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Armenian people are one of the oldest nations in the world. They have come a long way through the centuries and their history dates back to thousands of years. During different periods of their lives, Armenian people have obtained various characteristic features. You will find out about them later in the article.

It is important to note that along with the Armenian nation, the Babylonians and the Hittite also existed. Today, however, they are just a part of the world history with no future, yet the Armenian nation continues to exist and develop.

Origins of Armenian People

The origins of  Armenians have always been a subject historians, linguists, and archaeologists confer about. Linguists started paying attention to the many similarities that the Indo-European and Semitic languages had. The only explanation of the linguistic similarities between them would be the movement of the cradle of the Indo-European linguistic groups geographically farther east, that is, to the Armenian plateau.

People inhabited the Armenian Highlands since about 2 million BC. People have settled in the Highlands since the Stone Age, the Paleolithic Era. Armenians are referred to as the sons of Haya, who was the regional god back then. The source behind this is the Armenic Sumerian records from 2700 BC which is most likely the earliest record ever about the Armenian nation.

Armenian Highlands

Armenian Highlands

A lot of underground pre historic sites showed the existence of civilizations in Armenia with advanced agricultural knowledge, metallurgy, and industrial production.

Based on another record (Akkadian inscriptions)  from  2300 BC, Armani is together with Ibla, as territories conquered by Naram-Sin.

Thutmose III of Egypt also mentions the people of Ermenen in 1446 BC. He says in their land “heaven rests upon its four pillars”. Up to this day, Turkish people and Kurds call Armenians Ermeni.

The kingdom of Ararat was the first major state. It appeared around Lake Van in the 13th c. B.C.

The first pre-Armenian tribes had references in the chronicles of the 4th – 3rd millennia BC. Throughout the history,  Armenian people inherited the physical features of some tribes.

Especially the Khurrito – Urartian tribes played a big role as the most widespread ethnic element of the highland. Due to that, the physical basis of the Armenians was composed.

The Armenian plateau with its people has faced many invasions. One example is the expeditions of Alexander the Great towards the east. Armenian people battled with the Roman legions and the Sassanid Persians. They also stopped the Arabian expansion.

For about two centuries, the wars between the Iranian and the Ottoman empires literally destroyed Armenia.

In the 20th century, Armenia was divided between the empires of Russia and the Ottoman (Turkish). Since the 1890s, the Turkish authorities organized the massacres of Armenian people, which had its culmination in the genocide of 1915–1923. The Young Turk leadership of the Ottoman Empire eagerly took the opportunity of World War I to physically remove the Armenian population.

Armenian Genocide

Armenian Genocide

 

The Armenians who lived under the Turkish rule had to undergo through cruelty and eventually were entirely erased. The survivors, however, escaped to different places around the world. This, later, became known as the first documented genocide of the 20th century. During the genocide, more than 1.5 million Armenians died.

 

The Armenian people are an ethnos and the descendants of the Indo-Europeans branch.

Armenian PeopleThere are approximately 10 million Armenians around the world. However, only 3 million people live in Armenia. Armenian Diasporas reside in Russia, France, Iran, USA, Canada, Ukraine, and Georgia. A lot of Armenians also live in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Most of Armenians belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Armenians have their own alphabet and language which is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family.

Armenians call themselves “Hay” and the country “Hayastan”. They love their country very much and they express their love through art, literature and sometimes even daily work.

Armenia has constantly suffered from being a battlefield between numerous nations and tribes. It has also been under the rule of foreign control.  Due to the past full of hardships, Armenian people formed various features of national character such as an expressive national pride, deep love for their land, perseverance, high interest in sciences and crafts, hospitality, capability for self-irony and a great sense of humor.

Fortunately, today each Armenian happily lives in an independent republic, and they all put their effort into the development of their country.

The Characteristics of Armenian People

Most nations have their unique character which describes them well. Their manner of speaking, their reaction to things and the way they treat foreigners says a lot about them.

