When Armenians appeared on earth. The origin and formation of the Armenian people

V recent times Attempts to misappropriate historical monuments and samples of Azerbaijani culture by the Armenian side began to gain momentum. Our poor neighbors steal and appropriate everything - from history to culinary recipes.

From this point of view, the research carried out in the book "Armenian Foreign Tales" by the head of the State Copyright Agency is very interesting and indicative.Kamran Imanov.

The book has already been published earlier, it was also exhibited on the Internet, however, given that the information war against Azerbaijan is gaining momentum, we considered it necessary to re-present it to the attention of our readers.

The book thoroughly and reasonably examines the roots, causes and consequences of Armenian falsifications and plagiarism.

We offer our readers chapters from this book.

The "History of the Armenian People" states that "... Armenia is the cradle of mankind, its ancestral home." Armenians are the most ancient people and the language of the Armenians is the oldest known. The idea of ​​exclusivity and a special mission of the Armenian ethnos continues to be maniacal today, despite the warnings of some realistic political figures in Armenia that fanning exclusivity and rejection is a dead-end path for the Armenian ethnos. "To see enemies in all is to become an enemy for everyone yourself. This is not a path, this is an abyss" (Suren Zolyan).

One of the many facets of the legend of Armenian exclusivity is the widespread assertion by the Armenians of the opinion that they are the aborigines of the Caucasus, the heirs of "Great Armenia from sea to sea". The newcomerness of the Armenians, their population in today's and previous "transit" habitats has long been proven by historical science. Herodotus - "the father of the history of nations" writes: "The country located at the upper reaches of the Euphrates was called Armenia." Armenians "lived in the western part of the highland, called the Armenian" (Herodotus, "History; Publishing house" Science ", Leningrad, 1972). But the opinion of the famous historian I Dyakonov, reflected in his monograph, published in Armenia:" The Armenian ethnos formed outside the Caucasus "(I. Dyakonov," Prehistory of the Armenian People ", Yerevan, 1958). It is now generally known that Armenia is not the homeland of the Armenian ethnos. And the Armenian scientists themselves have to reckon with this.

Academician M. Abegyan: "... where are the roots of the Armenian people, how, when, at what time, where and in what ways did they come here ... We do not have precise and clear evidence of this" ("History of Armenian Literature", Yerevan, 1975).

"The ancestors of the Armenians came from the Balkans" ("History of the Armenian people", Yerevan, 1980).

As the Armenian authors themselves now claim, “the most ancient core of Armenians was the population of the northeastern part of Asia Minor. This country ... was called Armatana, and later Hayasa. BC).

It is historically known that in the IX century. BC. in Eastern Anatolia, near Lake Van, the state of Urartu (Biani) was formed, which in the middle of the VIII century BC. added Hayasa under the name of Arme to itself. Thus, "Arme", as well as "Hayasa" - the name and self-designation of today's Armenia originate precisely from these geographical regions.

It is no coincidence that Dyakonov believes that "since the ancient Armenian language is not related to the languages ​​of the autochthonous of the Armenian Highlands, it is clear that it was brought here from the outside."

Moreover, in the early Middle Ages and later, the presence of Armenians on the land inhabited by the Turkic ethnos allowed them to survive and, ethnically, survive. Well-known specialist Levon Dabegyan: "... the Armenians really owe their national existence to the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks. If we had remained among the Byzantines or other Europeans, the Armenian name could only have survived in historical books."

One cannot but agree with such an Armenian revelation, since the Armenians themselves in their book "Armenian Medieval Literature", prepared by the Institute of Literature named after M. Abegyan and published by the publishing house "Sovetan Grokh" in Russian in Yerevan in 1986 with reference to their medieval historian Sebeos, cite historical document- letter of the Byzantine emperor Mauritius (582-602) to the king of Persia Khosrov: "... the people (Armenians) ... live between us and stir up ...". And further it is said that they must be expelled from the lands of Byzantium and Iran. Comments here, as they say, are superfluous.

According to historical chronicles, after the Armenian pogroms perpetrated by Byzantium at the end of the first millennium, the Armenian Catholicos appeals to the Seljuk Sultan Arp-Aslan for help to save the nation, and the Sultan takes Armenians under his patronage. We cite the opinion of the 26 Armenian Catholicos Barses about Sultan Melik Shah, who improved the position of the Armenian Church after appealing to him: "He managed to create a peaceful and just government everywhere ... because of his greatness, he did not cause harm to anyone."

