Armenia dates back as far as the sixth century B.C., originating in the cradle of civilization, the Euphrates valley, and spreading to Asia Minor, in which it became the successor to Urartu in the eighth century B.C. Once spanning the Caucasus region from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean, Armenia has stood the test of time as a distinctive culture and unique people, despite numerous conquests over time—from Alexander the Great and Mark Antony to the Syrians, Persians, Byzantines, Mongols, and many more.
The first Christian state

Because of its geographical position at the crossroads between east and west, Armenia was introduced to Christianity early by the apostles Bartholemew and Thaddeus. In A.D. 301, it became the first nation to adopt Christianity as the state religion.
Centuries of Roman, Persian and Turkish influence
Having been under Roman influence after Alexander the Great, Armenia became a monarchy when Nero appointed Tiridates, a Parthian prince, king of Armenia in A.D. 66. In the third century the Persian king Ardashir I came to power and overran Armenia, beginning several hundred years of Persian rule of the region. Though in the tenth century Armenia gained brief autonomy under native rulers, it again came under outside rule when the Byzantines and later the Seljuk Turks reconquered Armenia. The last Armenian king died in 1375.

Greek guide greece guide rhodes kos rhodos hotels travel cos greece holidays vacation rhodes guide greek rhodos cos hotel holiday vacationsThereafter, the Ottoman Turks ruled much of Armenia, though the territory was constantly in dispute between the Turks and Persians.
Armenia becomes a Russian province
Russia acquired Armenia from Persia in 1828 and made it into a province. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 assigned the Kars, Ardahan and Batumi districts to Russia. Russia later ceded Kars and Ardahan back to Turkey in 1921.
First genocide of the 20th century

After Armenia was conquered by the Ottoman Turks, Christians became a minority, and many were subjected to trials and persecutions. Between 1894 and 1915, the Ottomans made a concentrated effort to destroy them. More than 300,000 Armenians were killed between 1894 and 1896 and more than 1.5 million were massacred in 1915, in what is now recognized as the first genocide of the 20th century.
70 years under Soviet rule

In the aftermath of World War I, Armenia was given its independence, which lasted only two years until it was overtaken by the Soviets and became a republic of the USSR. In 1988, the Armenian republic suffered a devastating earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 and left more than 100,000 homeless.
An independent state in transition

With the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia again became an independent state, but almost immediately, it became embroiled in a conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan, in a dispute over the Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabagh in that country. A cease-fire has held since 1994, but Armenia is still recovering from the effects of both the earthquake and the Azeri war. An estimated 100,000 landmines and unexploded ordnances daily kill or maim Armenian men, women and children.Greek guide greece guide rhodes kos rhodos hotels travel cos greece holidays vacation rhodes guide greek rhodos cos hotel holiday vacations
These serious problems are what prompted the founding of Children of Armenia Fund in 2000.

Armenia is a landlocked mountainous country in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, located in the Southern Caucasus. It shares borders with Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Nakhichevan exclave of Azerbaijan to the south. A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state and one of the oldest and most historic civilizations in the world. It has a rich cultural heritage and was the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Although today Armenia is constitutionally a secular state, the Christian faith plays a major role in both its history and the identification of the Armenian people.Greek guide greece guide rhodes kos rhodos hotels travel cos greece holidays vacation rhodes guide greek rhodos cos hotel holiday vacations

In Yerevan, you will never need rose-colored glasses, because most of its buildings use a pink shade of "tuf" stone, which is quarried in Armenia. This is the most prominent feature of Yerevan's otherwise usually utilitarian Soviet architecture and is unique to Armenia. An appropriate nickname would be the city of cafes, for in the summer it is often hard to tell where one cafe ends and the next one begin. The downtown or "getron" area of the city is very compact and contains everything you will probably want to visit.Greek guide greece guide rhodes kos rhodos hotels travel cos greece holidays vacation rhodes guide greek rhodos cos hotel holiday vacations