Quite honestly, I thought I could read this and discern where it was? But now I am more confused than ever. It COULD be part of the Middle East. It could also be part of Eurasia, or Asia, or Russia or God knows what else. Turkey to the West. Georgia to the North. It is like the hub of dozens of different cultures. After looking at a map, it appears to be just North of what is recognized as the Middle East. I was told that it is actually in the midst of the Trans-Caucuses. That is the region between the Caucus Moutains and another range, I forget right now.
Armenia (/ɑːrˈmiːniə/ (About this sound listen), /-ˈmiːnjə/;[23] Armenian: Հայաստան, translit. Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, translit. Hayastani Hanrapetut'yun, IPA: [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtutʰˈjun]), is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in West Asia[24][25] on the Armenian Highlands, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and Azerbaijan's exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.[26]
Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. Urartu was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. In the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion.[27] In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became the first Christian nation.[28][29][30] The official date of state adoption of Christianity is 301 AD.[31] The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries.
Between the 16th century and 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of Eastern Armenia and Western Armenia came under the rule of the Ottoman and Iranian empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the Russian Empire, while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During World War I, Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the Armenian Genocide. In 1918, following the Russian Revolution, all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the First Republic of Armenia. By 1920, the state was incorporated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, and in 1922 became a founding member of the Soviet Union. In 1936, the Transcaucasian state was dissolved, transforming its constituent states, including the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, into full Union republics. The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The Republic of Armenia recognises the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment.[32][33] The unique Armenian alphabet was invented by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD.
Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, the Council of Europe and the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Armenia supports the de facto independent Republic of Artsakh, which was proclaimed in 1991.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at November 15, 2017 9:38 PM MST
It's generally considered part of Europe. Geographically it can be considered either Europe or Aaia, as the Caucasus mountains are considered to be the southeastern border of Europe - but as part of that range is actually IN Armenia, it's both. Linguistically and culturally it's far more European than Asian, and has expressed interest in joining both the EU and NATO. It's well to the north of the area considered to be the Middle East.
