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{{merge|Armenians}}
⚫ {{History of Armenia}}
] ]


The '''origin of the Armenians''' is not decisively certain and has been explained by several scholarly theories. The '''origin of the Armenians''' is not decisively certain and has been explained by several scholarly theories.


==Traditional Armenian explanation== ==Traditional Armenian accounts==


The earliest surviving Armenian writings about their own origin explain that the ] are descendants of ], a son of ]. As ], which was historically in the kingdom of ], is held to be the site on which Noah's ark landed, his family settled in Armenia, and later moved to ]. ], a descendant of Japheth who is said to have been the leader of the Armenian people, rebelled against the Babylonians and returned to the lands of Armenia. This legendary account reflects the ] beliefs of the Armenians after ] ], as they favored an explanation of their origins that gave them a prominent place in the history of the ]. The earliest surviving Armenian writings about their own origin explain that the ] are descendants of ], a son of ]. As ], which was historically in the kingdom of ], is held to be the site on which Noah's ark landed, his family settled in Armenia, and later moved to ]. ], a descendant of Japheth who is said to have been the leader of the Armenian people, rebelled against the Babylonians and returned to the lands of Armenia. This legendary account reflects the ] beliefs of the Armenians after ] ], as they favored an explanation of their origins that gave them a prominent place in the history of the ].


⚫ ] states that the ] descended from Torgom (] was the Son of ], Grandson ], Great Grandson of ]) is consistent and derived from, Biblical references to the House of Togarmah, a land known for its horses in the extreme north. ] would have been the north hinterlands for the ] world of the Old Testament, and the ] were renowned for horse breeding and horsemanship throughout ancient times. <ref>Strabo, Geography, XI.14.9.</ref>
⚫ {{History of Armenia}}
== Khorenatsi’s theory ==
⚫ Khorenatsi’s theory that the ] descended from Torgom (] was the Son of ], Grandson ], Great Grandson of ]) is consistent and derived from, Biblical references to the House of Togarmah, a land known for its horses in the extreme north. ] would have been the north hinterlands for the ] world of the Old Testament, and the ] were renowned for horse breeding and horsemanship throughout ancient times. <ref>Strabo, Geography, XI.14.9.</ref>


==Armenia (name)== ==Greek ethnography==
The name ''']''' is an ], the ] name for the country being ''Hayk‘'' (see ] for a discussion of that name). Its first unambiguous application as the ethnonym of the ] is in a late 6th century BC ] inscription, as ''Armina'', and a few decades later, ], in his review of the troops opposing the Greeks, wrote that “the Armenians were armed like the ], being Phrygian settlers" <ref>Herodotus, History, 7.73.</ref>. Whether his comment described all ] as Phrygian settlers, or only those warriors he happened to see, is still unclear. ], a Greek general waging war against the Persians, 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 ].<ref>Xenophon, Anabasis, IV.v.2-9.</ref>. In the 5th century BC ], in his review of the troops opposing the ], he wrote that “the Armenians were armed like the ], being Phrygian settlers (refugees).”<ref>Herodotus, History, 7.73.</ref> Whether his comment described all ] as Phrygian settlers, or only those warriors he happened to see, is still unclear. In 400 BC, Xenophon, a Greek general waging war against the Persians, 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 ].<ref>Xenophon, Anabasis, IV.v.2-9.</ref> Whether this was the native language of the region, or a vestigial lingua franca from the days of Persian rule is unclear. Strabo (64 BC-19 AD) states that throughout the Armenian state consolidated by King Artashes (189-159 BC), the people of various extractions spoke Armenian,<ref>Strabo, Geography, XI.14.5-6.</ref> although their customs were like the Medes. <ref>Strabo, Geography, XI.13.9</ref>