And here is a quote from the Armenian historian Matevos about the Armenians living in the lands inhabited by the Turkic ethnos and the attitude of the Turks towards them. "The rule of Melik-shah was pleasing to God. His power extended to distant countries. It brought peace to the Armenians ... He was filled with mercy for Christians, showed paternal concern for the peoples ...". And the last quote we quote is Armenian testimony characterizing the reign of Sultan Fateh: "To say that with the conquest of Istanbul (Constantinople) by Sultan Fateh for the Armenian destinies, a star lit up means to emphasize the historical truth ...". It all ended, as you know, with the fact that the Armenians are everywhere trying to impose fabrications on the world community about the so-called genocide in Ottoman Turkey.

The penetration of Armenians into the region of the South Caucasus is associated with much later times. At the same time, in Soviet times, the Armenians committed a farce with the 2750th anniversary of the Erebuni fortress, the name of which was identified with Iravan (Yerevan). The distant years of the heyday of Urartu, according to sources, the Urartians considered this Transcaucasian territory as "enemy land" and which they subsequently conquered. It turns out that Erebuni was founded in an enemy country by the Armenians in the years when they were part of the state of Urartu as a region.

Armenians, as an alien ethnic group, have been settling in the territory of historical Azerbaijan since the 15th century, penetrating here from the territories of modern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. In the 16th century, the process of resettlement of Armenians to the lands of the Azerbaijani khanates intensified, and their penetration into the lands of the Iravan Khanate, a territory that is essentially the territory of the Republic of Armenia today, intensified. It was during these years that Revankhan, the ruler of the khanate, wrote to the famous Shah Ismail Khatai: "... from Mesopotamia, on the shores of Lake Van, and from there here, to the Caucasus, to the Oguz-Turkic lands, resettling in small parties of 5-10 people, the Armenians instead of engaging in a craft, as agreed, they seek to settle, build churches and thereby try to create the impression that they are aborigines of the Caucasus, and this will bring us a lot of trouble in the future ... Catholicasata ... ".

Indeed, these were prophetic words testifying to the origins of the settlement of the lands by Armenians: first by individual families, then by small groups and colonies, and thus the territorial prerequisites for the Armenian statehood were created in the ancestral lands of the Iravan Khanate.

In order to create Armenian statehood on the lands of Azerbaijan, the Armenian Church with the patriarchal throne was transferred to Ag Kilis (Echmiadzin) in the 15th century, which assumed political and state functions in the absence of Armenian statehood. Since that time, the history of Irevan, Nakhchivan and Zangezur was presented by the Armenians as the history of "Eastern Armenia".

And, of course, the resettlement of Armenians to the Caucasus, especially on the territory of the Nakhichevan, Irevan and Karabakh khanates, to the primordial Azerbaijani land, received powerful impulses after Gulistan and Turkmenchai. Nevertheless, if in the 16th century 15 thousand newcomers Armenians lived in the Iravan Khanate, then, despite the sharp increase in the number of colonists at the time of the creation in 1828 by the tsarist government of the Erivan region to replace the liquidated Erivan Khanate, its population still consisted of 80% Azerbaijanis.

The squeezing out of the indigenous Turkic element from the ancestral lands in subsequent years, including the Soviet period, acquired the character of deportation and, in essence, the resettlement of Armenians represented the occupation of Azerbaijani lands. All this was accompanied by the granting of the Armenian settlers wider rights and privileges in comparison with those that the local Azerbaijani population had. It should be recalled that after the Gulistan Treaty (1813), Russia was consistently liquidating the Azerbaijani khanates, and in 1822 the Karabakh Khanate was liquidated. And when, a year after its liquidation, in 1823, the "Description of the Karabakh province" was compiled, despite the adoption of measures to expel the Azerbaijanis from here, in this document out of 18,563 families registered with the tsarist administration, only 8.4% were Armenian meliks.

During the years of Soviet power, along with the eviction of Azerbaijanis from their historical places of residence, the territory of Azerbaijan was successively annexed to Armenia. If before May 1920 the territory of Azerbaijan was 114 thousand square meters. km, then later it was cut by 28 thousand square meters. km and became equal to 86 thousand square meters. km. Thus, it was reduced in a volume approximately equal to the territory of Armenia (29.8 thousand sq. Km).

