The festival of flowers in ancient Armenia, Tsaghkazard, was celebrated according to the ancient sacred calendar of Hayk in the month of Aekan on the day of Lusnak (May 13). The holiday of flowers was and is a holiday of nature’s prosperity, a holiday of solstices. On the night before the holiday, the constellation of …
Odzi Port (literally “snake navel” in Armenian) is one of the ancient wonders of the Lori region in Armenia. According to a legend, on the right side of the gorge, there was a school in which a wise old pilgrim was educating his seven disciples. On the left side of the gorge lived a huge …
Artashes I (reigned in 189-160 BC) was one of the most powerful rulers of the ancient world. He was respected and trusted by the rulers of many countries. The case described below testifies to the high respect King Artashes enjoyed abroad. In 183 BC, Pontic king Pharnaces I occupied key ports in Asia Minor – …
The photograph below shows one of four bronze bowls with a wedge-shaped seal which have belonged to King of the Kingdom of Van Sarduri II (ruled 764-735 BC). The bowls depicting the head of a lion, a tower, and the Tree of Life were found in Karmir Blur near Yerevan. Gevork Nazaryan Sarduri II was …
Blaise (Barsegh or Vlasy, died in 316 AD) of Sebastia was the bishop of the city of Sebastia in the Roman province of Cappadocia. His feast falls on February 11 in the Orthodox Church (according to the Julian calendar) and on February 3 in the Catholic Church. Blaise is among the saint martyrs of the …
The city of Sebastia (today Sivas, central Turkey) was founded in the 1st century BC in the province of Lesser Armenia of the Pontic Empire. Under Emperor Diocletian, Sebastia became the capital of Lesser Armenia at the end of the 3rd century. From the beginning of the 5th century, it has been the capital of …
Greater and Lesser Armenian regions are visible on the world atlas of Theodore Duvotenay drawn in Paris in 1838. The borders of Armenia extend from the Caspian Sea to the Black and Mediterranean Seas. Lesser Armenia also includes Gamirk (Cappadocia) and Cilicia. These regions, as part of Armenia, are mentioned in the “History of Armenia” …
Below is an image of an inlaid ancient jug with the so-called meander ornament. The meander is often attributed to a later period characteristic of Greek ceramics. However, in this case, a pattern of a meander of an earlier period is clearly visible on this ancient jug found in Karashamb. And this is not by …
In 276, the Goths attacked the Roman Empire. The Gothic-Therving King, mocking the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus Augustus, challenged him to a battle. Twenty-five years earlier, in June 251, the Gothic King Cniva killed Roman Emperor Decius and his son Herennius Etruscus in the Battle of Abritus. This was the first time for a …
Yervandashat was once a populous city located at the confluence of the Western Arpachay (Akhurian) River with the Araks. Having been the second capital of ancient Armenia after Armavir, it was founded by the last representative of the Yervanduni dynasty King Yervand III in 229 BC. According to Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi, the city was …
The photo of this necklace from Ancient Armenia was published by James Blake Wiener. This necklace dating to the 15th-13th centuries BC was discovered in modern Armenia. It contains small golden discs and sardonyx beads. (Metsamor Historical and Archeological Museum-Reserve, Taronik, Armenia) James Blake Wiener is a writer and former professor of history. He has …
In the regular Armenian army, knights were mostly nobles. However, individuals with sufficient military training were also recruited into the army, receiving the rank of dziavor (Armenian: horseman), that is, the rank of a knight. Knights in the Armenian army also served as heralds. Actively involved in organizing palace receptions and celebrations, knighthood was one …
The regular army of ancient Armenia was one of the main elements of the ancient Armenian society and state. The first written sources, testifying to the creation of Armenia’s permanent and regular army, refer to its military art in the middle of the 6th century BC. According to sources, already then, the Armenian army had …
Below is the photo of a genuine document from 1307, in which Cilician King Oshin granted tax breaks to Montpellier merchants and allowed them to freely enter and trade in the ports of the Cilician Kingdom. Oshin (January 10, 1283 – July 20, 1320) was the 13th king of Cilician Armenia and the 21st ruler …
Ancient maps are important historical evidence. They contribute to the understanding of the political development of the ancient and modern world and reflect international relations at certain stages of development of states. Recently, the book “Armenia in World Cartography” was republished by the initiative of the head of the Russian and Novo-Nakhichevan Diocese of the …
Nerses (Narses) was a commander and influential courtier of Byzantium of Armenian descent under Emperor Justinian I. Along with Belisarius, he was one of the first great generals of the early Middle Ages. In 535, the leaders of the Constantinople and Alexandrian patriarchates were removed from position simultaneously. A series of displacements of the patriarchs …
The Cilician fleet was one of the components of the army of the Cilician Armenian Kingdom (1080–1375). The supreme commander of all the armed forces of the country, including the navy, was the king. The commander-in-chief was the sparapet-constable. Cilician Armenia had its own military merchant fleet. Armenian merchants – also ship owners – were …
The Mongol invasion caused a social and economic catastrophe in Armenia. The peasantry was exterminated or expelled. The aristocracy broke up and economically weakened. Cities were deserted. The ethnic integrity of Armenia was violated by the influx of nomadic Turkic and Kurdish tribes, as well as due to the exodus of the country’s indigenous Armenian …