Armenia has been around for at least 3,000 years. Armenians have historically inhabited the “Armenian Highlands”, a vast section of mountains and valleys across eastern Anatolia and the Southern Caucasus. It is here that the biblical mountains of Ararat (and today’s eponymous cognac brand) can be found. Armenia became the world’s first Christian country in 301 AD.
Various vassal states, principalities, kingdoms and empires rose and fell in different parts of this highland during history. They were unified once, just before the time of Christ, in the empire of Tigran the Great, which stretched from the Caspian to the Mediterranean Sea.
Much of the region’s history has since been spent under the dominion of whichever great power was à la mode at the time: Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Persians, Russians and Soviets have all come and gone. These empires often fought their wars on Armenian territory, using Armenian soldiers. Despite rarely being politically independent, Armenians have consistently kept their language and their church. Its location on the silk road allowed Armenia to forge a link in the great network of merchant communities that extended from eastern Asia to Venice.
Modern history
Russians and Ottomans dominated Armenia’s modern history. Ottoman control was established early, upon the fall of the Byzantine empire in the fifteenth century. Russia’s presence was established later, in the 1820s, after a series of wars with the Persians.
Islamic Ottoman rule was, for much of the time, largely benign. The Armenians’ religious autonomy was bought through their higher taxation. However, relations soured in the late nineteenth century which saw various massacres of Armenians. This culminated in the Ottomans’ reputation being thoroughly ruined during the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.
Nowadays, Armenia has strong backing from Russia, especially due to its vulnerability and conflict towards Turkey. While Georgia has been pro-western Europe since Sarkashwili or even before, Armenia remains locked in its dependency on Russia. This has visible consequences in Armenia’s infrastructure, political system and society, as an educated traveller will notice quite soon.