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97-460: The current town center was founded around 1860 by a group of Armenian merchants from Bitlis with the name Karakilise ( قره‌کلیسا , lit.   ' the black church ' ) that became known to the local population as Karakise, and this version was turned officially to Karaköse at the beginning of the Republican era. This name was changed to Ağrı by 1946. In the years of 1927 to 1931, the region

194-672: A New York Times report from March 1915 mentions the Alashkert valley being covered with the bodies of men, women, and children. Ağrı contains most of the industry in Ağrı Province, where the main economic activity is agriculture and animal husbandry. There is Ağrı Meat and Milk Factory. The ELDESAN leather factory is one of the biggest in the region. There are also a sugar factory, shoe factory, flour mills, agricultural equipment manufacturing sites, brick factory, lime factory, furniture factory, dairy factory and textile mills. North of Ağrı, there

291-516: A military offensive in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region which ended with the surrender of the self-declared Republic of Artsakh and the disbandment of its armed forces . Up until the military assault, the region was internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but governed and populated by ethnic Armenians. Before the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the region had an estimated population of 150,000 which decreased in

388-578: A war crime or crime against humanity . 218 civilians died during an explosion at a fuel distribution center , and 70 civilians died en route while fleeing to Armenia . While the Azerbaijani government issued assurances that the Armenian population would be safely reintegrated, these claims were not deemed credible due to Azerbaijan's established track record of authoritarianism and repression of its Armenian population . The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

485-465: A " White Genocide " – aimed at "de-Armenizing" the territory culturally and physically and followed a similar pattern to Azerbaijan's treatment of Armenians in Nakhchivan . The suppression of Armenian language and culture was widespread: Armenian churches, cemeteries, and schools were closed or destroyed, and clerics arrested. The Armenian educational institutions that remained were under control by

582-671: A Disaster Assistance Response Team to the region to help coordinate the U.S. humanitarian response. Cyprus said it was ready to provide humanitarian assistance to displaced Armenians and that it was considering ways to host a number of Armenian refugees if necessary. The United Nations in Azerbaijan sent on 1 October 2023 a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh, led by the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan Vladanka Andreeva, to address humanitarian needs. The team also included

679-489: A and Article II b. He warned that the international community's inertia could embolden Azerbaijan, making them believe there would be no significant repercussions for committing genocide. Ocampo also countered Aliyev's denial of seeking ethnic cleansing, noting that Aliyev often labeled Armenia as " Western Azerbaijan " and proclaimed that "present-day Armenia is our land". After all Armenians had been forced out of Nagorno-Karabakh, Ocampo declared this to constitute genocide under

776-696: A brief period, from 1918 to 1920, Armenia was an independent republic plagued by socio-economic crises such as large-scale Muslim uprisings . In late 1920, the communists came to power following an invasion of Armenia by the Red Army ; in 1922, Armenia became part of the Transcaucasian SFSR of the Soviet Union , later on forming the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1936 to 21 September 1991). In 1991, Armenia declared independence from

873-594: A calculated effort to inflict on the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction. In August 2023, as a direct result of the blockade, a resident of Nagorno-Karabakh died from starvation. The spokesperson for Charles Michel , President of the European Council , stated their primary goal was the irreversible normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and called for "courageous compromise solutions". The Armenian President denounced Azerbaijan, asserting it

970-439: A common origin of the Armenian and Greek languages. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian ) and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian was situated between Proto-Greek ( centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian ( satem subgroup). This has led some scholars to propose a hypothetical Graeco-Armenian-Aryan clade within

1067-457: A concurrent announcement, Genocide Watch also sounded an alert, categorization the situation as Stage 9 within their ten stages of genocide framework – Extermination. While the Azerbaijani government issued assurances that the Armenian population would be safely reintegrated, these claims were not deemed credible due to Azerbaijan's established track record of authoritarianism and repression of its Armenian population . Noting this history,

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1164-596: A few elements regarding identification of its pantheon with Greco-Roman deities). In the early years of the 4th century, likely 301 CE, partly in defiance of the Sassanids it seems. In the late Parthian period, Armenia was a predominantly Zoroastrian-adhering land, but by the Christianisation, previously predominant Zoroastrianism and paganism in Armenia gradually declined. This is the period that an Armenian community

1261-459: A few hundred meters a day. Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesian said some refugees died in transit due to exhaustion brought about by malnutrition, the lack of medicines and the travel time which took up to 40 hours. By 30 September, the number of refugees had reached 100,400. On 2 October, the last bus carrying refugees composed of those with serious illnesses or mobility issues entered Armenia. The Armenian government stated that 100,514 of

