THE DAWN OF ARMENIAN CIVILIZATION BETWEEN MYTH AND HISTORY
Legends say that the Armenians are the descendants of Hayk, the founding patriarch of the Armenian nation and a descendant of Noah, whose Ark ran aground on Mount Ararat after the Great Flood. In honor of this tradition, the Armenians call their nation Hayastan. Historians, on the other hand, trace the origins of Armenians back to the period between 1500 BC and 1200 BC with the birth of a tribal confederation known as Hayasa-Azzi which resided in the western part of the Armenian plateau. Given its proximity to the Hittite Empire, violent clashes often broke out with mixed results until the Hittites finally defeated the Hayasa-Azzi people at the end of the Bronze Age.
The Kingdom of Urartu
Between 1200 and 800 BC, much of Armenia was unified under a confederation of kingdoms called by the Assyrians with the name of Nairi (Land of rivers) which was subsequently absorbed into the Kingdom of Urartu, the civilization that flourished in the Caucasus and in the Eastern Asia Minor between 800 BC and 600 BC and which in fact represents the first Armenian empire. The kingdom was unified under King Aramu and extended from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, including much of the territory of present-day eastern Turkey, experiencing the period of maximum splendor under the reign of Sarduri II. In fact, under his reign, the borders expanded to the territories beyond the Tigris and the Euphrates, to Lake Urmia and to Aleppo. In manuscripts and sacred texts of the time, Urartu was often referred to as the "Kingdom of Ararat" and the various neighboring states interchangeably used "Armenia" and "Urartu" to refer to the country. For example, in the Behistun inscription carved in three languages in 520 BC by order of Darius the Great of Persia, the country is defined as Arminia in ancient Persian, Harminuia in Elamite and Urartu in Neo-Babylonian. Between the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC, the Urartian kingdom was replaced by the kingdom of Armenia in ways that historiography has not yet been able to identify with certainty. According to the most shared line, however, following the defeat against the Medes, the ruling dynasty of Urartu was overthrown, probably with their support, in favor of the Armenian dynasty of the Orontids.
THE DYNASTY OF THE ORONTIDS, THE PERSIAN AND MACEDON DOMAIN AND THE BIRTH OF THE KINGDOM OF ARMENIA
After the fall of Urartu around 600 BC, the Kingdom of Armenia was ruled by the Orontid dynasty who acted as satraps of the Persian Empire paying tribute to the Persian kings. During this time, the Armenians took also Iranian names and customs. In 521, taking advantage of the confusion created by the death of Cambyses II of Persia, the Armenians revolted but the revolt was crushed by Darius I of Persia who defeated the rebels.
With the reorganization of the Persian Empire, Armenia was divided into various satrapies that sent also contingents of troops in the invasion of Xerxes against Greece in 480 BC.
In 401 BC, the invasion of Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian kingdom and began the rapid Hellenization of the entire East. Armenia shared the fate of the other regions previously subjected to the Persians becoming a satrapy of the Macedonian Empire by being divided into two regions: Great Armenia or Sofene (between the middle course of the Euphrates and the sources of the Tigris and which would later become further divided into Armenia proper and Sofene), and Little Armenia or Armenia Pontica (located between the upper Euphrates and the springs of Lico and Ali). The historical fate of these three Armenian kingdoms was very different. For Little Armenia the proximity of the ever more powerful Kingdom of Pontus proved disastrous and was incorporated by it in the second century BC, while Sofene was never able to achieve real independence and managed to survive for a short time only thanks to the support of the Kingdom of Cappadocia. On the other hand, Armenia proper (Great Armenia) had a different story: the kimgdom grew very rapidly, managing to escape the feudal dependence of the Seleucids, thus giving rise to a powerful and formidable state. The Seleucids, a Hellenistic dynasty that followed the death of Alexander the Great, never managed to establish themselves permanently in Great Armenia, both for the mountainous character of the region, which was a natural defense system against the Greek campaigns, as well as for the strong Iranian character which, having by now placed deep roots in the people, it was strenuously opposed to the Hellenic influence, which however partially influenced the art and culture of the time.
With the reorganization of the Persian Empire, Armenia was divided into various satrapies that sent also contingents of troops in the invasion of Xerxes against Greece in 480 BC.
In 401 BC, the invasion of Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian kingdom and began the rapid Hellenization of the entire East. Armenia shared the fate of the other regions previously subjected to the Persians becoming a satrapy of the Macedonian Empire by being divided into two regions: Great Armenia or Sofene (between the middle course of the Euphrates and the sources of the Tigris and which would later become further divided into Armenia proper and Sofene), and Little Armenia or Armenia Pontica (located between the upper Euphrates and the springs of Lico and Ali). The historical fate of these three Armenian kingdoms was very different. For Little Armenia the proximity of the ever more powerful Kingdom of Pontus proved disastrous and was incorporated by it in the second century BC, while Sofene was never able to achieve real independence and managed to survive for a short time only thanks to the support of the Kingdom of Cappadocia. On the other hand, Armenia proper (Great Armenia) had a different story: the kimgdom grew very rapidly, managing to escape the feudal dependence of the Seleucids, thus giving rise to a powerful and formidable state. The Seleucids, a Hellenistic dynasty that followed the death of Alexander the Great, never managed to establish themselves permanently in Great Armenia, both for the mountainous character of the region, which was a natural defense system against the Greek campaigns, as well as for the strong Iranian character which, having by now placed deep roots in the people, it was strenuously opposed to the Hellenic influence, which however partially influenced the art and culture of the time.
THE SECOND KINGDOM OF ARMENIA AND THE ARRIVAL OF ROME
Around 200 BC, in his attempt to finally subdue Armenia, the Seleucid king Antiochus III conquered both Greater Armenia and Sofene, installing Armenian generals Artassia I and Zariadres as governor-strategists in their respective kingdoms. Artassia was also the founder of the Armenian capital Artaxata thanks to the help of the Carthaginian general Hannibal who took refuge in his exile from the Romans. When the Romans destroyed the Seleucid kingdom with the defeat of Antiochus in the Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC, the two kings, with the consent of Rome, declared themselves independent and their respective descendants ruled two kingdoms until the unification into Great Armenia by Tigrane the Great, an Artaxis, in the 80 BC.
