When researching Persian dynasties I came across a curious symbol on wikipedia. It was the Sassanid banner called Derafsh-e Kaviani “the standard of Kāva”. It caught my attention because I remembered having seen this symbol in ancient Armenian art as well. Or at least something very similar. After reading up on this symbol I...
How a 5th century history book led to the discovery of a forgotten kingdom
Armenia is so old that its early history only survived in the form of legends and myths. It often reminds me of the following line: And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. ― Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien A...
3,000-year-old footprint found in historic Armenia
An ancient human footprint from the Iron Age kingdom of Van (also known as Urartu / Ararat) was recently discovered at a castle in the historic Armenian city of Van (today part of Turkey). The footprint, measuring some 26 centimeters long and fitting a modern shoe size of 36, was found at Van Castle...
Ruins of a 3000 year old Armenian castle found in Lake Van – Turkey
A team of Turkish archaeologists has discovered the remains of what is believed to be a 3,000-year-old castle from the Armenian kingdom of Urartu (Ararat) submerged underwater in Lake Van. The underwater excavations were led by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and the governorship of Turkey’s eastern Bitlis Province. The castle is said to belong to the...
The Last King of Babylon – The Armenian Rebel Arakha
The last independent king of Babylon was an Armenian by the name of Arakha also known as Nebuchadnezzar IV. After the Achaemenid conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, several attempts were made by the Babylonians to rebel against the Persian conquerors. The first attempt was led by Nidintu-Bêl and was violently suppressed by Darius the...
Passages from Layard’s travels in Armenia
In his book “Discoveries among the ruins of Nineveh and Babylon : with travels in Armenia, Kurdistan, and the desert…” published in 1859 Sir Austen Henry Layard recounts his discoveries in Asia Minor and Middle east. I would like to share with you here a few notable passages regarding Armenia accompanied with illustrations from his book. Armenian influence...
Discovering the kingdom of Van
Did you know that the discovery of the ancient kingdom of Urartu/Ararat was made due to records from a medieval Armenian history book? Well, the existence of the Kingdom of Ararat, or Urartu, was unknown to science until the year 1823 when a French scholar, J. Saint-Martin, chanced upon a passage in the ‘History of...
Ararat – the central province of ancient Armenian
Rev. E. Smith, who made an exploring tour in Persia and Armenia in 1830 and 1831, remarks in the Biblical Repository, 1832, p. 202, “The name of Ararat occurs but twice in the Old Testament (Gen. viii, 1, and Jer. li, 27), and both times as the name of a country, which in the last passage is said to...
Ararat “Mother of the World”
Mount Ararat is a snow-capped, dormant volcanic cone in what used to be ancient Armenian region known as Ararat (modern day eastern Turkey). Mount Ararat has been revered by Armenians since times immemorial. According to ancient legends Armenian deities reside inside the mountain. Both peaks have separate names in Armenian, the smaller one is called “Sis” and...
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III and his conquest of an Armenian city of Arzashkun
The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III is a black limestone Neo-Assyrian bas-relief sculpture from Nimrud, commemorating the deeds of King Shalmaneser III (reigned 858-824 BC). The archaeologist Henry Layard discovered this black limestone obelisk in 1846 during his excavations of the site of Kalhu, the ancient Assyrian capital. It was erected as a public monument in...