1358-442: A former high-level Artsakh government official and a prominent businessman, was apprehended by Azerbaijani forces just as he was poised to enter Armenia, and civilian accounts from the village of Vaghuhas reported that Azerbaijani soldiers had entered the village and, discharging their firearms into the air, demanded the residents flee. By 28 September, the tally of arrivals in Armenia surpassed 65,000, accounting for over half of

1455-652: A fuel station in Berkadzor an underground 50-ton fuel tank exploded, leading to the death of at least 170 individuals and injuring hundreds of others. Most of the victims were queueing to obtain fuel for their vehicles while on their way to Armenia. Victims with various degrees of burns were treated in the Republican Medical Center of Artsakh, facilities of the Arevik community organization, medical facilities in Ivanyan, and

1552-644: A gross violation of human rights and international law." Leo Docherty , the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, stated that he does not agree that Azerbaijan's military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh constituted ethnic cleansing, and that the UK urged both sides to resume dialogue. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that she would like "some facts to be provided regarding

1649-514: A large and unfinished complex in a remote area of the Aghdam District that had been recently built. Satellite records showed construction of the site had begun in July 2022 and ended in late August or early September 2023. Applying spatial analysis methods, several similarities between the site and known prison structures were identified, and New Lines concluded the facility was likely intended to be

1746-652: A long history of Anti-Armenian sentiment , might perpetuate a genocide against the region's Armenians. Elchin Amirbeyov  [ az ] , the representative of the Azerbaijani president, predicted that "a genocide may happen" if the Republic of Artsakh did not capitulate. Echoing this concern Senator Bob Menendez , chair of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations , urged for sanctions to be imposed against Azerbaijan to prevent genocide. In

1843-700: A map renaming a street in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, after one of the main instigators of the Armenian genocide Enver Pasha . Azerbaijani official disputed this during a case at the International Court of Justice, saying that "No streets in Khankandi have been renamed". A spokesperson for the US State Department declined to comment on qualifying the events as ethnic cleansing and said that

1940-411: A prison. New Lines also speculated the location of the site was chosen for its close proximity to Tigranakert of Artsakh , ruins of a 2,000-year-old Armenian city, as a form of psychological trauma. In response to the humanitarian crisis a number of countries pledged aid to help Armenian refugees, including Iran which donated 50 tons of aid to forcibly displaced Artsakh residents, the UK with £1m and

2037-637: A working language of local authorities. Resentment against what was perceived as a forced "Azerification" campaign led to a mass movement for reunification with Armenia and an independence referendum in 1991. The Karabakh movement for independence was met with a series of pogroms and forced deportations of Armenians across Azerbaijan, leading to the outbreak of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . Azerbaijan severed transport and economic links between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Artsakh and Armenia. The complete isolation of Artsakh from

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2134-408: Is a longwave broadcasting station with 2 250 metres tall guyed masts, broadcasting on 162 kHz with 1000 kW. It is a very poor region with extremely cold winters. Most people live by grazing animals on the mountainside. Few people manage to attend university; people tend to marry in their teens, and families with ten or more children are common. The local MP Fatma Salman Kotan has written of

2231-535: Is an ethnic and territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh , which is located within Azerbaijan but is predominantly inhabited by Armenians . Between 1921 and 1990, under the Azeri SSR Armenians in the region faced economic marginalization and cultural discrimination, leading to a significant exodus. Authorities encouraged the settlement of Azeris from outside Nagorno-Karabakh. This policy – sometimes called

2328-476: Is roughly 30  °C (86  °F ). Winters are very cold. The average low January temperature is −16  °C (3  °F ). It snows a lot in winter, staying for an average of four months in the city. The highest recorded temperature was 39.9  °C (103.8  °F ) on 10 August 1961. The lowest recorded temperature in Ağrı was −43.8  °C (−46.8  °F ) on 20 January 1972. The highest recorded snow thickness

2425-715: The Armenian Highland . Each of the aforementioned nations and tribes participated in the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people. Under Ashurbanipal (669–627 BCE), the Assyrian empire reached the Caucasus Mountains (modern Armenia , Georgia and Azerbaijan ). Luwianologist John D. Hawkins proposed that "Hai" people were possibly mentioned in the 10th century BCE Hieroglyphic Luwian inscriptions from Carchemish . A.E. Redgate later clarified that these "Hai" people may have been Armenians. The first geographical entity that

