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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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Cultural Work

During the 4th and 5th centuries, following the acceptance of Christianity in Armenia, the country new cultural heights. Under the influence of the church the Armenian culture flourished and was transformed into an almost entirely Christian culture.

Two great priests, Catholicos Nerses I (353-373) and his son, Catholicos Sahak I (387-438), played a major role in the flourishing of the Armenian culture and art.

The cultural life of Armenia before the acceptance of the Christianity was dependent on foreign cultures (such as the Greek, Roman and especially Persian). The real nature of the Armenian culture at that time consisted of simple folklore songs and poems, which the Armenian poets and troubadours wrote and sang about their national heroes and the momentous events, as described, for example, by Movses Khorenatsi and Grigor Magistros. These epic poems praise the gods and heroes (Hayk, among others). It is not certain whether these were created as separate poems or if they belonged to a large collection.

The most important factor in the creation of the Christian culture was the invention of the Armenian alphabet, which was the result of the labours of Catholicos Sahak I. He gave his assistant, the enlightened priest Mesrop Mashtots, the task of inventing an alphabet for the Armenian language, in order to translate the Bible into Armenian. Mesrop devised an alphabet which consisted of 36 letters (later the letters "o" and "f" were added to the alphabet). The alphabet was especially adapted for the Armenian language and its pronunciations. 102

The invention of the Armenian alphabet, dated to the year 405 A.D., during the reign of King Vramshapouh, was one of the most important events in Armenian history, not only from a cultural perspective, since it brought a new life to Armenian literature, but also from a political point of view, since it played a major role in the preservation of the unique characteristics of the Armenian people.

The significance of Christianity for the Armenians and others people is the understanding it has given of their own identity, and the leadership and protection of that identity that the church has afforded.

As Bertrand Bareilles has pointed out, the churches have had a great role in the design process of the nations. "The original churches were actually created by the order of the nations. The connection with the people was without a doubt a necessity in order to convert the people to Christianity in their own language. In order to understand the phrases, they were compelled to invent an alphabet which could facilitate the reading of the Bible to everyone. For the illiterates this was the first step towards cultural enlightenment. If this had not happened, some people would have most possibly only constituted some societies, societies without any national identity and would definitely have disappeared among the masses of the victorious nations."

Mesrop educated some hundred students, among whom were the persons who later came to be known as the "great translators". These "great translators" were sent to the large Christian cultural centres, including in those days Edessa (Ourfa), Athens 103, Constantinople, Caesarea and Alexandria. The latter in particular, with its famous library founded by Ptolemius, was a prestigious cultural centre for many centuries. The duty of the translators was to gather the greatest and most important cultural and literary works and bring them to Armenia. When these translators returned to Armenia, they laid the foundations for the famous "Institution of the Armenian translators and interpreters", an institution which grew and developed rapidly up until the 6th century. 104