How did the Armenian people appear? Origin of Armenians, Urartu, goddess Anahit, Semitic blood

Armenians are one of the most ancient peoples on Earth. This is well known. It is all the more interesting to find out how the formation of the ethnic group took place, as well as to recall several theories.

Urartu

For the first time, the theory about the connection of modern Armenians with the inhabitants of the ancient state of Urartu appeared in the 19th century, when historians discovered traces of an ancient civilization on the Armenian Highlands. The debate on this issue is ongoing in scientific and pseudo-scientific circles to this day.

However, Urartu as a state came to a decline already in the 6th century BC, at that time the ethnogenesis of the Armenians was only in the final stage of development. Back in the 5th century BC, the population of the Armenian Highlands was heterogeneous and consisted of the remnants of the Urartians, proto-Armenians, Hurrians, Semites, Hittites and Luwians. Modern scientists admit that the genetic component of the Urartians is present in the genetic code of the Armenians, but no more than the genetic component of the same Hurrians and Luwians, not to mention the proto-Armenians. The connection of the Armenians with the Urartians can be evidenced by the borrowings taken Armenian language from Urartian and Hurrian dialects. It can also be recognized that the Armenians also experienced the cultural influence of the once powerful ancient state.

ancient sources

The "Greek version" of the ethnogenesis of the Armenians elevates this people to Armenos of Thessaly, one of the participants in the expedition of the Argonauts. This legendary progenitor received its name from the name of the Greek city of Armeninon. After traveling with Jason, he settled in the territory of the future Armenia. This legend is known to us thanks to the Greek historian Strabo, who wrote, in turn, that he learned it from the records of the military leaders of Alexander the Great.

Apparently, given the lack of earlier sources, it was during the years of the campaigns of the "king of the world" that this legend arose. In principle, this is not surprising. At that time, there was even a version about Greek origin Persians and Medes.

Later historians - Eudoxus and Herodotus spoke about the Phrygian origin of the Armenians, finding the similarity of the two tribes in clothing and language. Today's scientists recognize that the Armenians with the Phrygians are related nations that developed in parallel, but no scientific evidence of the origin of the Armenians from the Phrygians has been found so far, therefore both Greek versions of the ethnogenesis of the Armenians can be considered near-scientific.

Armenian sources

Until the 19th century, the main version of the origin of Armenians was considered to be the legend left by the "father of Armenian historiography" and the author of the work "History of Armenia" Movses Khorenatsi.

Khorenatsi erected Armenian people to the legendary progenitor Hayk, who, according to the pre-Christian version of the myth, was a titan, according to the Christian one, a descendant of Japheth and the son of Fogarm, the ancestor of the Armenians. According to the myth, Hayk entered into a fight with the tyrant of Mesopotamia Bel and defeated him. After Haik, his son Aram ruled, then his dreams Aray. In this version of the Armenian ethnogenesis, it is believed that numerous names of the Armenian Highlands received their names from Hayk and other Armenian ancestors.

Hayas hypotheses

In the middle of the last century, the so-called "Hayas hypotheses" became popular in Armenian historiography, in which Hayas, the territory to the east of the Hittite kingdom, becomes the ancestral home of the Armenians. Actually, Hayas is mentioned in the Hittite sources. Armenian scholars such as Academician Yakov Manandyan (a former adherent of the migration theory), Professor Yeremyan and Academician Babken Arakelyan have written scientific work on the theme of the new "cradle of Armenians".[С-BLOCK]

Until that time, the main migration theory was recognized as "bourgeois".

The exposition of the Hayas theory began to be published in Soviet encyclopedias. However, already in the 60s of the XX century, it was criticized. First of all, from the side of the honored orientalist Igor Dyakonov, who published the book "The Origin of the Armenian People" in 1968. In it, he insists on the migration-mixed hypothesis of Armenian ethnogenesis, and calls the "Hayas theories" unscientific, since there are too few sources and evidence base for them.

Numbers

According to one of the hypotheses (Ivanov-Gamkrelidze), the center of the formation of the Indo-European language was eastern Anatolia, located on the Armenian Highlands. This is the so-called glottal theory, that is, based on language. However, the formation of the Indo-European languages was already in the 4th millennium BC, and the time of the alleged settlement of the Armenian Highlands was the 1st millennium BC. The first mention of Armenians is in the records of Darius (520 BC), the first texts are in the 5th century AD.

Artak Movsisyan, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Professor at YSU, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies, Armenologist Artak Movsisyan answers the questions of Vadim Arutyunov, the host and author of the project. The questions have been prepared on the basis of various discussions on the Internet on the history of Armenia and the Armenian people.

- The question is often asked about the origin of the Armenian people, in particular, where did the proto-Armenians come from?

