HISTORY
Armenia first emerged into history around 800 BC as part of the
Kingdom of Urartu or Van, which flourished in the Caucasus and
eastern Asia Minor until 600. 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 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 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 was an independent republic.
In late 1920, the communists came to power following an invasion
of Armenia by the 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.
