Armenian History Unified Exam study plan
Armenian History Unified Exam · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Armenia under Ottoman and Persian Rule; the Armenian Question and the Genocide
Build a dated timeline of Ottoman and Persian administrative rule over Armenian lands from the 16th to the 19th century, listing at least 12 entries
Explain the origin and shifting meaning of the term 'Armenian Question' across the 19th century in 300 words
Identify the major reform promises (Tanzimat, Article 61 of the 1878 Berlin Treaty) and state why each failed in practice
Map the Ottoman vilayets with large Armenian populations and note their demographic estimates with source caveats
Your checkpoint
A one-page annotated timeline plus a 300-word explainer on the Armenian Question, self-graded against a checklist of 10 required facts
Armenia under Ottoman and Persian Rule; the Armenian Question and the Genocide & The First Republic of Armenia, Soviet Armenia, and the Armenian Diaspora
Sequence the events of 1915-1918, distinguishing pre-war persecution, the April 24 arrests, deportations, and the death marches
Compare three categories of primary evidence (diplomatic cables, missionary and consular reports, survivor testimony) and note what each can and cannot prove
Explain the postwar legal context, including the 1915 Allied joint declaration and the Treaty of Sevres provisions on accountability
Describe how commemoration and scholarly terminology (genocide, Medz Yeghern) developed in the diaspora
Your checkpoint
A 500-word evidence-based essay on the 1915-1918 events that cites at least three categories of sources and distinguishes established fact from contested interpretation
The First Republic of Armenia, Soviet Armenia, and the Armenian Diaspora
Trace the founding of the First Republic of Armenia in 1918 and its territorial and refugee crises through 1920
Explain the Treaties of Batum and Alexandropol and the sovietization of Armenia in late 1920
Outline the territorial settlement of the 1921 Treaty of Kars and Moscow Treaty, naming the disputed districts
Describe the phases of Soviet Armenia, including the 1922-1936 Transcaucasian SFSR period, the 1936 constitution, and postwar industrial migration
Chart the growth of the Armenian diaspora by host region and cause of migration
Your checkpoint
A comparative table of the 1918-1921 treaties listing parties, territorial terms, and consequences for Armenia
The Third Republic of Armenia: Statehood, Politics, and Contemporary History
Explain the constitutional and institutional structure of the Third Republic, including the presidency, National Assembly, and prime minister
Sequence the key political transitions from 1991 independence through the 1995 constitution, 2005 and 2015 amendments, and the 2018 Velvet Revolution
Analyze the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh conflict phases, including the 1994 ceasefire, 2020 war, and 2023 events, in neutral factual terms
Describe Armenia's membership in the CIS, CSTO, EAEU, and its partnership frameworks with the EU
Your checkpoint
A two-page political chronology of 1991-2024 with a short cause-and-effect note for each of the five major turning points
Ancient Armenia: Prehistory, Urartu, and the Formation of the Armenian People & Armenia under Foreign Rule: Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Roman, and Parthian Periods
Locate the major prehistoric and Bronze Age cultures of the Armenian plateau (Shengavit, Kura-Araxes, Trialeti-Vanadzor) on a sketch map with dates
Describe Urartu's political structure, key kings, and inscriptions, and explain the debated relationship between Urartian and early Armenian populations
Explain the ethnogenesis debate over the Armenian language and people, citing the main hypotheses without asserting a consensus
Outline Achaemenid satrapal administration and the role of Armenia as a satrapy and buffer
Sequence the Hellenistic kingdoms, the Artaxiad dynasty, and the Roman-Parthian rivalry over Armenia with key dates
Your checkpoint
A labeled hand-drawn map of the Armenian plateau with 10 ancient sites and dynasties, each with a date range
Arsacid Armenia, the Adoption of Christianity, and the Early Medieval Period & Armenian Culture, Religion, Language, and Historiography
Explain the Arsacid dynasty's rise, the role of the nobility, and the conversion narrative associated with Gregory the Illuminator and Tiridates III
Trace the institutional development of the Armenian Church, including the 451 Council of Chalcedon and the separate miaphysite identity
Explain the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots and its consequences for literature and historiography
Identify major early medieval historians (Khorenatsi, Eghishe, Sebeos) and evaluate their reliability as sources
Summarize the Arab conquest, the emirate period, and the Bagratid rise to kingship in 885
Your checkpoint
A source-evaluation worksheet on three early medieval historians, scoring each on date reliability, bias, and corroboration
Bagratid Armenia, the Armenian Kingdoms, and the Cilician Armenian State
Map the Bagratid kingdom of Ani, its territorial extent, and the causes of its collapse in 1045
Explain the Seljuk and Mongol impact and the rise of the Zakarian principality
Describe the founding and development of the Cilician Armenian state under the Rubenid and Hethumid dynasties
Explain Cilician diplomacy with crusader states, Byzantium, and the Mongols, and the kingdom's fall in 1375
Compare the political and ecclesiastical institutions of Greater Armenia and Cilicia
Your checkpoint
A comparative profile of the Bagratid and Cilician states covering territory, economy, diplomacy, and causes of decline
Armenian Culture, Religion, Language, and Historiography & Ancient Armenia: Prehistory, Urartu, and the Formation of the Armenian People & Armenia under Foreign Rule: Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Roman, and Parthian Periods & Arsacid Armenia, the Adoption of Christianity, and the Early Medieval Period & Bagratid Armenia, the Armenian Kingdoms, and the Cilician Armenian State & Armenia under Ottoman and Persian Rule; the Armenian Question and the Genocide & The First Republic of Armenia, Soviet Armenia, and the Armenian Diaspora & The Third Republic of Armenia: Statehood, Politics, and Contemporary History
Synthesize a single master timeline from prehistory to 2024 with at least 40 dated entries
Review the historiography domain by naming the major schools, national narratives, and debates over ancient and modern Armenian history
Complete two timed practice sets covering the heaviest domains and log every error with its cause
Restate the five most frequently confused distinctions (e.g., Chalcedon, Treaties of Batum vs. Kars, First vs. Third Republic) from memory
Your checkpoint
A completed master timeline plus an error log with at least 20 entries and a written review plan for remaining weak areas
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain the 1915-1918 events and the Armenian Question with sources and dates, scoring 8/10 on a self-made fact checklist
Week 4: Can outline the Third Republic's institutions and the 1991-2024 political chronology from memory with no more than two date errors
Week 6: Can place every major ancient and early medieval dynasty on a blank map with correct date ranges
Week 8: Scores at least 80% on two timed mixed-domain practice sets and has a written error log covering all eight domains