This is, in brief, the historical chronology of the settlement of the South Caucasus by the Armenians at the expense of the Azerbaijani lands, which are now declared by the Armenians as the historical place of residence of their ethnic group. This process could not proceed peacefully, it was initiated by the Armenian terror, persecutions against the local population, which took on the character of genocide. He always covered himself with historical lies, forgeries and distortions, pharisaism towards those who gave shelter to the Armenian settlers, and continues to be accompanied by territorial claims to our lands in parallel with claims to our cultural heritage.

Speaking about the holidays of Armenians, where traditionally there are National costumes, one cannot fail to mention the musical heritage of this people. Their music is very melodious, since it absorbed not only Middle Eastern motives, but also took something from the Mediterranean.

A striking example musical instruments can be considered an Armenian duduk, which many call unique, and those who hear it claim that this is heavenly music. It is impossible to move awkwardly to such fabulous motives. Therefore, they are always distinguished by extreme harmony and inner aestheticism.

It does not go unnoticed, which, as historians have proved, is one of the oldest in the world. In the gastronomic set of cooks, there are always a lot of greens, meat, dairy products. Sweets are widely known, often created only from sugar and flour, but with an indescribable taste.

Other Armenian dishes are no less unique, among which barbecue is in the first place. It is no coincidence that their restaurants are famous all over the world for their exquisite dishes.

What are they like modern Armenians?

Armenians are an integral part of modern society... They can be equally attributed to both the European and the Eastern ethnic groups. Today their number cannot be accurately calculated, however, according to statistics, there are up to 10 to 12 million representatives of this people in the world. They live in many countries, from Russia to Brazil and Australia. And everywhere they bring a touch of Armenian flavor, which is undoubtedly worthy of respect.

Even anecdotes about Armenians speak of what an unusual mentality these people have. In numerous literary sources, they appear as a benevolent, brave and cheerful people who can joke, and dance, and defend their independence, if necessary. And the old good-neighborly relations with the Russians largely became a guarantee that their contribution to Russian and world culture did not go unnoticed.

So, among those who fought against the fascist aggressors in the Great Patriotic War, there were many Armenian heroes. They are Senior Lieutenant Sergei Burnazyan, Lieutenant Colonel Garnik Vartumyan, Marshal of the Soviet Union Ivan Baghramyan. These are just three surnames of those representatives of the Armenian people who became Heroes of the Soviet Union. And there were dozens of such people, and thousands of ordinary Armenians, along with Russians, Belarusians, Georgians, fought for a common homeland.

There are no less than those who have become symbols of world culture and sports. Among the most famous Armenians are film director Sergei Parajanov, actors Dmitry Kharatyan and writer William Saroyan, football player, chess player, singer Bulat Okudzhava (the last names are on the maternal side). These and many other people have contributed to the development of modern civilization.

They really gave a lot not only to the peoples with whom they were historically forced to live, but also to the entire world community. Today, they complement the community of Caucasian ethnic groups in a special way, preserving their identity and at the same time remaining a people, genetically whole. The Armenian diasporas that exist all over the world only confirm this.

YEREVAN, October 22 - Sputnik. The Armenians are an ancient people who predominantly speaks Armenian. The formation of the Armenian people on the territory of the Armenian Highlands began at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. NS. and ended by the VI century BC. NS.

Despite the fact that the Armenians are united by one history, one blood and many common features, both externally and internally, the representatives of this nation are fundamentally different from each other. The Sputnik Armenia portal tried to understand what an Armenian really is.

One heartbeat

Mostly in all large countries representatives of the Armenian communities live in the world. Most Armenians live in Russia, France and the United States. In particular, Armenians moved to many countries after the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The most interesting thing is that the Armenians have about 50 dialects, while there are Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian languages, which are spoken by the overwhelming majority of representatives of this nation. As for Eastern Armenian, this is one of modern options Armenian language spoken in modern Armenia.

The second variety of the Armenian language is widespread among the Armenian diaspora, which appeared after the Genocide. This group of Armenians predominantly lives in North and South America, Europe and the Middle East. Despite the fact that dialects are very different, Armenians can easily communicate with each other, speaking their own dialect. The most difficult to understand Armenian dialects among residents of Syunik region and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (Artsakh). It is for this reason that many Armenians do not speak native language, but they are fluent in the language of the country in which they live.

If you communicate with Armenians, then, undoubtedly, you managed to notice that these people have a bright sense of humor. They can cheer you up in a few minutes, tell a huge number of funny stories, anecdotes, and make you walk in high spirits for the next few days.