2522-523: The Armenian language is classified as an Indo-European language , its placement within the broader Indo-European language family is a matter of debate. Until fairly recently, scholars believed Armenian to be most closely related to Greek and Ancient Macedonian . Eric P. Hamp placed Armenian in the "Pontic Indo-European" (also called Graeco-Armenian or Helleno-Armenian) subgroup of Indo-European languages in his 2012 Indo-European family tree. There are two possible explanations, not mutually exclusive, for

2619-662: The Bronze Age Trialeti-Vanadzor culture and sites such as the burial complexes at Verin and Nerkin Naver are indicative of an Indo-European presence in Armenia by the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The controversial Armenian hypothesis , put forward by some scholars, such as Thomas Gamkrelidze and Vyacheslav V. Ivanov , proposes that the Indo-European homeland was around the Armenian Highland. This theory

2716-688: The Bronze Age , several states flourished in the area of Greater Armenia, including the Hittite Empire (at the height of its power in the 14th century BCE), ( Mitanni (South-Western historical Armenia, 1500–1300 BCE), and Hayasa-Azzi (1500–1200 BCE). Soon after Hayasa-Azzi came Arme-Shupria (1300s–1190 BCE), the Nairi Confederation (1200–900 BCE), and the Kingdom of Urartu (860–590 BCE), who successively established their sovereignty over

2813-569: The International Association of Genocide Scholars , described this mass displacement as either a war crime or crime against humanity perpetrated by Azerbaijan and accused Azerbaijan of committing genocide. This characterization is based on the created coercive environment, first through the blockade and subsequently the invasion, leading to the potential genocidal destruction of the Artsakh Armenians' distinct identity. Edward Hunt of

2910-797: The International Criminal Court Armenia could apply for the ICC investigation, and Azerbaijani political and military leaders could be drawn into the jurisdiction of the ICC. Azerbaijan has been accused of committing ethnic cleansing against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by the European Parliament and the Council on Foreign Relations . The United Nations Refugee Agency representative in Armenia said on 29 September there were no recorded incidents or cases of mistreatment against people on

3007-575: The Mushki and the Kaskians . The Urumu apparently settled in the vicinity of Sason , lending their name to the regions of Arme and the nearby lands of Urme and Inner Urumu. The location of the older site of Armani is a matter of debate. Some modern researchers have placed it in the same general area as Arme, near modern Samsat , and have suggested it was populated, at least partially, by an early Indo-European-speaking people . The relationship between Armani and

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3104-471: The Nagorno-Karabakh 's total population. The evacuation route from Stepanakert to Armenia had been clogged for days, with many forced to sleep in their cars overnight. What typically is a 2-hour drive transformed into a staggering 30-hour journey for many evacuees. By 29 September, the number of refugees had reached 97,700. Refugees reported spending days in the evacuation queue and moving forward only

3201-839: The Proto Indo-European words póti (meaning "lord" or "master") or *h₂éyos / *áyos (meaning "metal"). Khorenatsi wrote that the word Armenian originated from the name Armenak or Aram (the descendant of Hayk). Khorenatsi refers to both Armenia and Armenians as Hayk‘ (Armenian: Հայք) (not to be confused with the aforementioned patriarch, Hayk). Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European While

3298-646: The Russian Empire following Iran's forced ceding of the territories after its loss in the Russo-Persian War (1826-1828) and the outcoming Treaty of Turkmenchay . Western Armenia however, remained in Ottoman hands. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is widely considered a genocide , resulting in an estimated 1.2 million victims. The first wave of persecution

3395-543: The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, caused thousands of casualties and ended with a significant Azerbaijani victory. This war allowed Azerbaijan to reclaim all the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and a third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself. After the 2020 war, violations of the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh and at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border persisted, resulting in sporadic casualties. For nine months (December 2022 to September 2023), Azerbaijan blocked

3492-561: The USSR and established the second Republic of Armenia. Also in 1991, the ethnic Armenian-majority Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (later the Republic of Artsakh ), declared independence from Azerbaijan which lasted until 2023. Armenians are believed to have had a presence in the Armenian Highland for over 4,000 years. According to legend, Hayk , the patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation, led Armenians to victory over Bel of Babylon and settled in

3589-650: The 4th century in the Holy Land , and one of the quarters of the walled Old City of Jerusalem is called the Armenian Quarter . An Armenian Catholic monastic community of 35 founded in 1717 exists on an island near Venice , Italy. The region of Western Armenia was an influential part of the Eastern Roman Empire , which was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The Armenian population of

