Armenia

Armenia is a country in the Caucasus under Russian domination during Jacques de Morgan’s lifetime. Its territory partly covers that of Urartu, a late Iron Age empire. Armenia was in long and close contact with the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and the short-lived empire of Alexander the Great. It was also the first country to adopt Christianity as its state religion.

In 1915, the Armenians were the victims of a genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire. The number of victims is estimated to be around one million - two thirds of the Armenian population. From 1920, Armenia became part of the USSR. It proclaimed its independence in 1991.