Armenia
Ethnic groups in Armenia include Armenians (98%), Kurds,
Russians, Greeks, and others. More than 90% of the
population is nominally affiliated with the Armenian
Apostolic Church, which is considered to be the national
church of Armenia. Languages are Armenian (96%),
Russian, and others. |
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Armenia first emerged around 800 BC as part of the
Kingdom of Urartu or Van, which flourished in the
Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor until 600 BC. After the
destruction of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian
state was founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to
65 BC, Armenia extended its rule over the entire
Caucasus and the area that is now eastern Turkey, Syria,
and Lebanon. For a time, Armenia was the strongest state
in the Roman East. It became part of the Roman Empire in
64 BC and adopted a Western political, philosophical,
and religious orientation.
In 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation to adopt
Christianity as a state religion, establishing a church
that still exists independently of both the Roman
Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox churches. During its
later political eclipses, Armenia depended on the church
to preserve and protect its unique identity. From around
1100 to 1350, the focus of Armenian nationalism moved
south, as the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, which had
close ties to European Crusader states, flourished in
southeastern Asia Minor until it was conquered by Muslim
states.
Between the 4th and 19th centuries, Armenia was
conquered and ruled by, among others, Persians,
Byzantines, Arabs, Mongols, and Turks. For a brief
period from 1918 to 1920, it became an independent
republic. In late 1920, local communists came to power
following an invasion of Armenia by the Soviet Red Army,
and in 1922, Armenia became part of the Trans-Caucasian
Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1936, it became the
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. Armenia declared its
independence from the Soviet Union on September 21,
1991. |
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