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Index

Armenia

The Urartu Civilisation

Victory for Independence

Artashisian Dynasty on the Armenian Throne

Armenia caught between Rome and the Arsacids

The Acceptance of Christianity

Defending Christianity

Armenia Under the Bagratouni Dynasty

Cilicia - the New Armenia

Armenia Under Turanian Rule

The Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

The Eastern Question

Russia in the Caucasus

The Armenian Question

Battle on Two Fronts

Tsarist Russia Against the Armenians

The Revolution of the Young Turks and the Armenian People on the Eve of World War I

The First World War

The Resurrection of Armenia

Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

- Armenia on the Road to Independence, 1918

Eastern Armenia

Western Armenia

"The Fateful Years" (1914-1917)

"Hopes and Emotions" (March-October, 1917)

The Bolshevik Revolution and Armenia

Transcaucasia Adrift (November, 1917

Dilemmas (March-April, 1918)

War and Independence (April-May, 1918)

The Republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia

The Suppliants (June-October, 1918)

In conclusion

Soviet Armenia

The Second Independent Republic of Armenia

Epilogue

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The Geopolitical Situation of Armenia

From a geopolitical perspective, the most important characteristic of the Armenian highland is the harsh and demanding winters that have beaten back many armies and forced them to retreat. 29 TThe mountain chains in the north and south are almost impassable, which makes any invading attempt impossible from these directions. An army that chooses these routes has to climb high and dangerous mountain passes. What may have seemed possible on paper may be of little use in practice.

Armenia has hardly ever been attacked by an army from the coastal regions of the Black Sea and almost every attack from the south has resulted in heavy losses for the attackers. Access to the Armenian plateau has been much easier for armies that have come from the east or west, i.e. through the natural corridors running through the mountain chains. In order to control the northern passage one must first capture Erzurum and in order to access the southern passage the path goes through the Moush province. 30 This meant that the Arabs, when trying to conquer Armenia during the 7th century from the south, met fierce resistance and gave up the attempt. They simply could not complete their attacks and were forced to postpone the invasion until, having conquered Persia first, they attacked Armenia again, this time from the east, through the Araxes valley. This path became the gateway for many other invaders: Medes, Sasanids, Mongols and Seljuk Turks, but also as a passage for counterattacks from the west: Greeks, Romans and Byzantines. 31

The open landscapes along the valleys were not only a way through the mountains, but their fertile soil also provided the invading armies with essential provisions for their ongoing campaigns. 32

The characteristics of the Armenian highland made the country the key for the access and control of the regions between the Caspian Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. 33 "It was during the period when Armenia was under the protection of Rome that this empire had control over the entire Middle East". 34

The struggle for the control of Armenia has continued until the present-day, since Armenia still constitutes a part of the border between Europe and Asia and, even more importantly, lies between the oil fields next to the Caspian Sea and the shortest transport distance to the nearest open sea routes.