According to Strabo, during the Seleucid period the polyethnic population of Armenia began to speak a single language - Armenian.
At the height of its splendor, from 95 to 66 BC, and under the leadership of Tigranes II the Great, Greater Armenia extended from the Caucasus to present-day eastern Turkey, to Syria and Lebanon, from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea and to the Mediterranean, being nicknamed "the Kingdom of the Three Seas". The second Armenian empire was born, whose capital Tigranocerta is still enveloped today by an aura of mystery as modern archeology is not yet able to find its exact location. In 66 BC, Pompeo's Roman legions invaded Greater Armenia and Tigranes was forced to surrender by agreeing to make his kingdom a Roman protectorate.
A Parthian campaign subdued Armenia in AD 37. which was reconquered by the Romans ten years later but was lost again shortly after. Under Nero's empire, the Romans conducted another campaign (55 - 63 AD) against the Parthians who had invaded Armenia and after having conquered the region in 60 and lost it again in 62, Rome finally conquered it in 63. A.D
With the defeat of the Parthians in the battle of Rhandeia, the Parthian king was obliged to stipulate a treaty where he obtained the throne of Armenia for his brother Tiridates, crowned by Nero himself, giving rise to the dynasty of the Arsacids of Armenia.
According to Strabo, during the Seleucid period the polyethnic population of Armenia began to speak a single language - Armenian.
At the height of its splendor, from 95 to 66 BC, and under the leadership of Tigranes II the Great, Greater Armenia extended from the Caucasus to present-day eastern Turkey, to Syria and Lebanon, from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea and to the Mediterranean, being nicknamed "the Kingdom of the Three Seas". The second Armenian empire was born, whose capital Tigranocerta is still enveloped today by an aura of mystery as modern archeology is not yet able to find its exact location. In 66 BC, Pompeo's Roman legions invaded Greater Armenia and Tigranes was forced to surrender by agreeing to make his kingdom a Roman protectorate.
A Parthian campaign subdued Armenia in AD 37. which was reconquered by the Romans ten years later but was lost again shortly after. Under Nero's empire, the Romans conducted another campaign (55 - 63 AD) against the Parthians who had invaded Armenia and after having conquered the region in 60 and lost it again in 62, Rome finally conquered it in 63. A.D
With the defeat of the Parthians in the battle of Rhandeia, the Parthian king was obliged to stipulate a treaty where he obtained the throne of Armenia for his brother Tiridates, crowned by Nero himself, giving rise to the dynasty of the Arsacids of Armenia.
THE CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY
The dynasty of the Arsacids of Armenia (Arshakuni), ruled over the kingdom of Armenia from 54 to 428 and was linked to the homonymous Parthian dynasty. Two of the most important events under Arsacid rule in the history of Armenia were the conversion to Christianity by Gregory the Illuminator in 301 and the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405.
The conversion of Armenia, which took place at the dawn of the fourth century and traditionally took place in the year 301, gave the Armenians the consciousness of being the first officially Christian people, well before Christianity was recognized as state religion by the Roman Empire.
The historian Agatangelo (historian of King Tiridates), in a story rich in symbolism, narrates in detail the facts that tradition places at the origin of this conversion. Gregory, was asked by the king Tiridates to make sacrifices to the goddess Anahit, but he opposed with a clear refusal professing his faith in the God of Christians. Legend has it that, subjected to cruel torture for this choice, Gregory, assisted by the power of God, did not bend. Given this irreducible constancy in the Christian confession, the king had him thrown into a deep well, a narrow and dark place infested with snakes, where no one had previously survived. But Gregory, fed by the compassionate hand of a widow, remained for many years in that well without succumbing. The story continues by referring to the attempts made in the meantime by the Roman emperor Diocletian to seduce the virgin Hripsime, who, to escape her danger, fled from Rome with a group of her companions, seeking refuge in Armenia. The beauty of the young woman attracted the attention of King Tiridates, who fell in love with her. Faced with Hripsime's obstinate refusal, the king was furious and made her and her companions perish in cruel tortures. According to tradition, because of this horrendous crime, Tiridates was changed into a wild boar, and could not regain human form, except when, obeying an indication from Heaven, he freed Gregory from the well in which he had been imprisoned for thirteen long years. Having obtained the miracle of returning to human form for the prayers of the Saint, Tiridates decided to convert together with his family and the army and to work for the evangelization of the entire country. Thus it was that the Armenians were baptized and that Christianity became the official religion of the nation. Gregory and Tiridates traveled the country, destroying the places of worship of idols and building Christian temples. Following a vision of Gregory of Jesus Christ, a church was built in the village of Vagharshapat, which from the prodigious event took the name of Etchmiadzin, that is the place where "the Only Begotten descended". The pagan priests were educated in the new religion and became the ministers of the new cult, while their children formed the backbone of the clergy and subsequent monasticism. Gregory soon retired to hermit life in the desert, and the youngest son Aristakes was ordained bishop and made head of the Armenian Church, participating in that capacity in the Council of Nicaea.
Whether or not we believe this version of Armenia's conversion to Christianity, one fact remains incontrovertible: the conversion to Christianity in 301 and the codification of the Armenian alphabet a century later, by Mesrop Mashtots in 404, will be the two constant reference points that will save the identity and culture of this people over the centuries despite adverse historical vicissitudes.
The conversion of Armenia, which took place at the dawn of the fourth century and traditionally took place in the year 301, gave the Armenians the consciousness of being the first officially Christian people, well before Christianity was recognized as state religion by the Roman Empire.
