Armenia is a landlocked country located in Western Asia with a rich history and culture. It was the first country in the world to establish Christianity as the state religion and one of the countries that became independent after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Its capital is Yerevan, and the official language is Armenian, where Armenian is used. Its flag is the red, blue-orange tricolor, and its emblem is an eagle with wings spread. Its main holidays are Genocide Day, Republic Day and Independence Day. Its largest lake is Lake Sevan, which is also one of the highest freshwater lakes in the world. ¹²
Yerevan
The history of Armenia can be divided into the following periods:
- Early History: The history of Armenia dates back 2,500 years, and traditionally Armenia's territory was in today's Caucasus and eastern Turkey. The original name of Armenia was Khaik, meaning land of the Hayiks. In 585 BC, the Oronds began to rule Armenia until 191 BC. In 331 BC, Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of the Achaemenid Empire, a state founded by the Persians, and Armenia became part of the Macedonian Empire from a province of Persia. With Alexander's death, the Macedonian Empire was divided into three parts, of which Armenia belonged to the Seleucid Empire. ¹
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- Classical period and Persian rule: The earliest dynasty in Armenia was the Orontid Dynasty, which ruled Armenia from 585 BC until it was replaced by the Artaxiad Dynasty established by Artashes I in 191 BC. During this period, Armenia was a province of the Persian Empire until 331 BC, when Alexander the Great conquered Persia and incorporated Armenia into the Macedonian Empire. After Alexander's death, the Macedonian Empire split into three kingdoms, of which Armenia belonged to the territory of the Seleucid Empire. In 198 BC, the Seleucid Empire was defeated by the Roman Empire, and Armenia took the opportunity to free itself from Seleucid control. The Artakshire dynasty was at its peak from 95 to 65 BC under Tigranes the Great, who established Armenia as one of the great powers of Western Asia, encompassing parts of present-day the Caspian Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and Egypt. However, this dynasty was soon defeated by Rome and the Parthian Empire, and Armenia became a Roman protectorate. Armenia in the east established the Arsacid Dynasty in 64 AD and became a vassal state of Parthia. In 224 AD, the Sassanid dynasty replaced Parthia and brutally persecuted Armenia, trying to force them to convert to Zoroastrianism. In order to maintain their Christian faith and national identity, the Armenians declared Christianity the state religion in 301 AD, becoming the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as the official religion. In 405 AD, Saint Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet, which enabled Armenians to write their own language and culture. In 428 AD, the Arshak dynasty collapsed, and eastern Armenia was directly ruled by the Sassanid dynasty for more than 200 years. During this period, they staged two revolts against the Persians (450 and 482), which failed, but won a degree of autonomy and religious freedom.
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- Middle Ages: After the war between Byzantium and the Persian Sassanid dynasty in 602-628, both countries were devastated. This allowed Arab Muslims to successfully invade Byzantine territories in the Middle East and North Africa and to begin the Islamic conquest of Persia (633-654). After the fall of the Sassanid dynasty, the Armenians began to come under the rule of the Umayyad Muslims, and the Arabs forced the Armenians to convert to Islam, but without success; In 885 Ashute I re-established the Baghratid dynasty in the Armenian kingdom. The Byzantine Empire expanded under Basil II (976-1025) and gradually annexed the Kingdom of Armenia. In 1045, the capital of Ani, Bagradid, was occupied by the Byzantine army, and the Armenian kingdom once again perished. The Armenian plateau was once again ruled by foreign peoples. In the late ninth century, the Seljuks invaded the Armenian plateau, and some Armenian refugees fled to Chiriquia on the eastern Mediterranean, establishing the Kingdom of Chiriquia Armenia (1080-1375). Chiriquia maintained friendly relations with the Crusader states through marriage, and the Crusaders also assisted Armenia in resisting the Byzantines and Turks. In the 12th century, as the Mongols occupied large territories from Central Asia to the Middle East, Chiriquia allied with the Mongols against the Muslims, especially Mamluk in Egypt. In the 13th and 14th centuries, the gradual collapse of the crusader states and the Islamization of the Mongols deprived Chiriquia of its allies. Under internal religious strife and Mamluk attacks, the kingdom finally collapsed in 1375. Since then, Chiriquia, like the Armenian plateau, has returned to foreign rule. ¹
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- Modern times: Due to their strategic value, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Safavid Dynasty have been vying for control of the Armenian plateau. After the Peace of Amasia in 1555, Western Armenia belonged to the Ottoman Empire despite the Ottoman-Persian Wars, and Eastern Armenia to Persia until the first half of the 19th century. From the 16th to the 20th centuries, Chiriquia was part of the Ottoman Empire. Although non-Muslims were guaranteed freedom of property and belief, Christian Armenians were long considered second-class citizens, and since the end of the 19th century, Armenians have been persecuted and massacred by the Turks and the Ottoman Empire¹.