This is a pretty big topic. On the Internet, I have a special lecture lasting about an hour on the origin of the Armenian people for those who are interested, and now I will try to present it in a very concise and more popular form. Speaking about the origin of the Armenians, it must be very clearly understood that the Armenians are an autochthonous people. Armenian legends testify that Armenians are an indigenous people. The Armenian historian of the 18th century Mikael Chamchyan and other historians, based on the Bible and Armenian sources, went even further. They argued that Armenia is the cradle of mankind, the country where life was revived after the Flood, and the Armenians are the indigenous people of this divine, paradise, biblical land, land of Noah's ark.

But the 19th century came and what happened? When deciphering the cuneiforms found in Armenia, it turned out that they were not in Armenian, they were cuneiforms called Urartian or Biaynili cuneiforms, and the names of the kings - Menua, Argishti, Sarduri, were not mentioned by Movses Khorenatsi. Today, of course, it is clear and understandable why they are not there, but in the 19th century this gave rise to doubts. Moreover, the question was raised - where to look for the homeland of the Indo-Europeans or Aryans, as some scientists call them, that is, it was necessary to understand where the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans is located. In the 19th century, among European scientists, it was generally accepted that the ancestral home of the Indo-Europeans is located in Europe, in the southeastern part of Europe - in the Balkans. That is, it turned out, on the one hand, that the cuneiform writings found on the Armenian Highlands were not read in Armenian, the kings were not mentioned at Khorenatsi, and on the other hand, it was commonly believed that linguistics believed that the homeland of the Indo-Europeans was in the Balkans. If it is in Europe, in the Balkans, then the Armenians came from there. And there was such a theory that, allegedly, the Armenians came from the Balkans, seized the territory of the Armenian Highlands, and later created their own state. And this, despite the fact that there were cuneiform inscriptions, where the most ancient variants of the name Armenia are mentioned, are mentioned more than 30 times even before the well-known Behistun inscription. The first mentions date back to the 24th-23rd century BC. Akkadian rulers - Sargon of Akkad, Naram-Suen and others, mention the country of Armani, which is the oldest form of the name Armenia. And since there was an idea that there were no Armenians here, they were newcomers, it was believed that the similarity of the names Armenia, Armenians, Ararat was random. If there were no Armenians here, then the similarity of the names is also accidental. Accident can be 1, 2, 3 times, but not dozens of times, there are hundreds of cuneiform writings where they are mentioned in different options names Armen, hai, Ararat. Subsequently, this Balkan theory was not developed, since it was discovered that the homeland of the Indo-Europeans was not in the Balkans, but in the north of Asia Minor, more specifically in the territory of the Armenian Highlands, in the east of Asia Minor, in the north-west of Iran and in the northern part of Mesopotamia. And this is confirmed today not only by the data of linguistics, archeology, but also by genetic engineering, and studies at the level of DNA study provide ultra-accurate data. Today we can say that the Armenians are an autochthonous people. The period of the separation of the Armenian language from the Proto-Indo-European, linguists erect by the end of the 4th millennium BC, and the data of genetic engineering even earlier, by the 6th millennium BC, that is, 8 thousand years before us. That is, we can clearly speak about the existence of a separate Armenian ethnos already over the past 8 thousand years, we can say that the Armenians created their entire history on this territory, on the Armenian Highlands, which, by the way, non-Armenian scientists called Armenian. In written sources, the most ancient Sumerian written sources from the 28th-27th century. to R. Chr. refers to the state of Aratta, which is the oldest name of Ararat in Sumerian sources.

At different times, Armenians and Armenia had connections with the Semitic peoples. Is it possible to say that in addition to the Indo-European beginning, a certain percentage of Semitic blood cannot be excluded from the Armenians?

In terms of origin, no. But in the course of history, when speaking Semitic, we must also have in mind, for example, the Assyrians. Of course, they lived in Armenia, they were our southern neighbors, in the 4th century we used the Assyrian language and scripts, many works of Assyrian authors were preserved only in Armenian, the Assyrians used the Armenian language. There were contacts, of course, and a certain number of Assyrians assimilated with the Armenians. Some very not a large number of Jews could assimilate with Armenians. Today, when they speak Semitic, people for some reason are afraid of this term, understanding by this purely Jews. This is not so, in the end, we must not forget that there was a huge Arab world, the Arameans, who were the southern neighbors of the Armenians. In terms of origin, we are pure Indo-Europeans. But in a historical context, every nation communicates, everyone gives blood and takes, and this is natural. And recent DNA research has yielded startling results. Even in Chinese genetics, 4 percent of Armenian blood was found, which at first glance is very surprising. It can be shown as a result historical events, in what time intervals migration and emigration were observed. It is no coincidence that the share of Armenian blood is quite often found in the blood of other peoples, and not only the blood of other peoples is found in us, we did not live surrounded by a fortress wall. But in terms of origin, the Armenians are not of Semitic origin. Although, it must be said that according to the Jewish tradition, which was preserved by Josephus, the Armenians are the descendants of Aram, therefore, they are Semites, that is, they are related to the Jews. In the legends of many peoples of ancient and medieval ages, information has been preserved that they are related to the Armenians. But this has its own simple explanation, because in the ancient and Middle Ages Armenia was a powerful state, the Armenians were a great people, and kinship with the powerful is always desirable. Here is a very simple explanation.

