LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Armenia
built 200 days ago
Armenia was a regional empire with a rich culture in the years leading up to the 1st Century CE, at one period controlling all the land between the Black and Caspian Seas. In 301, Armenia was the first state to formally adopt Christianity as its official state religion, twelve years before Rome. It ... changed between various dynasties. But after Parthian (Iranian), Roman, Arab, Mongol and Persian occupation, Armenia had been substantially weakened. In 1454, the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia divided Armenia among themselves.
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Armenia has been a land torn by constant invasion, occupation, and war for over 3,000 years. AS one consequence, Armenian culture retains many of the features imposed by numerous invaders. The first records of Armenia date back to the ninth century B.C. Both the land and the kingdom were established by the union of local tribes known as Urartu (the ancient word for Ararat). This kingdom, sometimes called the Vannic kingdom, was founded by Arame, a legendary national hero. Although the Urartu enjoyed about a century of power, the regime eventually fell to invading tribes. The name "Armenia" comes from a Persian word describing those who conquered and settled the region in the sixth century B.C.
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Israel and Armenia have diplomatic relations; ... neither maintains an embassy in the other country. Israel is represented in Armenia by the Israeli ambassador in Tbilisi, Georgia. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Israel, has paid tribute to ten Armenians as “Righteous Among the Nations” for risking their lives during the Holocaust to rescue Jews. In 1988, Israel Defense Forces were sent to Armenia after a devastating earthquake. Over the past years, trade between Israel and Armenia has further increased the two nations’ friendship.
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Due to its position between two unfriendly neighbours, Armenia has close security ties with Russia. At the request of the Armenian government, Russia maintains a military base in the northwestern Armenian city of Gyumri as a deterrent against Turkey.[25] Despite this, Armenia has ... been looking toward Euro-Atlantic structures in recent years. It maintains good relations with the United States especially through its Armenian diaspora. According to the 2000 US census, there are 385,488 Armenians living in the country.[26]
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Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. It was incorporated into Russia in 1828 and the USSR in 1920. Armenian leaders remain preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not only Nagorno-Karabakh but ... a significant portion of Azerbaijan proper.
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Like other newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, Armenia's economy suffers from the legacy of a centrally planned economy and the breakdown of former Soviet trading patterns. Soviet investment in and support of Armenian industry has virtually disappeared, so that few major enterprises are still able to function. In addition, the effects of the 1988 Spitak Earthquake, which killed more than 25,000 people and made 500,000 homeless, are still being felt. The conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved. The closure of Azerbaijani and Turkish borders has devastated the economy, because Armenia depends on outside supplies of energy and most raw materials. Land routes through Georgia and Iran are inadequate or unreliable.
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