Five Thousand-Year-Old Mentions of Armenia – Armi, Arman(um), Aram

On the territory of the Armenian Highlands, the transition from the primitive community systems to the early state formations occurred in the early Bronze Age (half of the 4th millennium BC – 24th century BC).

During this period, the entire Armenian Upland was united into one cultural zone. This indicated the similarity of the population of the Highlands.  Throughout the Armenian Highlands, Bronze Age maces made of semi-precious stones were found. In all likelihood, they were a universal symbol of power, which demonstrates the “unity” of the Upland’s people.

An exceptional achievement of that time was the Metsamor Observatory, from where the sky was explored in the 2800-2600s. This fact substantiated the conclusions of historians-astronomers of the late 19th century, according to which the name of the constellations of zodiac signs originated in the territory of the Armenian Highlands.

Armenian ceramics of the early Bronze Age are rich in symbolism and signs, which later became the basis of Armenian hieroglyphics. In the 26th-23th centuries BC, the state of Ebla arose in the territory of modern Syria, which was connected with neighboring countries with a wide trade network.

In the early 3rd millennium BC, the founders of Ebla. the Semitic tribes, who had moved from the Arabian Peninsula to the territory of the Mesopotamia, created the first known dictatorial state in the second half of the 24th century.

The founder of the state, Sargon, settled in the center of Mesopotamia in the city of Akkad. He created the first known permanent specialized army and established previously unseen and unprecedented power during the ten-year wars.

His troops even reached the southern borders of the Armenian Highlands but were defeated.

The geographical notes of the state of Sargon were the first to mention the prototype of the toponym “Armenia”, “Arman(um)”. The fourth king of the Akkadian Empire Naram-Suen (also known as Naram-Sin, reigned c. 2254–2218 BC) organized numerous campaigns in the direction above the Euphrates and Tigris rivers.

He mentioned the Aram country on the territory between the lakes Van and Urmia. During the existence of the Kingdom of Van, this territory was mentioned almost under the same name (Aramali, Armarily). Note that according to Movses Khorenatsi, the names “Armen” and “Armenia” are based on the name “Aram”.

The above mentioned Naram-Suen’s campaigns are testified by one of his most extensive records, which mentioned “Arman(um)” as a country “that has never been conquered by any king since the beginning of mankind.”

He left an obelisk with his image and inscriptions in the fields of Diarbekir, which says that the country of “Arman(um)” was located in the territory of Akhdznik.

At the initiative of Arman(um), an alliance against Naram-Suen was formed between the Armenian Upland and neighboring 17 states. Later, the union of 17 countries came under the control of the Gutian state, which was able to defeat the tyrant Naram-Suen.

by Artak Movsisyan