375 King Levon VI. had to give up his last fortress. He died at Paris in 1381. From that time on the Armenians have never had an independent kingdom.
II. Literature: An Armenian literature commences with the introduction of the Armenian writing. Until the fourth century they wrote Syriac, Greek, or Persian. Armenian works said to belong to this early time, are partly translations,
Armenia