3686-449: The Armenian Highland. Today, with a population of 3.5 million (although more recent estimates place the population closer to 2.9 million), they constitute an overwhelming majority in Armenia, Armenians in the diaspora informally refer to them as Hayastantsi s ( Armenian : հայաստանցի ), meaning those that are from Armenia (that is, those born and raised in Armenia). They, as well as

3783-515: The Armenian genocide, primarily in the Armenian diasporan communities. The unique Armenian alphabet was invented in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots . Most Armenians adhere to the Armenian Apostolic Church , a non-Chalcedonian Christian church, which is also the world's oldest national church . Christianity began to spread in Armenia soon after Jesus' death, due to the efforts of two of his apostles, St. Thaddeus and St. Bartholomew . In

3880-641: The Armenians of Iran and Russia, speak the Eastern dialect of the Armenian language. The country itself is secular as a result of Soviet domination, but most of its citizens identify themselves as Apostolic Armenian Christian. While the largest Armenian diaspora populations reside in Russia , the United States , France , and other countries, small Armenian trading and religious communities have existed outside Armenia for centuries. A prominent community has continued since

3977-522: The Azeri Ministry of Education, which enforced prohibitions against teaching Armenian history and using Armenian materials. Restrictions limited cultural exchanges and communication between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. The Azerbaijani government decreed in 1957 that Azerbaijani was to be the main language and the 1981 "law of the NKAR" denied additional rights, removing provisions that had listed Armenian as

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4074-824: The Director of the Coordination Division of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs , as well as representatives from the FAO , the UNHCR , the UNICEF , the WHO , and other UN bodies. The UN mission reported that "they did not come across any reports — either from the local population or from others — of violence against civilians following the latest ceasefire." While visiting Stepanakert,

4171-469: The EU with a pledge of €5m. The chief of USAID Samantha Power arrived in Armenia together with US State Department Acting Assistant Secretary for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Yuri Kim to visit the affected people and pledged $ 11.5m in humanitarian assistance. Power said that "many of those who had arrived were suffering from 'severe malnutrition,' according to doctors at the scene". On 28 September, USAID sent

4268-680: The Eastern Mediterranean world suddenly and violently collapsed. Armenians have since remained isolated and genetic structure within the population developed ~500 years ago when Armenia was divided between the Ottomans and the Safavid Empire in Iran. A genetic study (Wang et al. 2018) supports the indigenous origin for Armenians in a region south of the Caucasus which he calls "Greater Caucasus". In

4365-513: The Foreign Policy in Focus (FPIF) think tank accused Azerbaijan of ethnic cleansing, while also criticizing United States officials for endorsing ethnic cleansing to further their geopolitical ambitions. David Scheffer , the first United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice , wrote that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh were ethnically cleansed and that after finalizing its status at

4462-686: The Great of Persia refers to Urashtu (in Babylonian ) as Armina ( Old Persian : 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴) and Harminuya (in Elamite). In Greek , Armenios ( Αρμένιοι ) is attested from about the same time, perhaps the earliest reference being a fragment attributed to Hecataeus of Miletus (476 BC). Xenophon , a Greek general serving in some of the Persian expeditions, describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality in around 401 BC. Some have linked

4559-606: The Great , a member of the Artaxiad (Artashesian) dynasty , the Kingdom of Armenia extended from the Caucasus all the way to what is now central Turkey , Lebanon , and northern Iran . The Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia , itself a branch of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia , was the first state to adopt Christianity as its religion (it had formerly been adherent to Armenian paganism , which was influenced by Zoroastrianism , while later on adopting

4656-502: The Indo-European language family from which the Armenian, Greek, Indo-Iranian, and possibly Phrygian languages all descend. According to Kim (2018), however, there is insufficient evidence for a cladistic connection between Armenian and Greek, and common features between these two languages can be explained as a result of contact. Contact is also the most likely explanation for morphological features shared by Armenian with Indo-Iranian and Balto-Slavic languages . It has been suggested that

4753-407: The Karabakh region, from 16 to 23 October 2023, and published on 12 January 2024 her observations. Testimonies provided to the Commissioner by Karabakh Armenians reveal a deep-rooted fear for their lives and future amid armed conflicts, exacerbated by Azerbaijan's control resulting from unresolved past atrocities and ongoing intimidation. Feeling abandoned by all parties and with no security guarantees,