Considering that these same Semites: Assyrians, Jews, Arabs belong to the Armenoid subrace, it seems to me that they also have an Indo-European grain, thanks perhaps to the same Armenians.

There is such an opinion in science, and the author is not an Armenian - Igor Dyakonov. He put forward a theory according to which the Arameans, in ancient cuneiforms they are called Ahlamu, who came to Armenia from about the 14th century BC, began to be called Ahlamu-Arameans, and then - Arameans and Dyakonov put forward the point of view that the name Aram, ethnic the name they took from the Armenians. We know that the French, for example, took the name franc from the Germans, this is a normal phenomenon. Naturally, there were such connections, but one should not see any super-complex phenomena under this. I know that today there are extreme, deliberately politicized opinions, but that's all.

A lot of talk also goes around the state of Urartu. Who were its inhabitants and what language did they speak?

Let's start with the fact that the very term Urartu goes back to the Ashuro-Babylonian version of the name Ararat. As in the Sumerian sources it was Aratta, but in the Bible Armenia is always called Ararat. In Ashura-Babylonian cuneiforms there is an alternation sounds a-y: Arme-Urme, Arbela-Urbilu, Ararat-Urartu. And interestingly, in Palestine in the Qumran caves, where they found a huge number of ancient manuscripts of the 1st millennium BC, Urarat is mentioned there instead of Ararat. Ararat-Urarat-Urartu, that is, even an intermediate transitional link has been preserved. That is, this is one of the names of Armenia. And today it is simply absurd to say that the Armenians are one people, and the Khayis are another, or Somekhs, as the Georgians call us, the third.

On what basis did you decide that Urartu is an Armenian state? Having deciphered the cuneiforms, they realized that they were not in Armenian. But let's not forget that three writing systems were used in Urartu: Assyrian was used in Assyrian cuneiforms, Urartian or Biaynian in local cuneiforms, and local hieroglyphics, a decoding that shows that this is the oldest Armenian. Both cuneiforms are imported, brought from Mesopotamia, and the local hieroglyphics, which goes back to the Armenian rock carvings, are Armenian. And even these letters already testify in favor of the Armenian origin. Many arguments can be made. For example, the Urartian hierarchy of gods is a classical Indo-European hierarchy, with three supreme deities, with a three-level structure, that is, there is no doubt that it is connected with the Indo-European world. As for the names of the kings, Menua has long been associated with Minos, Argishti with Argestes, etc., who were known in the Indo-European world. There are many criteria: in which case the state can be considered Armenian, say, Georgian, Russian or Mongolian. Can a dynasty be considered a sufficient condition? Of course not. A dynasty may be Armenian, but a state cannot be Armenian. For example, in Byzantium, the dynasty, which began in 867 when Vasily the First ascended the throne, was Armenian in origin, but the state of Byzantium did not become an Armenian state from this. Or, let's say, the Arshakid dynasty, which established itself in Armenia, was Parthian in origin, but it is clear that this did not make Armenia Parthia. And there are many such examples. So in what case is the state considered, say, Armenian? If the vast majority of the population were Armenians, can we assume that the state was Armenian? Yes and no. No, because, for example, in the eastern regions of the Ottoman Empire, that is, in Western Armenia, the majority of the population was Armenians, but the state was not Armenian. Thus, comparing all the criteria, which of them can be considered decisive? There is only one answer. Namely: the determining factor is the interests of which ethnic group is represented by the supreme elite of the state. Stalin was a Georgian, but Soviet Union was not a Georgian state. On the contrary, Stalin spoke all the time about the great Russian people, and even had great Russian views, it is clear that he ascended the throne and had to submit to the interests of the Russians. Thus, returning to Urartu, the interests of which ethnic group did it express? Certainly Armenians. It was the first pan-Armenian state that absorbed the entire territory of the Armenian Highlands and neighboring regions. And it is no coincidence that the final formation of the Armenian ethnos is attributed by most scientists to the time of the existence of the state of Urartu. The Armenian tribes were numerous, and naturally united as part of a single state, merged together precisely during the Urartu period. And if there were some other ethnic group, then it would be mentioned somewhere in the future. How can it be that in the 7th century BC. e. Urartu is mentioned, but in the 6th century - no, no Urartians, no Urartu. No, because Urartu is Armenia, Urartians are the same Armenians. I often talk about this in my works, and I would like to know more about the fact that the term Urartu was used until the 360s, until the 4th century BC. e. That is, after the fall of the Kingdom of Van, the Kingdom of Urartu-Biaynili, the term was used for another 200-300 years. And it was used as an equivalent of the concept of Armenia. As in the Behistun inscription of 520 BC, which, as you know, is written in three languages, Armenia is called Armina in the Persian inscription, Harminua in the Elamite, Urartu in the Babylonian. In the Ashurian and Babylonian texts, Urartu is last mentioned in the cuneiform writings of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II, who ruled until 360 BC. e. In Babylonian texts, Armenia is called Urartu, and Armenians are called Urartians.

