THE KINGDOM OF ARMENIA

The majestic landscape of Armenia, dominated by Mount Ararat, was divided until 1991, between Turkish and Soviet territories. It is the homeland of a great ‘lost’ nation. The people of one of the oldest, continuous civilizations in the world, the Armenians, have, in the 20th century, suffered a critical national mutilation and exile, to the point of extermination.But this book is not a nationalistic work. It is intended for all readers who are fascinated by the changes in the fortunes of mankind. It is an account of the vicissitudes of a nation’s activities on the stage of international adventures. While most other books, on Armenia concentrate on the modern period, this book covers the whole history of Armenia from the most ancient literate peoples of Mesopotamia, who had commercial interests in the land of Armenia (c. 2500 BC), to the end of the Middle Ages. It is perhaps the first book in the English language to offer such a comprehensive view of four millenia in a single volume. In doing so, it introduces aspects of the histories of the many changing neighbours of Armenia, from Babylonia, Assyria and Persia, to the Arabs, Byzantium and the Crusaders.The book includes synchronous tables of events, maps and other useful reference material. For the student of the Classics, there are interesting insights into Greek and Roman histoy, from the Asiatic point of view.