Armenian History Unified Exam flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Urartu

An Iron Age kingdom centered on Lake Van (c. 860–590 BCE) whose kings left cuneiform inscriptions; it is a key predecessor culture in the Armenian Highland.

Erebuni inscription

A cuneiform text of Urartian king Argishti I (782 BCE) recording the founding of the fortress of Erebuni, on the site of modern Yerevan.

Hayasa-Azzi

A late Bronze Age confederation in the upper Euphrates region named in Hittite records, often linked to the origins of the Armenian endonym 'Hay'.

Behistun inscription

A trilingual monument of Darius I (c. 521 BCE) that lists Armina (Armenia) among the Achaemenid king's subject lands.

Tigranes the Great

Artaxiad king (r. c. 95–55 BCE) who built a short-lived empire from the Caspian to the Mediterranean and founded the capital Tigranocerta.

Battle of Rhandeia

A 62 CE battle after which the Treaty of Rhandeia (63 CE) placed an Arsacid prince, Tiridates I, on the Armenian throne with Roman consent.

Temple of Garni

A first-century CE Hellenistic-style temple in Armenia, the best-preserved monument of Greco-Roman architectural influence in the region.

Gregory the Illuminator

The missionary traditionally credited with converting King Tiridates III and the Armenian court to Christianity around 301 CE.

Battle of Avarayr

A 451 CE battle in which Vardan Mamikonian led Armenians against Sasanian efforts to impose Zoroastrianism; commemorated as Vardanants.

Mesrop Mashtots

The monk and scholar who created the Armenian alphabet in 405 CE, enabling translation of scripture and a golden age of Armenian literature.

Council of Chalcedon

The 451 CE church council whose Christological formula the Armenian Church rejected, defining its miaphysite orientation.

Ashot I Bagratuni

Armenian king (r. 885–890) crowned with Abbasid and Byzantine recognition, founding the Bagratid kingdom that later centered on Ani.

Ani

The Bagratid capital from 961, famed for its cathedral and dense churches; it was annexed by Byzantium in 1045.

Cilician Armenian Kingdom

A state in southeastern Anatolia (1198–1375) founded by Rubenid and Hethumid rulers, prospering through trade before falling to the Mamluks.

Treaty of Berlin

The 1878 treaty whose Article 61 required Ottoman reforms in Armenian provinces, internationalizing the Armenian Question.

Hamidian massacres

Mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1894–1896 under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, killing an estimated 100,000–300,000.

Armenian Genocide

The 1915–1917 deportation and mass killing of Ottoman Armenians by the Committee of Union and Progress government, commemorated on 24 April.

Treaty of Turkmenchay

An 1828 treaty ceding the Erivan and Nakhchivan khanates to Russia, bringing eastern Armenia into the Russian Empire.

Battle of Sardarabad

A May 1918 battle in which Armenian forces halted the Ottoman advance, enabling the declaration of the First Republic of Armenia.

First Republic of Armenia

The independent Armenian state declared on 28 May 1918, which fell to Soviet forces in late 1920 and became the Armenian SSR.

Treaty of Kars

A 1921 treaty between Turkey and Soviet Russia that fixed the current Turkey–Armenia border, ceding Kars and Ardahan to Turkey.

Armenian diaspora

Communities of Armenians outside Armenia, greatly enlarged by genocide survivors and later emigration, organized around churches and associations.

Velvet Revolution

The 2018 mass protests that forced the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan and brought Nikol Pashinyan to the premiership.

Second Nagorno-Karabakh War

The 2020 conflict ended by a Russian-brokered ceasefire on 9 November, after which Armenia ceded control of districts around Karabakh.

CSTO

The Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russia-led security bloc that Armenia joined; its guarantees have been contested in recent conflicts.

Grabar

Classical Armenian, the literary and liturgical language codified after the creation of the alphabet and still used in church services.

Etchmiadzin

The seat of the Catholicos of All Armenians and a major cathedral complex, the spiritual center of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Khachkar

A carved stone cross-monument characteristic of Armenian religious art, often richly ornamented and used for commemoration.

Sasna Tsrer

The Armenian national epic centered on David of Sassoun, transmitting oral heroic traditions later recorded in the 19th century.

Movses Khorenatsi

The 5th-century author traditionally credited with the 'History of Armenia', a foundational text of Armenian historiography.

Matenadaran

The Yerevan repository of Armenian manuscripts and documents, one of the world's richest collections of Armenian written heritage.

Duduk

An Armenian double-reed woodwind instrument recognized by UNESCO for its traditional music and craftsmanship.