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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 Renaissance or the Resurrection of Armenia

At the beginning of the 18th century the Armenians, like the people of the Orient, were enduring living conditions similar to those of the Middle Ages. It was only during the second half of the 18th century and more noticeably during the 19th century that a liberation movement demanding a platform of reforms, initiated through contact with Europe, spread throughout the entire region and revolutionised the contemporary thought of these nations.

Armenia was the first nation to embrace this way of thinking and continue its extension and conveyance to neighbouring countries; moreover, this movement caused a genuine renaissance to which can be attributed present-day Armenia. It was during this period that the foundation of modern Armenia was laid.

In the following pages we will show how this regeneration of thinking and revival of soul was only possible because the Armenian people, during centuries of foreign rule, had sustained its loyalty towards its church, and its imperturbable attachment to customs and habits. Moreover, we will discuss to what extent this Armenian resurrection was due to the activities of the Mkhitarists and Armenian authors, and to the works of western scientists.

Academia on the subject of their own language, literature and history allowed the Armenians, as with the other Christian people in the Balkans and new nations in central Europe, to rediscover their national identity.

Thus one historian has written of the renaissance of the Christian nations in the Balkans: "In order to realize this it was first necessary to have guardians who kept the torch of knowledge alive. These guardians were the priests. Then there must be activists who would awaken the nations and these were the authors, the philosophers and the scientists, and these must first lay the foundation for the political fundament before the soldiers took the decisive step. Usually, the people who wanted to achieve this are intellectuals who are not in pursue of their own winnings and who keep these thoughts alive. Then there must be poets and authors who can encourage competent and ambitious individuals to awaken the people from their long sleep, gather the safe-guarded convictions from the monasteries and recreate their youthful power."

We will discuss in their order the factors which combined in the resurrection of the Armenian nation; bearing in mind the contemporary world mindset which formed a conducive background for this revival.

The Development of Thoughts and Actions

The world stage during the 18th century was being moulded by the rapid development and expansion of European civilization, resulting enhanced relations and more frequent contact between East and West.

The Greeks in the Ottoman Empire were the first to establish a close and intimate relation with Europe. The existence of Greeks abroad, for instance Greek merchants in Southern Russia, Vienna and France, enabled and encouraged this rapport.