4850-425: The Lachin corridor , the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. During this period Azerbaijan also sabotaged critical civilian infrastructure of Artsakh, disrupting access to gas, electricity, and internet access. The blockade led to a humanitarian crisis for the population. In February 2023 the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement to Nagorno-Karabakh, ruling that

4947-460: The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention urged that Artsakhi women and children refuse being separated from men and older boys. On 24 September, as fears of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and persecution surged, the evacuation of Armenian refugees began through the Lachin corridor , arriving in Syunik, Armenia via the Kornidzor border post. The Armenian government reported late on that day that 1,050 refugees had made their way to safety. Word of

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5044-407: The Ottoman Empire is estimated to have been between 1.5 and 2.5 million in the early 20th century. Most of the modern Armenian diaspora consists of Armenians scattered throughout the world as a direct consequence of massacres and genocide in the Ottoman Empire . However, Armenian communities in Iran , Georgia ( Tbilisi ), and Syria existed since antiquity . During the Middle Ages and

5141-427: The Red Cross to accommodate refugees. A secondary hub was later opened in Vayk . Of the couple of dozen residents who stayed behind, the majority are believed to be elderly or disabled. Azerbaijan has confiscated their passports and monitors their communications. Various political analysts, along with residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing . Luis Moreno Ocampo ,

5238-408: The USA believes there should be an international monitoring mission there to observe and guarantee the rights and securities of ethnic Armenians. Samantha Power , the top U.S. humanitarian aid official and a former genocide scholar, declined to use the term "genocide", nevertheless, she went on to say that testimony was already being gathered "from people who have fled violence, deprivation, and with

5335-420: The aftermath of the war. Faced with threats of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan and struggling amid a nine-month long blockade , 100,400 ethnic Armenians , representing 99% of the remaining population of Nagorno-Karabakh, fled by the end of September 2023, leaving only a couple of dozen people within the region as of November. This mass displacement of people has been described by international experts as

5432-411: The alleged ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh", and asked for references to "at least some document from any international organisation that is considered authoritative in Yerevan (for example, the UN or some other), or a statement indicating that such ethnic cleansing did take place". Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Galuzin stated that unfortunately most Karabakh Armenians left

5529-409: The articles of the Genocide Convention and accused Azerbaijan of committing crimes against humanity . Ocampo also accused the United States and other international meditators of "deliberately ignoring the risk of genocide to avoid the obligation to prevent genocide". International legal experts, Priya Pillai and Melanie O'Brien, a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota and president of

5626-476: The benefit of all populations on the ground. It is now time for courageous compromise solutions, also in light of today's escalation. International observers, including Luis Moreno Ocampo , the inaugural prosecutor of the International Criminal Court , expressed concerns that Azerbaijan's blockade could be the onset of a genocide. Ocampo specifically stated that Azerbaijan's actions, which included withholding essential supplies like food and medicine, appeared to be

5723-431: The blockade posed a "real and imminent risk" to the "health and life" of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian population. By early September 2023 the blockade had caused supplies to all but run out; there was little medicine or fuel, while bread, a staple in the region, was rationed to one loaf per family per day. All the above efforts have only one goal: ensure irreversible normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan for

5820-524: The centuries prior to the genocide, additional communities were formed in Greece , Bulgaria , Hungary , Kievan Rus' and the territories of Russia, Poland , Austria , and Lebanon . There are also remnants of historic communities in Turkey ( Istanbul ), India , Myanmar , Thailand , Belgium , the Netherlands , Portugal , Italy , Israel-Palestine , Iraq , Romania , Serbia , Ethiopia , Sudan and Egypt . Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians On 19–20 September 2023 Azerbaijan initiated

5917-440: The deaths of five Russian peacekeepers. After the Republic of Artsakh's government agreed to surrender terms, negotiations ensued, leading Azerbaijan to eventually reopen the road to Armenia. This move provided Armenians an avenue to evacuate the region, and a significant number began departing from 24 September onward. Prior to the Azerbaijani military offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, there were growing concerns that Azerbaijan, with

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6014-400: The early 4th century, the Kingdom of Armenia became the first state to adopt Christianity as a state religion, followed by the first pilgrimages to the Holy Land where a community established the Armenian Quarter of Old Jerusalem . The earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription dated to 517 BC, Darius I

