History of Armenia facts for kids

Tigranes the Great's Empire

The history of Armenia is super old! It goes back at least to 2000 BC. Imagine that! Experts who study ancient times, called archaeologists, have found signs of people living in the area of modern-day Armenia even earlier.

They found a very old culture, called the Shulaveri-Shomu culture, which existed around 6000 to 4000 BC. That's a long, long time ago! Even older, a tomb was found that dates back to 9000 BC. Another ancient group, the Kura-Araxes culture, lived in the Armenian Highlands from about 4000 to 2200 BC. This culture then led to the Trialeti culture (around 2200 to 1500 BC). This means that Armenians are one of the oldest groups of people who speak Indo-European languages.

Ancient Kingdoms and Peoples

The Kingdom of Urartu

Urartu was an ancient kingdom located in the Armenian Highlands. It was a powerful state before the Armenians formed their own kingdom.

Some historians believe that the Armenian people came from a mix of different groups who lived in or moved through this area. These groups included the Hurrians, the Urarteans, the Luvians, and the Mushki. The Mushki, also known as Phrygians, might have brought their Indo-European language to Armenia. Today, the Armenian language is Indo-European, but it has many words and influences from older languages, especially the Urartean language.

Armenia's Place Between Empires

In ancient times, the Armenians had friendly connections with the Parthian Empire. This was important because Armenia was located right between two huge empires: the Roman Empire and the Parthian Empire. These two empires often fought each other, and Armenia was often caught in the middle.

The Armenians played a big part in the early dealings between Rome and Parthia. A famous Armenian king named Tigranes the Great helped set up rules for how Rome and Parthia would deal with each other. The Parthians were often allies with the Armenians. Many noble families from Parthia even moved to Armenia, showing how close their ties were.

Related pages

• Hayasa-Azzi
• Battle of Rhandeia

Images for kids

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  Yerevan with Mount Ararat in the background

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  A 5500-year-old leather shoe—the oldest shoe in the world—was discovered in the Areni cave in Armenia. See Areni-1 shoe.

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  Bronze Age astronomical observatory Zorats Karer (also known as Karahunj).

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  The natural borders of the Armenian plateau and its peripheral regions according to H. F. B. Lynch (1901).

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  Armenia, Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Assyria with Adjacent Regions, Karl von Spruner, published in 1865.

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  Armenia in the 4th Century, 299–387 AD.

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  The extent of Persian Armenia.

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  Eastern Armenia, 1740.

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  Robert de Vaugondy Map of Persia, Arabia and Turkey, 1753. Armenia is divided between Persia and Turkey.

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  East Armenia on the Persian Empire map. John Pinkerton, 1818.

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  The Erivan khanate within the Iranian Safavid Empire.

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  Patriarch Harutyun I of Constantinople

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  Western Armenia the first half of the 18th century – Herman Moll's map,1736

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  Western Armenia on the Ottoman Empire map – John Pinkerton, 1818

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  6 Armenian provinces of Western Armenia – Patten, William and J.E. Homas, Turkey in Asia (with 6 Armenian provinces of Western Armenia), 1903

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  Map of the Armenian Oblast within the Russian Empire

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  Armenian civilians, being deported during the Armenian genocide

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  6 Armenian provinces of Western Armenia and boundaries between countries before World War I

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  First Republic of Armenia in 1919

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  The proposed Armenian state created by the Treaty of Sèvres

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  Armenian civilians fleeing Kars after its capture by Turkish forces

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  Members of the Soviet 11th Red Army marching down Yerevan's Abovyan Boulevard, effectively ending Armenian self-rule

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  Political map of the region, CIA, 2002

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  Distribution of Armenians in the Caucasus

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  The modern concept of United Armenia as claimed by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation. Orange: areas overwhelmingly populated by Armenians (Republic of Armenia: 98%; Nagorno-Karabakh: 99%; Javakheti: 95%) Yellow: Historically Armenian areas with presently no or insignificant Armenian population (Western Armenia and Nakhichevan)

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  Inauguration of Levon Ter-Petrosyan as president in 1991

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  Robert Kocharyan

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  Military situation of Nagorno-Karabakh in May 2016

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  Serzh Sargsyan

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  1 March mass protests

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  Nikol Pashinyan

See also

In Spanish: Historia de Armenia para niños