Armenian people are highly adaptable. They are able to easily adjust to new conditions such as the change of the country (going abroad), learning new languages comparatively easily and also, they have a very similar pronunciation to the native speakers. This is one of the most important features of Armenian mentality. The reason behind this might be the constantly forced migrations of Armenians to the foreign states during the history.

Armenians are very proud people and honest as well. They value family a lot and try their best to preserve the unity. They also have huge respect for elder people and always learn from their experiences. That way, they pass their knowledge from one generation to another. 

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Armenian People

Armenian people are polite, hard working and very hospitable.

They like to gather with their family and close friends during special occasions and not only. During these occasions, be it weddings, birthday parties or Christenings, Armenians are always happy to spend their time and money generously. 

They like to gather with their family and close friends during special occasions and not only. During these occasions, be it weddings, birthday parties or Christenings, Armenians are always happy to spend their time and money generously. 

They like to gather with their family and close friends during special occasions and not only. During these occasions, be it weddings, birthday parties or Christenings, Armenians are always happy to spend their time and money generously. 

Just like everyone, Armenians have both positive and negative sides. To talk about the negative, the first thing might be jealousy. Armenians tend to have the dominant “jealousy” gene in their characters. This can be bad but also has its advantages since it is the reason why Armenians are mostly hard working people.

Most of the times, they don’t accept the fact that some other person is better or more well off than they, hence, they work very hard and in the end surpass them.

One more negative side might be that most Armenians can be self-centered. Also, sometimes nothing can satisfy them at all. The fact that they are self-centered makes them think and care about themselves only and constantly ask for free help from other people.  An Armenian saying, “You stretch your hand to help, they want the whole arm” describes that character very well. 

Physical Characteristics

The pure Armenians are referred to as Aryan in features with blonde hair color and blue eyes. Today, though, a very small percentage of Armenians have these pure features.  Armenians usually have expressive facial characteristics. The complexion varies from an olive to dark and most of them have black or brown hair. Eye color varies from black and hazel to light gray and sometimes blue. Usually, Armenians have brown/dark brown eye color.

Eyes

Armenian Eyes

Armenian Eyes

 

Everyone knows that eyes are the mirror of the soul. The eyes of Armenian people symbolize their true nature along with their character. They are very deep and they show all the hardships they went through.

Armenians know very well that their eyes are unique and different, hence, there are many songs and poems related to them.

Today, however, Armenians have various shapes and colors of eyes. Mostly, the color is dark, brown or black, sometimes also blue, green or honey-colored.

Armenians own big eyes and usually, their eyes hold some sadness. No matter how joyful and young the people are, they still have that universal sadness in their eyes.

Eyebrows

Armenian bEyebrows

Armenian Eyebrows

 

The eyebrow shapes are also very different. Armenian men usually have thick, long eyebrows which bend down to eyes.

Armenian women tend to have arched eyebrows.

Hair

Armenian hair, Iveta Mukuchyan

Armenian Hair

As the Armenian mythology states, the ancestor of Armenians, Hayk had curly/wavy, golden hair which reached to his shoulders. Today, though, most Armenians have either black or brown hair. Some of them have light-colored hair too but dark is the most common.

In old times, Armenian men had long hair. Nowadays, however, short hair is generally more preferred.

Women, nowadays, like in ancient times, have long and beautiful hair mostly.

Nose

Armenian Nose

Armenian Nose

 

Armenians tend to have a hook-shaped(aquiline) nose. High, proud and honest; this is how Armenians describe their noses. They are actually proud of their large noses and are often humorous about them.

Armenian Diaspora

Armenian people have communities outside the Republic of Armenia which has the name Armenian Diaspora. There are about 10 million Armenians throughout the world, 3 of them live. So, about 7 million Armenians represent the Diaspora.

The Diaspora was mainly formed after 1915, as a direct result of the Genocide of Armenian people.

Nowadays, the biggest diasporas exist in Russia, Ukraine, USA, France, Brazil, Georgia, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria.

 

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