The historian Agatangelo (historian of King Tiridates), in a story rich in symbolism, narrates in detail the facts that tradition places at the origin of this conversion. Gregory, was asked by the king Tiridates to make sacrifices to the goddess Anahit, but he opposed with a clear refusal professing his faith in the God of Christians. Legend has it that, subjected to cruel torture for this choice, Gregory, assisted by the power of God, did not bend. Given this irreducible constancy in the Christian confession, the king had him thrown into a deep well, a narrow and dark place infested with snakes, where no one had previously survived. But Gregory, fed by the compassionate hand of a widow, remained for many years in that well without succumbing. The story continues by referring to the attempts made in the meantime by the Roman emperor Diocletian to seduce the virgin Hripsime, who, to escape her danger, fled from Rome with a group of her companions, seeking refuge in Armenia. The beauty of the young woman attracted the attention of King Tiridates, who fell in love with her. Faced with Hripsime's obstinate refusal, the king was furious and made her and her companions perish in cruel tortures. According to tradition, because of this horrendous crime, Tiridates was changed into a wild boar, and could not regain human form, except when, obeying an indication from Heaven, he freed Gregory from the well in which he had been imprisoned for thirteen long years. Having obtained the miracle of returning to human form for the prayers of the Saint, Tiridates decided to convert together with his family and the army and to work for the evangelization of the entire country. Thus it was that the Armenians were baptized and that Christianity became the official religion of the nation. Gregory and Tiridates traveled the country, destroying the places of worship of idols and building Christian temples. Following a vision of Gregory of Jesus Christ, a church was built in the village of Vagharshapat, which from the prodigious event took the name of Etchmiadzin, that is the place where "the Only Begotten descended". The pagan priests were educated in the new religion and became the ministers of the new cult, while their children formed the backbone of the clergy and subsequent monasticism. Gregory soon retired to hermit life in the desert, and the youngest son Aristakes was ordained bishop and made head of the Armenian Church, participating in that capacity in the Council of Nicaea.
Whether or not we believe this version of Armenia's conversion to Christianity, one fact remains incontrovertible: the conversion to Christianity in 301 and the codification of the Armenian alphabet a century later, by Mesrop Mashtots in 404, will be the two constant reference points that will save the identity and culture of this people over the centuries despite adverse historical vicissitudes.
THE BYZANTINE, ARABIAN AND SELJUCHID DOMINATION
In 591, the great Byzantine warrior and emperor Maurice defeated the Persians and brought much of the Armenian territory into the Empire. The conquest was later completed by the Emperor Heraclius in 629, but, in 645, the Muslim Arabs of the Caliphate attacked the region by conquering it. Thus Armenia, which once had its rulers and had been under Persians and Byzantines, came under the rule of the Caliphs. As Emirate of Armenia (Arminiyya), the region was ruled by a prince, also recognized by Byzantium, who was based in Dvin, not far from Yerevan (Bagratuni or Bagratid dynasty). From this date, pressure began to persuade the people to convert to Islam, but an agreement was then reached that allowed the Armenians to continue professing Christianity.
In 884 the Armenian princes regained their independence, which they defended until 1045, when they were again subdued by Byzantium. In this period Armenia experienced a cultural, political and economic renaissance. A new capital was founded, Ani, which is said to have been populated by about 200,000 inhabitants, at a time when the European capitals did not reach 20,000 inhabitants. With the construction of Ani, nicknamed the city of forty gates and 101 churches, Armenia became a populous and prosperous nation that had political influence over neighboring nations. However, the feudal system gradually weakened the country by eroding the feeling of loyalty towards the central government.
In 1071, after the defeat of Byzantium by the Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan in the Battle of Manzikert, Greater Armenia was conquered. To escape death or slavery, thousands of families left Armenia and settled in foreign lands, such as Cilicia, Poland, etc. Among these people, there was also Rupen, a relative of Gagik II, the last king of Ani, who fled, together with some of the people, between the gorges of the Taurus Mountains and from there to Cilicia.
In 884 the Armenian princes regained their independence, which they defended until 1045, when they were again subdued by Byzantium. In this period Armenia experienced a cultural, political and economic renaissance. A new capital was founded, Ani, which is said to have been populated by about 200,000 inhabitants, at a time when the European capitals did not reach 20,000 inhabitants. With the construction of Ani, nicknamed the city of forty gates and 101 churches, Armenia became a populous and prosperous nation that had political influence over neighboring nations. However, the feudal system gradually weakened the country by eroding the feeling of loyalty towards the central government.
In 1071, after the defeat of Byzantium by the Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan in the Battle of Manzikert, Greater Armenia was conquered. To escape death or slavery, thousands of families left Armenia and settled in foreign lands, such as Cilicia, Poland, etc. Among these people, there was also Rupen, a relative of Gagik II, the last king of Ani, who fled, together with some of the people, between the gorges of the Taurus Mountains and from there to Cilicia.
THE KINGDOM OF CILICIA AND THE END OF ARMENIAN INDEPENDENCE
Rupen, arrived in the Gulf of Alexandretta in the Mediterranean Sea, founded the kingdom of Cilicia in 1080 (also known as Armenia Minor or Little Armenia) starting the Rupenid dynasty, a side branch of the Bagratid dynasty, making Sis the capital of the kingdom. This Christian kingdom, however, would not have had an easy life: closed in the midst of many Muslim states and hostile to the Byzantines, despite the pressures on the borders, it still managed to entertain business relations with the great Italian maritime cities, flourishing and prospering for about three hundred years. Pisa, Genoa and Venice established colonies on the coast of the kingdom and Marco Polo set out on his journey to China from Laiazzo, a Venetian colony in the kingdom of Cilicia, in 1271.
At the end of the 14th century Cilicia was invaded by the Mamluks who conquered the capital Sis in 1375, effectively ruling the end of the kingdom. The last king, Leo VI, fled into exile in Paris where he died in 1393 after unsuccessfully trying to promote another Crusade.
Thus ended the last fully independent Armenian political entity. From this moment on, Armenia as a sovereign state would no longer exist for at least six centuries, being subjected to this or that foreign domination.
At the end of the 14th century Cilicia was invaded by the Mamluks who conquered the capital Sis in 1375, effectively ruling the end of the kingdom. The last king, Leo VI, fled into exile in Paris where he died in 1393 after unsuccessfully trying to promote another Crusade.
Thus ended the last fully independent Armenian political entity. From this moment on, Armenia as a sovereign state would no longer exist for at least six centuries, being subjected to this or that foreign domination.
THE ARRIVAL OF TIMUR LENK AND THE OTTOMAN AND PERSIAN DOMINATION
The period from the collapse of the kingdom of Cilicia until the end of the seventeenth century marks the period of impoverishment and decline of the Armenian culture.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century, Tamerlane imposed himself in Central and Eastern Anatolia and advanced as far as Ankara, however his empire fell apart soon after his death.
