# Armenia

By [Lillya](https://paragraph.com/@lillya) · 2024-01-17

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**Armenia** ([/ɑːrˈmiːniə/](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/English) [ⓘ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:En-us-Armenia.ogg) [_ar-MEE-nee-ə_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:Pronunciation_respelling_key)),[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-14)[\[a\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-15) officially the **Republic of Armenia**,[\[b\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-16) is a [landlocked country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country) in the [Armenian Highlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Highlands) of [West Asia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Asia).[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-classification_of_world_regions-17)[\[16\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-18) It is a part of the [Caucasus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus) region and is bordered by [Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey) to the west, [Georgia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_\(country\)) to the north and [Azerbaijan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan) to the east, and [Iran](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran) and the Azerbaijani [exclave](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclave) of [Nakhchivan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakhchivan_Autonomous_Republic) to the south.[\[17\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-Oxford_University_Press-19) [Yerevan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yerevan) is the [capital](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_city), largest city and [financial center](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Armenia).

Armenia is a [unitary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitary_state), multi-party, democratic [nation-state](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_state) with an ancient cultural heritage. The first Armenian state of [Urartu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urartu) was established in 860 BC, and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the [Satrapy of Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satrapy_of_Armenia). The [Kingdom of Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Armenia_\(antiquity\)) reached its height under [Tigranes the Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tigranes_the_Great) in the 1st century BC and in the year 301 became the first state in the world to adopt [Christianity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity) as its [official religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_religion).[\[18\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-20)[\[19\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-21)[\[20\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-22)[\[c\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-23) Armenia still recognises the [Armenian Apostolic Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Apostolic_Church), the world's oldest [national church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_church), as the country's primary religious establishment.[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-Article_18-4)[\[d\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-24) The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the [Byzantine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire) and [Sasanian Empires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sasanian_Empire) around the early 5th century. Under the [Bagratuni dynasty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagratuni_dynasty), the [Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bagratid_Kingdom_of_Armenia) was restored in the 9th century before falling in 1045. [Cilician Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_Kingdom_of_Cilicia), an Armenian principality and later a kingdom, was located on the coast of the [Mediterranean Sea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediterranean_Sea) between the 11th and 14th centuries.

Between the 16th and 19th centuries, the traditional Armenian homeland composed of [Eastern Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Armenia) and [Western Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Armenia) came under the rule of the [Ottoman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire) and [Persian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Armenia_\(1502%E2%80%931828\)) empires, repeatedly ruled by either of the two over the centuries. By the 19th century, Eastern Armenia had been conquered by the [Russian Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Empire), while most of the western parts of the traditional Armenian homeland remained under Ottoman rule. During [World War I](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I), 1.5 million Armenians living in their ancestral lands in the Ottoman Empire were systematically exterminated in the [Armenian genocide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenian_genocide). In 1918, following the [Russian Revolution](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution), all non-Russian countries declared their independence after the Russian Empire ceased to exist, leading to the establishment of the [First Republic of Armenia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Republic_of_Armenia). By 1920, the state was incorporated into the [Soviet Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union). The modern Republic of Armenia became independent in 1991 during the [dissolution of the Soviet Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union).

Armenia is a [developing country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country) and ranks 85th on the [Human Development Index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index) (2021).[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenia#cite_note-HDI-13) Its [economy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Armenia) is primarily based on industrial output and mineral extraction. While Armenia is geographically located in the [South Caucasus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Caucasus), it is generally considered [geopolitically](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geopolitics) European. Since Armenia aligns itself in many respects geopolitically with [Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe), the country is a member of numerous European organizations including the [Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization_for_Security_and_Co-Operation_in_Europe), the [Council of Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Europe), the [Eastern Partnership](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Partnership), [Eurocontrol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurocontrol), the [Assembly of European Regions](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assembly_of_European_Regions), and the [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Bank_for_Reconstruction_and_Development). Armenia is also a member of certain regional groups throughout [Eurasia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasia), including the [Asian Development Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_Development_Bank), the [Collective Security Treaty Organization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Security_Treaty_Organization), the [Eurasian Economic Union](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Economic_Union), and the [Eurasian Development Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Development_Bank). Armenia supported once _de facto_ independent [Republic of Artsakh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Artsakh) (Nagorno-Karabakh), which was proclaimed in 1991 on territory internationally recognized as part of [Azerbaijan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azerbaijan) until September 2023.

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*Originally published on [Lillya](https://paragraph.com/@lillya/armenia)*