6111-618: The estimated 120,000 population of Nagorno-Karabakh had been displaced as of 2 October, reaching 100,617 by noon of 3 October. The UN mission which was tasked with visiting the region, heard from interlocutors that on 1 October only 50 to 1000 Armenians were left in the entire Karabakh region. On 19 October, the International Committee of the Red Cross reported that "a small number of people remain in their homes, either by choice or because they were unable to leave by themselves." The ICRC has provided food, medical care, communication services, and transportation to remaining residents. To aid in

6208-407: The evacuation, 46 buses, usually designated for public transport in Yerevan , transported 1,560 individuals from Stepanakert to Goris on 28 September. Armenia also sent 23 ambulances to Artsakh accompanied by specialists and the Red Cross, which returned transporting 23 severely injured people from Artsakh to Armenia. In Armenia, the theatre in the city of Goris was converted into a base for

6305-472: The fear of living under the government of Azerbaijan." President of the European Council Charles Michel refrained from characterizing the forced exodus of the Nagorno-Karabakh population as an attempt at ethnic cleansing on 3 October 2023. However, on 5 October 2023, the European Parliament filed a joint motion for a resolution stating that the flight of Armenians from Karabakh "amounts to ethnic cleansing" and that Azerbaijan's military offensive "represents

6402-582: The government of Azerbaijan." NGOs receiving Karabakh Armenians at the Syunik border reported that the refugees "were either forced by the Azerbaijani authorities to delete their phone data before crossing the border to Armenia or had opted themselves to delete it out of fear of undermining their chances of departure." The Council of Europe stated that it was "extremely concerned about the serious humanitarian and human rights situation in Nagorno-Karabakh." The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović visited Armenia and Azerbaijan, including

6499-506: The heightened vulnerability experienced during the blockade, and the unexpected reopening of the Lachin corridor in late September 2023, prompted Karabakh Armenians to believe that leaving the region immediately was the only option available to ensure their survival and future well-being. The Commissioner also stated that all displaced persons have the right to return to their homes, regardless of whether they have been displaced internally or across borders, and that both Armenia and Azerbaijan have

6596-415: The inaugural Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, cautioned that conditions akin to another Armenian genocide were developing, stating that Azerbaijan's blockade violated Article II c of the 1948 Genocide Convention , by "deliberately inflicting on [a] group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part", and that the invasion further violated Article II

6693-534: The later Arme-Shupria, if any, is undetermined. Additionally, their connections to Armenians is inconclusive as it is not known what languages were spoken in these regions. It has also been speculated that the land of Ermenen (located in or near Minni ), mentioned by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III in 1446 BCE, could be a reference to Armenia. Armenians call themselves Hay ( Armenian : հայ , pronounced [ˈhaj]; plural: հայեր, [haˈjɛɾ]). The name has traditionally been derived from Hayk ( Armenian : Հայկ ),

6790-440: The legendary patriarch of the Armenians and a great-great-grandson of Noah , who, according to Movses Khorenatsi (Moses of Khorene) , defeated the Babylonian king Bel in 2492 BC and established his nation in the Ararat region. It is also further postulated that the name Hay comes from, or is related to, one of the two confederated, Hittite vassal states— Hayasa -Azzi (1600–1200 BC). Ultimately, Hay may derive from

6887-557: The medical station of Russian peacekeepers. The Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan said it sent an ambulance carrying medical supplies. 142 of the injured were later brought to Armenia. By 26 September, the Armenian government said at least 28,000 people had fled Nagorno-Karabakh, equivalent to a quarter of the region's population. By 27 September, Armenian authorities reported that over 50,000 refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh had left for Armenia, including 17,000 children. In separate events on 27 September, Ruben Vardanyan ,

6984-414: The move, and in response to questions from the media, they said they could not comment on whether this constituted ethnic cleansing and that they were viewing it as a refugee situation. The USAID representative said that they were aware of "troubling reports of violence against civilians", and that testimony was being gathered from those who had fled "violence, deprivation, and with the fear of living under

7081-582: The name Armenia with the Early Bronze Age state of Armani (Armanum, Armi) or the Late Bronze Age state of Arme (Shupria) . Armini , Urartian for "inhabitant of Arme" or "Armean country", referring to the region of Shupria, to the immediate west of Lake Van. The Arme tribe of Urartian texts may have been the Urumu, who in the 12th century BC attempted to invade Assyria from the north with their allies

