The Creation of the Armenian Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and the Birth of Armenian Literature

The Creation of the Armenian Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and the Birth of Armenian Literature

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots around 405 AD. They discuss the political and cultural pressures of a small kingdom caught between Byzantine and Persian empires, Mashtots' journey to Edessa and Samosata to develop the script, and the immediate translation of the Bible into Armenian. The conversation covers the original 36 letters, the role of Catholicos Sahak Partev, and the golden age of Armenian literature that followed, including historians like Movses Khorenatsi. They reflect on how the alphabet became a cornerstone of Armenian identity and survival through centuries of foreign rule. #ArmenianAlphabet #MesropMashtots #ArmenianLanguage #SahakPartev #BibleTranslation #GoldenAge #Edessa #Samosata #MovsesKhorenatsi #ArmenianLiterature #Byzantine #PersianEmpire #5thCentury #Caucasus #Christianity #CulturalIdentity #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Treaty of Turkmenchay: How Russia Reshaped Armenia

In 1828, a peace treaty between Russia and Persia redrew the map of the Caucasus and laid the foundation for modern Armenian statehood. This episode explores the Russo-Persian War of 1826–1828, the negotiations at the village of Turkmenchay, and the pivotal articles that transferred the khanates of Yerevan and Nakhchivan to the Russian Empire. We discuss General Ivan Paskevich’s campaign, the role of Armenian auxiliary forces, the mass migration of Armenians from Persian territory to the new Russian Armenian Oblast, and the long-term consequences for Armenian national identity. Lucas and Luna examine how this often-overlooked treaty set the stage for the cultural revival of Eastern Armenia and the eventual declaration of the First Republic in 1918. #TreatyOfTurkmenchay #RussoPersianWar #IvanPaskevich #ArmenianOblast #Yerevan #Nakhchivan #QajarIran #Caucasus #RussianEmpire #ArmenianHistory #AbbasMirza #ArmenianPopulation #CaucasusHistory #1828 #History #FexingoHistory #EasternArmenia #Treaty Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Armenian Church: Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the spiritual heart of Armenia: the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. From its founding by Gregory the Illuminator in 301 AD to its role as the seat of the Armenian Apostolic Church, they discuss the cathedral's architecture, the significance of the Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the Holy Lance (Geghard), and the Katedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator in Yerevan. They touch on the church's survival under Persian, Arab, Mongol, Ottoman, and Soviet rule, including the 20th-century persecution under Stalin. The conversation also covers the role of the Catholicos, including modern figures like Vazgen I and Karekin II, and the ongoing importance of Etchmiadzin as a symbol of Armenian identity. Key terms: Etchmiadzin, Vagharshapat, Geghard, Holy Lance, Tiridates III, Gregory the Illuminator, Armenian Apostolic Church, Catholicos, Vazgen I, Karekin II. #ArmenianChurch #Etchmiadzin #MotherSee #HolyEtchmiadzin #GregoryTheIlluminator #ArmenianApostolic #Catholicos #Vagharshapat #Geghard #HolyLance #TiridatesIII #ArmenianHistory #Christianity #Caucasus #SovietPersecution #VazgenI #KarekinII #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The 1895-96 Hamidian Massacres: Armenia's Pre-Genocide Warning

Before the 1915 Armenian Genocide, there was a brutal dress rehearsal: the Hamidian Massacres of 1895-96. Under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman authorities, Kurdish irregulars, and the infamous Hamidiye regiments slaughtered an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 Armenians across the empire. This episode of The Story of Armenia examines the causes, the international outcry, the role of figures like the British ambassador Sir Philip Currie and the missionary William Sachtleben, and why the massacres failed to prevent the later genocide. Lucas and Luna discuss the Sasun resistance of 1894, the Zeytun uprising, the August 1896 occupation of the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople by the Dashnaks, and the legacy of impunity that followed. A crucial chapter in the Armenian experience of Ottoman rule, and a warning ignored by the world. #HamidianMassacres #SultanAbdulHamidII #ArmenianGenocide #SasunResistance #ZeytunUprising #OttomanBankOccupation #Dashnaktsutyun #HamidiyeRegiments #1895Massacres #OttomanArmenians #SirPhilipCurrie #WilliamSachtleben #CaucasusHistory #OttomanEmpire #ArmenianHistory #History #FexingoHistory #GenocidePrevention Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

The Battle of Bash Abaran: Armenia's Other Last Stand

In May 1918, as the Ottoman army rolled toward Yerevan, three battles determined whether the Armenian republic would be born or strangled in its cradle. Sardarabad gets the glory, but Bash Abaran — the middle engagement, fought in a muddy mountain pass just thirty miles outside the city — was just as desperate. This episode follows the barely-armed Armenian militia, the Ottoman 9th Army under Yakub Shevki Pasha, and the strange cavalry charge that turned the tide. We also look at how Bash Abaran has been remembered (and sometimes forgotten) in Armenian history, and what it meant for the survival of the First Republic. #BashAbaran #1918 #FirstRepublicOfArmenia #OttomanEmpire #YakubShevkiPasha #DrastamatKanayan #ArmenianMilitia #MayHeroicBattle #CaucasusCampaign #WorldWarI #ArmenianGenocide #Sardarabad #Karakilisa #Yerevan #Transcaucasus #History #FexingoHistory #ArmenianHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]