- Then where did the thesis come from that the Caucasian tribes came from the Urartians?

Here we are dealing with politics, and in pure form. I'll tell you why. Back in the 1890s, the very famous Russian orientalist Nikolsky published the collection Cuneiform Inscriptions of Transcaucasia. And already in the preface he writes: “Why are we Russians interested in these cuneiform inscriptions, the culture of cuneiform writing? Because Urartu was the first state on the territory Russian Empire". The same thing happened in the Soviet period: Urartu was considered the first state, a slave-owning state on the territory of the USSR. That is why quite a lot of work was done, excavations were carried out, rather large funds were allocated, all this was not done for the sake of the beautiful eyes of the Armenians. Look what happened in the end: do you remember what was written in Soviet history textbooks? That the descendants of the Urartians are Armenians, Georgians, Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijanis ... Turks, whose ancestors, the Seljuk Turks, appeared in these parts at best only in the 11th century AD, and Urartu existed in the 9th century BC, that is, 2000 years before that. But after all, the Soviet state promoted internationalism, and the Transcaucasian peoples were proclaimed descendants of the Urartians, while neither the Georgians nor the Azerbaijanis were in any way related to Urartu. And a theory appeared that it was necessary to tear Urartu from Indo-Europeanism. And there were even confessions - Boris Piotrovsky himself admitted that the corresponding directive of the Central Committee had been issued. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, Urartu was considered an Indo-European state, while Soviet Urartu studies received a directive to cut off Urartu from the Indo-European world. Naturally, Urartu, being cut off from the Indo-European world, is also separated from us, but this is our territory, Urartian words have been preserved in Armenian. When already in the 1960s and 70s a new thesis was put forward about deepening ties with the Russian state, because if it is an Indo-European state, then only Armenian, and the Armenians began to deal with the Russian Empire only after 1801, it was necessary to deepen the connection with the north. And then the North Caucasian, East North Caucasian and proto-Dagestan theory of the kinship of languages entered the arena, which was sharply criticized already in the 60s. Both Jaukyan, our well-known linguist, and the German scientist, a representative of the German linguistic school, simply did not leave a stone unturned from this theory. But the order was lowered from above. Unfortunately, studying the history of the study of Urartu, we see that it was mainly a political order that was carried out, and not pure science. We are currently working on a documentary about Urartu. I hope it will be ready by the end of the year and will be released in three languages: Armenian, Russian and English. I hope that our viewers, also on youtube, will have the opportunity to watch it and get answers to all questions. It will be a big film in 2 parts, each 40-50 minutes long.

It is known that there are Chechen historians who study the Grabar, as they are looking for their roots in the Armenian Highlands.

I myself saw maps where they consider Nakhichevan their city, since their self-name is Nokhchi, and avan is a settlement in Armenian. And it seems that Chechen authors also interpret the self-name Nokhchi as the son of Noah, Nokhchi, Nokhchavan and consider them their city.

The cult of the goddess Anahit is often discussed. Some associate her name almost with prostitution. What was the cult of this goddess?

In Armenian sources, Armenian authors considered Anahit the mother of all virtues. The very name Anahit is translated as immaculate, virtuous. Some Greek authors, in particular Strabo, mention that the cult of the goddess Anahit was widespread among almost all the peoples of the East, but the Armenians especially loved her. This goes back to hetaerism, the scientific name for sacred priestly prostitution. There was one day in the year when everyone could copulate with whomever they wanted. It should be noted that the Greek authors, often turning to the East, presented everything in an exaggerated form, wanting to stir up interest in their stories.

As for the cult of the goddess Anahit among the Armenians, there was a day in the year, it was the day of the cult of the goddess, when barren women, only barren ones, were allowed to have intercourse with another man. And this act of the ancient priests is worthy of respect and has nothing to do with prostitution. We live in the 21st century and the problem of infertility is still relevant today - mismatch of chromosomes, etc. What is done today with the help of medical intervention was then done in this way. Moreover, this was often done confidentially, the woman did not see the face of the one with whom she had intercourse, and this had nothing to do with prostitution. And if a child was born from this connection, he was often called Anakhtatur or Astvatsatur (God-given), he was considered a gift from the mother goddess and no one had the right to accuse this woman, or call her immoral or a prostitute. I consider this a manifestation of humanity. And today in the 21st century they love, get married, but often, when it is not possible to have children, the marriage falls apart and the couple gets divorced. And it is only worthy of respect that the priests in ancient times were also concerned about this problem: even on the day of the cult of the goddess of motherhood, a barren woman was given such an opportunity, and whoever wants to stick labels, let it be on his conscience.