The second half of the 15th century recorded, on the one hand, the rise of Ottoman power in central Anatolia and, on the other, the affirmation of the Safavid dynasty in Persia. For more than a hundred years these two empires fought for the domination of eastern Anatolia and the Caucasian regions. The struggle ended with the decisive victory of the Ottomans, who in 1585 succeeded in annexing the eastern parts of Armenia to the Caucasus.
In the first decades of the seventeenth century, Shah Abbas I, having failed in his attempt to expel the Ottomans from Armenian territory, during the retreat forced the migration of over 150,000 Armenians from the city of Jolfa on the banks of the Arax, settling them in Esfahan, where immigrants founded the city of New Julfa, a thriving cultural and commercial center throughout the 17th and part of the 18th century, whose range of economic activities extended from India to Great Britain. The rivalry between the Persians and the Ottomans was finally resolved in 1736 when the Persians defeated the Ottomans and conquered all of southern Transcaucasia including eastern Armenia.
Persian Armenia, from the mid-18th century, began to pass into the hands of the Russians thanks to the transfers enshrined in the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) and, from this moment on, those parts of Armenian territory followed the fate of the Russian Empire until the revolution and then became part of the USSR. The people of Armenia that remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, disappointed the hopes of achieving independence and civil liberties, went to revolutionary action, with the creation, at the end of the nineteenth century, of revolutionary committees on the model of the Russian nihilists; Sultan Abdul-Ḥamid responded with a ferocious repression and in August-September 1894 there was the first massacre of Armenians, followed by the massacre of 1895-96. Between 1894 and 1896 between two and three hundred thousand Armenians were killed by the Hamidiés (Kurdish battalions specially set up by the sultan). This was the beginning of a series of massacres that would last, in a more or less strong way, for thirty years under three different Turkish regimes.
Towards the end of the fourteenth century, Tamerlane imposed himself in Central and Eastern Anatolia and advanced as far as Ankara, however his empire fell apart soon after his death.
The second half of the 15th century recorded, on the one hand, the rise of Ottoman power in central Anatolia and, on the other, the affirmation of the Safavid dynasty in Persia. For more than a hundred years these two empires fought for the domination of eastern Anatolia and the Caucasian regions. The struggle ended with the decisive victory of the Ottomans, who in 1585 succeeded in annexing the eastern parts of Armenia to the Caucasus.
In the first decades of the seventeenth century, Shah Abbas I, having failed in his attempt to expel the Ottomans from Armenian territory, during the retreat forced the migration of over 150,000 Armenians from the city of Jolfa on the banks of the Arax, settling them in Esfahan, where immigrants founded the city of New Julfa, a thriving cultural and commercial center throughout the 17th and part of the 18th century, whose range of economic activities extended from India to Great Britain. The rivalry between the Persians and the Ottomans was finally resolved in 1736 when the Persians defeated the Ottomans and conquered all of southern Transcaucasia including eastern Armenia.
Persian Armenia, from the mid-18th century, began to pass into the hands of the Russians thanks to the transfers enshrined in the treaties of Gulistan (1813) and Turkmenchay (1828) and, from this moment on, those parts of Armenian territory followed the fate of the Russian Empire until the revolution and then became part of the USSR. The people of Armenia that remained under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, disappointed the hopes of achieving independence and civil liberties, went to revolutionary action, with the creation, at the end of the nineteenth century, of revolutionary committees on the model of the Russian nihilists; Sultan Abdul-Ḥamid responded with a ferocious repression and in August-September 1894 there was the first massacre of Armenians, followed by the massacre of 1895-96. Between 1894 and 1896 between two and three hundred thousand Armenians were killed by the Hamidiés (Kurdish battalions specially set up by the sultan). This was the beginning of a series of massacres that would last, in a more or less strong way, for thirty years under three different Turkish regimes.
THE METZ YEGHERN, THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
With the rise to power of the "Union and Progress" party, the situation of the Armenians of Turkey continued to worsen: the "young Turks" in fact began to advocate the ideal of the supremacy of the Turkish race in the territories of the Ottoman Empire. Imbued with the socialist and Marxist doctrines studied in Europe, the "Young Turks" interpreted the idea of equality in their own way: to be all equal citizens must all be Ottomans and to be Ottomans they must all be Turks and Muslims. To the Turkish people, disappointed by the loss of Ottoman possessions in Europe, the party had indicated Panturchism, i.e. the reunification of ethnic Turks living in Central Asia (Tartars, Kazakhs, Uzbeks, etc.) as the only possibility of expansion, thus giving life to a panturc entity that could go from the Bosphorus to China. The obstacles that stood in the way of these aims were constituted by the Armenian, Christian Indo-European and Kurdish minorities. It was their belief that the Kurds, however, did not represent an insurmountable problem of assimilation as they were already Muslims. On the contrary, Armenians and Christians, in addition to professing a different religion, also possessed a millenary culture and their assimilation would not only have been difficult but their very presence prevented unification with other populations of Turkish origin. The only solution was therefore to eliminate them.
The first sign of this policy came with the massacre of Adana in 1909 which caused about 30,000 deaths among the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian populations of Cilicia. This event caused the indignation of the world and, for this reason, to definitively undertake the policy of annihilation, the young Turks decided to wait for a favorable opportunity: they found it in the outbreak of the First World War. On that occasion, many of the Armenians living in the Turkish regions deserted in favor of the Russian army and this was the long-awaited pretext for resolving "the Armenian question" once and for all.
The young Turks began the ethnic cleansing and for the Armenians began the Metz Yeghern, the "great evil", the genocide of the Armenians.
It is estimated that between 1915 and 1923 about 1.5 million people were massacred, deported and left to die in the Syrian desert: the first great genocide of the 20th century.
The first sign of this policy came with the massacre of Adana in 1909 which caused about 30,000 deaths among the Armenian, Greek and Assyrian populations of Cilicia. This event caused the indignation of the world and, for this reason, to definitively undertake the policy of annihilation, the young Turks decided to wait for a favorable opportunity: they found it in the outbreak of the First World War. On that occasion, many of the Armenians living in the Turkish regions deserted in favor of the Russian army and this was the long-awaited pretext for resolving "the Armenian question" once and for all.
The young Turks began the ethnic cleansing and for the Armenians began the Metz Yeghern, the "great evil", the genocide of the Armenians.
It is estimated that between 1915 and 1923 about 1.5 million people were massacred, deported and left to die in the Syrian desert: the first great genocide of the 20th century.
