Armenia

Armenia /ɑrˈmiːniə/ (help·info) (Armenian: Հայաստան, transliterated : Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe,[9] it is bordered by Turkey to the west,Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion[10] in theearly years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301).[11] The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church as the national church of Armenia, although the republic has separation of church and state.[12]

Armenia is a member of more than 40 international organisations, including the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Asian Development Bank, the Commonwealthof Independent States, the World Trade Organization, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and La Francophonie. It is a member of the CSTO military alliance, and also participates in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme. In 2004 its forces joined KFOR, a NATO-led international force in Kosovo. It is also an observer member of the Eurasian Economic Community and theNon-Aligned Movement. The country is an emerging democracy. Armenia is classified as a country with medium human development and 10.6% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.[13]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology of name
2 History
2.1 Antiquity
2.2 Middle Ages
2.3 Early Modern era
2.4 World War I and the Armenian Genocide
2.5 Democratic Republic ofArmenia (DRA)
2.6 Soviet Armenia
2.7 Restoration of independence
3 Government and politics
3.1 Foreign relations
4 Military
5 Administrative divisions
5.1 Provinces
5.2 Cities
6 Geography
6.1 Topography
6.2 Environment
6.3 Climate
7 Economy
8 Demographics
8.1 Diaspora
8.2 Health
8.3 Religion
9 Culture
9.1 Music
9.2 Art
9.2.1 Armenian artists
9.3 Weddingceremony
10 Education
11 Sport
12 See also
13 References
13.1 Notes
14 External links


Etymology of name
Main articles: Armenia (name) and Hayk
The native Armenian name for the country is Hayk’. The name in the Middle Ages was extended to Hayastan, by addition of the Iranian suffix -stan (land). The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk (Հայկ), the legendary patriarch of theArmenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah, who according to Moses of Chorene defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC, and established his nation in the Ararat region.[14] The further origin of the name is uncertain.

The exonym Armenia is attested in the Old Persian Behistun inscription (515 BC) as Armina ( ). Ancient Greek Αρμένιοι "Armenians" is mentioned by Hecataeus of Miletus (476BC).[15] Xenophon, a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians.[16] According to the histories of both Moses of Chorene and Michael Chamich, Armenia derives from the name of Aram, a lineal descendent of Hayk.[17][18]History
Main article: History of Armenia
Antiquity
Main article: Prehistoric Armenia

The Kingdom of Armenia at its greatest extent under Tigranes the Great, who reigned between 95 and 66 BCArmenia lies in the highlands surrounding the Biblical mountains of Ararat, upon which, according to the Bible, Noah's Ark came to rest after the flood. (Gen. 8:4). In the Bronze Age, several states...