Interviewed by Vadim Arutyunov

Civilizations have changed in world history, entire nations and languages have appeared and disappeared without a trace. Most of the modern nations and nationalities were formed already after the first millennium of our era. However, along with the Persians, Jews, Greeks, there is still another ancient original 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 the neighboring Caucasian peoples and what is their contribution to world history and culture?

The appearance of the Armenians

Like any people whose origin goes far into the past, the history of the appearance of the Armenians is closely intertwined with myths and legends, and sometimes it is the oral tales that have been transmitted for thousands of years that give clearer and clearer answers than numerous scientific hypotheses.

According to folk legends, the founder of the Armenian statehood and actually 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 B.C. e. a battle took place between the ancestors of modern Armenians and the troops of the Sumerian king Utuhengal, 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 hai).

Historians prefer to operate with more boring and vague reasoning, in which much remains unclear about the origin of such a people as the Armenians. What race they have is also the subject of controversy between different researchers.

The fact is that in the highlands in the first millennium BC. e. there was a state with a highly developed civilization - Urartu. Representatives of this people, the Hurartians, mixed with the local population, gradually adopted the language, and such a nation as the Armenians was formed. What they have become over two millennia, what they had to face is a separate drama.

History of the struggle for identity

Every nation is confronted in its history with 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 - they all left their mark on the history of Armenians. However ancient people with their own writing, language and stable family ties, it was not so easy to assimilate, dissolve among foreign-speaking settlers. All this was resisted by what they had, what their neighbors had - these issues also became the subject of friction.

In response to this, measures were repeatedly taken to forcibly deport these people to the territory of Iran, Turkey, and genocide was organized. The result of this was the mass migration of Armenians around the world, which is why the national diasporas are very large and one of the most united communities in the world.

In the 18th century, for example, Caucasians were resettled to the banks of the Don, where the city of Nakhichevan-on-Don was founded. Hence the large number of Armenians in southern Russia.

Religion

Unlike many other peoples, it is possible to determine exactly in which year the Armenians converted to Christianity. The national church is one of the oldest in the world and gained independence a long time ago. Folk tradition clearly gives the names of the first preachers of the young faith at that time - Thaddeus and Bartholomew. In 301, King Trdat III finally decided on Christianity as the state religion.

Many people are often lost in the answer to the question of what faith the Armenians have. To which trend do they belong - Catholics, Orthodox? In fact, as early as 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 one and became completely autonomous.

451 defined the main dogmas of the local church, which in some respects differed significantly from the norms of neighboring Eastern Orthodox churches.

Language

The 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. on the territory of Urartu. The newcomer conquerors of the Hurartians assimilated with the local population and adopted 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 same Proto-Indo-European language, from which modern English, French, Russian, Persian and other languages of a significant part of today's population of the globe later emerged.

Writing

The first rudiments of their own alphabet appeared before the beginning of our era. The priests of the Armenian temples invented their own cryptography, on which they created their sacred books. However, after the establishment of Christianity, all written monuments were destroyed as pagan. Christianity also 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 sacred books into their own language. It was also decided to create their own recording facilities. In 405-406, the enlightener Mesrop Mashtots developed the Armenian alphabet. From the printing press, the first book in Armenian graphics was published in 1512 in Venice.

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 retained their identity and high level development of art and science. After the restoration of the independent Armenian kingdom in the 9th century, a kind of cultural renaissance began.

The invention of their own writing became a powerful impetus for the emergence of literary works. In the 8th-10th centuries, the majestic epic "David of Sasun" was formed about the struggle waged by the Armenians against the Arab conquerors. What other literary monuments they created is the subject of a separate extensive discussion.

The music of the peoples of the Caucasus is a rich topic for discussion. The Armenian one stands out with a special variety.

Among the original people - the original people were even included in the UNESCO lists as one of the intangible objects of the cultural heritage of mankind.

However, from traditional elements culture is best ordinary people familiar with Armenian cuisine. Thin cakes - lavash, dairy products - matsun, tan. No self-respecting Armenian family will sit at a table without a bottle of wine, often home-made.

Black pages of history

Any original people, fiercely resisting absorption and assimilation, becomes the strongest object for the 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 Armenian genocide, which has never happened before in history.

During the First World War, the Turks organized the real extermination of the Armenians living in the territory of Western Armenia, which was then part of Turkey. Those who remained alive after the massacre were subjected to forcible eviction in barren deserts and doomed to death.