It is impossible not to note the fact that there are a lot of famous Armenian humorists in the world. In particular, the well-known Evgeny Petrosyan, Garik Martirosyan and Mikhail Galustyan. In fact, despite their cheerful disposition and enthusiasm, Armenians are very serious people, especially if it comes about people of the older generation, who have had a lot of difficulties.

There are also eternally dissatisfied Armenians. Usually, these are the people who cannot find their place in life. Most of all, in my opinion, the Armenian taxi drivers and public transport drivers are unhappy. It is clear - the driving style in Yerevan and in other cities of Armenia is distinguished by a special temperament.

© Sputnik / Asatur Yesayants

If you are a person close to an Armenian, then, most likely, he is ready for a lot for you, and maybe for anything. Probably only Armenians know how to give to a loved one all without a trace, surround him with care, attention and affection.

Armenians love and appreciate family very much. In an Armenian family, the parent is the king. And in fact, this is all mutual, since many Armenian parents raise their children in great love and do everything for them, even the impossible. The attitude towards children in our country is special, and this can be called a cult of children. Also, an Armenian man worships his beloved women (mother, sister, wife).

Hospitality

Another national trait is hospitality. If you are visiting a "correct" Armenian, he will certainly treat you to something. But if you have agreed in advance to visit an Armenian or an Armenian family, then a whole festive treat awaits you! And especially delicious Armenian brandy.

You can talk about Armenian dishes forever and write for a long time, but the most favorite dishes of Armenians are dolma (cabbage rolls from grape leaves), khash - a spicy soup of beef legs with garlic, spas - a healthy soup based on yogurt, Armenian salad tabbouleh from bulgur and finely chopped parsley.

Armenian habits

Most Armenians are hardworking. If an Armenian has found a job to his liking, then he works tirelessly.

The sunny weather of Armenia allows the residents of the country to hang their clothes on the streets. This habit is traditional, for example, for the inhabitants of Italy, when a huge amount of clothes are hung from building to building.

© Sputnik / Asatur Yesayants

The "classic" Armenian is distinguished by the fact that he likes to use a large number of bread and coffee, organizes luxurious weddings, birthdays, engagements, christenings and other celebrations. And in fact, an Armenian may not have money ... He will take it on credit, will pay off the debt for months. But if the soul wants a holiday, then he will not be able to deny himself and his loved ones in this.

Armenians love expensive cars, clothes and accessories. Probably, this feature is characteristic of all nationalities.

And many Armenians also open all the windows in the car when their favorite song sounds in it, regardless of whether you like this music or not. But the music lover will drive through the city, having listened to his favorite track several times, even in winter.

If you decide to use public transport in Armenia, but there is no longer a place to sit in, then you will definitely be given it up.

Moreover, Armenians love to greet each other very much. "Barev" and "Bari Luis" ("hello" and " good morning") is something that can lift a person's mood or become a reason for further communication. It is not for nothing that they say in Armenia that" the greeting belongs to God. "

Very often Armenians say "merci" instead of the traditional "thank you". Maybe it's just too lazy to say every time beautiful word"shnorakalutsun".

By the way, only an Armenian will buy an expensive gadget for himself - a phone, laptop, tablet or netbook, and he is too lazy to study it in order to use it correctly. He will definitely start asking others how to set up everything and make it work.

In fact, Armenians have a lot of habits, both positive and negative, and their character traits are very diverse. The temperament and mentality of Armenians is a very difficult thing. However, this article contains everything that can distinguish an Armenian from representatives of other nationalities.

We are glad if Armenian habits are typical for you.

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

- A question is often asked regarding the origin of the Armenian people, in particular, where do the proto-Armenians come from?

This is a pretty big topic. On the Internet, I have a special lecture about an hour long 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, one must very clearly understand that the Armenians are an autochthonous people. Armenian legends testify that the Armenians are an indigenous people. The 18th century Armenian historian Mikael Chamchyan and other historians, based on the Bible and Armenian sources, went even further. They argued that Armenia is the cradle of humanity, a country where life was reborn after the Flood, and the Armenians are the indigenous people of this divine, paradise, biblical land, the 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 Biainili 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 do not exist, 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. In the 19th century, among European scientists, it was believed 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 cuneiforms found in the Armenian Highlands were not read in Armenian, the kings were not mentioned by Khorenatsi, and on the other hand, it was generally accepted 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 also came from there. And such a theory arose 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 cuneiforms, which mention the most ancient variants of the name Armenia, are mentioned more than 30 times even before the famous Behistun inscription. The first mentions date back to the 24-23th century BC. Akkadian rulers - Sargon Akkadian, 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 accidental. If there were no Armenians here, then the similarity of the names is accidental. The randomness can be 1, 2, 3 times, but not dozens of times, there are hundreds of cuneiforms where they are mentioned in different options names of Armen, Hai, Ararat. Subsequently, this Balkan theory did not develop, since it was discovered that the homeland of the Indo-Europeans was not in the Balkans, but in the north of Western Asia, more specifically on 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 today this is confirmed not only by the data of linguistics, archeology, but also by genetic engineering, and research at the level of DNA study gives ultra-precise data. Today we can say that Armenians are an autochthonous people. The period of separation of the Armenian language from the Proto-Indo-European language, linguists trace to the end of the 4th millennium BC, and the data of genetic engineering even earlier, to the 6th millennium BC, that is, 8 thousand years before us. That is, we can clearly speak about the presence 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, was called Armenian by non-Armenian scientists. In written sources, the most ancient Sumerian written sources from the 28-27th century. BC Chr. it speaks of the state of Aratta, which is the oldest name for Ararat in Sumerian sources.

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

In terms of origin, no. But throughout history, speaking Semitic, we must have in mind, for example, the Assyrians. Of course, they lived in Armenia, were our southern neighbors, in the 4th century we used the Assyrian language and scripts, many works of Assyrian authors survived only in Armenian, the Assyrians used Armenian... There were contacts, of course, and a certain number of Assyrians assimilated with the Armenians. A very small number of Jews were able to assimilate with the Armenians. Today, when they speak Semitic, people for some reason are afraid of this term, understanding by this purely Jews. This is not so, after all, one must not forget that there was a huge Arab world, the Arameans, who were the southern neighbors of the Armenians. From the point of view of origin, we are pure Indo-Europeans. But in the historical context, each nation communicates, everyone gives blood and takes, and this is natural. And recent DNA research has yielded amazing 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 of which historical events, in what time intervals were observed migration and emigration. 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 here, we did not live surrounded by a fortress wall. But in terms of origin, Armenians are not of Semitic origin. Although, I must say 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 the ancient and middle 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 nation, and kinship with the powerful is always desirable. Here's 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, perhaps thanks to the same Armenians.

There is such an opinion in science, and the author is not Armenian - Igor Dyakonov. He put forward a theory according to which the Arameans, in the most ancient cuneiforms they are called Ahlamu, who came to Armenia from about the 14th century BC 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 there is no need to see some super-complex phenomena underneath. I know that today there are extreme, deliberately politicized opinions, but that's all.

There is also a lot of talk about the state of Urartu. Who were its inhabitants and what language did they speak?

To begin with, the term Urartu itself goes back to the Ashuro-Babylonian version of the name Ararat. As in the Sumerian sources it was Aratta, and in the Bible Armenia is always called Ararat. Ashura-Babylonian cuneiforms have alternation sounds a-y: Arme-Urma, Arbela-Urbil, Ararat-Urartu. And what is interesting, in Palestine in the Qumran caves, where a huge number of ancient manuscripts of the 1st millennium BC were found, 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 to say that the Armenians are one people, and the Khayi is another, or the Somehi, as the Georgians call us, the third, it is simply absurd.

