Since the middle of the 19th century, as it was already mentioned, Armenia has been treated in completely another way. The reason was the new geopolitical conjuncture arising in the region.
Driven by political expediency European countries like England, Germany and AustriaHungry were against the partition of Turkey and the formation of an Armenian State on ancestral Armenian territories.
Consequently, some researchers emerged, who misrepresented the historical facts in order to justify the anti-Armenian policy of their governments. Some German, English and European researchers began to deny the facts and substitute the ancient written sources about Armenians and Armenia with fake, concocted stories.
They denied also the theory that Armenians were their ancestors and Armenia was their ancestral Homeland. The facts, mentioned in English and German ancient written sources that Brits, Bavarians and other tribes have Armenian origin, were denied without any substantial basis.
The information given by historians about Armenians and Armenia was considered to be doubtful as well.115 Even the fact that Noah’s Ark rested on top of the Armenian Mount Ararat, testifi ed in the Bible, was considered dubious. (some scholars even put forward the false idea that the mountain mentioned in the Bible was the one called AraradYudi dagh situated in Corduene (Korchayk district) in the southern part of the Armenian Highlands). In the 1880s the use of the name Armenia was
forbidden in the Ottoman Empire.
It was replaced by the fi ctitious names “Anatolia” and “Kurdistan”. It is well-known that the name Anatolia refers only to Asia Minor, which is in the western part of Armenia, while the name Kurdistan (as it was mentioned above) is a fabricated one.
Johannes Turmayer’s version about Bavarians not being the only descendents of Armenians was again put into circulation. Trying to discredit Bavarians, he wrote that all the nations arose from Armenians after the Flood.116 On the basis of this disputable issue some scholars try to deny the testimonies about the Armenian origin of Bavarians in the German written sources.
To answer this question we have to touch once again upon the Flood theme by Berossus. In the fi rst chapter it was said that a country by the name of Armenia existed before the Flood. Immortals (gods) and mortals, who were made immortal by gods lived there.
A country by the name of Armenia existed after the Flood as well, but not all survivors were allowed to live in Armenia, the Land of Ararat. Some were sent to Babylon. However, it is evident that in certain periods of the evolution of mankind some rules were broken and nowadays in most parts of the Land of Ararat live people who are not related to that territory both spiritually and culturally.
English historian Benjamin Thorpe’s viewpoint was also mentioned above. In “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”, published in 1861, he misrepresented the fact that Brits, the ancient inhabitants of Britain, had Armenian origin.
In the footnote of the book he wrote that Brits were not the descendents of Armenians, but rather they came from the French Breton that used to be called Armorika. The “The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle” was republished in 1953 and the “correction” in the footnote was this time included in the text itself. In both cases the facts were misrepresented and Armenia was turned into Armorika. In the 2nd half of the 20th century scholars again discussed the subjects about Armenians and Armenia. Anthropological (craniological), linguistic, archaeological and other studies made researchers speak about Armenians and Armenia.
As a result of these new findings there emerged the viewpoint that the Armenian Highland was one of the ancient centers of civilization, and with its surrounding territories it constituted the Homeland of Indo-Europeans (Arian tribes). Armenians were one of the ancient nations in the world, and Armenian was one of the ancient languages of SouthWestern Asia.117 Let us now discuss some of those points of view.
Thus, Italian geneticist L. L. Cavalli Sforza writes ‘‘…genetical studies of people, belonging to the Kurgan culture, attest to the fact that they belong to the South Western Asian Neolithic period and have migrated there from Turkey’’118 (the author makes a mistake by using the name Turkey).
He also speaks about the migration period. ‘‘The migration from Anatolia began 9500 years ago and the Kurgan culture period dates back to 6000 years. That is to say they left Anatolia 3500 years ago and reached the Volga-Dona territory through the Balkans’’ (here again the name Anatolia is used instead of the Armenian Highlands or Armenia).
A group of linguists of diff erent nationalities, led by biologist Quentin Atkinson, who studied all existing Indo-European languages, and the origin and evolution of a number of modern languages, came to the conclusion that the Homeland of all Indo-European languages was Anatolia (the Armenian Highlands and Asia Minor).
Some monosyllabic words (mayr-mother, hats-bread, vors-hunt, yerkingsky,…), which had one general origin and were pronounced in the same way in some Indo-European languages, were compared.119 A family tree of Indo-European languages was drawn to compare those languages.120 After some new studies Quentin Atkinson and Russell Gray wrote that the language of Indo-Europeans was from 8000 to 9500 years old. It was actually older than it had been supposed to be.
It came from Anatolia121 (Armenia). Colin Renfrew, an English archaeologist, who in 1987 had expressed the opinion that the Homeland of Indo-Europeans was in the Catal-Huyuk territory (Konya, north-west from Cilician Tavros, VII– VI millennia B.C.), was the fi rst to accept the version put forward by R. Gray and Q. Atkinson about the ancestral Homeland of Indo Europeans.122 Furthermore, using the historical comparative method, Merit Ruhlen, an American linguist, discussed the question concerning the Homeland of Indo-European languages, and wrote:
“Genetic studies have come to prove that the generation of early earth cultivators in Asia Minor (the Armenian Highlands should have been mentioned) have migrated to Europe and have undergone some changes there”.