THE FIRST REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA AND THE END OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Taking advantage of the period of political and military chaos produced by the Russian Revolution, the Caucasus declared its independence forming the Transcaucasian Federal Republic, a state that had a short existence and that included the modern states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia and some territories today part of Turkey. The progressive disengagement of Russia from the conflict, caused by the communist revolution, gave the Ottoman Empire the opportunity to invade the Armenian territories of the newly formed Transcaucasian Federal Democratic Republic, losing however the first two clashes against the Armenians in the Battle of Sardarapat and in the Battle of Aparan. Under the pressure of the invasion, the young republic was unable to maintain its integrity, also due to the outbreak of internal conflicts with the Muslim Azeris who did not want to embark on a war against other Muslims in favor of the Armenians. The republic split on May 28, 1918 into three different states: the Democratic Republic of Armenia, the Democratic Republic of Georgia and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.
On 4 June 1918 with the Treaty of Batumi the new Armenian republic surrendered to the Ottoman Empire, but a part of the Armenian insurgents took refuge in the Republic of mountainous Armenia (the current territory including the regions of Karabakh, Syunik and Nakhchivan ), thus continuing the war against the Ottomans and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.
At the end of the war, the allied powers, with the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920, imposed on Turkey the granting of independence to the Armenians and the cession of the territories of Ottoman Armenia. However, the treaty was rejected by the Turkish national movement led by General Mustafa Kemal (who would later become Ataturk), who overthrew the Ottoman sultanate by proclaiming a secular national republic with Ankara as its capital.
On 24 September of the same year, taking advantage of Armenia's war against Azerbaijan, Turkey, with the support of Russia, began the so-called Turkish-Armenian war which ended with the Treaty of Alexandropol (2 December 1920), the today's Gyumri, which sanctioned the Turkish victory and the annulment of the concessions of Sèvres.
On November 29, 1920, the Soviet Eleventh Army entered Armenia and on December 4, it occupied Yerevan, ending the Democratic Republic of Armenia. In fact, a domination had begun that would last until the threshold of the second millennium.
On 4 June 1918 with the Treaty of Batumi the new Armenian republic surrendered to the Ottoman Empire, but a part of the Armenian insurgents took refuge in the Republic of mountainous Armenia (the current territory including the regions of Karabakh, Syunik and Nakhchivan ), thus continuing the war against the Ottomans and the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan.
At the end of the war, the allied powers, with the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920, imposed on Turkey the granting of independence to the Armenians and the cession of the territories of Ottoman Armenia. However, the treaty was rejected by the Turkish national movement led by General Mustafa Kemal (who would later become Ataturk), who overthrew the Ottoman sultanate by proclaiming a secular national republic with Ankara as its capital.
On 24 September of the same year, taking advantage of Armenia's war against Azerbaijan, Turkey, with the support of Russia, began the so-called Turkish-Armenian war which ended with the Treaty of Alexandropol (2 December 1920), the today's Gyumri, which sanctioned the Turkish victory and the annulment of the concessions of Sèvres.
On November 29, 1920, the Soviet Eleventh Army entered Armenia and on December 4, it occupied Yerevan, ending the Democratic Republic of Armenia. In fact, a domination had begun that would last until the threshold of the second millennium.
THE SOVIET RULE
Armenia was incorporated into the Soviet Union on March 4, 1922 as part of the Transcaucasian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic, which also included Georgia and Azerbaijan. Soon after, the Treaty of Alexandrapol was replaced by the Treaty of Kars (11 September 1922) in which Turkey ceded the port of Batumi to Russia in exchange for the cities of Kars, Ardahan and Igdir with the consequence that the most sacred mountain for the Armenians , the Ararat, passed into Turkish territory.
Soviet Armenia largely benefited from the communist economic system, which transformed a predominantly agricultural economy into an industrial economy: villages were transformed into cities and Yerevan was completely redesigned in 1924. In 1936, the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was dissolved and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia became independent republics of the USSR; it was at this stage that Nagorno-Karabakh was assigned by Stalin to Azerbaijan, setting the stage for the war of the 1990s.
On April 24, 1965, thousands of Armenians protested on the streets of Yerevan during the fiftieth anniversary of the Armenian genocide demanding recognition from the government, but Soviet troops entered the city and restored order. To avoid further protests, the Kremlin agreed to erect a monument in honor of those who had lost their lives during this atrocity. A memorial monument was therefore built in 1967, designed by architects Kalashian and Mkrtchyan in Yerevan, consisting of a 44-meter stele that symbolizes the national rebirth of the Armenians and twelve monoliths arranged in a circle to represent the twelve lost and falling turkish provinces. In the center of the circle a perpetual flame burns in memory of the dead, while, along the path leading to the monument, a 100-meter long memorial wall recalls the names of the villages where the massacres took place.
On 7 December 1988 the northern area of the Armenian SSR was hit by a violent earthquake which caused tens of thousands of victims, injured and displaced. The centers of Spitak, Leninakan (today Gyumri), Kirovakan (today Vanadzor) were seriously damaged, as well as dozens of small villages often isolated and far from the main roads. Following the violent earthquake, and despite the tensions of the Cold War, then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the West for humanitarian aid, the first such request since the late 1940s. One hundred and thirteen countries sent massive humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union in the form of rescue equipment, search teams, and medical supplies.
Soviet Armenia largely benefited from the communist economic system, which transformed a predominantly agricultural economy into an industrial economy: villages were transformed into cities and Yerevan was completely redesigned in 1924. In 1936, the Transcaucasian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was dissolved and Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia became independent republics of the USSR; it was at this stage that Nagorno-Karabakh was assigned by Stalin to Azerbaijan, setting the stage for the war of the 1990s.
On April 24, 1965, thousands of Armenians protested on the streets of Yerevan during the fiftieth anniversary of the Armenian genocide demanding recognition from the government, but Soviet troops entered the city and restored order. To avoid further protests, the Kremlin agreed to erect a monument in honor of those who had lost their lives during this atrocity. A memorial monument was therefore built in 1967, designed by architects Kalashian and Mkrtchyan in Yerevan, consisting of a 44-meter stele that symbolizes the national rebirth of the Armenians and twelve monoliths arranged in a circle to represent the twelve lost and falling turkish provinces. In the center of the circle a perpetual flame burns in memory of the dead, while, along the path leading to the monument, a 100-meter long memorial wall recalls the names of the villages where the massacres took place.