Between 1.5 and 2 million people died as a result of this unprecedented act of barbarism. terrible tragedy is one of the factors that unites Armenians all over the world even more with a sense of involvement in the events of those years.

The dishonesty of the Turkish authorities lies in the fact that they still refuse to recognize the obvious facts of the deliberate extermination of people on a national basis, referring to the inevitable losses of wartime. The fear of losing face by admitting guilt still prevails over the sense of conscience and shame of Turkish politicians.

Armenians. What are they today

As they often joke now, Armenia is not a country, but an office, since most of the representatives of the nation live outside the mountainous republic. Many people were scattered throughout the world as a result of wars of conquest and invasions of the country. The Armenian diasporas, along with the Jewish ones, are today the most united and friendly in many countries of the world - the USA, France, Germany, Russia, Lebanon.

Armenia itself restored its independence not so long ago, along with the collapse of the USSR. This process was accompanied by a bloody war in which the Armenians call Artsakh. By the will of the politicians who cut the borders of the Transcaucasian republics, the territory with a predominantly Armenian population turned out to be part of Azerbaijan.

During the collapse of the Soviet empire, the Karabakh Armenians demanded the legal right to independently determine their own destiny. This resulted in an armed struggle and the subsequent war between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Despite the support of Turkey and some other powers, the overwhelming advantage in numbers, the Azerbaijani army suffered a crushing defeat and left the disputed territories.

Armenians have been living in Russia for many years, especially in the south of the country. During this time, they ceased to be foreigners in the eyes of local residents and became part of a cultural community.

However, Urartu as a state came to a decline already in the 6th century BC, at that time the ethnogenesis of the Armenians was only in the final stage of development. Back in the 5th century BC, the population of the Armenian Highlands was heterogeneous and consisted of the remnants of the Urartians, proto-Armenians, Hurrians, Semites, Hittites and Luwians. Modern scientists admit that the genetic component of the Urartians is present in the genetic code of the Armenians, but no more than the genetic component of the same Hurrians and Luwians, not to mention the proto-Armenians. The connection of the Armenians with the Urartians can be evidenced by the borrowings taken by the Armenian language from the Urartian and Hurrian dialects. It can also be recognized that the Armenians also experienced the cultural influence of the once powerful ancient state.

ancient sources

Armenian sources

Khorenatsi erected the Armenian people to the legendary progenitor Hayk, who, according to the pre-Christian version of the myth, was a titan, according to the Christian version, he was a descendant of Japheth and the son of Fogarm, the ancestor of the Armenians. According to the myth, Hayk entered into a fight with the tyrant of Mesopotamia Bel and defeated him. After Haik, his son Aram ruled, then his dreams Aray. In this version of the Armenian ethnogenesis, it is believed that numerous names of the Armenian Highlands received their names from Hayk and other Armenian ancestors.

Hayas hypotheses

In the middle of the last century, the so-called "Hayas hypotheses" became popular in Armenian historiography, in which Hayas, the territory to the east of the Hittite kingdom, becomes the ancestral home of the Armenians. Actually, Hayas is mentioned in the Hittite sources. Armenian scholars such as Academician Yakov Manandyan (a former adherent of the migration theory), Professor Yeremyan and Academician Babken Arakelyan wrote scientific works on the topic of the new "cradle of Armenians".

Until that time, the main migration theory was recognized as "bourgeois".

Numbers

The fact that the Armenians are not an ancient Caucasian people is known to all Western and Russian historians, governments and special services. Most of all, this is known in Russia and the Vatican. However, it was the West and Russia who came up with the story of the "Caucasian Armenians" in order to later use the latter to fight against the Muslims of the Caucasus and the entire East. Thanks to the Russian Empire, namely to Peter Romanov and his descendants, the Armenians appeared in the Caucasus, in particular in Azerbaijan.

The appearance of Armenians in the Caucasus is the work of tsarist Russia. However, the idea of resettlement of Middle Eastern Armenians in Transcaucasia did not arise from scratch. The main role here was played by the Armenian Gregorian Church and its ministers.

The connections of the Armenian Gregorian Church with the Russian Empire and European states were established as early as the 17th century. The Armenians tried to convince the Europeans that Muslims "oppress the Armenian people, bound to Europe by the same faith."

In 1699, the Armenian Church instructed the Armenian Israilu Ori negotiate with European states and Russia. The church appointed a monk as his assistant Minas Vardapet. Arriving in Europe, these adventurers met with the Emperor of Austria and the King of Florence, informing the latter about the plans to create an Armenian state.

However, the efforts of the Armenians to get help from the Europeans did not give any results, and Israil Ori and his assistant went to Russia. Meeting in 1701 with the Russian Tsar Peter Romanov, Israil Ori acquainted him with the notorious Armenian plan to create a united Christian front against Ottoman Turkey. This idea clearly pleased Peter, who awarded Ori the rank of colonel of the Carabinieri and sent him to Europe to recruit weapons specialists. In 1711 Israil Ori died in Astrakhan.