New studies assert the above mentioned. Scholars have compared the DNA results of people in Armenian ancient burial vaults (Gegharot, III–II millennia B.C.) with that of present-day Armenians and Europeans and have discovered that they are identical.124 It’s interesting to note that the main part of the people living in the Near East diff ers from Armenians in its gene.
That is to say those people have come from diff erent tribes and have assimilated in the Near East territory, while studies attest to the fact that Armenians with their specifi c culture and traditions have not lost the characteristic features of their unique gene even after being surrounded with foreign nations.
Studies have also come to prove that modern Armenians possess genetic similarities with ancient Europeans. That is why they were not assimilated with other tribes. Thus, having the genetic code of the ancient people in the Near East, Armenians were spread in Europe (migrations in III–II millennia B. C., II–I millennia B.C., and other migrations) in later centuries.
As we see studies (DNA) of a person’s genetic characteristic features through modern methods, allow us to say who the ancestors of present-day European people really were. Earlier linguists T. Gamkrelidze and V. Ivanov had also discussed the subject that the cradle of Indo-European family of languages was the Armenian Highlands and the surrounding territories125 (again the name Anatolia was used). As we see researchers use the terms “Eastern Anatolia” and “the territory of Modern Turkey” instead of Western Armenia and Western part of the Armenian Highlands.
Among new researches, the article ‘‘Bavarian-Armenian legends’’ by Gerta Topakyan is worth singling out. In the article Armenian Bavarian ancient similarities are discussed. The author neutrally shows both positive and negative sides of the question. In this context we should also mention the Preface to the ‘‘German–Armenian Dictionary’’ by Hakob and Levon Torosyans, (Beirut, 1987).
The authors write: ‘‘The German language belongs to one of the IndoEuropean language branches, the Indo-German, which is related to Armenian. In the writing process of this dictionary more than a thousand identical word roots and participles were revealed’’.126 There are also scholars who are against the idea that the ancestral Homeland of Arian tribes is Armenia and its surrounding territories.
On the basis of results attained after archaeological excavations they think that the Homeland of Indo-Europeans is the Caspian Plains (IV– III millenia B. C., Kurgan culture). Unearthed ancient habitations (Choyunu tepe, Catal-Huyuk, Alan-Huyuk, Hajilar, Alishar as well as areas in the RA territory Zagha, Barozh, Shengavit, Mokhrablur, Garni) and artifacts discovered in the Armenian Highlands and Asia Minor date back to earlier periods (VIII–IV millenia B.C).
New facts are being uncovered. Newly-unearthed archaeological monuments come to prove that the Armenian Highland is one of the most important ancient centers of civilization. The ancient Portasar (Geobekli Tepe) archaeological site, uncovered 15 km away, in the north-eastern part of the city of Urha (Urfa) in Armenian Mesopotamia may serve as an example.
The religious habitation of Portasar dates back to the 10th millenia B.C. (12000 years ago). That is to say this Armenian religious center is hitherto the fi rst one uncovered in this territory. It used to be a center for people who led a settled way of life.
The “monument” was called Portasar meaning “the center of life and earth” (port =navel). It was called Portasar by the inhabitants, who knew that it was a ceremonial monument; they knew both about earthly and heavenly (life after death) lives.
They worshiped god Angegh (Angel) that connected those two worlds. In Armenia stone monuments (crossstatues, stone commemorative columns, stone idols, later cross-stones) have existed during all periods of history. This 12000-year-old ancient monument and other archaeological sites, as well as comparative linguistics prove that Armenia is the ancestral Homeland of Armenian/Arian tribes (Indo-Europeans) and the cradle of modern civilization.
Unfortunately, nowadays the history and culture of Armenia is again ignored. What can Armenians do in this situation? We must write our history, studying and quoting all the well-known ancient written sources, chronologies and facts. We should know the history of all the people who have left our country because of diff erent reasons, in various periods, without giving thought to the fact whether their new generations would like it or not.
This we should do because fi rst of all it is our history, the history of Armenian people, and only later the history of all others who have left Armenia. Their generation is the main population of today’s Europe and most of them want to know everything about the history of their ancestors. It is impossible to hide the truth even by denying or misrepresenting ancient written sources, legends and oral memories.
Thus we can say that Armenians have defi nitely left their traces in Europe (Sun worship, metal processing, pottery, cultivation, architecture, cross-stone art, toponymic names, etc.). Coming to Europe Armenian tribes preserved their traditions, ritual ceremonies, etc. They remembered their Homeland, Holy Armenia and Mount Ararat, mentioning them in written sources and passing them over from one generation to another.