7178-650: The need to erode the patriarchal nature of society in the region. On the eve of the First World War , 8,180 Armenians lived in the kaza of Karakilise. The city itself had a total population of 4,500, half of them being Armenians. The town had two Armenian schools. Ağrı has a Mediterranean-influenced warm-summer humid continental climate (Dsb) under Köppen and a warm summer continental climate (Dcb) under Trewartha classification. Summers are generally brief but warm with cool nights. The average high temperature in August

7275-592: The next few centuries, Djenghis Khan , Timurids , and the tribal Turkic federations of the Ak Koyunlu and the Kara Koyunlu ruled over the Armenians. From the early 16th century, both Western Armenia and Eastern Armenia fell under Iranian Safavid rule . Owing to the century long Turco-Iranian geo-political rivalry that would last in Western Asia, significant parts of the region were frequently fought over between

7372-639: The obligation to ensure that any return is voluntary, safe and dignified. Accusations of ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan have been made by Nikol Pashinyan , the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs , and the French Senate . Azerbaijani officials have denied war crimes accusations including ethnic cleansing and responded by urging Armenians to stay in the region. Sources reported that Azerbaijani authorities had reissued

7469-497: The outside world lasted for 3 years until Armenian forces opened a humanitarian corridor known as the Lachin corridor to Armenia in May 1992. The war resulted in the displacement of approximately 500,000 Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent occupied territories as well as 186,000 from Armenia, and between 300,000 and 500,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan . A subsequent conflict,

7566-561: The passage spread, leading to a mass exodus. By the evening of 25 September, according to the Armenian government, 6,500 refugees had arrived from Nagorno-Karabakh. After enduring months of scarce fuel supply while under blockade, the arrival of a fuel shipment gave residents the opportunity to refuel their vehicles for the journey to Armenia, and on 25 September, petrol stations in Stepanakert began distributing fuel at no cost to those evacuating to Armenia. However, amidst extensive lines at

7663-711: The previous nine months along with the humanitarian crisis it caused. Armenia requested the International Court of Justice to reaffirm its February 2023 ruling ordering Azerbaijan to ensure free passage through the Lachin corridor, and to "refrain from all actions directly or indirectly aimed at displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians from the region". In December 2023, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated: "Look for example at what has happened in Azerbaijan and Armenia. A long-frozen conflict that suddenly has been – I would not say solved – but decisively determined by

7760-512: The region by their own difficult, but voluntary choice, and that Russia was ready to facilitate safe return of those Karabakh Armenians who wish to. In August 2023, Armenian diplomat Ara Papian reported that Azerbaijan was building a concentration camp intended for 30,000 Armenian males. The newspaper Hraparak reported the same information a month later, citing an anonymous military source. In January 2024, New Lines investigated these reports using Planet Labs satellite imagery and discovered

7857-399: The region. It encountered no civilian vehicles on the Lachin road to the border crossing used by the refugees. The mission also had limited access to rural areas. The mission was criticized in Armenia for failing to mention the numerous casualties and injuries among Armenian civilians, the targeting of civilian infrastructure by Azerbaijan, and blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan over

7954-563: The rivaling Byzantine and Sassanid Persian empires, until the Muslim conquest of Persia overran also the regions in which Armenians lived. In 885 CE the Armenians reestablished themselves as a sovereign kingdom under the leadership of Ashot I of the Bagratid Dynasty . A considerable portion of the Armenian nobility and peasantry fled the Byzantine occupation of Bagratid Armenia in 1045, and

8051-407: The subsequent flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians . There is a wide-ranging diaspora of around five million people of full or partial Armenian ancestry living outside modern Armenia. The largest Armenian populations today exist in Russia , the United States , France , Georgia , Iran , Germany , Ukraine , Lebanon , Brazil , Argentina , Syria , and Turkey. The present-day Armenian diaspora

8148-545: The subsequent invasion of the region by Seljuk Turks in 1064. They settled in large numbers in Cilicia , an Anatolian region where Armenians were already established as a minority since Roman times. In 1080, they founded an independent Armenian Principality then Kingdom of Cilicia , which became the focus of Armenian nationalism. The Armenians developed close social, cultural, military, and religious ties with nearby Crusader States , but eventually succumbed to Mamluk invasions. In

8245-410: The team reported to have found no evidence of damage to public infrastructure in the areas it visited. The mission saw that the Azerbaijani government was preparing for the resumption of health services and some utilities. The mission reportedly "was struck by the sudden manner in which the local population left their homes". It was reported to the team that between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians remain in