Ori's fantasies of creating an Armenian state were continued by Minas Vardapet, who by that time had become an archimandrite. In 1716 this the adventurer went to the possessions of the Qizilbash (Safavid Iran, Persia), to convey to the Russian ambassador Volynsky a letter from Prince Shafirov. The content of the letter was as follows: "Collect information about the Armenian people in Persia, about its numbers, the force of attraction to His Majesty the King. Here comes ... Minas Vardapet, familiar to you. Provide him with possible assistance without arousing suspicion ..."

In 1722, Peter joined Persian campaign. The Russians, moving along the coast of the Caspian Sea, captured Derbent, Baku, Lenkoran and some other Azerbaijani provinces of the Kyzylbash state. West Coast The Caspian was in the hands of Russia. In October 1724, Peter allowed the resettlement of Armenians in the territories occupied by Russia.

It was from this period that Armenians massively settled in the Caucasus. According to Peter's order, the Armenians were allowed to settle "near Baku, Derbent and Salyan" (Russian historian Solovyov, 19th century). Emperor Peter did not forget to give instructions regarding the local Muslim population: "To try in every possible way to call on the Armenians, if any, and settle them, and reduce the Muslims in a very quiet way ..."

A new project for the creation of an Armenian state on the original Azerbaijani lands was drawn up by a certain Shamiryan. According to his plan, the Armenian king was to become the head of the newly created state. He was supposed to have an official representation in St. Petersburg, and to protect the new kingdom, a six thousandth Russian garrison was to be located here for 20 years.

However, in 1735 the Russians were forced to leave the western Caspian lands. This, although not for a long time, did not allow the Armenians to carry out their adventurous plans.

After 100 years...

The situation changed with the capture of the Erivan Khanate by Russia in 1827. The Russian monarchs remembered the precepts of their ancestor regarding the Armenians. In turn, the Armenian Catholicos Nerses Ashtaraketsi prepared a special resettlement project. The Russian playwright and Russian ambassador to the court of the Qajars (a Turkic dynasty that ruled Iran in 1796-1925) A.S. Griboyedov did everything possible to implement this plan.

In a letter sent in 1827 to Russian colonel of Armenian origin Yegizar Lazarev, Nerses wrote: “Now I have turned to the devoted defender of our Armenian people A.S. also made a request to His Excellency ( we are talking about the commander of the Russian troops in the Caucasus, I.F. Paskevich - ed. Amir Eyvaz) regarding all Armenians from Persia, and now I humbly ask your Excellency about this: persuade Paskevich to ensure that at the time of negotiations he does not forget to include in the agreement an article on the free return to Armenia under the patronage of the great Russian Empire of Armenians from the cities and villages of Persia " .

Griboyedov and Paskevich really did not forget about the "poor and oppressed" Armenians, deciding to settle them on the lands of the Azerbaijani Turks.

Thus, Article 15 of the Turkmanchay Treaty says: "His Majesty Shah ... kindly sends down a full and complete forgiveness to all the population and officials of the region called Azerbaijan ... In addition, he provides, starting from this day, one year of time to all officials and residents for free resettlement with their families from this region to Russia, for the transportation and sale of movables and property without any obstacles from the local authorities and without imposing any taxes and duties ... "

Griboyedov personally achieved the inclusion in this article of a clause on the abolition of punishment and prosecution of those Persian subjects who during the war committed treason in favor of the Russians. The fact is that most of them were Armenians.

As a result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829, the Adrianople peace treaty was signed with neighboring Turkey with similar conditions, which allowed Russia to resettle Turkish Armenians in the Caucasus. In just a few years, Russia resettled over 130 thousand Armenians from the Turkish and Persian regions to the Caucasus. And the resettlement policy existed in Russia until its fall, and was reborn during the Soviet period.

The Russian scientist and researcher Nikolai Shavrov wrote in 1911: "Of the 1,300,000 Armenians now living in Transcaucasia, more than 1,000,000 souls do not belong to the number of indigenous inhabitants of the region and were settled by us." However, even those 300,000 Armenians whom Shavrov considered "the native inhabitants of the region" can hardly be considered natives. They were resettled here a little earlier - during the time of Peter the Great.

The fact that the Armenians were resettled is clear. But the Russian Empire went further. As we remember, Peter personally ordered to settle the Armenians wherever they wish, even the lands of the Muslims, who, in turn, must be "reduced in a very quiet way." In fact, it was an order to give the lands of Muslims to the Armenians, without ceremony with the locals.

The Russian Empire not only resettled the Armenians, it rewrote the entire history of the region.

Perhaps the most important thing that the Russian Empire did for the Armenians is the liquidation of the Albanian Apostolic Church. Thus, the Russians untied the hands of the Armenians - the Armenians appropriated what did not belong to them, wrote their history on a foundation that did not belong to them.