Today there is no connection between the ancient European people and their ancestral Homeland, Armenia (or rather there is but it is blurred). It should be reestablished as both Armenia and Europe need it. Europe needs it because it is in danger of losing its national identity, culture, spiritual and other values. As it was mentioned above the ancestors of Indo-Europeans, the Arian tribes, (hay-armens) lived in their Homeland, the Land of Ararat, and followed the laws of the Creator.
But the laws were, at times, broken, and the fi rst totalitarian countries of Mesopotamia arose (Akkad, Babylon, Assyria). The leaders of those countries proclaimed themselves the sons of God as well as gods governing the world and nations. It is a fact that in diff erent periods of history, countries with totalitarian regime and Empires emerged in other parts of the world as well.
Their rule, however, did not last long but they managed to pervert peoples’ minds and souls, giving much importance to material life and material values. The Creator’s laws are being broken. The “famine” of mind and soul is unfortunately seen in the Land of Ararat as well. This means that the existence of human beings, in general, is again in danger. The best way to overcome the danger is to rely on spiritual values and live according to the laws of the Creator.
An excerpt from Angela Teryan’s book “Ancient written sources of European peoples about their ancestral homeland – Armenia and Armenians”
115 ‘‘The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle’’, 1861 and 1953 publications; E. A. Quitzmann, Dieheidnische Religion der Baiwaren, Leipzig, 1860 and E. A. Quitzmann, Die alteste Geschichte des Baiern bis zum Jahre 911, Braunschweig, 1873; Hans F. Nöhbauer, ‘‘Die Bajuwaren’’, Welt-bildVerlag, Augsburg, 1990
116 There are diff erent opinions about the origin of races. Polycentrism states that the races were formed in many diff erent parts of the world, from various ancestors. Monocentrism states that all the races come from one ancestor. They were formed in one part of the world being spread all over the world later. As a result of evolution diff erent races were formed.
117 According to linguistic studies in many Indo-European languages the names of metals, copper, bronze and iron, are connected with the Armenian Highlands. Thus, Greek xalkos (also aes), the word “copper, bronze”, Sanskrit ayas-”copper”, later also “iron”, Gothic aiz”Bronze”, German erz-”iron”, English ore-”iron”, Latin-aes-”copper”, etc. (H. Acharyan, Dictionary of Armenian Roots, v. 2, Y., 1973, p.59; V. Ivanov, T. Gamkrelidze, Ancient Western Asia and Indo-European problem, JAH, 3, 1980, p. 10; S. Dikshit, Introduction to Archaelogy, M., 1960, p. 455–456): As we see the names of the above mentioned words, including the word argentium – silver, are connected both with each other and with hay-armens, hay and ar (armen), (ayas, aes, ar, er forms).
118 Cavalli-Sforza Luigi Luca, Genes, Peoples and Languages, (NY: North Point Press, 2000) 159–165
119 Let us mention an important fact. In the Indo-European language family languages have diff erent phonetic systems. In the languages of this language family consonants are different as well as the languages have diff erent phonetic systems (Slavonic, Roman). Armenian with its dialects is a unique language as it has all the consonants and the vowels of that language family (36 sounds, 39 phonemes). There are many letters in Armenian alphabet that other Indo-European languages don’t have (ծ, ձ, ղ, ր, տ, հ, կ, փ, թ, ջ consonants). This fact attests that the Armenian alphabet has all the vowels and consonants typical to all Indo-European languages.
120 Russell D. Gray and Quentin D. Atkinson, Language-tree divergence times support the AnatolianTheory of Indo-European origin, Nature vol. 426 (Nov. 26, 2003) 435–439
121 Bouckaert Remco. et al., Mapping the Origins and Expansion of the Indo-European Language Family. Science, vol.337,6097 (2012), p. 957–960
122 Colin Renfrew, Archaeology and Language: The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins (New York: Cambridge University, 1987) 148; Colin Renfrew, Archaeology, Genetics and Linguistic Diversity, Man, vol. 27, no. 3 (Sept. 1992) 445–478
123 Ruhlen Merritt, The Origin of Language, 1994
124 http://www. peopleofar. Com /2015/06/08/ why-armenians-are-a-living-fossil-to-geneticists/; Levon Episkoposyan/ (co-author), “Genetic of Eurasian People in the Bronze Age”, article, Journal “Nature”.
125 Gamkrelidze T., Ivanov V. Indo-European Language and Indo-Europeans, 1984, part. 1,2; see also Luigi L. Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi, and Alberto Piazza, Demic Expansions and Human Evolution, Science, vol. 259 (January 29, 993): 632–646, 642; L. L. Cavalli-Sforza, Paolo Menozzi and Alberto Piazza, The History and Geography of Human Genes, (Princeton University Press, 1994) 218; John Noble Wilford, “Fossil Signs of First Human Migration Are Found,” The New York Times, May 12, 2000.
126 Cilician patriarchate’s offi cial newspaper ‘‘Hask’’ (1–6).