Some ancient ] believed the Armenians to be descendants of Armenus the Thessalian, one of the ]. However, the historian ] wrote that the Armenians originated in ], moved into ], and finally settled in the lands of Armenia. ] wrote that the Armenians were descended from people who migrated from Phrygia in the west and the ] region to the south.
There are, however, surprisingly early (Bronze Age) attestations of what appears to be the same name as a geographical term in both Mesopotamian and Egyptian sources.
The earliest is from an inscription which mentions ''Armânum'' (also read ''Armani''<ref>Artak Movsisyan, "Aratta: The ancient Kindgom of Armenia," Yerevan, 1992. p. 184</ref>) together with ''Ibla'' (]) as territories conquered by ] (23rd century BC)<ref>surviving in an early Babylonian copy, ca. 2200 BC, URI 275, lines I.7, 13; II.4; III.3, 30.</ref> identified with an Akkadian colony in the ] region.<ref>Horace Abram Rigg, Jr., A Note on the Names Armânum and Urartu, Journal of the American Oriental Society (1937).</ref> To this day the Assyrians refer to Armenians by this form ''Armani''.


==Modern hypotheses==
A ] inventory of the Akkadian Empire locates the land ''Armanî'' next to ]<ref>no. 92 of Schroeder's 1920 ''Keilschrifttexte aus Assur''; W. F. Albright, ''A Babylonian Geographical Treatise on Sargon of Akkad's Empire'', Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 45. (1925), p. 212.</ref>
Another mention by pharoah ] in the 33rd year of his reign (1446 BC) as the people of ''Ermenen'' ("Region of the Minni"), and says in their land "heaven rests upon its four pillars".<ref>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915; Eric H. Cline and David O'Connor (eds.) ''Thutmose III'', University of Michigan, 2006, ISBN 978-0472114672.{{page number}}</ref> The ] and ] form referring to Armenians is ''Ermenin''.


A popular scholarly theory, which was unchallenged until the 1980s, posits that the Armenians were an ] group that migrated with proto-Iranians from the ] or with Phrygians from the ] after the collapse of the ] empire. Another recent theory is that the Armenians were among the original inhabitants of the area, given the apparent uniqueness of ] in the ] family and its similarity to the language of the ], a group of people indigenous to the area. This theory tends to be more popular with Armenian scholars, whereas the theory that the Armenians have origins in ] and ] is more accepted among Western scholars.
'']'' (מנּי) is also a Biblical name of the region, appearing in ] ({{bibleref|Jeremiah|51:27}}) alongside ] and ], probably the same as the ''Minnai'' of Assyrian inscriptions,<ref>International Standard Bible Encyclopedia s.v. Minni</ref> perhaps corresponding to the ].<ref>Smith's Bible Dictionary</ref> ''Armenia'' is interpreted by some as ''<sup>ḪAR</sup>Minni'', that is, "the mountainous region of the Minni".<ref>Easton’s Bible Dictionary</ref>

There have been further speculations as to the existence Bronze Age tribe (of an ethnonym, as opposed to a toponym) of the '''Armens''' (''Armans'', ''Armani''; ]: {{lang|hy|Արմեններ ''Armenner'', Առամեններ ''Aṙamenner''}}), either identical to or forming a subset of the ]<ref>Rafael Ishkhanyan, "Illustrated History of Armenia," Yerevan, 1989</ref><ref name="Bauer">Elisabeth Bauer. ''Armenia: Past and Present'' (1981), p. 49</ref>
Etymological speculation inspired by the ] of Indo-European origins connects the name with the ''Ar-'' root meaning light, sun, fire found in ] (Sun), ] (Light of heaven), ] (God or Creator), ] (place of Arar), ], ] etc.<ref>] and ], ''The Early History of Indo-European (aka Aryan) Languages'', Scientific American, March 1990; James P. Mallory, "Kuro-Araxes Culture", ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture,'' Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997. </ref> Alternatively, the name has been claimed as a "variant" of ''Urmani'', a e living near Lake Van and near Lake Urmia according to an inscription of ].<ref>Vahan Kurkjian, ''History of Armenia'', Michigan 1968</ref>
According to an increasing number of scholars, ] presents was in the ] since the ]. These scholars place the homeland in Armenia, located where the ] showed Indo-European presents at the same time. <ref>James P. Mallory, "Kuro-Araxes Culture", ''Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture,'' Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.; ] and ], ''The Early History of Indo-European (aka Aryan) Languages'', Scientific American, March 1990</ref>
Armenian tradition makes ''Armenak'' or ''Aram'' the great-grandson of ].
Other authors<ref>Hovick Nersessian, ''Highlands of Armenia'', 1998, Los Angeles</ref> connect the Persian name ''Armin'', <ref> Parsiana, ''Book of Iranian Names'': a dweller of the ], a son of king ]</ref> ''Armin'' is also a contemporary Armenian name, its feminine being ''Armin'e''. The Persian inscription referring to Armenia is in this form, as ''Armina''.