It should be noted that the Albanian Church is the first church in the Caucasus, it was founded by the Apostle Bartholomew, whose remains were buried in Baku until the 9th century. Officially, Caucasian Albania adopted Christianity in 313. And the Armenian Gregorian Church was founded later, because as the Armenian Catholicos Abraham wrote in his letter to the Albanians: "The Throne of Albania, which was earlier than ours, Armenian ..." (Z. Buniyatov. "On the forced dialogue of Gevorg Emin").

Despite the spread of Islam in Azerbaijan, the Catholicosate was not liquidated in the Middle Ages, the Albanian population, which retained the Christian faith, freely attended Albanian churches, which were very numerous throughout Azerbaijan, especially in Karabakh.

These Christians continued to be called Albanians until the 19th century and lived mainly in Karabakh. However Russian emperor Nicholas I in 1836 liquidated the Albanian Apostolic Church. All her property was transferred to the Armenian Church, despite the fact that it was considered lower in rank than the Albanian one. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Karabakh Albanians assimilated with the Armenians, and this is how the "Armenian" community of Karabakh arose...

During the years of the Russian Empire, the dream of Armenians about their own state (even as a Russian protectorate) remained a dream. But it was during this period that a precedent was created for the emergence of an Armenian state on the historical lands of Azerbaijan.

This is about renaming Russians Erivan and Nakhichevan khanates in the so-called "Armenian region" immediately after their conquest. Despite the fact that in subsequent years the "Armenian region" was abolished by the same Russian colonial administration, these lands received a kind of connection with the toponym "Armenia" (although historical Armenia is a small region in Asia Minor and has never had anything to do with the Caucasus).

On the basis of this, after the collapse of the Russian Empire, the Armenians demanded the creation of their own republic on the territory of the same “Armenian region”. In 1918, the Republic of Armenia was proclaimed in Tiflis, with its capital in Erivan. The Armenians put forward claims to other lands of Azerbaijan, and with the sovietization of the region with the support of Stalin, Mikoyan and other Turkophobia, they gradually began to achieve their goals.

Since the 1920s, the northeastern coast of Gokchi, Zangezur, part of the Sharur-Daralayaz district were torn away from Azerbaijan and transferred to the Soviets of the Armenian SSR. In Karabakh, the Bolsheviks created autonomy for the Armenians, because it was not possible to separate this region from the Azerbaijan SSR for economic reasons: because of the close connection of Karabakh with Baku.

In 1948-1952, according to the decree No. 4083 of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated December 23, 1947, thousands of Azerbaijani Turks were resettled from Zangezur and Gokchi to the plain regions of the Azerbaijan SSR. This was done in order to eradicate the Turkic population of the region.

The eviction of Azerbaijanis from Zangezur and Gokchi was not just an act of ethnic cleansing. In fact, the resettlement policy of Russia (albeit Soviet) continued to create and strengthen the Armenian puppet state. Thus, Armenians from Lebanon, Iran and Syria were settled on the lands of the Azerbaijanis evicted in 1948-1952.

The aforementioned resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR stated: "To allow the Council of Ministers of the Armenian SSR the buildings vacated by the Azerbaijani population and residential buildings be used for the resettlement of foreign Armenians".

As can be seen, the policy of ethnic cleansing with the subsequent settlement of the region by a loyal population was carried out in Russia at the state level from the time of Peter I until the Stalin era.

Already in our days, the Armenians, already living in the ancestral lands of Azerbaijan, have occupied, in addition, the mountainous part of Karabakh (Upper Karabakh) and seven adjacent regions, where thousands of civilians were exterminated. Over a million Azerbaijani Turks have become refugees on their own land.

Monument "Maraga-150"
(1978)

But the fact that Karabakh is not an Armenian land is also evidenced by the fact that even Brezhnev made a gift to local Armenians: a monument erected in Karabakh in 1978 in honor of the 150th anniversary of the resettlement of the first Armenians to these lands. By the way, with the beginning of the Karabakh events, this monument was redone by the Armenians - the word Maragha and the date - 150 were removed from it.

As you can see, over the past 200 years, the Armenians have achieved from Europe and Russia the creation of their own state on the lands of Azerbaijan and the recognition of Armenians as the indigenous population of the Caucasus.

Only the local Turkic population remained oppressed, and the "long-suffering" Armenian people, in just over two centuries of their residence in the Caucasus, put an end to the lives of more than a million peaceful Azerbaijanis (massacres in 1905-1906, 1918, 1920, 1992), destroyed the Turkic-Muslim culture of Erivan, Gokchi, Zangezur, Karabakh, razing to the ground many mosques, khan's palaces, cemeteries, monuments...

Text of the 2006 article (published with minor edits)