Wanderlust World Wanderlust World Where: South Caucasus, bordered by Turkey (W), Georgia (N), Azerbaijan (E), Iran (S). Landlocked, mountainous (avg 1,800 m).
| Era | Polity / People | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Paleolithic | Hunter-gatherers | Areni-1 cave (6,100 yr leather shoe) |
| 860–590 BC | Urartu (Kingdom of Van) | Fortress cities, cuneiform, irrigation |
| 6th c. BC | Orontid (Yervanduni) dynasty | First distinctly Armenian kingdom |
| 190 BC–1 AD | Artaxiad (Artashesian) dynasty | Tigranes the Great (95–55 BC) — empire to Caspian/Mediterranean |
| 1st–4th c. AD | Roman / Parthian client | Arsacid (Arshakuni) kings |
| 301 AD | First Christian state | St. Gregory the Illuminator; Etchmiadzin Cathedral |
| 885–1045 | Bagratuni kingdom | Ani capital (“City of 1,001 Churches”) |
| 1080–1375 | Cilician Armenia (coastal) | Crusader ally; fell to Mamluks |
| 16th–19th c. | Ottoman / Persian / Russian rule | Partitioned; Eastern Armenia → Russia 1828 |
| 1918–1920 | First Republic | May 1918; fell to Soviets/Turks |
| 1920–1991 | Armenian SSR | Soviet industrialization, diaspora growth |
| 1991–present | Republic of Armenia | Independence referendum Sep 1991 |
Language (Indo-European isolate), church (Apostolic), alphabet (Mesrop Mashtots, 405 AD), and highland geography bound 3,000+ years of identity despite statelessness intervals.