On 7 December 1988 the northern area of the Armenian SSR was hit by a violent earthquake which caused tens of thousands of victims, injured and displaced. The centers of Spitak, Leninakan (today Gyumri), Kirovakan (today Vanadzor) were seriously damaged, as well as dozens of small villages often isolated and far from the main roads. Following the violent earthquake, and despite the tensions of the Cold War, then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev formally asked the West for humanitarian aid, the first such request since the late 1940s. One hundred and thirteen countries sent massive humanitarian aid to the Soviet Union in the form of rescue equipment, search teams, and medical supplies.
THE INDEPENDENCE AND THE WAR FOR NAGORNO KARABAKH
On August 23, 1990, a year before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Armenia declared its independence which was not officially recognized until September 21, 1991, the day the new Republic of Armenia was proclaimed.
On the foreign policy front, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued to grow due to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the first clashes began as early as 1988, due to the irredentist claims of Nagorno Karabakh, whose population was constituted for three quarters by Armenians.
Following the independence of the two countries, the tension erupted in 1991 in a war triggered by the vote of the parliament of Nagorno Karabakh which, relying on a Soviet law then in force, declared the birth of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. According to this law of 3 April 1990, if there was an autonomous region (oblast) within a Soviet republic that decided to detach from the Union, it had the right to choose through a free manifestation of popular will whether to follow or not the secessionist republic in its detachment from the USSR. On August 30, 1991, Azerbaijan decided to leave the Soviet Union and gave birth to the Republic of Azerbaijan and on September 2, the Soviet of Nagorno Karabakh decided not to follow Azerbaijan by voting for the establishment of a new autonomous state entity. On 10 December 1991 the newly formed republic of Nagorno Karabakh voted the confirmatory referendum which was approved with 98% of the preferences (the Azerbaijani community decided to boycott it) and which was followed by political elections for the new parliament. On January 6, 1992 the republic was officially proclaimed and, on January 31, Azerbaijan launched the offensive against the breakaway region. The open war ended with the ceasefire agreements signed in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on May 5, 1994 which sanctioned the victory on the field of Armenia. The war ended with about 30,000 dead and 80,000 wounded as well as several hundred thousand refugees who on both sides had to abandon their homes (about four hundred thousand Armenians residing in Azerbaijan and about five hundred thousand Azeris residing in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and neighboring territories). At the end of the conflict, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic acquired seven neighboring regions previously administered by Azerbaijan (outside the original Nagorno Karabakh oblast) conquered during the conflict.
Since the end of the war, for almost thirty years, Nagorno-Karabakh had been consolidated as a de facto republic not recognized by the international community with its own president, its own government, its own laws and its own currency but totally dependent on Armenia which guaranteed its security and its economy.
Following the outbreak of the Karabakh War, Turkey and Azerbaijan applied an embargo on eighty percent of the borders of the newly formed Republic of Armenia.
On the foreign policy front, tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan continued to grow due to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the first clashes began as early as 1988, due to the irredentist claims of Nagorno Karabakh, whose population was constituted for three quarters by Armenians.
Following the independence of the two countries, the tension erupted in 1991 in a war triggered by the vote of the parliament of Nagorno Karabakh which, relying on a Soviet law then in force, declared the birth of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. According to this law of 3 April 1990, if there was an autonomous region (oblast) within a Soviet republic that decided to detach from the Union, it had the right to choose through a free manifestation of popular will whether to follow or not the secessionist republic in its detachment from the USSR. On August 30, 1991, Azerbaijan decided to leave the Soviet Union and gave birth to the Republic of Azerbaijan and on September 2, the Soviet of Nagorno Karabakh decided not to follow Azerbaijan by voting for the establishment of a new autonomous state entity. On 10 December 1991 the newly formed republic of Nagorno Karabakh voted the confirmatory referendum which was approved with 98% of the preferences (the Azerbaijani community decided to boycott it) and which was followed by political elections for the new parliament. On January 6, 1992 the republic was officially proclaimed and, on January 31, Azerbaijan launched the offensive against the breakaway region. The open war ended with the ceasefire agreements signed in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) on May 5, 1994 which sanctioned the victory on the field of Armenia. The war ended with about 30,000 dead and 80,000 wounded as well as several hundred thousand refugees who on both sides had to abandon their homes (about four hundred thousand Armenians residing in Azerbaijan and about five hundred thousand Azeris residing in Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and neighboring territories). At the end of the conflict, the Nagorno Karabakh Republic acquired seven neighboring regions previously administered by Azerbaijan (outside the original Nagorno Karabakh oblast) conquered during the conflict.
Since the end of the war, for almost thirty years, Nagorno-Karabakh had been consolidated as a de facto republic not recognized by the international community with its own president, its own government, its own laws and its own currency but totally dependent on Armenia which guaranteed its security and its economy.
Following the outbreak of the Karabakh War, Turkey and Azerbaijan applied an embargo on eighty percent of the borders of the newly formed Republic of Armenia.
ARMENIA BEFORE AND AFTER THE VELVET REVOLUTION
According to the first constitution, Armenia was a semi-presidential republic in which the president of the Republic was directly elected by the people, being able to remain in office for a maximum of two terms of five years each. For 27 years, Armenia was governed by a single political bloc, the Republican Party which, by punctually resorting to every election to electoral fraud, perpetuated its dominion over the country by establishing an oligarchy of entrepreneurs linked to the government who enjoyed a monopoly over all the lucrative sectors of the Armenian economy. In 2012-2017, confidence in the national government (25%) and the judiciary (29%) in Armenia was lower than in all neighboring countries.
In 2015 a constitutional referendum was voted in which Armenia became a Parliamentary Republic in which the head of the government wase the Prime Minister (elected by the parliamentary assembly) and the President of the Republic was the guarantor of the country's constitution. Opponents of the new constitution argued that the referendum was the way how then-president Serzh Sargsyan, in office since 2007 and at the end of his second term, tried to stay in power. In this regard, Sargsyan reassured the population that he would not stand as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister. The constitutional changes of the referendum would come into force at the end of the legislature with the 2017-18 electoral cycle. The referendum passed with 66.2% of the votes in favor and exceeding the quorum of 33% of the population, but the European Platform for Democratic Elections reported "an unprecedented number of violations" in the voting operations.
Small demonstrations and protests began in March 2018, when members of the Republican Party in power did not rule out the option of appointing Serzh Sargsyan to the post of prime minister, disavowing what Sargsyan himself had previously assured but, after Sargsyan's election again Prime Minister, protests erupted and, despite hundreds of people being arrested by police, demonstrations in Yerevan reached over 50,000 on the night of April 21, with countless sporadic road closures in the capital, which subsequently began to spread across the country. These protests were led by Nikol Pashinyan, a former journalist who had been jailed for taking part in the 2007 protests on the occasion of Sargsyan's first election.
As the crowds and protests increased, the new prime minister called for talks to Pashinyan who agreed to meet Sargsyan at 10am on April 22, saying he believed the topic would be his resignation.
The meeting, which was broadcast live on TV, lasted only three minutes, with Sargsyan rising from his chair accusing Pashinyan of blackmail and warning him that he had "not learned the lesson of March 1", a reference to the demonstrators killed by the police while protesting the validity of the election results of Sargsyan's election ten years earlier: an open threat of violence against protesters who gathered every day across the nation. Upon exiting the hotel where the meeting was held, Pashinyan was prisoned.
The protests at this point began to involve the whole country and the next day sit-ins across Armenia blocked the entire road network paralyzing transport with the participation of members of the armed forces and police. Finding himself alone, with Russia declaring itself not interested in the internal affairs of Armenia, Sargsyan resigned. He was succeeded by interim prime minister Karen Karapetyan.
Pashinyan was released and ran for Prime Minister as the people's candidate. However, the Armenian parliament was still overwhelmingly in the hands of the ruling party and, in fact, when on May 1st his name was presented in parliament as the only candidate for election to the office of Prime Minister, the majority in the hands of the Republican party voted against. The nation came to a halt the next day: roads and highways were peacefully blocked nationwide, and workers and businesses went on strike. The main access road to the airport was cut off, where officers and flight controllers went on strike, effectively blocking all operations: Armenia was paralyzed. Following this pressure from the population (150,000 people gathered in Republic Square that same day), the ruling party announced its decision to support Pashinyan's candidacy for Prime Minister and in the next round of voting on 8 May he was elected to office.
New elections were held in December 2018 and saw Pashinyan's party triumph with over 70% of the vote. The Republican Party, which had ruled the country for 25 years, did not exceed the 5% threshold. For the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the OSCE certified the regularity of the conduct of elections which took place "with respect for fundamental freedoms and enjoying broad public trust that must be preserved through further electoral reforms. The environment of the media is diversified and the freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution, has been respected ".
The new government, since taking office, has tried hard to fight the rampant corruption in the country, with the result that Armenia was opening up to foreign investment. In 2019, the World Bank certified national GDP growth of 7.6% over the previous year and FreedomHouse certified an 11-point increase in the global Freedom index compared to 2017. A triumph for Pashinyan and his government that, in a very short time, would face the shock wave of the pandemic and a new, disastrous war.
In 2015 a constitutional referendum was voted in which Armenia became a Parliamentary Republic in which the head of the government wase the Prime Minister (elected by the parliamentary assembly) and the President of the Republic was the guarantor of the country's constitution. Opponents of the new constitution argued that the referendum was the way how then-president Serzh Sargsyan, in office since 2007 and at the end of his second term, tried to stay in power. In this regard, Sargsyan reassured the population that he would not stand as a candidate for the office of Prime Minister. The constitutional changes of the referendum would come into force at the end of the legislature with the 2017-18 electoral cycle. The referendum passed with 66.2% of the votes in favor and exceeding the quorum of 33% of the population, but the European Platform for Democratic Elections reported "an unprecedented number of violations" in the voting operations.
Small demonstrations and protests began in March 2018, when members of the Republican Party in power did not rule out the option of appointing Serzh Sargsyan to the post of prime minister, disavowing what Sargsyan himself had previously assured but, after Sargsyan's election again Prime Minister, protests erupted and, despite hundreds of people being arrested by police, demonstrations in Yerevan reached over 50,000 on the night of April 21, with countless sporadic road closures in the capital, which subsequently began to spread across the country. These protests were led by Nikol Pashinyan, a former journalist who had been jailed for taking part in the 2007 protests on the occasion of Sargsyan's first election.
As the crowds and protests increased, the new prime minister called for talks to Pashinyan who agreed to meet Sargsyan at 10am on April 22, saying he believed the topic would be his resignation.
The meeting, which was broadcast live on TV, lasted only three minutes, with Sargsyan rising from his chair accusing Pashinyan of blackmail and warning him that he had "not learned the lesson of March 1", a reference to the demonstrators killed by the police while protesting the validity of the election results of Sargsyan's election ten years earlier: an open threat of violence against protesters who gathered every day across the nation. Upon exiting the hotel where the meeting was held, Pashinyan was prisoned.
The protests at this point began to involve the whole country and the next day sit-ins across Armenia blocked the entire road network paralyzing transport with the participation of members of the armed forces and police. Finding himself alone, with Russia declaring itself not interested in the internal affairs of Armenia, Sargsyan resigned. He was succeeded by interim prime minister Karen Karapetyan.
Pashinyan was released and ran for Prime Minister as the people's candidate. However, the Armenian parliament was still overwhelmingly in the hands of the ruling party and, in fact, when on May 1st his name was presented in parliament as the only candidate for election to the office of Prime Minister, the majority in the hands of the Republican party voted against. The nation came to a halt the next day: roads and highways were peacefully blocked nationwide, and workers and businesses went on strike. The main access road to the airport was cut off, where officers and flight controllers went on strike, effectively blocking all operations: Armenia was paralyzed. Following this pressure from the population (150,000 people gathered in Republic Square that same day), the ruling party announced its decision to support Pashinyan's candidacy for Prime Minister and in the next round of voting on 8 May he was elected to office.
New elections were held in December 2018 and saw Pashinyan's party triumph with over 70% of the vote. The Republican Party, which had ruled the country for 25 years, did not exceed the 5% threshold. For the first time in the history of independent Armenia, the OSCE certified the regularity of the conduct of elections which took place "with respect for fundamental freedoms and enjoying broad public trust that must be preserved through further electoral reforms. The environment of the media is diversified and the freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution, has been respected ".