On what basis did they decide that Urartu is an Armenian state? Having deciphered the cuneiform, we 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, in local cuneiforms, relatively speaking, Urartian or Biainian, and local hieroglyphics, decoding, which shows that this is the most ancient Armenian. Both cuneiforms are imported, brought from Mesopotamia, and the local hieroglyphics, which goes back to Armenian rock carvings, are Armenian. And even these letters already testify in favor of of Armenian origin... There are many arguments to be made. For example, the Urartian hierarchy of gods is a classical Indo-European hierarchy, with three supreme deities, with a three-stage structure, that is, there is no doubt that it is associated with the Indo-European world. As for the names of the kings, for a very long time Menua has been associated with Minos, Argishti with Argestes, etc., which were known in the Indo-European world. There are many criteria: in which case a state can be considered Armenian, say, Georgian, Russian or Mongolian. Can a dynasty be considered a sufficient condition? Of course not. The dynasty may be Armenian, but the state may not be Armenian. For example, in Byzantium, the dynasty, the beginning of which was put on the throne by Basil the First in 867, was of Armenian origin, but the state of Byzantium did not become an Armenian state because of this. Or, for example, 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 overwhelming majority of the population were Armenians, can it be considered 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 Armenian, 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 are represented by the state's supreme elite. Stalin was a Georgian, but after all Soviet Union was not a Georgian state. On the contrary, Stalin talked 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 what ethnic group did he express? Of course, Armenians. It was the first pan-Armenian state to include 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 of the scientists precisely to the time of the existence of the state of Urartu. The Armenian tribes were numerous, and naturally united into a single state, they merged together precisely during the Urartu period. And if there was some other ethnic group, then it would be mentioned somewhere in the future. How can it be that in the 7th century BC. NS. Urartu is mentioned, but in the 6th century - no, no Urarts, no Urartu. No, because Urartu is Armenia, the Urarts 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, up to the 4th century BC. NS. That is, after the fall of the Kingdom of Van, the kingdom of Urartu-Biainili, the term was used for another 200-300 years. And it was used as an equivalent to 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 inscription, and Urartu in the Babylonian inscription. In the Ashurian and Babylonian texts, Urartu is last mentioned in the cuneiforms of the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes II, who ruled until 360 BC. NS. In Babylonian texts, Armenia is called Urartu, and the Armenians are called Urarts.

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

Here we are dealing with politics, and in pure form... I'll tell you why. Back in the 1890s, the well-known Russian orientalist Nikolsky published a collection called "Cuneiform Inscriptions of Transcaucasia". And already in the preface he writes: “Why are we Russians interested in these cuneiform inscriptions, the culture of cuneiform? Because Urartu was the first state on the territory of the Russian Empire. " The same thing happened in the Soviet period: Urartu was considered the first state, a slave state on the territory of the USSR. That is why quite a lot of work was done, excavations were carried out, large enough funds were allocated, all this was not done for the sake of the beautiful eyes of the Armenians. See what happened in the end: remember what was written in Soviet history textbooks? That the descendants of the Urarts are Armenians, Georgians, Azerbaijanis. Azerbaijanis ... Turks, whose ancestors, the Seljuk Turks, appeared in these parts only in the 11th century AD, and Urartu existed in the 9th century BC, that is, 2000 years before that. But the Soviet state promoted internationalism, and the Transcaucasian peoples were proclaimed the descendants of the Urarts, 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 away from Indo-Europeanism. And there were even confessions - Boris Piotrovsky himself admitted that the corresponding directive of the Central Committee was issued. In the late 19th - early 20th centuries, Urartu was considered an Indo-European state, while Soviet Urartian 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 survived 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 language kinship entered the arena, which was sharply criticized already in the 60s. Both Jaukyan, our famous linguist, and a German scientist, a representative of the German linguistic school, simply did not leave a stone unturned from this theory. But an order was dropped from above. Unfortunately, studying the history of the study of Urartu, we see that it was mainly a political order, not pure science, that was fulfilled. 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, English. I hope that our viewers, also on youtube, will have the opportunity to watch it and receive answers to all their questions. It will be a large film of 2 parts, each 40-50 minutes long.

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

I myself have seen maps where they consider Nakhichevan their city, since their self-name is Nokhchi, and Avan is a settlement in Armenian. And it seems that the Chechen authors also interpret the self-name Nokhchi as the son of Noah, Nokhchi, Nokhchavan and consider it 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, among Armenian authors, Anahit was considered the mother of all virtues. The very name Anahit is translated as blameless, virtuous. Some Greek authors, in particular Strabo, have a mention of the fact that the cult of the goddess Anahit was widespread among almost all peoples of the East, but the Armenians especially loved her. This goes back to Heterism - the scientific name for sacred priestly prostitution. There was one day in the year when anyone could copulate with whoever they wanted. It should be noted that Greek authors, often turning to the East, presented everything in an exaggerated form, wishing to stir up interest in their stories.

As for the cult of the goddess Anahit among the Armenians, there was a day of the year, it was the day of the cult of the goddess, when barren women, only barren, were allowed to have a relationship with another man. And this deed of the ancient priests is worthy of respect and has no connection with prostitution. We live in the 21st century and the problem of infertility is still relevant today - chromosome mismatch, etc. What is done today with medical intervention was then done in this way. Moreover, this was often done confidentially, the woman did not see the face of the person 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 of 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 philanthropy. And today in the 21st century they love, marry, but often, when there is no opportunity to have children, the marriage falls apart and the couple divorces. And it is only worthy of respect that the priests in ancient times were concerned about this problem: and 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