In world history, civilizations were replaced, whole nations and languages appeared and disappeared without a trace. Most modern nations and nationalities were formed after the first millennium AD. However, along with the Persians, Jews, Greeks, there is still another ancient distinctive people, whose representatives found the construction of the Egyptian pyramids, the birth of Christianity and many other legendary events of ancient times. Armenians - what are they? What is their difference from neighboring Caucasian peoples and what is their contribution to world history and culture?
The appearance of the Armenians
Like any nation whose origin goes far back, the history of the emergence of Armenians is closely intertwined with myths and legends, and sometimes it is verbal legends transmitted over the millennia that give clearer and clearer answers than numerous scientific hypotheses.
According to folk legends, the founder of Armenian statehood and the entire Armenian people is the ancient king Hayk. In the distant third millennium BC, he, along with his army, came to the shores of Lake Van. August 11, 2107 BC e. a battle took place between the ancestors of modern Armenians and the troops of the Sumerian king Utukhengal, in which Hayk won. This day is considered the starting point of the national calendar and is a national holiday.
The name of the king gave the name to the people (the self-name of the Armenians is high).
Historians prefer to operate with more boring and blurry reasonings, in which much remains unclear about the origin of such a people as Armenians. What race they have is also the subject of controversy among various researchers.
The fact is that on the territory of the Armenian Highlands in the first millennium BC. e. there was a state with a highly developed civilization - Urartu. Representatives of this people, the Hurats mixed with the local population, gradually adopted the language, and such a nation as Armenians was formed. What they have become over two millennia, what they have had to face is a separate drama.
History of the struggle for identity
Every nation in its history encounters a foreign invasion, with attempts to change the very essence of the nation. The whole history of the Armenians is a struggle against numerous invaders. Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks - all of them left their mark in the history of Armenians. However, the ancient people with their own written language, language and stable tribal ties were not so easy to assimilate, dissolve among foreign migrants. The Armenians resisted all this. Religion is what they have, what neighbors have - these issues also became the subject of friction.
In response to this, measures were repeatedly taken to forcibly evict this people to the territory of Iran, Turkey, and genocide was organized. The result was a massive migration of Armenians around the world, which is why the national diasporas are very large and one of the most united community in the whole world.
In the XVIII century, for example, the Caucasians were resettled on the banks of the Don, where the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don was founded. Hence a large number of Armenians in southern Russia.
Religion
Unlike many other nations, you can determine exactly in which year the Armenians converted to Christianity. The National Church is one of the oldest in the world and has gained independence for a long time. The folk tradition clearly gives the names of the first young preachers at that time of faith - Thaddeus and Bartholomew. In 301, King Trdat III finally decided on Christianity as the state religion.
Many people are often lost in answering the question of what kind of faith the Armenians have. To what current do they belong - Catholics, Orthodox? In fact, back in the middle of the fourth century AD, a decision was made on the independent election of clergy and primates. Soon, the Armenian Apostolic Church finally separated from the Byzantine Church and became completely autonomous.
The Chalcedon Cathedral of 451 defined the main dogmas of the local church, which in some issues significantly differed from the norms of neighboring eastern Orthodox churches.
Tongue
Language determines the age of the people, distinguishes it from other ethnic groups. The Armenian language began its formation in the middle of the 1st millennium BC. e. in the territory of Urartu. The alien conquerors of the Khurata assimilated with the local population and accepted its dialect as a base. Armenian is considered one of the most ancient languages of the Indo-European family. It is the Indo-European family that includes the languages of almost all the peoples of modern Europe, India, Iran.
Some researchers even put forward a bold hypothesis that it was the ancient Armenian dialect that became the very Indo-European language, from which modern English, French, Russian, Persian and other languages of a significant part of today's world population subsequently emerged.
Writing
It is difficult to preserve the language, culture, national identity without preserving the information unchanged. Own writing is another answer to the question of what Armenians are.
The first rudiments of their own alphabet appeared before the beginning of our era. Priests of Armenian churches invented their own secret script on which they created their holy books. However, after the establishment of Christianity, all written monuments of ancient Armenia were destroyed as pagan. Christianity played a major role in the emergence of the national alphabet.
After the Armenian Apostolic Church gained independence, the question arose of translating the Bible and other holy books into its own language. It was decided to create their own means of recording. In the years 405-406, the enlightener Mesrop Mashtots developed the Armenian alphabet. From the printing press, the first book on the Armenian schedule was published in Venice in 1512.
Culture
The culture of the proud people goes back to the depths of the 1st millennium BC. e. Even after the loss of independence, the Armenians maintained their originality and a high level of development of art and science. After the restoration of the independent Armenian kingdom in the 9th century, a peculiar cultural renaissance ensued.
The invention of his own writing was a powerful impetus for the appearance of literary works. In the VIII-X centuries, a majestic epic “David of Sasun” evolved about the struggle waged by the Armenians against the Arab conquerors. What else they created literary monuments is the subject of a separate extensive discussion.
The music of the peoples of the Caucasus is a rich topic of discussion. A special variety stands out Armenian.
Original people have original musical instruments. Duduk music has even been included in UNESCO lists as one of the intangible objects of the cultural heritage of mankind.
However, of the traditional elements of culture, Armenian cuisine is best known to ordinary people. Thin cakes - pita bread, dairy products - matsun, tan. No self-respecting Armenian family will sit at a table on which there is no bottle of wine, often home-made.
Black pages of history
Any original people, fiercely resisting absorption and assimilation, become the strongest object for hatred of the invaders. The territory of Western and Eastern Armenia, divided between Persians and Turks, was repeatedly subjected to ethnic cleansing. The most famous is the genocide of Armenians, which has never been in history.
During the First World War, the Turks organized the real extermination of the Armenians living in the territory of Western Armenia, then part of Turkey. Those who survived the massacre were forcibly evicted into the barren deserts and doomed to death.
As a result of this unprecedented barbaric act, between 1.5 and 2 million people died. The terrible tragedy is one of the factors that unites Armenians all over the world with a sense of involvement in the events of those years.
The conscientiousness of the Turkish authorities lies in the fact that they still refuse to recognize the obvious facts of the intentional extermination of people on a national basis, referring to the inevitable loss of wartime. Fear of losing face by admitting guilt and now prevails over the sense of conscience and shame of Turkish politicians.