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- 20th century: Between 1915 and 1918, the Ottoman Turkish government, which was in the midst of World War I, carried out systematic genocide (nominally "expulsion of Armenians") against Armenians living in the Turkish-Ottoman-controlled area under the pretext of Armenian rebellion, with estimates ranging from nearly 1 million to 1.5 million. In addition, tens of thousands of Western Armenians living in their homeland were forced into exile, some of them overland to Russia, and only 200,000 of these Armenians "expelled" from Anatolia survived¹. On May 28, 1918, the Armenian Democratic Republic was founded. At the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire was defeated, and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson proposed at the Paris Peace Conference to expand the territory of the Armenian Democratic Republic to include historical Armenia. Thus, the Treaty of Sefer signed in 1920 was supposed to return Western Armenia to Armenian rule. However, the treaty never entered into force, and Western Armenia was recaptured by Turkey. On November 29, 1920, the Soviet Union invaded and established Soviet power in Armenia, becoming the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. 1936 The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic is founded, officially becoming one of the republics of the Soviet Union¹.
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- Independence: In 1988, there was a democratic movement in the Armenian SSR calling for merger with the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast of the Azerbaijan SSR. This triggered a six-year war in Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions. On September 21, 1991, the Armenian SSR declared its independence and became the Republic of Armenia. On 12 May 1994, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh signed a ceasefire agreement, but conflicts continue from time to time¹.
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- Modern: Armenia is a semi-presidential democratic republic consisting of a president, prime minister and parliament. The current president is Armen Sarkissian, who took office on April 9, 2018; The current Prime Minister is Nikol Pashinyan, who took office on May 8, 2018. Armenia is a member of many international organizations such as the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Athens Process, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the African Union, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization. Armenia is also an observer state to the Council of Europe and signed an association agreement with the European Union in November 2013².
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The current situation in Armenia has been affected in many ways, chief among which is the long-standing conflict with Azerbaijan. The two countries have a territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, an autonomous region dominated by the Armenian population but recognized by the international community as part of Azerbaijan. In 2020, large-scale armed conflict broke out between the two countries in the region, resulting in thousands of deaths and maimities, as well as extensive property damage and a humanitarian crisis. In May 2021, Azerbaijani soldiers crossed the border into Armenia's provinces of Syunik and Gegarkunik, sparking a new round of tensions. In August and September 2022, the two countries again exchanged fire in the border area, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. In April 2023, clashes erupted again between the two countries along the border, killing at least seven soldiers.
This ongoing conflict has had a serious negative impact on Armenia's security, economy and society. Armenia has had to mobilize significant military resources to counter the Azerbaijani threat, while also facing the risk of diplomatic isolation and sanctions. Armenia's economy has been hit by a double whammy of war and the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to problems such as falling GDP, trade deficit, rising debt, currency depreciation and inflation. Armenian society has also suffered from the trauma, displacement, poverty, unemployment and discontent caused by the war.
In order to improve its current situation, Armenia needs to seek a peaceful settlement of disputes with Azerbaijan and maintain regional stability through dialogue and cooperation. At the same time, Armenia needs to strengthen its relations with friendly countries and international organizations and seek more political, economic and humanitarian support. In addition, Armenia needed to advance its own reforms and development, improve its economic competitiveness, social welfare and democracy.
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(1) History of Armenia - Wikipedia. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%9A%E7%BE%8E%E5%B0%BC%E4%BA%9A%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2.
(2) Museum of Armenian History - Wikipedia. https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%BA%9A%E7%BE%8E%E5%B0%BC%E4%BA%9A%E5%8E%86%E5%8F%B2%E5%8D%9A%E7%89%A9%E9%A6%86.
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