8342-532: The town its name was a medieval Armenian church. In 1895 H. F. B. Lynch stayed in Karakilise and wrote that it had between 1500 and 2000 inhabitants, was nearly two-thirds Armenian, and that a barracks for a locally recruited Kurdish Hamidiye regiment had been recently located in the town. The Armenian population of the town and surrounding valley was massacred by tribal Kurds during the Armenian Genocide :

8439-605: The two rivalling empires. From the mid 16th century with the Peace of Amasya , and decisively from the first half of the 17th century with the Treaty of Zuhab until the first half of the 19th century, Eastern Armenia was ruled by the successive Iranian Safavid, Afsharid and Qajar empires, while Western Armenia remained under Ottoman rule. In the late 1820s, the parts of historic Armenia under Iranian control centering on Yerevan and Lake Sevan (all of Eastern Armenia) were incorporated into

8536-542: The wake of the collapse of the Nagorno-Karabakh defenses, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued an alert, drawing attention to the acute risk of genocide faced by Armenians in the region and highlighting the extreme levels of anti-Armenian sentiments within the Azerbaijani military. Moreover, threats and abusive messages targeting civilians, even instances of reported massacres of Armenians who chose to stay, were rampant on Azerbaijani social media channels. In

8633-479: The way of a war, or that killings of Armenians were justified by their individual or collective support for the enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Passage of legislation in various foreign countries, condemning the persecution of the Armenians as genocide, has often provoked diplomatic conflict. (See recognition of the Armenian genocide ) Following the breakup of the Russian Empire in the aftermath of World War I for

8730-449: Was 225 cm ( 88.6 inches) on 21 February 1985. Armenian people Armenians ( Armenian : հայեր , romanized :  hayer , [hɑˈjɛɾ] ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Armenian highlands of West Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and constituted the main population of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh until the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and

8827-639: Was called Armenia by neighboring peoples (such as by Hecataeus of Miletus and on the Achaemenid Behistun Inscription) was the Satrapy of Armenia , established in the late 6th century BCE under the Orontid (Yervanduni) dynasty within the Achaemenid Persian Empire . The Orontids later ruled the independent Kingdom of Armenia . At its zenith (95–65 BCE), under the imperial reign of Tigran

8924-447: Was committing genocide by causing Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to starve. Similarly, Ronald Grigor Suny stated, "Baku is determined to make the Armenians' lives impossible, starve them out, and pressure them to leave." On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan initiated an offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, aiming to disarm the self-declared republic's military. The assault, lasting 24 hours, resulted in hundreds of casualties from both sides and

9021-522: Was established in Judea (modern-day Palestine -Israel), leading to the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem . Later on, to further strengthen Armenian national identity, Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet , in 405 CE. This event ushered the Golden Age of Armenia , during which many foreign books and manuscripts were translated to Armenian by Mesrop's pupils. Armenia lost its sovereignty again in 428 CE to

9118-471: Was formed mainly as a result of the Armenian genocide with the exceptions of Iran, former Soviet states , and parts of the Levant . Armenian is an Indo-European language . It has two mutually intelligible spoken and written forms: Eastern Armenian , today spoken mainly in Armenia, Artsakh, Iran , and the former Soviet republics; and Western Armenian , used in the historical Western Armenia and, after

9215-519: Was in the years 1894 to 1896, the second one culminating in the events of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916. With World War I in progress, the Ottoman Empire accused the (Christian) Armenians as liable to ally with Imperial Russia , and used it as a pretext to deal with the entire Armenian population as an enemy within their empire. Governments of the Republic of Turkey since that time have consistently rejected charges of genocide, typically arguing either that those Armenians who died were simply in

9312-679: Was partially confirmed by the research of geneticist David Reich (et al. 2018), among others. Similarly Grolle (et al. 2018) supports not only a homeland for Armenians on the Armenian highlands, but also that the Armenian highlands are the homeland for the "pre-proto-Indo-Europeans". A large genetic study in 2022 showed that many Armenians are "direct patrilineal descendants of the Yamnaya ". Genetic studies explain Armenian diversity by several mixtures of Eurasian populations that occurred between 3000 and 2000 BCE. But genetic signals of population mixture cease after 1200 BCE when Bronze Age civilizations in

9409-495: Was under the occupation of the Kurdish separatist movements, which gained to establish an unrecognized state named Republic of Ararat which was led by several Kurdish leaders, some of the Main were Ibrahim Heski and Ihsan Nuri . In the medieval period, the district's administrative centre was located at Alashkert , once an important town. The "kara kilise" or "black church" that gave

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