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}}
<div class="references-small"><references/></div>

⚫ ]
*Bournoutian, George A. 2002. ''A Concise History of the Armenian People.'' Mazda Publishers, Inc.

==See also==
*]

⚫ ]

Revision as of 12:34, 15 June 2007

It has been suggested that this article be merged with Armenians. (Discuss)
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File:PatriarchHayk.jpeg
Haik, the legendary ancestor of the Armenians.

The origin of the Armenians is not decisively certain and has been explained by several scholarly theories.

Traditional Armenian accounts

The earliest surviving Armenian writings about their own origin explain that the Armenian people are descendants of Japheth, a son of Noah. As Mt. Ararat, which was historically in the kingdom of Armenia, is held to be the site on which Noah's ark landed, his family settled in Armenia, and later moved to Babylon. Haik, a descendant of Japheth who is said to have been the leader of the Armenian people, rebelled against the Babylonians and returned to the lands of Armenia. This legendary account reflects the Christian beliefs of the Armenians after 301 AD, as they favored an explanation of their origins that gave them a prominent place in the history of the Bible.

Moses of Chorene states that the Armenians descended from Torgom (Togarmah was the Son of Gomer, Grandson Japheth, Great Grandson of Noah) is consistent and derived from, Biblical references to the House of Togarmah, a land known for its horses in the extreme north. Armenia would have been the north hinterlands for the Mesopotamian world of the Old Testament, and the Armenian Highlands were renowned for horse breeding and horsemanship throughout ancient times.

Greek ethnography

In the 5th century BC Herodotus, in his review of the troops opposing the Greeks, he wrote that “the Armenians were armed like the Phrygians, being Phrygian settlers (refugees).” Whether his comment described all Armenians as Phrygian settlers, or only those warriors he happened to see, is still unclear. In 400 BC, Xenophon, a Greek general waging war against the Persians, 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. Whether this was the native language of the region, or a vestigial lingua franca from the days of Persian rule is unclear. Strabo (64 BC-19 AD) states that throughout the Armenian state consolidated by King Artashes (189-159 BC), the people of various extractions spoke Armenian, although their customs were like the Medes.

Some ancient Greeks believed the Armenians to be descendants of Armenus the Thessalian, one of the argonauts. However, the historian Herodotus wrote that the Armenians originated in Thrace, moved into Phrygia, and finally settled in the lands of Armenia. Strabo wrote that the Armenians were descended from people who migrated from Phrygia in the west and the Zagros region to the south.

Modern hypotheses

A popular scholarly theory, which was unchallenged until the 1980s, posits that the Armenians were an Indo-European group that migrated with proto-Iranians from the Aral Sea or with Phrygians from the Balkans after the collapse of the Hittite empire. Another recent theory is that the Armenians were among the original inhabitants of the area, given the apparent uniqueness of Armenian in the Indo-European language family and its similarity to the language of the Hurrians, a group of people indigenous to the area. This theory tends to be more popular with Armenian scholars, whereas the theory that the Armenians have origins in Thrace and Phrygia is more accepted among Western scholars.

References

  1. Strabo, Geography, XI.14.9.
  2. Herodotus, History, 7.73.
  3. Xenophon, Anabasis, IV.v.2-9.
  4. Strabo, Geography, XI.14.5-6.
  5. Strabo, Geography, XI.13.9
  • Bournoutian, George A. 2002. A Concise History of the Armenian People. Mazda Publishers, Inc.

See also

Category: