The site is located on a rocky promontory near Sisian. About 223 large stone tombs can be found in the area. It was explored by a team of archaeologists from the Institut für Vorderasiatische Archäologie, University of Munich who published their findings in 2000. They concluded that "in contrast to the opinion that Zorakarer may be called an Armenian Stonehenge", Zorats Karer "was mainly a necropolis from the Middle Bronze Age to the Iron Age." The Munich archaeologists add that it may have served "as a place of refuge in times of war", possibly in the Hellenistic - Roman period (c. 300 BC - 300 AD). A wall of rocks and compacted soil (loam) was built around the site with vertical rocks plugged into it for reinforcement: today only these upright rocks remain. About 84 of the stones feature a circular hole, although only about 50 of the stones survive. They have been of interest to Russian and Armenian archaeoastronomists who have suggested that the standing stones could have been used for astronomical observation. This suggestion was made by observers who noted four stone holes which could be claimed to be sighted at the point on the horizon where the sun rises on midsummer's day. Four others standing stones display holes which observers claimed point where the sun sets on the same day. However, this must remain conjectural as the holes are relatively unweathered and may not even be prehistoric in origin. In the nearby city of Sisian, there is a small museum dedicated to findings in the area, including palaeolithic petroglyphs found on mountain tops in the area, and grave artefacts form the Bronze Age burial site with over 200 shaft graves. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zorats_Karer" title="Zorats Karer" target="blank">Zorats Karer</a> The site of Metsamor castle, near the Armenian town of Metsamor has been populated from the 5th millennium BC until the 18th century AD. The excavations of the tombs of Metsamor castle began in 1965. Arkuni town is famous for its observatory and temple complexes consisted of seven sanctuaries. Near the site is a neolithic stone circles dated to ca. 5000 BC, interpreted by enthusiasts of archaeoastronomy as an astronomical "observatory". Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metsamor_castle" title="Metsamor site" target="blank">Metsamor site</a> From 4,000 B.C. to 1,000 B.C., tools and trinkets of copper, bronze and iron were commonly produced in this region and traded in neighboring lands where those metals were less abundant. The Armenian Plateau has been called the "epicenter of the Iron Age", since it appears to be the location of the first appearance of Iron Age metallurgy in the late 2nd millennium BC. In the Early Iron Age, the kingdom of Urartu controlled much of the region. Throughout Classical Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the Armenian Highland was a heavily contested territory of the Byzantine, the Ottoman, the Persian, and Arab spheres of influence. It was finally conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and during the 19th century, it was the boundary of the Ottoman and the Russian spheres of influence. Since the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, it has been the boundary region of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran and the Soviet Union and, since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet Union, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Highland" title="Armenian Highland" target="blank">Armenian Highland</a> In Moses' account, Hayk son of Torgoma gives birth to Armaneak while living in Babylon, but after the arrogant Titanid Bel makes himself king over all, Hayk emigrates to the Ararat region with an extended household of at least 300 and settles, founding a village he names Haykashen. On the way he also leaves a detachment in another settlement with his grandson Kadmos. Bel sends one of his sons to entreat him to return, but he is refused. Bel then marches against him with a massive force, but Hayk is warned by Kadmos of his approach. He assembles his own army on the shore of Lake Van and tells them they must defeat and kill Bel, or die trying, rather than become his slaves. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayk" title="Hayk,Haig" target="blank">Hayk, Haig</a> Armens (Armenian: Արմեններ, Առամեններ), were Armenian tribes, the people are usually referred to as Arman, Armenic. They correspond with the Hayasa-Azzi Tribes. The Armans united with the tribes of Hayasi. Recent linguistic studies present strong evidence that the Indo-European language group originates in Anatolia. According to most accounts, the Armens were generally tall, blond-haired, and blue-eyed in appearance, in contrast to their Urartian cousins who tended to be slighter with black hair and black eyes. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Armens" title="Armens" target="blank">Armens</a> The Hattians were an ancient people who inhabited the land of Hatti in present-day central part of Anatolia, Turkey, noted at least as early as the empire of Sargon of Akkad ca. 2300, until they were gradually displaced and absorbed ca. 2000-1700 BC by Indo-European Hittites, who adopted their name for the "land of Hatti". As the Hattians did not have a written language (in other words, they were proto-historic), scholars rely on indirect sources or statements by other peoples. Hattian leaders probably used scribes writing in Assyrian [2] to conduct business with northern Mesopotamia. Scholars have long assumed that the predominant population of the region of Anatolia "in the third millennium [BC] was an indigenous pre-Indo-European group called the Hattians." Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattians" title="Hattians" target="blank">Hattians</a> The Hurrian timeframe in Syria (South-Western historic Armenia), the area that the Hurri-Mitanni kingdom of Armenia was present (c. 2300 BC -1200 BC) predates the timeframe of Urartu in Eastern Armenia (c. 1000-585), it is more often considered likely that the Armenians of Urartu (Ararat) had origins there, and fled from the South-Western Armenian Highlands into the Eastern part of Armenia after the Hittites and Assyrians conquered the region. Chronologically, the Urartian language seems to be a continuation of Hurrian dialects, and not the other way around. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hurrians" title="Hurri-Mitanni" target="blank">Hurri-Mitanni</a> The Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (Hittite URUḪattuša) in northern Anatolia from the 18th century BC. In the 14th century BC, the Hittite Kingdom was at its height, encompassing central Anatolia, south-western Syria as far as Ugarit, and upper Mesopotamia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_Empire" title="History of the Hittites" target="blank">History of the Hittites</a> (Hayasa-Azzi, Haius ,Haisa or in Armenian: Հայասա) Hittite inscriptions deciphered by E. Forrer testify to the existence of a mountain country, the Hayasa, lying around the Lake of Van. Hayasa or Khayasa identified with Haik, Hayk or Hark, was inhabited before the coming of Armens. The suffix sa of Hayasa corresponds to the stan, derivative of Hayasatan (Armenia). Greeks knew about this country (Hayasa) and their writers wrote about Armenians or hayers. The cuneiform tablets of Boghaz Keuy have preserved the names of four succesive kings who ruled in Hayasa. They were Karannish, Mariyash, Hukkanash and Anniyash, the four covering a period of 55 years, from 1390 to 1335 B.C. The earliest texts referring to the region are those of the Hittites kings who had dealings with sectors of north-east Anatolia. The first-named of this kings made incursions into the Hatti or Hittite empire, which were checked by the Emperor Dudhaliyash and hid successor, Subbiluliuma. Mariyash, the next king of Hayasa, who had married a Hittite princess, was punished with death because of his breach of matrimonial contract. Hukkanash, the third in the line, also married a Hittite princess, the sister of the Emperor Subbiluliuma. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hayasa" title="Hayasa" target="blank">Hayasa</a> Suppiluliuma began his career as the chief advisor and general to Tudhaliya II, then based at Samuha. In this capacity, he defeated the Hittites' enemies among the Azzi-Hayasa and the Kaskas. Both enemies then united around charismatic leaders to counter him; of these Karanni founded a semblance of a royal court in Hayasa, and Piyapili failed to do likewise for the Kaska. Suppiluliuma and Tudhaliya defeated these threats in turn, to the extent that the Hittite court could settle in Hattusa again. Suppiluliuma began his career as the chief advisor and general to Tudhaliya II, then based at Samuha. In this capacity, he defeated the Hittites' enemies among the Azzi-Hayasa and the Kaskas. Both enemies then united around charismatic leaders to counter him; of these Karanni founded a semblance of a royal court in Hayasa, and Piyapili failed to do likewise for the Kaska. Suppiluliuma and Tudhaliya defeated these threats in turn, to the extent that the Hittite court could settle in Hattusa again. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppiluliuma_I" title="Suppiluliuma I" target="blank">Suppiluliuma I</a> <hr> At its peak, Hattus covered 1.8 km² and comprised an inner and outer portion, both surrounded by a massive and still visible course of walls erected during the reign of Suppiluliuma I (circa 1344–1322 BC (short chronology)). The inner city covered an area of some 0.8 km² and was occupied by a citadel with large administrative buildings and temples. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattusa" title="Hattusa" target="blank">Hattusa</a> <hr> The Hittite Kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of Suppiluliuma I (c. 1350–1322), who deposed his older brother, the true heir to Tudhaliya III's throne, to become the king. Suppiluliuma I established control over Kizzuwadna, and invaded Isuwa, coming into conflict with Mitanni. The kingdom of Mitanni, wracked by civil war, was unable to withstand the Hittite onslaught. Suppiluliuma I allied with Artatama, a rival for the Mitanni throne and enemy of the Mitanni King Tushratta.[4] Following an uprising in Isuwa, Suppiluliuma swiftly attacked the Mitanni heartland through Isuwa, capturing and plundering the Mitanni capital of Washshuganni. He then turned west, recrossed the Euphrates and captured all the Syrian kingdoms which were vassals to the Mitanni, including Aleppo, Mukish, Niya, Qatna, Upi (Upina), and Kadesh. Other kingdoms such as Ugarit and Amurru (an Egyptian vassal) voluntarily became vassal states of the Hittites.[5] When hostilities flared up once more with Mitanni, Tulipinu, Suppiluliuma's son and viceroy at Aleppo invaded Carchemish but was unable to take the city. Suppiluliuma met with his son and then invaded Syria himself, laying siege to the city of Carchemish. He also sent some troops south to aid his vassals in an attack on the Egyptian ally of Amka, in retaliation for an earlier Egyptian attack against Kadesh. Suppiluliuma laid siege to Carchemish and broke the siege on the eighth day, installing his son Piyassili as viceroy of the kingdom. With his sons as viceroys of Aleppo and Carchemish, Suppiluliuma had cemented his rule over Syria and brought the empire of Mitanni to an end, the Mitanni King was assassinated soon after. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hittite_Empire?title=History of Hitties" title="History of Hitties" target="blank">History of Hitties</a> Mursili II would prove to be more than a match for his successful father, Suppiluliuma I, in his military deeds and diplomacy. The Annals for the first ten years of his reign have survived and record that he carried out punitive campaigns against the Kaska tribes in the first two years of his reign in order to secure his kingdom's northern borders. The king then turned to the West to resist the aggression of Uhhaziti, king of Arzawa, who was attempting to lure away Hittite allies into his camp. The Annals also reveal that an "omen of the sun," or solar eclipse, occurred in his tenth year as king, just as he was about to launch his campaign against the Kaska peoples. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mursili_II" title="Mursili II" target="blank">Mursili II</a> Nairi was the Assyrian name (KUR.KUR Na-i-ri, also Na-'i-ru) for an Armenian tribe in the Armenian Highlands[1], roughly corresponding to the modern Van and Hakkâri provinces of Turkey. Nairi can almost certainly be equated with Nihriya, known from Mesopotamian, Hittite, and Urartean sources. During the Bronze Age collapse (13th to 12th centuries BC), the Nairi tribes were considered a force strong enough to contend with both Assyria and Hatti. The Battle of Nihriya, the culminating point of the hostilities between Hittites and Assyrians for control over the remnants of the former empire of Mitanni, took place here, c 1230. Nairi was incorporated into Urartu during the 10th century BC. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairi_%28people%29" title="Nairi" target="blank">Nairi</a> The name Urartu comes from Assyrian sources: the Assyrian king Shalmaneser I (1263-1234 BC) recorded a campaign in which he subdued the entire territory of "Uruatri". The Shalmaneser text uses the name Urartu to refer to a geographical region, not a kingdom, and names eight "lands" contained within Urartu (which at the time of the campaign were still disunited). The kingdom's native name was Biainili, also spelt Biaineli, (from which is derived the Armenian toponym Վան "Van"),but by the end of the 9th century they also called their now united kingdom "Nairi". Scholars believe that Urartu is an Akkadian variation of Ararat of the Old Testament. Indeed, Mount Ararat is located in ancient Urartian territory, approximately 120 km north of its former capital. In addition to referring to the famous Biblical mountain, Ararat also appears as the name of a kingdom in Jeremiah 51:27, mentioned together with Minni and Ashkenaz. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urartu" title="Urartu" target="blank">Urartu</a> Van was established in first half of IX century B.C. In ancient period it was known as "Tushpa". Armenians called that city "Van". It came from the word Biayna (which was the central region of Urartian kingdom). In Armenian the meaning of Van is "a place of living", "settlement". Therefore other Armenian cities which were established later had in the end of their names the word "Van" (Ervand-a-van, Arshak-a-van, Zareh-a-van, Nakhch-a-van, Vane-van, etc). Under the ancient name of Tushpa, Van was the capital of the Urartian kingdom in the 9th century BC. Its ancient inhabitants called themselves Nairi. The early settlement was centered on the steep-sided bluff now known as Van Castle (Van Kalesi), close to the edge of Lake Van and a few kilometers west of the modern city. Here have been found Urartian cuneiform inscriptions dating to the 8th and 7th centuries BC. In the trilingual Behistun inscription, carved in the order of Darius the Great of Persia, the country referred to as Urartu in Babylonian is called Armenia in Old Persian. Source: <a href="http://www.armenian-history.com/Capitals/Tushpa_Van_History_eng.htm" title="Establishment of Tushpa (Van)" target="blank">Establishment of Tushpa (Van)</a> Sarduri I (reign - 834 BC - 828 BC), also known as Sarduris, was the king of the ancient kingdom of Urartu in Asia Minor. He was the son of Lutipri, the second monarch of Urartu. Sarduri I is most known for moving the capital of the Urartu kingdom to Tushpa (Van). This proved to be significant as Tushpa became the focal point of politics in the Near East. He was succeeded by his son, Ishpuini, who then expanded the kingdom. The title Sarduri used was 'King of the Four Quarters'. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarduri_I" title="Sarduri I" target="blank">Sarduri I</a> Ishpuinis (also Ispuini) (ruled 828-810 BC) was a king of the ancient country of Urartu. He succeeded his father, Sarduri I, who moved the capital to the ancient city of Tushpa (Van). Ishpuinis conquered the Mannaean city of Musasir, which was then made the religious center of the empire. The main temple for the war god Haldi was in Musasir. Ishpuinis and his nation were then attacked by the forces Assyrian King Shamshi-Adad V. Ishpuinis fought and defeated Shamshi-Adad. Ishpuinis was so confident in his power that he began using names meaning everlasting glory, including, "King of the land of Nairi", "Glorious King", and "King of the Universe". Ishpuinis was succeeded by his son, Menuas of Urartu. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishpuinis_of_Urartu" title="Ishpuini of Urartu" target="blank">Ishpuini of Urartu</a> Menua was the fifth known King of Urartu, an ancient country in the Armenian Highlands, from circa 810 BC to approximately 786 BC. A younger son of the preceding Urartuan King, Ishpuinis, Menua was adopted as co-ruler by his father in the last years of his reign. Menua enlarged the kingdom greatly in numerous wars against the neighbouring countries and left a large number of inscriptions over a wide area. He established the outlines of the empire, and organized the centralized administrative structure, fortified a number of cities and founded fortresses, amongst them was Menuakhinili, located on Mount Ararat. Menua heavily developed a canal and irrigation system that stretched across the kingdom. Several of theses canal are still in use today. He was succeeded by his son, Argishtis I. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menuas_of_Urartu" title="Menua" target="blank">Menua</a> Erebuni was founded by King Argishti I (r. ca. 785–753 B.C.) in 782 B.C. It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd overlooking the Arax River Valley to serve as a military stronghold to protect the kingdom's northern borders. According to Margarit Israelyan, Argishti began the construction of Erebuni after conquering the territories north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan, roughly corresponding to where the town of Abovyan is currently located. Accordingly, the prisoners he captured in these campaigns, both men and women, were used to help build his town. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erebuni_Fortressu" title="Erebuni Fortress" target="blank">Erebuni Fortress</a> The city of Teishebaini was built by Rusa II in the first half of the 7th century BC to protect the eastern borders of Urartu from the barbaric Cimmerians and Scythians. Within the city was a governors palace that contained a hundred and twenty rooms spreading across more than 10 acres (40,000 m2), and citadel named the Citadel of Teisheba after the Urartian god of war. The palace was made of stone, with timber ceilings, and timber columns that supported the roof. The construction of the city, palace, and the citadel were not fully finished until the reign of Rusa III, some 50 years later. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmir_Blur" title="Teishebaini (Karmir Blur)" target="blank">Teishebaini (Karmir Blur)</a> Orontes I Sakavakyats or Yervand I Sakavakyats (Armenian: Երվանդ Ա Սակավակյաց) Armenian King of Orontid Dynasty reigning in the period between 570 BC – 560 BC. Orontes was called Sakavakyats or "short living" ("short staying"), but not because of short life, but because of the short period of his reign, and because he passed the throne to his son Tigranes Orontid. Orontes I had 40,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry, as well as 3,000 talents (40 kg 800g) of silver with the united weight of 122,400 kg. He married his daughter Tigranuhi to Medes king Ajdahak. The capital of Armenia under Orontes was located in Van. According to popular legends, Orontes I had 3,000 silver talents, only half of which were part of his treasury; the other part was hidden in the bottom of Van Lake. Through his castle he had a tunnel leading there, but later they blocked the tunnel to save the treasury for future generations. It is still said to be hidden there untouched. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orontes_I_Sakavakyats" title="Orontes I Sakavakyats" target="blank">Orontes I Sakavakyats</a> Tigranes I Orontid the Great (Armenian: Տիգրան Ա Երվանդունի) Armenian King of Orontid Dynasty reigning in the period between 560 BC – 535 BC. During reign of Tigran I the territory of Armenia spread for about 400 sq. km. Moses of Khorene calls him as "the wisest, most powerful and bravest of Armenian Kings". Tigran killed Medes king Ajdahak, husband of his sister Tigranuhi. Tigran was also hunting companion of king Cyrus, founder of Achaemenid Empire. According to the legend, Tigran was a great archer and was always victorious over Cyrus. The later once decided to organize a tournament with term participants must have drunk 10 cups of wine and shoot after that. Cyrus and Tigran drunk wine, but after that Cyrus tasted special herb to vanish wine effect, but Tigran had also the same herb. And during the tournament Tigran won again. And after that Cyrus claims: "No, wine can not win such men like us. No matter how much we drink, we do not get drunk. And I miss only two times of four and you didn't miss at all". Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigranes_Orontid" title="Tigranes I Orontid" target="blank">Tigranes I Orontid</a> The Orontid Dynasty (Armenian: Երվանդունիների հարստություն (Yervandownineri harstowt'yown), or, known by their native name, Yervanduni) was the first known Armenian dynasty and the successor state to the Kingdom of Ararat. The Orontids established their supremacy over Armenia around the time of the Scythian and Median invasion in the 6th century BC. Members of the dynasty ruled Armenia intermittently during the period spanning the 6th century BC and the 1st century AD, at first as client kings or satraps of the Median and Achaemenid empires who established an independent kingdom after the collapse of the Achaemenid empire, and later as kings of Sophene and Commagene who eventually succumbed to the Roman Empire. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orontid" title="Orontid (Yervanduni) Dynasty" target="blank">Orontid (Yervanduni) Dynasty</a> Artaxias I (also called Artaxes or Artashes, Armenian: Արտաշես Առաջին Բարեպաշտ) (reigned 190 BC/189 BC–160 BC/159 BC) was the founder of the Artaxiad Dynasty whose members ruled the Kingdom of Armenia for nearly two centuries. By the end of the 3rd century BC, the kingdom of Armenia was made up of around 120 dynastic domains ruled by nakharars, loosely united under the Orontid kings of Greater and Lesser Armenia. Even though Alexander the Great did not conquer Armenia, Hellenistic culture had strongly impacted Armenian society. When Antiochus the Great wrestled Armenia from Orontid rule, he appointed Artaxias as strategos. Following his monarch's defeat by the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, Artaxias and his co-strategos Zariadres revolted and, with Roman consent, began to reign autonomously with the title of king; Artaxias over Greater Armenia and Zariadres over Sophene/Lesser Armenia. From the time of the state of Hayasas, until that of Artaxias I, more than one thousand years elapsed, and during that period the Hayasas, the Armens, the people of Nairi and other ethnic elements were integrated, became one nation, spoke the same language, and lived together in a country that became known as Armenia. Artaxias was married to Satenik, daughter of the king of Alans. They had six sons: Artavasdes (Artavazd), Vruyr, Mazhan, Zariadres (Zareh), Tiran and Tigranes (Tigran). Artaxias founded a capital, Artaxata on the Araks River near Lake Sevan. Hannibal took refuge there at his court when Antiochus could not protect him any longer. Artaxias was taken captive by Antiochus IV Epiphanes when he attacked Armenia around 165 BC. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxias_I" title="Artaxias (Artashes) I" target="blank">Artaxias (Artashes) I</a> According to the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi (fifth century A.D.), Armavir was the first capital of the kingdom of Armenia (although, from a geographical standpoint, the first capital of Armenia was Van). Movses has preserved the tradition that when King Vagharshak the Parthian settled in Armavir (ca. 149 B.C.), he built a temple there and asked his royal coronant and aspet (knight) Shambu Bagarat (Bagratuni), to give up his religion and worship idols. But Shambu refused to comply. Movses also relates that when King Tigranes II (whom he places on the throne from 90-36 B.C.), in order to take revenge on Queen Cleopatra of Egypt, sent an expedition to Palestine, he carried a great number of Jews into captivity, and settled them in Armavir and in Vardges. Movses goes on to state that later Jews were transferred from Armavir to Yervandashat; and under King Artashes I, were again transferred into the new capital Artashat.[5] When King Sapor II of Persia invaded Armenia (360-370 A.D.), he led away from Artashat 30,000 Armenian and 9,000 Jewish families, the latter brought by King Tigranes from Palestine, and then completely destroyed the city. Armavir was taken by the Seleucids, Parthians, Kingdom of Armenia, Roman Empire, Sassanids and Byzantine Empire before it was taken over by the Arabs in 645. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armavir,_Armenia" title="Armavir, Armenia" target="blank">Armavir, Armenia</a> Tigranes the Great (Armenian: Տիգրան Մեծ; EA: Tigran Mets, WA: Dikran Medz, Greek: Τιγράνης ο Μέγας) (140 – 55 BCE; also called Tigranes II and sometimes Tigranes I) was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its traditional boundaries, allowing Tigranes to claim the title Great King, and involving Armenia in many battles against opponents such as the Parthian and Seleucid empires, and the Roman Republic. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigranes_I_of_Armenia" title="Tigranes the Great" target="blank">Tigranes the Great</a> The Battle of Tigranocerta (Armenian: Տիգրանակերտի ճակատամարտը, Tigranakerti Tchakatamartuh) was fought on October 6, 69 BC between the forces of the Roman Republic and the army of the Kingdom of Armenia led by King Tigranes the Great. The Roman force was led by Consul Lucius Licinius Lucullus, and Tigranes was defeated. His capital city of Tigranocerta was lost to Rome as a result. The battle arose from the Third Mithridatic War being fought between Roman Republic and Mithridates VI of Pontus, whose daughter Cleopatra was married to Tigranes. Mithridates fled to seek shelter with his son-in-law, and Rome invaded the Kingdom of Armenia. Having laid siege to Tigranocerta, the Roman forces fell back behind a nearby river when the large Armenian army approached. Feigning retreat, the Romans crossed at a ford and fell on the right flank of the Armenian army. After the Romans defeated the Armenian cataphracts, the balance of Tigranes' army, which was mostly made up of raw levies and peasant troops from his extensive empire, panicked and fled, and the Romans remained in charge of the field. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tigranocerta" title="Battle of Tigranocerta (Tigranakert)" target="blank">Battle of Tigranocerta (Tigranakert)</a> King Artavasdes II (Armenian: Արտավազդ Երկրորդ) ruled Armenia from 53 to 34 BC. He succeeded his father, Tigranes the Great. Artavasdes was an ally of Rome, but when Orodes II of Parthia invaded Armenia following his victory over the Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, he was forced to join the Parthians. He gave his sister in marriage to Orodes' son and heir Pacorus. In 36 BC the Roman general Mark Antony invaded Armenia and Artavasdes again switched sides, but abandoned the Romans once they had left Armenia to conquer Media Atropatene. In 34 BC Antony planned a new invasion of Armenia. First he sent his friend Quintus Dellius, who offered a betrothal of Antony's six year old son Alexander Helios to a daughter of Artavasdes, but the Armenian king hesitated. Now the triumvir marched into the Roman western Armenia. He summoned Artavasdes to Nicopolis, allegedly to prepare a new war against Parthia. But the king did not come. So the Roman general quickly marched to the Armenian capital Artaxata. He arrested the king and went with him some time around because he hoped to obtain by the help of his hostage the great treasures in the Armenian castles. But now Artaxias, the eldest son of the captured king, was elected as successor. After a lost battle Artaxias fled to the Parthian king. Finally Antony took Artavasdes to Alexandria. The Armenian king and his family, who were bound with golden chains, had to follow Antony in his triumphal procession. Cleopatra VII of Egypt expected the triumvir on a golden throne, but Artavasdes refused to render homage to the Egyptian queen by Proskynesis. In the past he had been an enemy of his namesake, king Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, who had become an ally of Antony. After the Battle of Actium (31 BC) the Armenian king was executed by beheading on the behalf of Cleopatra. She sent his head to Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene to secure his help. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artavasdes_II_of_Armenia" title="King Artavasdes (Artavazd) II" target="blank">King Artavasdes (Artavazd) II</a> Artaxias II (also called Artaxes or Artashes, Armenian: Արտաշես Երկրորդ) (reigned 34 BC – 20 BC) was a king of Armenia, the eldest son of Artavasdes II. He ascended the throne when his father was taken prisoner and executed by Marcus Antonius, and after his own skirmish with the Romans was forced to flee to Parthia. With the support of the Parthians, however, he returned to Armenia and successfully made war on Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, an enemy of his father. He also executed all the Romans who could be found within his borders. Possibly as a consequence of this action, when Artaxias sent emissaries to Rome to try and secure the release of his relatives then in Roman captivity, Caesar Augustus refused him. In 20 BCE, the Armenians sent messengers to Augustus to tell him that they no longer wanted Artaxias as their king, and asked that his brother Tigranes (then in Roman custody) be installed in his place. Augustus readily agreed, and sent a large army under Tiberius to depose Artaxias. Before they arrived, however, Artaxias was assassinated by some of his other relatives, and the Romans put Tigranes on the throne unopposed. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxias_II" title="Artaxias (Artashes) II" target="blank">Artaxias (Artashes) II</a> The Kingdom of Armenia (or Greater Armenia) was an armenian-made-up independent kingdom from 190 BC to AD 387 and a client state of the Roman and Persian empires until 428, stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean seas. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Armenia" title="Kingdom of Armenia" target="blank">Kingdom of Armenia</a> Movses Khorenatsi, also Moses of Khoren or Moses of Chorene (Armenian: Մովսես Խորենացի, Armenian pronunciation: [mofˈsɛs χoɾɛnɑˈtsʰi], also written Movsēs Xorenac‘i, Movses Khorenats'i, scholars have argued for either fifth century (ca. 410 – 490s AD), or a 7th to 9th century date) was an Armenian historian, and author of the History of Armenia. He is credited with the earliest known historiographical work on the history of Armenia, but was also a poet, or hymn writer, and a grammarian. The History of Armenia was written at the behest of Prince Sahak Bagratuni and has had an enormous impact on Armenian historiography and was used and quoted extensively by later medieval Armenian authors. Although other Armenians, such as Agat'angeghos, had previously written histories on Armenia, Movses' work holds particular significance because it contains unique material on the old oral traditions in Armenia before its conversion to Christianity and, more important, traces Armenian history from Movses' day to its origins. He is considered to be the "father of Armenian history" (patmahayr), and is sometimes referred to as the "Armenian Herodotus." Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_of_Khorene" title="Movses Khorenatsi, also Moses of Khoren or Moses of Chorene" target="blank">Movses Khorenatsi, also Moses of Khoren or Moses of Chorene</a> Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew introduce Christianity to Armenia <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jude_the_Apostle" title="Jude (Thaddeus) the Apostle" target="blank">Jude (Thaddeus) the Apostle</a> Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus. He is sometimes identified with Jude, "brother of Jesus", but is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another disciple and later the betrayer of Jesus. The Armenian Apostolic Church honors Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes. Saint Jude's attribute is a club. He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude holding an image of Jesus Christ, in the image of Edessa. In some instances he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartholomew_the_Apostle" title="Bartholomew the Apostle" target="blank">Bartholomew the Apostle</a> Bartholomew was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, and is usually identified as Nathaniel (alternate spelling: Nathanael) (mentioned in the first chapter of John's Gospel). He was introduced to Christ through St. Philip, another of the twelve apostles as per (John 1:43-51), where the name Nathaniel first appears. He is also mentioned as “Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee” in (John 21:1). The name Nathaniel is the one used for him in St. John’s Gospel. The relationship between St. Philip and Nathaniel is noted as per John 1:43-51. Bartholomew (Greek: Βαρθολομαίος, transliterated "Bartholomaios") comes from the Aramaic bar-Tôlmay (תולמי‎‎‎‎‎-בר‎‎), meaning son of Tolmay (Ptolemy) or son of the furrows (perhaps a ploughman). According to the Synaxarium of the Coptic Orthodox Church [The Church of Alexandria, the ancient Church of Egypt, one of the Oldest in Christianity], his martyrdom is commemorated on the 1st day of the Coptic Calendar (1st day of the month of "Thout"), which currently falls on September 11 [this corresponds to August 29 in the Gregorian Calendar, due to the current 13 day offset between the Julian and Gregorian Calendars]. The festival in August has been a traditional occasion for markets and fairs, such as the Bartholomew Fair held in Smithfield, London since the Middle Ages that served as the scene for Ben Jonson's homonymous comedy. The Artaxiad Dynasty (Artashessian Dynasty, Armenian: Արտաշեսեան արքայատոհմ) ruled the kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until their overthrow by the Romans in AD 12. Their realm included Greater Armenia, Sophene and intermittently Lesser Armenia and parts of Mesopotamia. Their main enemies were the Seleucids and the Parthians, against whom the Armenians had to conduct multiple wars. During this period, Armenian culture experienced considerable Hellenistic influence. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxiad_Dynasty" title="Artaxiad (Artashessian) Dynasty" target="blank">Artaxiad (Artashessian) Dynasty</a> Tiridates I (Armenian: Տրդատ Ա, EA: Trdat I, WA: Drtad I) was King of Armenia beginning in AD 53 and the founder of the Arshakuni Dynasty, the Armenian line of the Arsacid Dynasty. The dates of his birth and death are unknown. His early reign was marked by a brief interruption towards the end of the year 54 and a much longer one from 58 to 63. In an agreement to resolve the Roman-Parthian conflict in and over Armenia, Tiridates (who was the brother of Vologases I of Parthia) was crowned king of Armenia by the Roman emperor Nero in AD 66; in the future, the king of Armenia was to be a Parthian prince, but his appointment required approval from the Romans. Even though this made Armenia a client kingdom, various contemporary Roman sources thought that Nero had de facto ceded Armenia to the Parthian Empire. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_I_of_Armenia" title="Tiridates (Trdat) I of Armenia" target="blank">Tiridates (Trdat) I of Armenia</a> Garni is on the road to Geghard and both can be comfortably seen on the same day. Halfway to Garni however, take a few minutes to look at the Charents Arch. The arch itself is not what you stop for, but for the great view of Ararat which it frames on a clear day. Truly a Kodak moment. When you get to Garni, it will remind you of a somewhat plain Parthenon. It was built in the first century A.D. by the Armenian King Tiridates with the money he received after visiting Emperor Nero in Rome. The temple was destroyed in 1679 in an earthquake, but was reconstructed in Soviet times. (You can recognize the new stones by their lack of carving, which allows you to appreciate the originals.) It is an excellent reconstruction and a very worthwhile place to visit. You can even see carved graffiti in Arabic... There are also ruins of mosaic ancient baths and residences in Garni. If you came in a car (not bus) or can hike, take the time to go down to the very worthy Garni Gorge, and maybe hike up to the extensive and virtually unvisited ruins of Havuts Tar Monastery. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Garni_Temple" title="Garni Temple" target="blank">Garni Temple</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garni_Temple" title="Garni Temple" target="blank">Garni Temple</a> It was the Roman emperor Trajan who finally broke the treaty with Parthia by invading Armenia in 114 A.D. Trajan pushed farther and eventually took the Parthian capital Ctesiphon in 116 A.D., but with his death in 117 A.D. and the rise of Hadrian to the Roman throne, the compromise with the Parthians was restored and the Parthian Vagharsh I was placed in charge of Armenia. He ruled Armenia until 140 A.D. After a few intervening Roman and Persian rulers, the Parthian prince Vagharsh II assumed the throne of Armenia in 186 A.D. In 191 A.D. he assumed the Persian throne and named his son Khosrov I to the Armenian throne. Khosrov was subsequently captured by the Romans, who installed one of their own to take charge of Armenia. However the Armenians themselves revolted against their Roman overlords, and, in a new Rome-Parthia compromise, Khosrov's son, Trdat II (217 - 252 A.D.), was made king of Armenia. Source: <a href="http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/eieol/armol-4-X.html" title="Vagharsh I, Vagharsh II, Trdat II" target="blank">Vagharsh I, Vagharsh II, Trdat II</a> In the first half of the 1st century, during the reign of the Armenian Arshakuni king Vaghasrh I (117-144), the old town of Vardgesavan was renovated and renamed Vaghasrhapat (Վաղարշապատ) -which still persists as the official appellation of the city-. The original name, as preserved by Byzantine historian; Procopius ("Persian Wars"), was Valashabad -"Valash/Balash city" named after king Balash/Valash/Valarsh of Armenia-. The name evolved into its later form by the shift in the medial L into a Gh, which is common in Armenian language. Khorenatsi mentions that the town of Vardges was toatlly rebuilt and fenced by Vagharsh I to become known as Noarakaghak (The New City) or Vagharshapat. The city has served as a capital for the Ashakuni Kingdom of Armenia between 120-330 AD and remained the country's most important city until the end of the 4th century AD. When Christianity became the state religion of Armenia, Vagharshapat was time by time called Ejmiatsin after the name of the Mother Cathedral. Starting from 301, the city has become the spiritual centre of all the Armenian nation, being the home of the Armenian Catholicosate, one of the oldest religious organisations in the world. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagharshapat,_Armenia" title="Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin), Armenia" target="blank">Vagharshapat (Ejmiatsin), Armenia</a> Tiridates III (or Trdat III; Armenian: Տրդատ Գ; 250 – c. 330) was the king of Iranian Arsacid Armenia (285-339), and is also known as Tiridates the Great Տրդատ Մեծ; some scholars incorrectly refer to him as Tiridates IV as a result of the fact that Tiridates I of Armenia reigned twice). In 301, Tiridates proclaimed Christianity as the state religion of Armenia, making the Armenian kingdom the first state to officially embrace Christianity. He is recognized as a saint by the Armenian Apostolic Church. In 270 AD the Roman emperor Aurelian engaged the Sassanids, who had now replaced the Parthians, on the eastern front and he was able to drive them back. Tiridates, as the true heir to the now Persian-occupied Armenian throne, came to Armenia and quickly raised an army and drove the enemy out in 287 AD. The Roman-Armenian alliance grew stronger, especially while Diocletian ruled the empire. This can be attributed to the upbringing of Tiridates, the consistent Persian aggressions, and the murder of his father by Anak. With Diocletian's help, Tiridates pushed the Persians out of Armenia.[2] In 299, Diocletian left the Armenian state in a quasi-independent and protectorate status possibly to use it as a buffer in case of a Persian attack. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_III_of_Armenia" title="Tiridates III of Armenia" target="blank">Tiridates III of Armenia</a> Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=King_Trdat_III" title="King Trdat III" target="blank">King Trdat III</a> The Armenian Apostolic Church (Armenian: Հայաստանեայց Առաքելական Եկեղեցի, Hayastaneayc’ Aṙak’elakan Ekeġec’i) is the world's oldest National Church[2][3][4][5] and is one of the most ancient Christian communities.[6] Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church. The Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church traces its origins to the missions of Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus in the 1st century. The official name of the Church is the One Holy Universal Apostolic Orthodox Armenian Church. It is sometimes referred to as the Gregorian Church, but the latter name is not preferred by the Church, as it views the Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus as the founders, and St. Gregory the Illuminator as merely the first official governor of the Church. The traditional story of the conversion of the king and the nation tells of how Gregory the Illuminator, the son of Anak, was a Christian convert who, feeling guilt for his own father’s sin, joined the Armenian army and worked as a secretary to the king. Christianity in Armenia had a strong footing by the end of the 3rd century AD but the nation by and large still followed Zoroastrianism. Tiridates III was no exception as he too worshiped various ancient gods. During a pagan religious ceremony Tiridates III ordered Gregory to place a flower wreath at the foot of the statue of the goddess Anahit in Eriza. Gregory refused, proclaiming his Christian faith. This act infuriated the king. His fury was only exacerbated when several individuals declared that Gregory was, in fact, the son of Anak, the traitor who had killed Tiridates’s father. Gregory was tortured and finally thrown in Khor Virap, a deep underground dungeon. During the years of Gregory’s imprisonment, a group of virgin nuns, led by Gayane, came to Armenia as they fled the Roman persecution of their Christian faith. Tiridates III heard about the group and the legendary beauty of one of its members, Rhipsime (also Hripsime or Ripsime). He brought them to the palace and demanded to marry the beautiful virgin; she refused. The king had the whole group tortured and killed. After this event, he fell ill and according to legend, adopted the behavior of a wild boar, aimlessly wandering around in the forest. The king’s sister, Xosroviduxt, had a dream wherein Gregory was still alive in the dungeon and he was the only one able to cure the king. At this point it had been 13 years since his imprisonment, and the odds of him being alive were slim. But they retrieved him and despite being incredibly malnourished he was still alive. He was reportedly kept alive by a kindhearted woman that threw a loaf of bread down in Khor Virap everyday for him. Tiridates was brought to Gregory, and was miraculously cured of his illness in 301 AD.[5] Persuaded by the power of the cure, the king immediately proclaimed Christianity the official state religion. And so, Armenia became the first nation to officially adopt Christianity. Tiridates III appointed Gregory as Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Apostolic_Church" title="Armenian Apostolic Church" target="blank">Armenian Apostolic Church</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiridates_III_of_Armenia" title="Tiridates III of Armenia" target="blank">Tiridates III of Armenia</a> Ejmiatsin (known as Vagarshapat before 1945) was founded by King Vagarshak (117-140) in the place of Vardkesavan, an ancient settlement of the third-second centuries B.C. In view of the might of the town's fortifications — fortress walls, ramparts and moats — the Romans, upon the second destruction of Artashat in 163, transferred the capital of Armenia to Vagarshapat which, after Christianity was proclaimed the state religion in 301, became the country’s religious centre as well. Vagarshapat was repeatedly destroyed by enemies. In particular. it was left in ruins by Persian troops in 364-369. However, the improvement of economic welfare in the long periods between wars made it possible to do extensive construction work and to erect in the town large structures which played an extraordinary role in the development of national architecture. On the territory of Vagarshapat there have survived monuments of various periods of Armenia's history. Urartu arrows have been found in the temples of Zvartnots Cathedral and Ejmiatsin, and remnants of an ancient hearth of a heathen tabernacle — in the altar part of the latter. Greek and Latin epigraphic inscriptions, cut on tombstones, date back to the epoch of the Armenian Hellenistic culture. Architectural fragments, found by chance, such as an ornamented cornice in the masonry of the foundation of Hripsime church, are evidence of a high artistic standard of the structures of that time. Ejmiatsin cathedral was the main Christian temple of Vagarshapat. Gayane. Hripsimeh, Shoghakat and other churches, built at various times in place of small and not too expressive fourth-century chapels, complement it from the point of view of architecture and layout. Situated relatively close to Ejmiatsin cathedral, they are perceived as important components of a single architectural ensemble which changed after each new temple was built. The low residential structures all around set off to the best advantage the grandeur of these edifices and their domination in various parts of the city. Ejmiatsin cathedral ("the place where the homogeneous come together") is the most ancient Christian temple of Armenia. It was built in 301-303 by Grigor Luysavorich (St. Gregory the Illuminator), the founder of the Armenian Gregorian church, next to the king's palace, in place of a destroyed heathen basilica. The monastery which took shape around the cathedral is the residence of Catholicos. the head of the Armenian clergy. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Ejmiatsin_Cathedral_Compound" title="Construction of Ejmiatsin Cathedral begins" target="blank">Construction of Ejmiatsin Cathedral begins</a> Khosrov III the Small (Armenian: Խոսրով Գ Կոտակ, Khosrov III Kotak; c. 330–339 AD) was the Arshakuni king Armenia. He was the son and successor of King Tiridates III and a member of the Arshakuni Dynasty. He was a man of short stature, thus his name. He founded a hunting ground (which was named after him) and the city of Dvin, which later became the Armenian capital. During his reign, two generals, Vache Mamikonian and Vahan Amatuni, distinguished themselves for their valor in battle, often coming to help the king. During these years, pro-Sassanid and anti-Mamikonian sentiment grew in Armenia and so did anti-Roman sentiment. Pro-Sassanid groups gained popularity so much so that they were successful in assassinating Catholicos St. Aristaces I, son of Gregory the Illuminator. Shapur II, Sassanid king of the Persians, invaded Armenia twice and did gain some territory. Vache Mamikonian was killed in those battles and was later named a saint by the Armenian Apostolic Church for his sacrifice. Khosrov died in 339. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chosroes_III_of_Armenia" title="Khosrov III the Small" target="blank">Khosrov III the Small</a> In the early years of Arshak's reign, he found himself courted by the empires of Rome and Persia, both of which hope to win Armenia to their side in the ongoing conflicts between them. Arshak consented to marry a Roman princess, Olympia daughter of consul Ablabius, but managed to maintain Armemia's neutrality until 361. Meanwhile, Persian King Shapur II intensified his efforts to conquer Armenia once and for all. He was able to bribe two Armenian noblemen, Vahan Mamikonian and Meruzhan Artzruni, and make them join his royal court. Arshak II focused on strengthening the army. He rewarded loyal generals and severely punished disloyal ones. He crafted an ambitious plan in which all criminals that settled in his newly founded city, Arshakavan, were given complete amnesty. Approximately 150 000 individuals settled in the city. His hope was to create a large army directly under his command. But, many in the Armenian nobility did not agree with the plan and subsequently destroyed the city and killed the inhabitants. The Romans and the Persians were involved in conflict again. Jovian, being a weak emperor, made a dishonorable peace with Shapur II in which he allowed the Persians to take over the fortresses of Nisbis, Castra Maurorum, and Singara along with a part of Armenia. Arshak II found himself abandoned by the Romans and left to defend Armenia all alone. The Persians swiftly attacked but were unsuccessful, partly due to the leadership of the general (Armenian: sparapet) Vasak Mamikonian. Shapur II, seeing that brute force was not going to subjugate Arshak II, he turned to treachery. Arshak was invited by the Persian king for peace talks. When Arshak arrived with Vasak Mamikonian, he was taken prisoner and his general was skinned. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arshak_II" title="Arshak II" target="blank">Arshak II</a> Saint Nerses I the Great (Armenian: Սուրբ Ներսես Ա. Մեծ ) was an Armenian Catholicos (or Patriarch) who lived in the fourth century. He was the father of another catholicos, Saint Sahak I. His father was At'anagenes and his mother was Bambish, the sister of King Tiran. Born of the royal Gregorid stock, he spent his youth in Caesarea where he married Sanducht, a Mamikonian princess. After the death of his wife, he was appointed sword-bearer to King Arshak II. A few years later, having entered the ecclesiastical state, he was elected catholicos in 353. His patriarchate marks a new era in Armenian history. Till then the Church had been more or less identified with the royal family and the nobles; Nerses brought it into closer connection with the people. At the Council of Ashtishat he promulgated numerous laws on marriage, fast days, and divine worship. He built schools and hospitals, and sent monks throughout the land to preach the Gospel. Nerses held a synod at Ashtishat that, among other things, forbade people to marry their first cousin and forbade mutilation and other extreme actions in mourning. Some of these reforms drew upon him the king's displeasure, and he was exiled, supposedly to Edessa. It was probably at some point during the later part of Arshak's reign that Nerses went to Constantinople to ensure the emperor's support of Armenia against the Persians. According to P'awstos Buzandac'i's account Emperor Valens became outraged at Nerses condemning his following the teachings of Arius and sent Nerses into exile. While Nerses was in exile Xad was the leader of the church in Armenia. Upon the accession of pro-Arian King Pap (369) he returned to his see. Pap proved a dissolute and unworthy ruler and Nerses forbade him entrance to the church. Under the pretence of seeking a reconciliation, Pap invited Nerses to his table and reportedly poisoned him in 373. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Nerses_I" title="St. Nerses I" target="blank">St. Nerses I</a> The Armenian alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and contained originally 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages. Until the 19th century, Classical Armenian was the literary language; since then, the Armenian alphabet has been used to write the two official literary dialects of Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. The Armenian word for "alphabet" is այբուբեն aybuben (Armenian pronunciation: [ɑjbubɛn]), named after the first two letters of the Armenian alphabet Ա այբ ayb and Բ բեն ben. Its directionality is horizontal left-to-right, like the Latin alphabet. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_alphabet" title="Armenian Alphabet" target="blank">Armenian Alphabet</a> Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Armenian_Alphabet" title="Armenian Alphabet" target="blank">Armenian Alphabet</a> Mesrop Mashtots was born in the town of Hatsekats in Taron and died in Vagharshapat. Koryun, his pupil and biographer, tells us that Mesrop received a liberal education, and was versed in the Greek and Persian languages. On account of his piety and learning Mesrop was appointed secretary to King Chosroes III. His duty was to write in Greek and Persian characters the decrees and edicts of the sovereign. But Mesrop felt called to a more perfect life. Leaving the court for the service of God, he took holy orders, and withdrew to a monastery with a few chosen companions. There, says Koryun, he practiced great austerities, enduring hunger and thirst, cold and poverty. He lived on vegetables, wore a hair shirt, slept upon the ground, and often spent whole nights in prayer and the study of the Holy Scriptures. This life he continued for a few years, preparing himself for the great work to which Providence was soon to call him. Indeed both Church and State needed his services. Armenia, so long the battle-ground of Romans and Persians, lost its independence in 387, and was divided between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, about four-fifths being given to the latter. Western Armenia was governed by Byzantine generals, while an Armenian king ruled, but only as feudatory, over Persian Armenia. The Church was naturally influenced by these violent political changes, although the loss of civil independence and the partition of the land could not destroy its organization or subdue its spirit. Persecution only quickened it into greater activity, and had the effect of bringing the clergy, the nobles, and the common people closer together. The principal events of this period are the invention of the Armenian alphabet, the revision of the liturgy, the creation of an ecclesiastical and national literature, and the readjustment of hierarchical relations. Three men are prominently associated with this stupendous work: Mesrop, Patriarch Isaac, and King Vramshapuh, who succeeded his brother Chosroes III in 394. In 394 AD, with the help of blessing of Armenia's Catholicos, Sahak Partev, Mesrop set out on a mission of spreading the word of God and Christ the Savior to a pagan or semi-pagan people. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mesrob" title="Saint Mesrob" target="blank">Saint Mesrob</a> Agathangelos (in Old Armenian: Ագաթանգեղոս Agatʿangełos, in Greek Ἀγαθάγγελος "bearer of good news"), appropriately so named, was a supposed secretary of Tiridates III, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332[citation needed]. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us in Armenian and in Greek. The text of this history has been considerably altered, but it has always been in high favor with the Armenians. Von Gutschmid maintains that the unknown author made use of a genuine life of St. Gregory, also of a history of his martyrdom and of that of St. Ripsime and her companions. Historical facts are intermingled in this life with legendary or uncertain additions, and the whole is woven into a certain unity by the narrator, who may have assumed his significant name from his quality of narrator of "the good news" of Armenia's conversion. It has been translated into several languages, and Greek and Latin translations are found in the Acta Sanctorum Bollandistarum, tome viii. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agathangelos" title="Agathangelos" target="blank">Agathangelos</a> The Arsacid Dynasty or Arshakuni Dynasty (Armenian: Արշակունի Aršakuni) ruled the Kingdom of Armenia from 54 CE to 428 CE. Formerly a branch of the Iranian Parthian Arsacids, they became a distinctly Armenian dynasty. Arsacid Kings reigned intermittently throughout the chaotic years following the fall of the Artaxiad Dynasty until 62 CE when Tiridates I of Armenia secured Arsacid rule in Armenia. An independent line of Kings was established by Vologases II of Armenia (Valarses/Vagharshak) in 180 CE. Two of the most notable events under Arsacid rule in Armenian history were the conversion of Armenia to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator in 301 CE and the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 CE. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsacid_Dynasty_of_Armenia" title="Arsacid (Arshakuni) Dynasty" target="blank">Arsacid (Arshakuni) Dynasty</a> The Battle of Avarayr (Armenian: Ավարայրի ճակատամարտ, transliteration in Armenian "Avarayri chakatamart" Persian: نبرد آوارایر) also known as Battle of Vartanantz, was fought on May 26, 451 on the Avarayr Plain in Vaspurakan, between the Armenian Army under Saint Vartan and their Sassanid rulers. Although the Persians were victorious on the battlefield itself, they had heavy casualties and, following subsequent uprisings and guerilla warfare, the Armenians were eventually guaranteed religious freedom. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first nation to officially convert to Christianity, in 301 AD under Tiriades III. In 428, a revolt of the nobles overthrew the Armenian Arsacids. The country became a Sassanid dependency and the Sassanids installed a governor. The Armenians nobles initially welcomed Persian rule, provided they were allowed to practice Christianity; but Yazdegerd II, concerned that the Armenian Church was hierarchically dependent to the Latin- and Greek-speaking, Western Christian Church, aligned with Rome rather than the Aramaic-speaking, Persian-backed Nestorian Church, tried to compel the Armenian Church to abandon Rome and Byzantium in favor of the Nestorians or simply convert them to zoroastrianism. He summoned the leading Armenian nobles to Ctesiphon, and pressured them into cutting their ties with the Western Church as he had intended. (Note that Yazdegerd II himself was a Zoroastrian rather than a Christian, and his concern was not enforcing a Nestorian orthodoxy but securing political loyalty.) According to Armenian tradition, attempts at demolishing churches and building fire-temples were made and a number of zoroastrian magi were sent, with Persian military backing, to replace Armenian clergy and suppress Christianity. But Yazdegerd's policy created, rather than forestalled, a Christian rebellion in Armenia. When news about the compulsion of the nobles reached Armenia, a mass revolt broke out; on their return, the nobility, led by Vartan Mamikonian, joined the rebels. Yazdegerd II, hearing the news, gathered a massive army to attack Armenia. Vartan Mamikonian sent to Constantinople for aid, as he had good personal relations with Theodosius II, who had made him a general, and he was after all fighting to remain in the Western Church; but this assistance did not arrive in time. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Avarayr" title="Battle of Avarayr" target="blank">Battle of Avarayr</a> The first known Mamikonid lord, or nakharar, about whom anything certain is known was a certain Vatche Mamikonian (fl. 330-339). The family reappears in chronicles in 355, when the bulk of their lands lay in Tayk. At that point the family chief was Vassak Mamikonian, a commander-in-chief (sparapet) of Armenia. Later, the office of sparapet would become hereditary possession of the Mamikonians. Vassak Mamikonian was in charge of the Armenian defense against Persia but was eventually defeated through the treachery of Marujan Ardzruni (c. 367-368). Following that defeat, Vassak's brother Vahan Mamikonian and multiple other feudal lords defected to the Persian side. The Emperor Valens, however, interfered in Armenian affairs and had the office of sparapet bestowed on Vassak's son Mushegh Mamikonian in 370. Four years later Varazdat, a new king, confirmed Musel in office. The latter was subsequently assassinated on behest of Sembat Saharuni who replaced him as sparapet of Armenia. On this event, the family leadership passed to Mushegh's brother, Enmanuel Mamikonian, who had been formerly kept as a hostage in Persia. The Mamikonids at once broke into insurrection and routed Varazdat and Saharuni at Karin. Enmanuel, together with his sons Hemaiak and Artches, took the king prisoner and put him in a fortress, whence Varazdat escaped abroad. Zarmandukht, the widow of Varazdat's predecessor, was then proclaimed queen. Enmanuel came to an agreement with the powerful Sassanids, pledging his loyalty in recompense for their respect of the Armenian autonomy and laws. Upon the queen's demise in 384, Enmanuel Mamikonian was proclaimed Regent of Armenia pending the minority of her son Arsaces III and had the infant king married to his daughter Vardandukh. It was Enmanuel's death in 385 that precipitated the country's conquest by the Persians in 386-387. Hamazasp Mamikonian was recorded as the family leader in 393. His wife is known to have been Sahakanoush, daughter of Saint Sahak the Great and descendant of the Arsacid kings. They had a son, Saint Vartan Mamikonian, who is revered as one of the greatest military and spiritual leaders of ancient Armenia. After Vartan became Sparapet in 432, the Persians summoned him to Ctesiphon. Upon his return to home in 450, Vartan repudiated the Persian religion and instigated a great Armenian rebellion against their Sassanian overlords. Although he died in the doomed Battle of Avarayr also known as Battle of Vartanantz (451), the continued insurrection led by Vahan Mamikonian, the son of Vartan's brother, resulted in the restoration of Armenian autonomy with the Nvarsak Treaty (484), thus guaranteeing the survival of Armenian statehood in later centuries. Saint Vartan is commemorated by many churches in Armenia and an equestrian statue in Yerevan. After the country's subjugation by the Persians, Mamikonians sided with the Roman Empire, with many family members entering Byzantine service. Not only did they rise to the highest offices of Constantinople, but even some of the emperors - conceivably Leo the Armenian and Basil I - could have been their descendants. Theodora the Byzantine regent and her brothers Bardas and Petronas the Patrician were also of Mamikonian heritage. Unsurprisingly, Mamikonians form a crucial link in the postulated descent of modern European nobility from antiquity. The Bagratid family first emerged as naxarars, members of the hereditary nobility of Armenia. Their holdings were in the region of Sper, in the Chorokhi valley. As early as 288-301, the Bagratid prince Smbat held the hereditary Armenian titles of Master of the Horse and t'agatir, or coronant of the King. According to Prince Cyril Toumanoff, the earliest Bagratid prince was chronicled as early as AD 314. In the eighth century, a later Bagratid prince (also named Smbat) revolted against the Arab Caliphate. The revolt was defeated, but was successful enough to set the stage for Georgian and Armenian independence. Certain, generation by generation, history of the family begins only in the 8th century. The later Bagratids also claimed descent from King David of the Hebrew Bible. The claim is given no credence by modern scholarship, but was accepted in its day and lent prestige to the family. Their pretense, however, although without presenting a continuous line between them, was made through one Smbat, reputedly the ancestor of the Bagratids (Bagratuni) of the Caucasus States, "An unusual occurrence is recorded to have taken place during the 4th governor of Judah's (an unnamed Babylonian army-commander) administration, starting in 582 BC when King Hraceay (Hratchea) of Armenia, while visiting the Babylonian emperor, to whose court he had come to pay homage as one of his vassals, for reasons unknown but to himself asked for a certain Jewish captive prince, Sumbat, to return with him to Armenia. He did, and King Hraceay (Hratchea) of Armenia, gave him a pension and an estate at Sper. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagratuni_Dynasty" title="Bagratuni Dynasty" target="blank">Bagratuni Dynasty</a> Zoroastrianism ( /ˌzɒroʊˈæstri.ənɪzəm/) is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster (also known as Zarathustra, in Avestan) and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Persia (Iran). The term Zoroastrianism is, in general usage, essentially synonymous with Mazdaism (the worship of Ahura Mazda, exalted by Zoroaster as the supreme divine authority). Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoroastrianism" title="Zoroastrianism" target="blank">Zoroastrianism</a> The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon (a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor), on the Asian side of the Bosporus. This was a highly influential council and marked a key turning point in the Christological debates that broke apart the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th century. It is the last council which many Anglicans and most Protestants consider ecumenical. The Council of Chalcedon was convened by Flavian's successor, Anatolius, at Pope Leo I's urging, to set aside the 449 Second Council of Ephesus, better known as the "Robber Council". The Council of Chalcedon repudiated the idea that Jesus had only one nature, and stated that Christ has two natures in one person. The Chalcedonian Creed describes the "full humanity and full divinity" of Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity. The council also issued 27 disciplinary canons governing church administration and authority. In the famous 28th canon passed by the council, the bishops sought to raise the See of Constantinople (New Rome) in stature, claiming that Constantinople enjoyed honor and authority similar to that of the See of (the older) Rome. Pope Leo's legate opposed the canon but in 453, Leo confirmed all the canons, except the 28th. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Chalcedon" title="Council of Chalcedon" target="blank">Council of Chalcedon</a> After thirty years of intermittent warfare between the Persians and the Armenians, the Persian King Vagharsh changed the policy of Hazgerd II and sent a large delegation to negotiate an agreement ending the hostilities. The Persians met with Vahan Mamigonian in the village of Nuarsag and agreed to end religious persecution in Armenia, to destroy the temples of Zoroastrianism they had built there, and to respect the local government and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of Armenia. The Treaty of Nuarsag can be viewed as one of the earliest human rights treaties. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=60" title="Treaty of Nuarsag (484 AD)" target="blank">Treaty of Nuarsag (484 AD)</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Chalcedon" title="Council of Chalcedon" target="blank">Council of Chalcedon</a> It was springtime, 571 A.D., when Khosrov sent his huge army, heavily equipped with horses and elephants, under the commandment of Mihran Mihrevantag. A merciless war took place near the village called Gaghamakh (region of Van Lake), were Vartan and his soldiers fought intrepidly. Soldiers and their leader, had decided to get a honorable victory, or to die. A 24-hour intense war ended with the defeat of Persians. All their horses and elephants were killed and destroyed. Fighting men were captured and killed on the spot. The remnants escaped in a great confusion. Source: <a href="http://www.armenian.com/history6.html" title="The Third Rebellion of Armenians Against Persia (571 A.D.) Vartan II Mamigonian" target="blank">The Third Rebellion of Armenians Against Persia (571 A.D.) Vartan II Mamigonian</a> <a href="http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/middle%20ages/Armenia%20in%20the%205th%20and%206th%20Centuries.htm" title="Armenia during the 5th-6th centuries" target="blank">Armenia during the 5th-6th centuries</a> <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=64" title="Armenian Revolt Against Persia and Byzantium (595 AD)" target="blank">Armenian Revolt Against Persia and Byzantium (595 AD)</a> Anania Shirakatsi (Armenian: Անանիա Շիրակացի , Armenian pronunciation: [anania ʃiɹakʼatsʰi], also known as Ananias of Shirak; 610 – 685) was an Armenian mathematician, astronomer and geographer. He is commonly attributed to having written the Geography (Ashkharhatsuyts, in Armenian). Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anania_Shirakatsi" title="Anania Shirakatsi" target="blank">Anania Shirakatsi</a> Saint Hripsimé Church (Armenian: Սուրբ Հռիփսիմէի եկեղեցի) is one of the oldest surviving churches in Armenia. The church was erected by Catholicos Komitas atop the original mausoleum built by Catholicos Sahak the Great in the year 395 AD that contained the remains of the martyred Saint Hripsimé to whom the church was dedicated. The structure was completed in the year 618 AD. It is known for its fine Armenian architecture of the classical period, which has influenced many other Armenian churches since. This church together with other nearby sites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is located in the present day city of Vagharshapat, (Etchmiadzin), Armenia in the Armavir Province. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Hripsime_Church" title="Saint Hripsime Church" target="blank">Saint Hripsime Church</a> The Church of Saint Gayane (Armenian: Սուրբ Գայանէ եկեղեցի; pronounced Surb Gayane) is a 7th century Armenian church in Vagharshapat (Etchmiadzin), the religious center of Armenia. It is located within walking distance from the Etchmiadzin Cathedral of 301. St. Gayane was built by Catholicos Ezra I in the year 630. Its design has remained unchanged despite partial renovations of the dome and some ceilings in 1652. Gayane was the name of an abbess who was martyred with other nuns by Tiridates III of Armenia in the year 301, and subsequently made a saint of the Armenian Apostolic Church. St. Gayane is listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List 2000. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Gayane_Church" title="Saint Gayane Church" target="blank">Saint Gayane Church</a> In 638, the Armenian Apostolic Church began appointing its own bishop in Jerusalem. The office has continued, with some interruptions, down to this day. The Bishops were later elevated in stature and became Patriarchs. The bishop at the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem is given the title of Patriarch in deference to Jerusalem's holy status within Christianity; however, the Armenian Patriarch is under the ecclesiastic authority of the Catholicos of Armenia and of All Armenians. After the end of the Crusader period, the Armenian Patriarchs sought to establish good relations with the Muslim rulers. The Armenian Patriarch Sarkis I (1281–1313) met the Mamleuke governor in Egypt and subsequently returned to his community in Jerusalem, hoping to usher in a period of peace for his people after the Crusades. In the 1340s the Armenians were permitted to build a wall around their quarter. The Mameluke government also engraved a protective declaration in Arabic on the western entrance to the quarter. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Patriarchate_of_Jerusalem" title="Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem" target="blank">Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem</a> After Muhammad's death in 632, his successors started a military campaign in order to increase the territory of the new Caliphate. During the Muslim conquests, the Arabs conquered most of the Middle East. Towards the year 639, under the leadership of Abd ar-Rahman ibn Rabiah, 18,000 Arabs penetrated the district of Taron and the region of the Lake of Van and put the country to fire and sword. The Arab warriors were poor and ill-armed, but recklessly brave and inflamed with an intense fanaticism until then unknown among ancient peoples. On January 6, 642 the Arabs stormed and took the city of Dvin, slaughtered 12,000 of its inhabitants and carried 35,000 into slavery. Prince Theodorus of the Rshtuni family confronted the Arabs, and came out victorious by liberating the enslaved Armenians. Bishop Sebeos recorded the history of the Arab conquest. In his History of Heraclius, he wrote of the sad fate of his country. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_conquest_of_Armenia" title="Arab conquest of Armenia" target="blank">Arab conquest of Armenia</a> Zvartnots, a complex of structures erected in the middle of the 7th century near Ejmiatsin, is of extreme architectural value. The complex consisted of St. George temple or Zvartnots ("vigil forces", "celestial angels") and the palace of Catholicos Nerses Ill, known as "Builder". Zvartnots, built as Armenia's main cathedral in 641-661, was to suppress the Ejmiatsin Cathedral by its grandeur. This purpose was served by the original architectural composition of the building which is an example of a central-dome temple different in its appearance from the antique and Byzantine structures of this kind. The plan of Zvartnots is based on the composition of the central nucleus of Armenia's cross-winged, dome-type structures of the previous times, that is the Greek cross. However, this cross is harmoniously fitted into a circle rather than into a square. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Zvartnots_Cathedral" title="Zvartnots Catedral" target="blank">Zvartnots Catedral</a> From the middle of the seventh century, the Umayyad and then the Abbasid caliphates built an Arab empire in the Middle East, at times imposing extremely heavy taxes and repressive policies on the Armenians. In 774-775, the Armenians revolted against the Arabs but lost. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=72" title="Armenian Revolt Against Arabs (774-775 AD)" target="blank">Armenian Revolt Against Arabs (774-775 AD)</a> The Arabs suspecting that the Armenians were restive under their rule, once more overran and laid waste the Ararat province, razed many cities, spread death and desolation, and demolishing the island fortress of the Lake of Sevan, condemned its defenders to slavery. Justinian II, on the other hand, relentlessly continued his endeavors to force the Armenians to accept the Orthodox creed, and in pursuance of this missionary work, ordered his troops to ravage Upper Armenia, Iberia and Albania, which had been compelled to yield to the power of the Khalifas. Thus the Armenians were persecuted by the Moslems because of their Christianity and by the Byzantine Greeks because of mere differences in creed. Source: <a href="http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/middle%20ages/Armenia_%20in_7th_and_%208th_centuries.htm" title="Armenia during 7th-8th Centuries" target="blank">Armenia during 7th-8th Centuries</a> The Monastery of Tatev (Armenian: Տաթև) is a 9th century Armenian monastery located in the Tatev village in Syunik Province in southern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refers to the monastery. It stands on a plateau on the edge of the deep gorge of the Orotan (Vorotan) River. It became the bishopric seat of Syunik and played a significant role in the history of the region as a centre for economic, political, spiritual and cultural activity. In the 14th and 15th centuries Tatev Monastery hosted one of the most important Armenian medieval universities which contributed to the education of science, religion and philosophy; reproduction of books and development of miniature painting. Scholars of Tatev University contributed to the preservation of Armenian culture and creed during one of its most turbulent periods in its history. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatev" title="Tatev" target="blank">Tatev</a> Ashot I Bagratuni (Աշոտ Մեծ) was an Armenian prince, with Ashot II, oversaw Armenia's second golden age (862–977). He was born to Smbat the Confessor. His family, the Bagratunis, was one of the most powerful in the kingdom along with the Artsruni. Both families were struggling for power through warfare against Arab invaders. He was recognized by the Abbasid Caliph as Prince of Princes of Armenia in 862. His later crowning as King of Armenia was consented to by Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tamid in 885, a move to prevent intrusion into the Armenian territory by Basil I Byzantine emperor, an Armenian. He was succeeded by his son, Smbat I. He reigned for five years until 890 and was married to Katranide. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashot_I_of_Armenia" title="Ashot I of Armenia" target="blank">Ashot I of Armenia</a> Ashot III the Merciful (Armenian: Աշոտ Գ. Ողորմած) also known as Ashot the Gracious (952/953-977) was an Armenian king. He ruled from Ani. Armenia reached the height of its golden era during the reign of the Kings Abas I (928-951), Ashot III (952/953-977), and his sons Smbat II (X) (977-989) and Gagik I (990-1020), an era which according to Muyldermans “in regard to its brilliance and glory was unique.” Ashot III won the favour of the caliphate by defeating one of the emirs in Azerbaijan who had revolted against Baghdad and attacked Armenia. During the war between the Byzantine emperor John Tzimiskes and the Arabs, Armenia did its best to remain neutral and forced the two battling parties to respect the boundaries of its country. The Byzantine army began to march across the plain of Moush, thinking to strike the decisive blow against the Arabs from Armenia, but when they met with the 30,000 strong army of Ashot III, they altered their plan and left Armenia. He was the father of Prince Taros, fl. 1000, father of Ruben, Governor of Larisse in 1025, and grandfather of Prince John-Smbat, who was the father of Ruben I of Armenia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashot_III" title="Ashot III" target="blank">Ashot III</a> Smbat I (Armenian: Սմբատ Ա.) (850–912), known as "the Martyr", was King of Armenia (890–912) of the Bagratuni dynasty, son of Ashot I and the father of Ashot II Yerkat and Abas I. His rule was a period of unending wars against the Arab conquerors and the rebellious Armenian nobles. He fought with mixed success against Afshin, the Caliph's representative in Atropatene, but was defeated by Yusuf, Afshin's brother. Late in his rule he was betrayed by Gagik Artsruni and Sparapet Ashot who proclaimed themselves independent from Smbat's rule. Towards the end of Smbat's rule Yusuf made war on him again. Smbat's wife was captured and traded in exchange for Smbat's son Mushegh and nephew Smbat, who were then poisoned by Yusuf. Yusuf's army ravaged the rest of Armenia as it advanced towards Blue Fortress, where King Smbat had taken refuge, and besieged it for some time. Smbat finally decided to surrender himself to Yusuf in 914 in hopes of ending the Arab onslaught; Yusuf, however, showed no compassion towards his prisoner as he tortured the Armenian king to death and put his headless body on display on a cross in Dvin. He was succeeded by his son Ashot II who was able to eventually expel the invaders and brought peace to Armenia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smbat_I" title="Smbat I" target="blank">Smbat I</a> Ashot II the Iron (Ashot Yerkat) (ruled 914–928) was an Armenian King, the son of King Smbat I. His reign was filled with rebellions by pretenders to the throne, and foreign invasions, which Ashot fought off successfully. This is how he got the epithet the Iron. In 914, Ashot II visited Constantinople to get aid from Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. He returned to Armenia with large aid, and crushed the Arab harassment of his lands by Yusuf. In 922 he was recognized as the ruler of Armenia by the Arabian khalif. He was married to Marie of Kachum. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashot_II" title="Ashot II" target="blank">Ashot II</a> During his reign, King Gagik I Artsruni (r. 908-943/944) of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan chose the island of Aght'amar as one of his residences founding a settlement there. The only structure standing from that period is the Cathedral. It was built of pink volcanic tufa[citation needed] by the architect-monk Manuel during the years 915-921, with an interior measuring 14.80m by 11.5m and the dome reaching 20.40m above ground. In later centuries, and until 1915, it formed part of a monastic complex, the ruins of which can still be seen to the south of the church. Between 1116 and 1895 Aght'amar Island was the location of the Armenian Catholicosate of Aght'amar. Khachatur III, who died in 1895, was the last Catholicos of Aght'amar. In 1915, during the Armenian Genocide, the monks of Aght'amar were massacred, the cathedral looted, and the monastic buildings destroyed. The Cathedral has since fallen into disuse. When the writer and journalist Yaşar Kemal was visiting the island of Akhtamar in 1951, he saw the Holy Cross Church being destroyed. Using his contacts to the public, he helped stop destruction of the site. However, the church remained in a neglected state until 2005, when restoration as a secular museum by the Turkish government began. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Cathedral_of_the_Holy_Cross" title="Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross" target="blank">Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross</a> Grigor Narekatsi (or Krikor, Grigor Naregatsi, Գրիգոր Նարեկացի) (951–1003) is a canonized saint. He was an Armenian monk, poet, mystical philosopher and theologian, born into a family of writers. His father, Khosrov, was an archbishop. He lost his mother very early, so he was educated by his cousin, Anania of Narek, who was the founder of the monastery and school of the village. Almost all of his life he lived in the monastery of Narek (in Vaspurakan, Greater Armenia, now Turkey) where he taught at the monastic school. He is the author of mystical interpretation on the Song of Songs (977) and numerous poetic writings. Narekatsi's poetry is deeply biblical and is penetrated with images, themes and realities of sacred history, distinguished with intimate, personal character. The mystical poem "Book of Lamentations" (published in 1673 in Marseille) has been translated into many languages and has played a significant role in the development of the Armenian literary language. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Narek" title="Gregory of Narek" target="blank">Gregory of Narek</a> Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, beside the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey. The city is located on a triangular site, visually dramatic and naturally defensive, protected on its eastern side by the ravine of the Akhurian River and on its western side by the Bostanlar or Tzaghkotzadzor valley. The Akhurian is a branch of the Araks River and forms part of the current border between Turkey and Armenia. Called the "City of 1001 Churches", it stood on various trade routes and its many religious buildings, palaces, and fortifications were amongst the most technically and artistically advanced structures in the world. At its height, Ani had a population of 100,000–200,000 people and was the rival of Constantinople, Baghdad and Cairo. Long ago renowned for its splendor and magnificence, Ani has been abandoned and largely forgotten for centuries. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ani" title="Ani" target="blank">Ani</a> Smbat II King of Armenia (977–990), son of Ashot III and ruled from Ani. He fortified the city and began the construction of the Cathedral of Ani. Smbat II succeeded to Ashot III, and continued his father's work. He ordered the construction of a wall around the city of Ani and built towers and fortifications, sheltering the city from north to west. During his time also Armenia experienced a period of peace and tranquility, and only the conflict between Smbat II and his uncle Moushegh in Kars disturbed the peace. Another bone of contention arose, however, between the king and the Armenian Church when the king married his own niece, which the church opposed quite strongly. King Smbat II died in 989, while the famous Armenian architect Trdat, by order of the king, had started laying the foundations of the cathedral of Ani. This building is still standing today, and with its unique style and simple decorations, is regarded as one of the masterpieces of Armenian architecture. Smbat II was buried in Ani and, as he did not have any male issue, was succeeded by his brother Gagik I. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashot_II" title="Ashot II" target="blank">Ashot II</a> The Cathedral of Ani (Armenian: Սուրբ Աստուածածին Եկեղեցի, or The Holy Virgin Cathedral; also called Armenian: Մայր Եկեղեցի, or Mother Church) is an Armenian church[disambiguation needed] built in 1001 AD by the architect Trdat in the ruined ancient Armenian capital of Ani, located in what is now the extreme eastern tip of Turkey, on the border with modern Armenia. It offers an example of a domed cruciform church within a rectangular plan. The Cathedral of Ani is 100 feet(30,5 meter) long and 65 feet(19,8 meter) wide. The Catholicosate was relocated to the Arkina district, in the suburbs of Ani, and in 990, the talented architect Trdat completed the building of the Catholicosal palace and the Mother Cathedral of Ani. It was founded by the order of King Smbat II and was completed under the patronage of the wife of King Gagik I, Queen Katranide'. The cathedral was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. By its high art composition the Cathedral of Ani became one of the architectural masterpieces of Armenia. Some European historians of architecture, beginning with Josef Strzygowski, believe that the volume composition of the interior elements served to influence the development of European Gothic architecture in the 12th - 14th centuries. Following the Seljuk Turkish victories in eastern Anatolia, Sultan Alp Arslan in 1064 took down the crosses from the cathedral after entering the city; in 1071 it was turned into a mosque. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathedral_of_Ani" title="Cathedral of Ani" target="blank">Cathedral of Ani</a> Gagik I (Armenian: Գագիկ Ա; r. 989 – 1020) was king of the Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia. He succeeded his brother Smbat II the Conqueror (r. 977-989). Armenia reached its zenith during the reign of Gagik. Gagik followed the footsteps of his predecessors in building churches and religious buildings in his capital Ani. After his death, his elder son, Hovhannes-Smbat, was crowned king while his younger son, Ashot, rebelled against Smbat and proclaimed his independence in the Kingdom of Lori-Dzoraget. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gagik_I_of_Armenia" title="Gagik I of Armenia" target="blank">Gagik I of Armenia</a> During the eleventh to fourteenth centuries, Armenia was subjected to a number of attacks and invasions by Turco-Mongol peoples. The most important of these were the invasions of the Seljuks in the second half of the eleventh century, of the Khwarazmians (1225-1230), and of the Mongols (1223-1247). At the end of the fourteenth century, an already exhausted Armenia was devastated again by the Turco-Mongol armies of Timur-Leng. During the four centuries examined in this chapter, important changes took place in the demographic, economic, and sociopolitical history of the Armenian highlands. If at the beginning of the eleventh century Armenians constituted the majority of the population in many areas, at the end of the fourteenth century there were few areas where Armenians were still the majority. If in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries Armenia's economy and trading situation was to be envied, at the end of the fourteenth century, the Armenian highlands were so unsafe that caravan traffic practically ceased. If at the beginning of the eleventh century the nakharar (lordly) system prevailed across large areas of the highlands, at the end of the fourteenth century nakharar practices were confined to inaccessible mountain regions. Source: <a href="http://rbedrosian.com/asmp1.htm" title="Armenia during the Seljuk and Mongol Periods" target="blank">Armenia during the Seljuk and Mongol Periods</a> The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Classical Armenian: Կիլիկիոյ Հայկական Թագաւորութիւն Kilikio Haykakan Tagavorutyun), also known as the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was a state formed during the High Middle Ages by refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia. Located outside of the Armenian Highland and distinct from the Armenian Kingdom of Antiquity, it was centered in the Cilicia region northwest of the Gulf of Alexandretta, in what is today southern Turkey. The kingdom had its origins in the principality founded c. 1080 by the Rubenid dynasty, an alleged offshoot of the larger Bagratid family, which at various times had held the thrones of Armenia and Georgia. Their capital was at originally Tarsus, and later became Sis. Cilicia was a strong ally of the European Crusaders, and saw itself as a bastion of Christendom in the East. It also served as a focus for Armenian nationalism and culture, since Armenia proper was under foreign occupation at the time. Cilicia's significance in Armenian history and statehood is also attested by the transfer of the seat of the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, spiritual leader of the Armenian people, to the region. In 1198, with the crowning of Levon the Magnificent of the Rubenid dynasty, Cilician Armenia became a kingdom. In 1226, the crown was passed to rival Het'umids through Queen Zabel's second husband, He'tum I. As the Mongols conquered vast regions of Central Asia and the Middle East, Het'um and succeeding Het'umid rulers sought to create an Armeno-Mongol alliance against common Muslim foes, most notably the Mamluks. In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Crusader states disintegrated and the Mongols became islamized, leaving the Armenian Kingdom without any regional allies. After relentless attacks by the Mamluks in Egypt in the fourteenth century, Cilician Armenia of the Lusignan dynasty, marred in an internal religious conflict, finally fell in 1375. Despite this, a significant Armenian population remained in Cilicia throughout the Ottoman rule until the Armenian Genocide of 1915. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia (Kilikia)" title="Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia" target="blank">Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (Kilikia)</a> The Battle of Manzikert (Modern Turkish: Malazgirt (Maydan) Savaşı), was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and the capture of the Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes played an important role in undermining Byzantine authority in Anatolia and Armenia, and allowed Turks to gradually populate Anatolia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Manzikert" title="Battle of Manzikert" target="blank">Battle of Manzikert</a> Nerses IV the Gracious (Armenian: Սուրբ Ներսէս Դ. Կլայեցի (Շնորհալի); also Nerses Shnorhali or Saint Nerses the Graceful), (1098 - 13 August 1173) was Catholicos of Armenia from 1166 to 1173 as well as a theologian, poet, writer and religious hymn composer. Nerses was born in 1098 into the noble Pahlavuni family, near present day Aintab, Turkey. While in office, he moved the see of the Catholicos from Sis to Hromkla (Rumkale). A more precise translation of his epithet Shnorhali is "filled with Grace". Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerses_IV_the_Gracious" title="Nerses IV the Gracious" target="blank">Nerses IV the Gracious</a> The Catholicosate of Aghtamar was established in 1113 under the protection of the Ardzrouni princes. Forty-eight Catholicoi occupied the position, beginning with David of Thornikian in 1113 and ending with Khatchadour III Chiroian from 1864-1895. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=90" title="Catholicosate at Aghtamar (1113 AD)" target="blank">Catholicosate at Aghtamar (1113 AD)</a> Mkhitar Gosh (Armenian: Մխիթար Գոշ) (1130–1213) was an Armenian scholar, writer, public figure, thinker, and priest. He was born in the city of Gandzak. He got his early education from public institutions. When he reached his adolescence he decided to dedicate his life to church. In order to learn theology more thoroughly, Gosh traveled to Cilicia, to Black Mountains (Սև լեռներ) and studies theology under the local priests. Upon his return, he, with Zackareh and Ivaneh Zakarian princes' financial help, builds the Ghetik (Գետիկ) church. He wrote a code of laws including civil and Canon law that was used in both Greater Armenia and Cilicia. It was also used in Poland, by order of king Sigismund the Old, as the law under which the Armenians of Lviv and Kamianets-Podilskyi lived from 1519 until the region fell under Austrian rule in 1772. He also wrote a number of popular fables. He founded the monastery of Nor-Getik which he was later buried. Ever since his death it has better become known as Goshavank. The works of Mkhitar Gosh were later adapted into a Datastanagirk' codex in Middle Armenian, which was prepared by Sempad the Constable, an Armenian noble, military commander, and judge in the 13th century. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mkhitar_Gosh" title="Mkhitar Gosh" target="blank">Mkhitar Gosh</a> This is a list of the Armenian Catholicoi of Cilicia of the Holy See of Cilicia (full name the Armenian Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia Armenian: Կաթողիկոսութիւն Հայոց Մեծի Տանն Կիլիկիոյ ). The Armenian patriarchate was transferred from Armenia to Cilicia in 1058. Although the see at Echmiadzin was restored in 1441, the Cilician catholicosate continued in existence, and continues to exist to the present day. Today the see is located in Antelias, Lebanon. His Holiness, the Catholicos of Armenia and All Armenians claims sovereignty over the Catholicos of Cilicia, though the latter operates independently. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Armenian_Catholicoi_of_Cilicia" title="List of Armenian Catholicoi of Cilicia" target="blank">List of Armenian Catholicoi of Cilicia</a> Saint Nerses of Lambron (Armenian: Ներսես Լամբրոնացի, Nerses Lambronatsi) (1153–1198) was the Archbishop of Tarsus in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia who is remembered as one of the most significant figures in Armenian literature and ecclesiastical history. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerses_of_Lambron" title="Nerses of Lambron" target="blank">Nerses of Lambron </a> Mkhitar Heratsi (Armenian: Մխիթար Հերացի) was an Armenian physician of the 12th century, the father of Armenian medicine, the author of famous "Relief of Fevers" tractate, a cyclopedic work in which he discussed, among other subjects, surgery, diet and psychotherapy. Yerevan State Medical University is named after M. Heratsi. The most prominent students of YSMU are awarded with "Mkhitar Heratsi scholarship". Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mkhitar_Heratsi" title="Mkhitar Heratsi" target="blank">Mkhitar Heratsi</a> Source: <a href="http://www.armenian-history.com/Nyuter/HISTORY/Cilician%20Armenia/cilician_armenia.htm" title="Cilician Armenia" target="blank">Cilician Armenia</a> Leo II or Leon II (occasionally numbered Leo III; Armenian: Լեւոն Բ, Levon II; c. 1236 – 1289) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1269[1]/1270 to 1289. He was the son of King Hetoum I and Queen Isabella and was a member of the Hetoumid family. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_II,_King_of_Armenia" title="Leo II, King of Armenia" target="blank">Leo II, King of Armenia</a> During the reign of Queen Tamar of Georgia (1184-1213), the Armeno-Georgian armies led by Zakar and Ivan Zakarian swept across Armenia, retaking Armenian fortresses and cities, among them Dvin and Kars from the Moslems. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_II,_King_of_Armenia" title="Liberation of Kars (1206-1207 AD)" target="blank">Liberation of Kars (1206-1207 AD)</a> Isabella I (Armenian: Զապել), also Isabel I or Zabel I, ( 27 January 1216/ 25 January 1217 – Ked, 23 January 1252) was the queen regnant of Cilician Armenia (1219–1252). She was proclaimed queen under the regency of Adam of Baghras. But he was assassinated; and Constantine of Baberon (of the Hethumian family) was nominated as guardian. At this juncture, Raymond-Roupen, grandson of Roupen III (the elder brother of Isabella’s father, King Leo I) set up a claim to the throne of Cilician Armenia; but he was defeated, captured, and executed. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Queen_of_Armenia" title="Isabella, Queen of Armenia" target="blank">Isabella, Queen of Armenia</a> Hethum I (died 1271) (also transliterated Hethoum, Hetoum, Het'um, or Hayton from Armenian: Հեթում Ա) ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (also known as "Little Armenia") from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine, Lord of Baberon and Partzapert (a third-cousin of Leo I) and was the founder of the dynasty which bears his name: the Hetoumids. Due to diplomatic relations with the Mongol Empire, Hethum himself traveled to the Mongol court in Karakorum, Mongolia, which was recorded in the famous account "The Journey of Haithon, King of Little Armenia, To Mongolia and Back" by Hetoum's companion, the Armenian historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hethum_I,_King_of_Armenia" title="Hethum I, King of Armenia" target="blank">Hethum I, King of Armenia</a> Frik was an Armenian poet of the 13th century and 14th century. He lived in the time of Mongolian occupation of Armenian land. His verses are written in the spirit of religious Fatalism; at the same time, he criticized clergy for hypocrisy. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frik" title="Frik" target="blank">Frik</a> Toros Roslin (Armenian: Թորոս Ռոսլին, Armenian pronunciation: [tʰoɹos roslin]); circa 1210–1270) was the most prominent Armenian manuscript illuminator in the High Middle Ages. Roslin introduced a wider range of narrative in his iconography based on his knowledge of western European art while continuing the conventions established by his predecessors. Roslin enriched Armenian manuscript painting by introducing new artistic themes such as the Incredulity of Thomas and Passage of the Red Sea. In addition he revived the genre of royal portraits, the first Cilician royal portraits having been found in his manuscripts. His style is characterized by a delicacy of color, classical treatment of figures and their garments, an elegance of line, and an innovative iconography. The human figures in his illustrations are rendered full of life, representing different emotional states. Roslin's illustrations often occupy the entire surface of the manuscript page and at times only parts of it, in other cases they are incorporated in the texts in harmony with the ensemble of the decoration. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toros_Roslin" title="Toros Roslin" target="blank">Toros Roslin</a> The Christian Armenians, including both Greater Armenia and Lesser Armenia, entered into agreements with the Mongol Empire (primarily the Ilkhanate) from the 1240s to around 1320. Some historians refer to this relationship as an alliance, while others refer to it as vassalage, where Armenia was a tributary of the Mongols. During the time period of the later Crusades, the Mongols and Armenians engaged in some combined military operations against their common enemy, the Mameluks, and the relations with the Mongols allowed Cilician Armenia, at least, to survive much longer than the other Christian states of the Levant. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armeno-Mongol_relations" title="Armeno-Mongol relations" target="blank">Armeno-Mongol relations</a> Leo III (or Leon III) (occasionally numbered Leo IV; Armenian: Լեիոն Գ, Levon III) (1289–1307) was a young king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1303 or 1305 to 1307, along with his uncle Hethum II. A member of the Hethumid dynasty, he was the son of Thoros III of Armenia and Margaret of Lusignan, who was the daughter of King Hugh III of Cyprus. In 1303, while still a minor, he was crowned King of Armenia upon the retirement of his uncle Hethum II, who became Regent. Cilician Armenia at the time was in a volatile situation, maintaining a fragile relationship as a vassal state of the Mongol Empire, while defending from attacks by the Muslim Mamluks from the south. The throne of Armenia had changed hands multiple times during Leo's brief lifetime, being held variously by his uncle Hethum II in 1295, passed peacefully to his father Thoros III in 1296, then usurped by another uncle Sempad, who was usurped by his brother Constantine III of Armenia, who himself was deposed by his brother Hethum II in 1299. Thoros III having been killed in 1298, Hethum then passed the crown to Thoros's son, Leo, in 1303. In 1305, Hethum and Leo led the Armenian army to defeat a Mamluk raiding force at Bagras. On November 17, 1307, Leo and Hethum were murdered with their retinue while visiting the Mongol general Bilarghu at Anazarva. Bilarghu, a Mongol who had converted to Islam, had sought to build a mosque in the capital city of Sis, but Hethum had blocked the move and complained to the leader of the Mongol Ilkhanate, Oljeitu. Bilarghu invited Hethum, Leo, and many other Armenia nobles to a meeting at Anazarva, presumably for discussions, but then his forces attacked, and all of the nobles were killed. Bilarghu was later executed by the Mongol ilkhan for his actions. Leo was succeeded as king by another of his uncles, Oshin. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_III,_King_of_Armenia" title="Leo III, King of Armenia" target="blank">Leo III, King of Armenia</a> When Marco Polo traveled through Armenia on his way to China, he noted that he was impressed with the thriving trade and warm hospitality he found there. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=106" title="Marco Polo (1271 AD)" target="blank">Marco Polo (1271 AD)</a> Hethum II (also transliterated Hethoum, Hetoum, Het'um, or Hayton from Armenian: Հեթում Բ) (1266 – November 17, 1307) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1289 to 1293, 1295 to 1296 and 1299 to 1303, while Armenia was a subject state of the Mongol Empire. He abdicated twice in order to take vows in the Franciscan order, while still remaining the power behind the throne as "Grand Baron of Armenia" and later as Regent for his nephew. He was the son of Leo II of Armenia and Kyranna de Lampron, and was part of the Hethumid dynasty, being the grandson of Hethum I, who had originally submitted Cilicia to the Mongols in 1247. He was assassinated with his nephew and successor Leo III by the Mongol general Bilarghu, who himself was later executed for this by the Mongol Ilkhan ruler Öljaitü. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hethum_II,_King_of_Armenia" title="Hethum II, King of Armenia" target="blank">Hethum II, King of Armenia</a> Hetum II abdicated the throne in favor of his nephew Levon IV, who adopted a pro-western, pro-Catholic policy. However, the Mongols, having turned Moslem, killed Hetum II and Levon IV, as well as a number of princes, bringing to an end the treaty of friendship between the Armenians and the Mongols. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=109" title="Levon IV Killed by Mongols (1307 AD)" target="blank">Levon IV Killed by Mongols (1307 AD)</a> Oshin (Armenian: Օշին) (1282 – July 20, 1320) was king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, ruling from 1307 to 1320. He was a member of the Hetoumid-family, the son of Leo II, King of Armenia and Queen Keran. Oshin became king on the death of his nephew Leo III and brother Hethum at the hands of the Mongol general Bilarghu. He was supported by the Mongol Ilkhan Oljeitu, who had ordered the execution of Bilarghu for the assassination. Oshin favored a union of the Armenian and Roman churches, which aroused no little popular discontent. In 1309, he had his wife's uncle Oshin, Marshal of Armenia, executed for the murder of his brother Thoros III. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oshin,_King_of_Armenia" title="Oshin, King of Armenia" target="blank">Oshin, King of Armenia</a> Leo V or Levon V (occasionally Leo VI; Armenian: Լեւոն, Levon V; 1342 – 29 November 1393), of the House of Lusignan, was the last Latin king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. He ruled from 1374 to 1375. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_V,_King_of_Armenia" title="Leo V, King of Armenia" target="blank">Leo V, King of Armenia</a> The last Lusignan King of Cilician Armenia, Levon VI, defeated by the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk" title="Mamluks" target="blank">Mameluks</a> Mamluks, was taken captive to Egypt. Ransomed by the Europeans, he went to France and died in Paris in 1393. He was buried in the church of St. Denis, the burial place of the kings of France. With the end of the reign of Levon VI, the Kingdom of Cilicia came to a close. Armenia would not have an independent government again until 1918. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=113" title="Defeat of Levon VI Lusignan (1374-1375 AD)" target="blank">Defeat of Levon VI Lusignan (1374-1375 AD)</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_the_Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia" title="List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia" target="blank">List of monarchs of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia</a> The leader of the Mongols and descendant of Genghis Khan, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timur" title="Timur the Lame" target="blank">Timur the Lame</a> invaded Asia Minor three times from 1387 to 1402, subjecting Armenia to campaigns of terror and destruction. In the process, thousands of children were trampled to death and some 4000 cavalrymen were buried alive.lt;/p> Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=113" title="Defeat of Levon VI Lusignan (1374-1375 AD)" target="blank">Defeat of Levon VI Lusignan (1374-1375 AD)</a> lt;p> Armenia fell under the control of the economy.php Kara Koyunlu in 1410. The principal Armenian sources available in this period come from the historian Tovma Metsopetsi and several other contemporary colophons. According to Tovma, although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place. This peaceful period was, however, shattered with the rise of Qara Iskander, who reportedly made Armenia a "desert" and subjected it to "devastation and plunder, to slaughter, and captivity." Iskander's wars with and eventual defeat to the Timurids invited further destruction in Armenia, as many Armenians were taken captive and sold into slavery and the land was subjected to outright pillaging, forcing many of them to leave the region. Iskander did attempt to reconcile with the Armenians by appointing an Armenian, Rustum, from a noble family, as one of his advisers.lt;/p> lt;p> When the Timurids launched their final incursion into the region, they were able to get Jihanshah, Iskander's brother, to turn on his brother. Jihanshah pursued a policy of persecution against the Armenians in Syunik and Armenian colophons record the sacking of the monastery of Tatev by his forces. But he, too, attempted a rapprochement with the Armenians, allotting land to feudal lords, rebuilding churches, and approving the relocation of the Armenian Catholicosate to Echmiadzin in 1441. For all this, Jihanshah continued to attack Armenian towns and take Armenian captives as the country saw further devastation in the final years of Jihanshah's failed struggles with the Aq Qoyunlu.lt;/p> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara_Koyunlu" title="Kara Koyunlu" target="blank">Kara Koyunlu</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople" title="Fall of Constantinople" target="blank">Fall of Constantinople</a> The Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople also known as Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul is today head of The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople (Armenian: Պատրիարքութիւն Հայոց Կոստանդնուպոլսոյ), one of the smallest Patriarchates of the Oriental Orthodox Church but one that has exerted a very significant political role and today still exercises a spiritual authority. The Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople recognizes the primacy of the Catholicos of All Armenians, in the spiritual and administrative headquarters of the Armenian Church, the Etchmiadzin, Republic of Armenia, in matters that pertain to the worldwide Armenian Apostolic Church. In local matters, the Patriarchal See is autonomous. The seat of the Armenian Patriarchate of Constantinople is the Surp Asdvadzadzin Patriarchal Church (Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church) in the Kumkapı neighborhood of Istanbul. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Patriarch_of_Constantinople" title="Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople" target="blank">Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople</a> According to contemporary biographer, Mustafa Sâi Çelebi, Sinan was born in 1489 (c. 1490 according to the Encyclopædia Britannica and 1491 according to the Dictionary of Islamic Architecture) with the name Joseph. He was born either an Armenian or a Greek in a small town called Aghurnas (present-day Mimarsinanköy) near the city of Kayseri in Anatolia (as stated in an order by Sultan Selim II). One argument that lends credence to his Armenian background is a letter he wrote to Selim II in 1573, asking the Sultan to spare his relatives from the general exile of Kayseri's Armenian community to the island of Cyprus. The scholars who support the thesis of his Greek background have identified his father as a stonemason and carpenter by the name of Christos (Greek "Χρήστος"), a common Greek name meaning Christ. It is also probable that he had both Greek and Armenian relatives (from his paternal and maternal families) since both ethnic groups had large communities in the Kayseri area during that period. All that is certain is that they were of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, since the Ottoman archives of that epoch recorded only religion information about religion. The concept of ethnicity was irrelevant to the religion-based Ottoman Millet system. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimar_Sinan" title="Mimar Sinan" target="blank">Mimar Sinan</a> With the demise of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rūm (c. 1300), Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent states, the so-called Ghazi emirates. By 1300, a weakened Byzantine Empire had lost most of its Anatolian provinces to ten Ghazi principalities. One of the Ghazi emirates was led by Osman I (from which the name Ottoman is derived), son of Ertuğrul, around Eskişehir in western Anatolia. In the foundation myth expressed in the medieval Turkish story known as "Osman's Dream", the young Osman was inspired to conquest by a prescient vision of empire (according to his dream, the empire is a big tree whose roots spread through three continents and whose branches cover the sky).[citation needed] Osman I extended the frontiers of Ottoman settlement toward the edge of the Byzantine Empire. He moved the Ottoman capital to Bursa, and shaped the early political development of the nation. In this period, a formal Ottoman government was created whose institutions would change drastically over the life of the empire. The government used the legal entity known as the millet, under which religious and ethnic minorities were allowed to manage their own affairs with substantial independence from central control. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire" title="Ottoman Empire" target="blank">Ottoman Empire</a> In the 16th century there were published 31 books, in 17th century – 164 and in 18th there were 824 Armenian books printed. The first Armenian book was published by Hakob Meghapart in 1512 in Venice (Italy). The book was called «Ուրբատագիրք» ("Urbatagirq", "Friday Book"). The first Armenian printing house in Armenia was established in Vagharshapat in 1771 and the first book was called «Զբօսարան Հոգեւոր» ("Zbosaran Hogevor", "Spiritual walking"); it was published in 1772 by Simeon I of Yerevan (Catholicoi of Armenia). The first Armenian printing house in Yerevan was established in 1876 by Z. Hakobyan. In 1880 E. Ter-Grigoryan became director of the printing house and worked there until the 1910s. The first book printed in the printing house was E. Ter-Grigoryan's "Trchnik" ("Small Bird") collection. The first Armenian printing house in Russia was set up in Saint Petersburg in 1781. Grigor Khaldariants' had type sent from London, and under the sponsorship of the Primate of Armenians in Russia, Bishop Hovsep' Arghutian, he edited the first Armenian book to be published in the Tsarist realm, «Տետրակ այբբենական» ("Tetrak aybbenakan", "ABC Reader") in 1781. He then printed works such as «Բանալի գիտութեան» ("Banali Gitut'ean", "The Key to Science"), «Շավիղ լեզվագիտութեան» ("Shavigh Lezvagitut'ean", "Linguistic Guide"), and «Ենհանրական»("Enhanrakan", "Encyclical Letter") by Nersés Shnorhali. The first Armenian printing house in Persia was established in New Julfa (Isfahan, Iran) in 1636. The first book to be published in this printing house was «Սաղմոսարան» ("Saghmosaran", "Psalter"); it was published in 1638 by Khachatur Kesaratsi, while the first Persian book in Persia was published 192 years later in 1830. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_printing" title="Armenian printing" target="blank">Armenian printing</a> After the fall of Ani to the Seljuk Turkish invaders in 1064, many Armenians migrated to the Ukraine. When the Mongols intruded there in the thirteenth century, Armenians found their way into Poland, establishing a number of communities, the largest of which was Lvov. The Armenians in Poland worked as peasant farmers, merchants, soldiers, and artisans (especially goldsmiths and weavers) and conducted their own community affairs. In 1340, King Casimir III, recognizing their importance, granted the Armenians the right to follow their own traditions. In 1519, King Sigismund I decreed that the Armenians in Poland would be governed according to the code of laws of Mkhitar Gosh. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=125" title="Decree of King Sigismund I (1519 AD)" target="blank">Decree of King Sigismund I (1519 AD)</a> On May 29, 1555, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia, who had been fighting each other on Armenian soil, signed a peace treaty dividing Armenia between Turkey and Persia for the first time. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=127" title="Ottoman-Persian Partition of Armenia (1555 AD)" target="blank">Ottoman-Persian Partition of Armenia (1555 AD)</a> Establishment of Armenian printing press in Constantinople After a war between the Ottoman Empire and Persia, a peace treaty is signed which makes the Ottomans keep the major part of Armenia while Persia gets important parts of Yerevan, Artsakh (Karabakh) and Nakhichevan. During the war Shah Abbas forces over 150 000 Armenians in the bordering city of Joulfa in Nakhichevan to abandon their homes and move down to Persia. The Armenians were place in New Joulfa, a new city in the outer skirts of Isfahan. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Shah_Abbas" title="Shah Abbas" target="blank">Shah Abbas</a> Martin the Armenian was a settler in the Jamestown Colony in Virginia. He is the first known individual of Armenian ancestry to have come to North America, arriving in either 1618 or 1619. Martin was invited to the colony to raise silk worms. Other Armenians were also brought to the colony but they returned to Eastern Europe and Caucasia. Armenians were among the first Transcaucasians to come to America. Later, to help with the raising of silkworms two more were invited to the colony. One of them, "George the Armenian" was offered 4,000 pounds of tobacco to persuade him to remain and continue his work. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_the_Armenian" title="Martin the Armenian" target="blank">Martin the Armenian</a> Major earthquake in Van Ori was born in 1658 in the city of Sisian in Armenia. He was the son of an Armenian melik, of the Melik-Israelian rulers of Jraberd. During his youth along with a number of other Armenians, Ori looked for support among the European powers in the fight of Armenians against the Persian and Turkish yoke. As one of the members of a seven man delegation created by Catholicos Hagop Jughaetsi and the support of Georgian King George XI he visited Constantinople in 1678. When the Catholicos died, the plan was abandoned, but Ori independently resolved to complete the mission and journeyed to Venice, Paris and Vienna. He joined the French army of Louis XIV, and entered into contact with the high political circles of France, in course of which he constantly raised the question about the liberation of Armenian people from the foreign yoke; however, he was met with cold indifference. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Ori" title="Israel Ori" target="blank">Israel Ori</a> First printing of the Bible in Armenian New Julfa ( Persian: محله جلفای اصفهان , literally "The Jolfa quarter of Esfahan"; Armenian: Նոր Ջուղա "Nor Juġa") is the Armenian quarter of Isfahan, Iran, located along the south bank of the river Zayandeh River. In 1606 it was established as an Armenian quarter by edict of Shah Abbas I, the influential shah from the Safavid dynasty. Over 150,000 Armenians were moved there from Julfa (also known as Jugha or Djugha) in Nakhichevan. Iranian accounts state that the Armenians came to Persia fleeing the Ottoman Empire's persecution (see this article on Iranian churches); European and Armenian accounts state that the population was moved by force in 1604 and their hometown destroyed by Shah Abbas( Baghdiantz, Herzig, in Kévonian). All accounts agree that, as the residents of Julfa were famous for their silk trade (Kévonian, Baghdiantz, Herzig), Shah Abbas treated the population well and hoped that their settlement in Isfahan would be beneficial to Persia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Julfa" title="New Julfa" target="blank">New Julfa</a> An Armenian Vartabed, Mkhitar of Sepastia, converted to Catholicism in 1695 and founded an Armenian order of monks in Constantinople. Facing harsh criticism from the Armenian Church, he moved first to Greece and then to Venice, where he and his followers were given the island of San Lazzaro, a former leper colony, for their monastery. The order dispatched priests to many Armenian centers, where they established schools and churches. With the desire of enlightening the Armenian people, Abbot Mkhitar wrote a grammar of the Armenian language, both the vernacular and the classical, as well as a dictionary. The Mkhitarists were instrumental in awakening Armenian literary activity. Following the example of their founder, the Mkhitarist priests were imbued with religious devotion, interest in scholarship, and Armenian patriotism. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=138" title="Mkhitar of Sepastia (1676-1749 AD)" target="blank">Mkhitar of Sepastia (1676-1749 AD)</a> Catholicos Hagop Jughaetsi traveled to Isfahan in 1668 to meet with leaders of the New Julfa Armenian community. As a result, letters went to the Tsar requesting help. This was the first step in Russo-Armenian political relations. In 1677, in Etchmiadzin, the Catholicos convened a secret meeting composed of twelve leaders, half clerical and half secular. They decided to appeal once again to the powers of Europe for aid in securing the liberation of Armenia. Among the delegation was Israel Ori. When the Catholicos died en route, Ori continued the mission. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=139" title="Jughaetsi's Secret Meeting (1677 AD)" target="blank">Jughaetsi's Secret Meeting (1677 AD)</a> Movses Khorenatsi's "History of Armenia", written in the fifth century, was printed for the first time in Amsterdam in 1695. That same year, a map of Armenia was printed for the first time by Bishop Tovma Vanantetsi. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=141" title="Printing of Armenian Books in Amsterdam (1695 AD)" target="blank">Printing of Armenian Books in Amsterdam (1695 AD)</a> Sayat-Nova ("Սայաթ Նովա" in Armenian) (1712-1795), meaning 'King of Songs' or 'Lord of Verse' in Persian, is the name given to Harutyun Sahakyan . He was probably born in Sanahin, where his mother was also born, and he grew up in a village near Tbilisi, Georgia, and was skilled in writing poetry, singing and playing the Kamancheh. He performed in the court of Heracle II of Georgia, where he also worked as a diplomat, and apparently helped forge an alliance between Georgia, Armenia and Shirvan against the Persian Empire. He lost his place at court when he fell in love with the king's daughter, and spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat by the army of Agha Mohammed Khan. About 220 songs can be attributed to Sayat-Nova, although he may have written thousands altogether. These songs are still sung today. His songs are written mainly in Armenian, but also in Persian, Georgian and Azeri Turkish. He also knew Arabic. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Sayat_Nova" title="Sayat Nova" target="blank">Sayat Nova</a> David Bek (Armenian: Դավիթ Բեկ) (?-1728) was an Armenian military commander and one of the most prominent military figures of the Armenian liberation movement of the 18th century against the forces of Safavid Iran and the Ottoman Empire. In 1722-25 with direct support from Mkhitar Sparapet and Avan Yuzbashi, he headed the armed struggle of Syunik (particularly from Kapan) and Artsakh Armenians against Safavid Iran. In 1726-28 Armenians under the leadership of Bek fought with Ottoman forces, that were attempting to conquer Transcaucasia. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bek" title="David Bek" target="blank">David Bek</a> A wealthy merchant who had established a printing press in Madras, India, Shahamir Shahamirian published his vision of a future independent Armenia. He saw it as a republic with a parliament chosen by the people, a judicial system, and a constitution adhering to the principle of separation of church and state. To make such a political system possible, Shahamirian reasoned, the populace must be educated. He expressed these ideas even before the United States Constitution was written. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=144" title="Shahamir Shahamirian (1723-1797 AD)" target="blank">Shahamir Shahamirian (1723-1797 AD)</a> Joseph Emin (Armenian: Հովսեփ էմին, Hovsep Emin) (August 2, 1726 - August 2, 1809, Calcutta), was a prominent figure of the Armenian national liberation movement who travelled to various European countries and Russia in order to secure support for the liberation of Armenia from Persia and the Ottoman Empire. He married Thangoom-Khatoon (1748 - 14 September 1843) in 1776, whose grave lies next to his. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Emin" title="Joseph Emin" target="blank">Joseph Emin</a> Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Nor_Nakhichevan" title="Rostov-on-Don" target="blank">Rostov-on-Don</a> Khachatur Abovian (October 15 [O.S. October 3] 1809 – April 14 [O.S. April 2] 1848 (date disappeared); Armenian: Խաչատուր Աբովյան, Armenian pronunciation: [χɑtʃʰɑtur ɑbovjɑn]) was an Armenian writer and national public figure of the early 19th century who mysteriously vanished in 1848 and was presumed dead. He was an educator, poet and an advocate of modernization. Considered as the father of modern Armenian literature, he is best remembered for his novel Verk Hayastani (Wounds of Armenia), which set the trend in both style and genre for subsequent literature. Written in 1841 and published posthumously in 1858, it was the first novel published in the modern Armenian language using the Eastern Armenian dialect instead of Classical Armenian. Abovian was far ahead of his time and virtually none of his works was published during his lifetime. Only after the establishment of the Armenian SSR was Abovian accorded the recognition and stature he merited. Abovian is regarded as one of the foremost figures not just in Armenian literature but Armenian history at large. Abovian's influence on Western Armenian literature was not as strong as it was on Eastern Armenian, particularly in its formative years. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khachatur_Abovian" title="Khachatur Abovian" target="blank">Khachatur Abovian</a> Throughout the nineteenth century, the mountain people of Zeitoun revolted many times against the Turkish regime. They rebelled in 1810 and again in 1818, setting the precedent for major uprisings in 1862, 1867, and 1895-96. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=149" title="Zeitountsi Revolts (1810, 1818 AD)" target="blank">Zeitountsi Revolts (1810, 1818 AD)</a> The Treaty of Gulistan was a peace treaty concluded between Imperial Russia and Persia on 24 October 1813 in the village of Gulistan (in modern-day Goranboy Rayon of Azerbaijan) as a result of the first Russo-Persian War. The peace negotiations were precipitated by Lankaran's fall to Gen. Pyotr Kotlyarevsky on 1 January 1813. The treaty confirmed inclusion of modern day Azerbaijan, Daghestan and Eastern Georgia into the Russian Empire. The text was prepared by the British diplomat Sir Gore Ouseley who served as the mediator and wielded great influence at the Persian court. It was signed by Nikolai Fyodorovich Rtischev from the Russian side and Mirza Abol Hasan Khan Ilchi from the Iranian side. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Gulistan" title="Treaty of Gulistan" target="blank">Treaty of Gulistan</a> (1820-1907) Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople (1869-1873), Prelate of Van (1880-1885) and Catholicos of all Armenians (1892-1907). A writer, newspaper editor and political leader, he led the Armenian delegation to the Congress of Berlin (1878). He was deposed as Patriarch by the Turkish Sultan for his activities aimed to creation of Armenian autonomy within the Ottoman Empire. In 1903, he ordered his clergy to ignore the edict of Russian Tsar Nicolas II concerning the church properties. For his extraordinary dedication to the protection of the Armenians both in Ottoman Empire and in Russia, he was given the affectionate title of Hayrik (Father). Source: <a href="http://www.armenianhistory.info/khrimian.htm" title="Mkrtich Khrimian (Hairik)" target="blank">Mkrtich Khrimian (Hairik)</a> Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Turkmenchay" title="Treaty of Turkmenchay" target="blank">Treaty of Turkmenchay</a> The Armenian Oblast or Armenian Province (Russian: Армянская область, Armenian: Հայկական մարզ)) was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire that existed from 1828 to 1840. It roughly corresponded to most of present-day central Armenia, the Iğdır Province of present-day Turkey, and present-day Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. It was created out of the territories of the former Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates, which were ceded to Russia by the Persian Empire under the Treaty of Turkmenchay after the Russo-Persian War of 1826-1828. Ivan Paskevich, the Ukrainian-born military leader, was made count of the oblast in the year of its creation. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Oblast" title="Armenian Oblast" target="blank">Armenian Oblast</a> Hakob Melik Hakobian (Armenian: Յակոբ Մելիք-Յակոբեան), better known by his pen name Raffi (Armenian: Րաֆֆի), is a renowned Armenian author born in 1835 in Payajouk, an Armenian village situated in the Salmas province (presently in the north of Iran, near Urmia Lake) in Persia. He died in 1888 in Tiflis (present-day Tbilisi). Raffi is a prominent figure of Armenian literature. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raffi_(novelist)" title="Raffi (novelist)" target="blank">Raffi (novelist)</a> Bedros Dourian (alternate spelling: Petros Duryan, Petros Tourian, Bedros Tourian) was born to a poverty stricken family whose father was a struggling blacksmith in Istanbul. A romantic poet with keen sensitivity, he amassed a beloved following of admirers during his brief time on earth. He died of tuberculosis at the tender age of 21. He left, however, a rich legacy of drama and poetry that has captured the hearts of his people ever since. A true patriot, his historical plays were inspired by a yearning for national liberation. His Armenian school teacher was Hagop Baronian, the famous satirist. Educated in French, Dourian was well read in Hugo, Lamartine, and de Musset and brought a lyrical and sentimental quality to his native language of Armenian poetry. Spontaneous, eloquent and richly endowed with imagery and metaphors, his poems reveal natural artistic brilliance, and paved the way with innovation from the old style of writing. Critics have credited Dourian with originating the modern lyric tradition in verse. His poetry has been translated into Russian, French, English, German and Italian. Even in translation his poetry touches the soul of the reader. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedros_Tourian" title="Bedros Tourian" target="blank">Bedros Tourian</a> Internal organization of the Armenian community within the Ottoman Empire was traditionally conducted under the millet system. However, by the 1850's, dissention and dissatisfaction grew within the Armenian millet because the leadership had become ineffective. In 1856, the Ottoman government decreed that each millet (religious community) in the Empire should have a representative body composed of clerical and secular members to oversee millet affairs and should present a constitution to the government for approval. The Armenian document was the work of a group of young intellectuals who had studied at the learning centers of Western Europe and had become acquainted with the political ideologies and institutions that were being advocated there in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. By 1857, they had formulated a constitution outlining the rights of the people and their responsibilities to the national government. Although the Ottomans did finally approve it in 1863, it did not give more rights to the Armenian people but merely served as a vehicle for internal organization. Source: <a href="http://www.littlearmenia.com/html/history/detail.asp?id=185" title="Adoption of Armenian Constitution (1863 AD)" target="blank">Adoption of Armenian Constitution (1863 AD)</a> Andranik Toros Ozanian, Zoravar Andranik (also Antranik or Antranig), (Armenian: Անդրանիկ Թորոսի Օզանյան, Զորավար Անդրանիկ) (February 25, 1865 – August 31, 1927) was an Armenian general, political and public activist and freedom fighter, greatly admired as a national hero. After losing his wife and son at an early age, Andranik joined the Armenian freedom movement in the Ottoman Empire, and participated in various political parties, including Armenian Revolutionary Federation. He met the military commander Aghpyur Serob and joined his fedayeen. After the death of Serob (1899) he became the common leader of Armenian fedayee groups of Vaspurakan and Sassoun (Western Armenia). All of Andranik's lieutenants accepted that their leader possessed undisputed authority and superiority in military matters and that he was "primus inter pares" (the first among equals). Such was the popularity Andranik earned among the men he led that they came to refer to him always by his first name - even formally, when he later held a general's rank in the Imperial Russian Army. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andranik_Toros_Ozanian" title="Andranik Toros Ozanian" target="blank">Andranik Toros Ozanian</a> Hovannes Toumanian (Arm: Հովհաննես Թումանյան) was born on the 19th February, 1869, in the village of Dsegh, Lori District, in the family of Ter-Tadevos, an Armenian priest. Lori, or as ancient Armenians called it, the country of Gugars, was described by the poet Avetik Isahakian as a country of tales and legends, every corner of it a testament, each stone a witness to thc heroic past. The poet spent his childhood in Lori, Homeric land left its indelible imprint on all hi~ and that works. Toumanian went to primary school in his native village. He was then a pupil at the Nersesian School in Thus, which he left early, leaving his future education and development to his own efforts according to his tastes and preferences. That is why the famous Russian poet Valeri Bryussov could describe Toumanian as "largely self-educated, and an extremely well—read man if not systematically so", "a southern type in whom two principles, fun and genius, are astonishingly synthesised". The rest of Toumanian's life, until his death in 1923, was passed in Tiflis, which up to the revolution was the administrative centre Transcaucasia, and a great centre of of Armenian culture. He did not travel far, as did his elder friend Alexander Shirvanzade or his younger friend Avetik Isahakian. His trips were rare and only made when unavoidable. He once made a journey to St. Petersburg and Moscow, but that was a trip in a prison carriage in 1908, taking the poet to trial in court, accused of anti—tsarist activities. Towards the end of his life, in 1921, he travelled again: this time to Constantinople in connection with the work of the Armenian Relief Committee and returned with his health undermined. Lastly, towards the end of 1922, Toumanian, already seriously ill, was taken to Moscow for medical treatment, and it was his remains that were brought back to Tiflis. If, despite the absence of salient events in Toumanian' s own biography, he nevertheless lived a highly intense life, more so than any other Armenian poet , at least at that time, the reason must be sought in the environment in which he lived. Toumanian lived at a turbulent period in Armenian history. No other period in the long, tragic chronicle of the Armenian people is so dramatic, condenses so many splendid hopes and illusions and so much shattering disillusionment and tragedy as the end of the nineteenth and the first two decades of the twentieth centuries. Source: <a href="http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Hovhannes_Tumanyan" title="Hovhannes Tumanyan" target="blank">Hovhannes Tumanyan</a> Soghomon Gevorki Soghomonyan - Komitas ("Սողոմոն Գևորգի Սողոմոնյան" - "Կոմիտաս" in Armenian), by Western Armenian transliteration also Gomidas, born on September 26 or October 8a 1869 in Kütahya, Ottoman Empire, died on October 22, 1935 in Paris, France, was an Armenian priest, composer, choir leader, singer, music ethnologist, music pedagogue and musicologist. Many regard him as the founder of modern Armenian classical music. Komitas lost his mind after witnessing the 1915 Armenian Genocide and is ranked among the Armenian martyrs of genocide. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komitas_Vardapet" title="Komitas Vardapet" target="blank">Komitas Vardapet</a> Kevork Aroyi Ghazarian (Armenian: Գէորգ Արոյի Ղազարեան) (1865 - May 27, 1907) commonly known as Kevork Chavush or Gevorg Chaush (Armenian: Գէորգ Չաւուշ), was an Armenian fedayee in the Ottoman Empire. Kevork Chavoush was a legendary fedayee whose main goal was to ameliorate the plight of the Armenian peasantry in the face of harassment by marauding Turks and Kurds. To this end, he advocated armed resistance. Chavoush's extraordinary daring and valor inspired his men as he led the resistance in the region of Daron-Sasun from 1904 until 1907, when he was killed in battle. Kevork Chavush was known to have good relations with some Kurdish leaders of the region. He would openly meet and dine with them and at the same time, try to persuade them to not obey orders by the Sultan, who had hired the Kurds as part of his Hamidieh guards. This was in vain as the Kurds ended up not joining the Armenian revolutionaries. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevork_Chavush" title="Kevork Chavush" target="blank">Kevork Chavush</a> Avetik Isahakyan (Armenian: Ավետիք Իսահակյան; Russian: Аветик Саакович Исаакян; October 31 [O.S. October 19] 1875), Ghazarapat, near Aleksandropol, current Gyumri, Russian Empire – October 17, 1957, Yerevan) was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer, academian and public activist. Isahakyan did not believe the promises made by the government of the Young Turks, regarding self-government and autonomy of Western Armenia. Assured that the danger of Panturkism (which he believed was aimed at the total extinction of Armenians) could be prevented by Turkey's supporter, Germany, Isahakyan went to Berlin. There, together with a number of German intellectuals, he participated in the German-Armenian movement, and edited the group's journal "Mesrob". The start of World War I and the horrifying massacres confirmed his gruesome predictions about the annihilating nature of the Young Turks government's policies. After the war and the Armenian Genocide, Isahakyan described through his compositions the sorrow destiny and Armenians' heroic struggle for freedom. The poet put forward the genocide accusations, the worst part of which had taken place between 1915–1922, in "The White Book". During that period, Isahakyan expressed his ideas mainly through his social and political articles, in which he discussed the topics of the Armenian cause, reunification of Armenia and the restoration of the Armenian government. The images of the massacres are persistent in his poems, such as "Snow has Covered Everything…", "To Armenia…", and "Here Comes Spring Again". Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avetik_Isahakyan" title="Avetik Isahakyan" target="blank">Avetik Isahakyan</a> The term "Armenian Question" as used in European history, became common place among diplomatic circles and in the popular press after the Congress of Berlin; that in like Eastern Question, refers to powers of Europe's involvement to the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire beginning with the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. However in specific terms, the Armenian question refers to the protection and the freedoms of Armenians from their neighboring communities. The "Armenian question" explains the forty years of Armenian-Ottoman history in the context of English, German, Russian politics between 1877-1914. The "Armenian Question", like the "Eastern Question", remained a factor (issue) in international politics, first with Great Britain and Germany; then Russia taking on the role of Ottoman Armenians protector (see protectorate of missions). Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Question" title="Armenian Question" target="blank">Armenian Question</a> Atom Yarjanian (Armenian: Ատոմ Եարճանեան), better known by his pen name Siamanto (Սիամանթօ) (1878–1915), was an influential Armenian writer, poet and national figure from the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was killed by the Ottoman authorities during the Armenian Genocide. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siamanto" title="Siamanto" target="blank">Siamanto</a> Aram Manougian (Armenian: Արամ Մանուկեան, 1879 – 29 January 1919) also known as "Aram of Van" and to a lesser extent, "Sarkis (Serge) Hovanessian", was an Armenian revolutionary, politician and general who managed and led the Van Resistance and instrumented the founding of the Democratic Republic of Armenia. Aram Manougian joined the Armenian Revolutionary Federation at a very early age. He is credited as a political, military and spiritual leader of the Armenian people during and after the Armenian Genocide. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_Manougian" title="Aram Manougian" target="blank">Aram Manougian</a> Ruben Ter Minassian (Armenian: Ռուբեն Տեր Մինասյան (1882–1951) was born in 1882 in Akhalkalak to Armenian parents who had migrated from Erzerum. Higher education at Gevorgian seminary, Echmiadzin and Lazarian Institute, Moscow. Returned to the Caucasus in 1903. He was an Armenian Revolutionary and later, a politician. He was a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) being a very active member politics and revolution for the liberation of Armenia, or known as Armenian national liberation movement. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruben_Ter-Minasian" title="Ruben Ter-Minasian" target="blank">Ruben Ter-Minasian</a> General Drastamat Kanayan (Armenian: Դրաստամատ Կանայեան (Drastamat Kanahyean), known as General Dro, Դրօ, May 31, 1884 – March 8, 1956), was a politician, revolutionary, military commander of Hitler’s Armenian Legion of the Wehrmacht, the armed forces of Nazi Germany, and part of Armenian national liberation movement as a member of the A.R.F. Dashnaktsuyun. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drastamat_Kanayan" title="Drastamat Kanayan" target="blank">Drastamat Kanayan</a> Daniel Varujan or "Taniel Varujan"(Armenian: Դանիէլ Վարուժան, Դանիել Չպուքքարյան April 20, 1884-August 26, 1915) is one of the significant Armenian poets of the 20th century. He was one of the greatest Armenian poets of this century. At the age of 31, when he was blossoming to become a poet of international stature, he was brutally murdered (see below) by the government of "The Young Turks", like Siamanto, Krikor Zohrab and many others, as part of the officially planned and executed Genocide of the whole Armenian nation. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Varujan" title="Daniel Varujan" target="blank">Daniel Varujan</a> The Hamidian massacres (Armenian: Համիդյան ջարդեր), also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result. The massacres are named after Sultan Abdul Hamid II, whose efforts to reinforce the territorial integrity of the embattled Ottoman Empire reasserted Pan-Islamism as a state ideology. Abdul Hamid believed that the woes of the Ottoman Empire stemmed from "the endless persecutions and hostilities of the Christian world." He perceived the Ottoman Armenians to be an extension of foreign hostility, a means by which Europe could "get at our most vital places and tear out our very guts." One of the most serious incidents occurred in Armenian-populated parts of the Armenian Highlands and Anatolia. Although the Ottomans had prevented other revolts in the past, the harshest measures were directed against the Armenian community. They observed no distinction between the nationalist dissidents and the Armenian population at large, and massacred them with brutal force. This occurred at a time when the telegraph could spread news around the world and the massacres were extensively covered in the media in Western Europe and the United States. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamidian_massacres" title="Hamidian massacres" target="blank">Hamidian massacres</a> The Khanasor Expedition (Armenian: Խանասորի Արշաւանքը, "Xanasori Arshawankĕ") was an attack by an Armenian irregular unit against the Kurdish Mazrik tribe on July 25, 1897. In 1896, in the aftermath of the Defense of Van, the Mazrik tribe had ambushed and slaughtered many of the Armenian defenders of Van as they were retreating into Persia. The Armenian Revolutionary Federation decided to retaliate for that atrocity, resulting in the Khanasor Expedition. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khanasor Expedition" title="Khanasor Expedition" target="blank">Khanasor Expedition</a> Yeghishe Charents (Armenian: Եղիշե Աբգարի Սողոմոնյան March 13, 1897, Kars, Russian Armenia, Russian Empire – November 27, 1937, Yerevan, Soviet Union) was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents was an outstanding poet of the twentieth century, touching upon a multitude of topics that ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialism, and, more prominently, on Armenia and Armenians. An early champion of communism, Charents joined the Bolshevik party, but as the stalinist terror began in the 1930s, he gradually grew disillusioned with Stalinism and was executed during the 1930s purges. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeghishe Charents" title="Yeghishe Charents" target="blank">Yeghishe Charents</a> Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան; Russian: Ара́м Ильи́ч Хачатуря́н; June 6, 1903 – May 1, 1978) (born in Tiflis, Georgia) was a prominent Soviet Armenian composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by folk music of Armenia. Aram Khachaturian has been an iconic figure for generations of Armenian composers. His works paved the way for new styles and daring explorations, although his own style was closely controlled by the regime. Khachaturian encouraged young composers to experiment with new sounds and find their own voices. His colorful orchestration technique, admired by Shostakovich and others in the past, is still noted for its freshness and vitality by modern composers. Khachaturian's influence can be traced in nearly all trends of Armenian classical traditions, whether in symphonic or chamber music. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aram_Khachaturian" title="Aram Khachaturian" target="blank">Aram Khachaturian</a> The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between 1 million and 1.5 million. Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. It is widely acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, as scholars point to the systematic, organized manner in which the killings were carried out to eliminate the Armenians, and it is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events. The starting date of the genocide is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day that Ottoman authorities arrested some 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. Thereafter, the Ottoman military uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria. Massacres were indiscriminate of age or gender, with rape and other sexual abuse commonplace. The majority of Armenian diaspora communities were founded as a result of the Armenian genocide. The Republic of Turkey, one of the successor states of the Ottoman Empire, denies the word genocide is an accurate description of the events (see Denial of the Armenian Genocide). In recent years, it has faced repeated calls to accept the events as genocide. To date, twenty countries have officially recognized the events of the period as genocide, and most genocide scholars and historians accept this view. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Genocide" title="Armenian Genocide" target="blank">Armenian Genocide</a> The Battle of Sardarabad or Battle of Sardarapat (Armenian: Սարդարապատի ճակատամարտ, Sardarapati č̣akatamart, Turkish: Serdarabad Muharebesi or Serdarabad Savaşı[4]) was a battle of the Caucasus Campaign of World War I that took place near Sardarabad (modern-day Armavir), Armenia from May 21-29, 1918. Sardarabad was only 40 kilometers west of the city of Yerevan and the battle is currently seen as not only stopping the Ottoman advance into the rest of Armenia but also preventing the complete destruction of the Armenian nation.[5] In the words of historian and researcher Christopher J. Walker, had the Armenians lost this battle, "it is perfectly possible that the word Armenia would have henceforth denoted only an antique geographical term." Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Sardarabad" title="Battle of Sardarabad" target="blank">Battle of Sardarabad</a> The Treaty of Sèvres (10 August 1920) was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy signed a secret "Tripartite Agreement" at the same date.[1] The Tripartite Agreement confirmed Britain's oil and commercial concessions and turned the former German enterprises in the Ottoman Empire over to a Tripartite corporation. The open negotiations covered a period of more than fifteen months, beginning at the Paris Peace Conference. The negotiations continued at the Conference of London, and took definite shape only after the premiers′ meeting at the San Remo conference in April 1920. France, Italy, and Great Britain, however, had secretly begun the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire as early as 1915. The delay occurred because the powers could not come to an agreement which, in turn, hinged on the outcome of the Turkish national movement. The Treaty of Sèvres was annulled in the course of the Turkish War of Independence and the parties signed and ratified the superseding Treaty of Lausanne in 1923. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_S%C3%A8vres" title="Treaty of Sèvres" target="blank">Treaty of Sèvres</a> The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (Armenian: Հայկական Սովետական Սոցիալիստական Հանրապետություն Haykakan Sovetakan Soc'ialistakan Hanrapetut'yun; Russian: Армя́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респу́блика Armjanskaja Sovetskaja Sotsialističeskaja Respublika), also known as the Armenian SSR for short, was one of the fifteen republics that made up the Soviet Union in December 1922. It was established in December 1920, when the Soviets took over control of the short-lived Democratic Republic of Armenia and lasted until 1991. It is sometimes called the Second Republic of Armenia, following the Democratic Republic of Armenia's demise (which was also known as the First Republic of Armenia). Under Soviet rule, the Armenian SSR transformed from a largely agricultural hinterland to an important industrial production center. On August 23, 1990, it was renamed the Republic of Armenia, but remained in the Soviet Union until its official proclamation of independence on September 21, 1991. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic" title="Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic" target="blank">Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic</a> Paruyr Rafaeli Ghazaryan (better known as Paruyr Sevak; in Armenian: Պարույր Սևակ (Ղազարյան); January 26, 1924 - June 17, 1971) was an Armenian poet. He is considered one of the greatest Armenian poets of the twentieth century. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paruyr_Sevak" title="Paruyr Sevak" target="blank">Paruyr Sevak</a> Hundreds of thousands Armenians migrate to Soviet Armenia from Middle East. Tsitsernakaberd (Armenian: Ծիծեռնակաբերդ, Russian: Цицернакабéрд) is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide; it is located on a hill overlooking Yerevan, Armenia. Every year on April 24, hundreds of thousands of Armenians gather here to remember the victims of the 1915 Armenian Genocide that took place in the Ottoman Empire carried out by the Turkish government. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsitsernakaberd" title="Tsitsernakaberd" target="blank">Tsitsernakaberd</a> The Spitak Earthquake (also called Leninakan Earthquake and Gyumri Earthquake) was a tremor with a magnitude of 6.9, that took place on December 7, 1988 at 11:41 local time (07:41 UTC) in the Spitak region of Armenia, then part of the Soviet Union. The earthquake killed at least 25,000 people; geologists and earthquake engineering experts laid the blame on the poorly built support structures of apartments and other buildings built during the "stagnation" era of Leonid Brezhnev. Despite the tensions of the Cold War, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the United States, within a few days of the earthquake, for humanitarian help, the first such request since World War II. 111 countries, including Belgium, Chile, China, France, Finland, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, US, West Germany, and Yugoslavia sent a substantial amount of humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union in the form of rescue equipment, search teams and medical supplies. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1988_Spitak_earthquake" title="1988 Spitak earthquake" target="blank">1988 Spitak earthquake</a> The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan. As the war progressed, Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet Republics, entangled themselves in a protracted, undeclared war in the mountainous heights of Karabakh as Azerbaijan attempted to curb the secessionist movement in Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave's parliament had voted in favor of uniting itself with Armenia and a referendum, boycotted by the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh, was held, whereby the vast majority of the voters voted in favor of independence. The demand to unify with Armenia, which proliferated in the late 1980s, began in a relatively peaceful manner; however, in the following months, as the Soviet Union's disintegration neared, it gradually grew into an increasingly violent conflict between ethnic Armenians and ethnic Azerbaijanis, resulting in claims of ethnic cleansing by both sides. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_War" title="Nagorno-Karabakh War" target="blank">Nagorno-Karabakh War</a> Monte Melkonian (in Armenian: in TAO Մոնթէ Մելքոնեան, in RAO Մոնթե Մելքոնյան; sometimes simply referred to by just his first name Monte; November 25, 1957 – June 12, 1993) was a famed Armenian commander during Nagorno-Karabakh war. Melkonian had no prior service record in any country's army before being placed in command of an estimated 4,000 men in the war.[1] He had largely built his military experience beginning from the late 1970s and 1980s where he fought against the various splintering factions in the Lebanese Civil War, against Israeli troops in the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and was a member of the Armenian organization ASALA. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_War" title="Nagorno-Karabakh War" target="blank">Nagorno-Karabakh War</a> Armenia declared its sovereignty from the Soviet Union on August 23, 1990. In the wake of the August Coup, a referendum was held on the question of secession. Following an overwhelming vote in favor, full independence was declared on September 21, 1991. However, widespread recognition did not occur until the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991. Armenia faced many challenges during its first years as a sovereign state. Several Armenian organizations from around the world quickly arrived to offer aid and to participate in the country's early years. From Canada, a group of young students and volunteers under the CYMA - Canadian Youth Mission to Armenia banner arrived in Ararat Region and became the first youth organization to contribute to the newly independent Republic. Following the Armenian victory in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, both Azerbaijan and Turkey closed their borders and imposed a blockade which they retain to this day, though in October 2009 Turkey and Armenia signed a treaty to normalize relations. These events severely affected the economy of the fledgling republic, and closed off its main routes to Europe. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Armenia" title="Independent Armenia (1991-today)" target="blank">Independent Armenia (1991-today)</a> The Capture of Shusha (Armenian: Շուշիի ազատագրումը (Šušii azatagrumë), the Liberation of Shushi; Azeri: Şuşanın işğalı, the Occupation of Shusha) was the first significant military victory by Armenian forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave during the Nagorno-Karabakh War. The battle took place in the strategically important Azeri mountain town of Shusha (known as Shushi to Armenians) on the evening of 8 May 1992, and fighting swiftly concluded the following day after Armenian forces captured and drove out the defending Azeris. Armenian military commanders based in Nagorno-Karabakh's capital of Stepanakert had been contemplating the capture of the town after a hail of Azeri military bombardment had begun shelling that city. The seizure of the town proved decisive. Shusha was the most important military stronghold that Azerbaijan held in Nagorno-Karabakh — its loss marked a turning point in the war, and led to a series of military victories by Armenian forces in the course of the conflict. However some of the shelling was, according to the accounts of former residents, either indiscriminate or intentionally aimed at civilian targets. Source: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Shusha" title="Capture of Shusha" target="blank">Capture of Shusha</a>