Armenia was the first nation to adopt Christianity as a state religion. The Armenian Apostolic Church is attributed to St Bartholomew and Thaddeus of Edessa who came to the region in the 1st Century. Persecutions followed until King Tridates III made it the official religion in 301 AD. In 405 AD, Meshrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet because their form of writing wasn’t sufficient to translate the Bible from Greek. The church is related to Greek Orthodoxy and is not the Armenian Catholic Church which is aligned with the Holy See.
The Armenian Genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through the mass murder of around one million Armenians during death marches to the Syrian Desert and the forced Islamization of others, primarily women and children. Wikipedia
The Armenian Genocide occurred during the years of 1915 and 1916 under the orders of Talaat Pasha and consisted of rapes, forced marches and murders. Between 800,000 and 1.2 million people were killed. 100,000 to 200,000 women and children were forcibly converted to Islam and integrated into Muslim households. The Turks of the Ottoman Empire wanted to prevent Armenian autonomy as a result of their losses in the Balkan Wars.
To this day Turkey refuses to recognize the event as Genocide or issue an official apology. Turkish President for Life Recep Erdogan recently (April 26, 2021) denounced US President Joe Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide as “groundless” and harmful to the NATO countries bilateral ties. (al-Jazeera)
Nagorno-Karabakh is a region of Azerbaijan with a majority population of ethnic Armenians. It was called the Republic of Artsakh after a 1994 uprising against the Muslim dominated Azerbaijan. The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 returned to Azerbaijani control. The region is internationally recognized as part of Armenia. After the 2020 war Azerbaijan revoked it’s promise to allow partial autonomy to the Armenians and demanded they “integrate” into Azerbaijani society.
On September 19th, 2023, Azerbaijan launched an offensive into the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. A cease fire was negotiated on the 28th by Russian moderators and amounted to a surrender by the Armenian president. Despite the agreement Azerbaijani forces violated the cease fire. Human rights organizations do not believe the Armenian population will be allowed to retain their ethnic identity under Azerbaijan rule. Most of the inhabitants have fled to Armenia and other countries. Erdogan has stated his support for Azerbaijan’s actions.
There are over 7.5 million displaced Armenians living world wide – The Armenian Diaspora (Wikipedia)
Related
- MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan’s attack and continuing threats against Armenia European Parliament
- UN Security Council calls for Karabakh clashes to end ‘immediately’ Euractive (29 September 2023)
- Nagorno-Karabakh: Erdoğan praises Azerbaijan as thousands flee to Armenia The Guardian