The new government, since taking office, has tried hard to fight the rampant corruption in the country, with the result that Armenia was opening up to foreign investment. In 2019, the World Bank certified national GDP growth of 7.6% over the previous year and FreedomHouse certified an 11-point increase in the global Freedom index compared to 2017. A triumph for Pashinyan and his government that, in a very short time, would face the shock wave of the pandemic and a new, disastrous war.
THE SECOND WAR FOR THE NAGORN KARABAKH
The morning time of 08:03 of 27 September 2020 marked the latest escalation of the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the control of Nagorno Karabakh and the neighboring territories over which Azerbaijan had lost control since 1994 at the end of the first war. Skirmishes had been common for decades along the Nagorno-Karabakh front lines, but few imagined the scale of what was to come. That day, the Azerbaijani army began bombing the towns and cities of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh (the name the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic had given itself since 2017) with missile and air strikes, including the capital Stepanakert. Although the start of the attack was disputed by the Azerbaijani authorities, who declared that the army was carrying out a counter-offensive after an attack that took place at 6:00 by the Armenian armed forces, this thesis was soon disproved by the facts, given the fact that Azerbaijan's military activity affected the entire line of contact (established with the ceasefire of 1994) and with such a deployment of men and means that was impossible to mobilize in such a short time: it was clear that the attack had been planned thoroughly in the previous months. The war was characterized for the first time in history by the Azerbaijani deployment of drones (produced in Turkey and Israel) which marked its final outcome from the earliest days: the Armenians, ill-equipped and with artillery and antiquated vehicles at their disposal, despite an orography of the territory that gave them a distinct advantage, were easily defeated in a few weeks.
After three failed ceasefires, a Russian-brokered deal signed on November 9 by Azerbaijani President Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Russian President Putin ended the violent 44-day war that killed, according to official bulletins issued by both countries (but the unofficial estimates would seem much higher) over six thousand people.
The agreement, which effectively sanctions the total Armenian capitulation and handed over to Azerbaijan much of what the country had been asking for years in the negotiations: the withdrawal of the Armenian army from the area, the return of the seven regions occupied by the Armenia during the first war (in addition to maintaining control of several districts of the original Nagorno-Karabakh oblast and the city of Shushi lost during the fighting) and the opening of a transport corridor that will allow Azerbaijan to connect Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan through Armenia. However, Azerbaijan also had to compromise: the agreement provides for the Russian military presence in the region for 5 years, plus a further 5 years if neither party communicates its opposition 6 months before the deadline. Nearly 2,000 Russian soldiers, operating as peacekeepers, are now stationed on Azerbaijani territory and will remain there for at least five years.
The conflict has also sealed the leading role of an increasingly assertive and present Turkey in the Caucasus: in general, Azerbaijan won the war with the diplomatic and military support of Turkey, consolidating its position as a precious ally not only of Azerbaijan but also of the other former Soviet states of Central Asia where Turkish languages are spoken, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In addition, Turkish military officials now work in a command center located in Aghdam, in Azerbaijani territory, for the maintenance of peace in Azerbaijan.
The agreement immediately sparked violent protests in Armenia, with the population storming the government building in Yerevan at the announcement of the ceasefire, expressing anger over an agreement that saw Armenia capitulate against Azerbaijan and with the crowd demanding the resignation of the Pashinyan government that signed it. Anger also exploded because the November 9 agreement said nothing about the long-term status of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. A few weeks later, the Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who fled to Armenia from the war returned to their homes in buses guarded by the Russian peacekeepers.
The war dug an even deeper furrow between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations: on November 15 the Armenians fled the Kelbajar area which would return under Azerbaijani control within a few weeks and many, before leaving, set their homes on fire . Near some of the burning houses were older ruins: the remains of abandoned houses a quarter of a century earlier, when the Azeris fled and the Armenians moved to the region. Peace between the two countries is still a long way off.
After three failed ceasefires, a Russian-brokered deal signed on November 9 by Azerbaijani President Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and Russian President Putin ended the violent 44-day war that killed, according to official bulletins issued by both countries (but the unofficial estimates would seem much higher) over six thousand people.
The agreement, which effectively sanctions the total Armenian capitulation and handed over to Azerbaijan much of what the country had been asking for years in the negotiations: the withdrawal of the Armenian army from the area, the return of the seven regions occupied by the Armenia during the first war (in addition to maintaining control of several districts of the original Nagorno-Karabakh oblast and the city of Shushi lost during the fighting) and the opening of a transport corridor that will allow Azerbaijan to connect Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhichevan through Armenia. However, Azerbaijan also had to compromise: the agreement provides for the Russian military presence in the region for 5 years, plus a further 5 years if neither party communicates its opposition 6 months before the deadline. Nearly 2,000 Russian soldiers, operating as peacekeepers, are now stationed on Azerbaijani territory and will remain there for at least five years.
The conflict has also sealed the leading role of an increasingly assertive and present Turkey in the Caucasus: in general, Azerbaijan won the war with the diplomatic and military support of Turkey, consolidating its position as a precious ally not only of Azerbaijan but also of the other former Soviet states of Central Asia where Turkish languages are spoken, such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. In addition, Turkish military officials now work in a command center located in Aghdam, in Azerbaijani territory, for the maintenance of peace in Azerbaijan.
The agreement immediately sparked violent protests in Armenia, with the population storming the government building in Yerevan at the announcement of the ceasefire, expressing anger over an agreement that saw Armenia capitulate against Azerbaijan and with the crowd demanding the resignation of the Pashinyan government that signed it. Anger also exploded because the November 9 agreement said nothing about the long-term status of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. A few weeks later, the Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who fled to Armenia from the war returned to their homes in buses guarded by the Russian peacekeepers.
The war dug an even deeper furrow between the Armenian and Azerbaijani populations: on November 15 the Armenians fled the Kelbajar area which would return under Azerbaijani control within a few weeks and many, before leaving, set their homes on fire . Near some of the burning houses were older ruins: the remains of abandoned houses a quarter of a century earlier, when the Azeris fled and the Armenians moved to the region. Peace between the two countries is still a long way off.
