The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide
Fexingo History · Caucasus
The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide
Perched at the crossroads of East and West, the Armenian Highlands have witnessed the rise and fall of empires for millennia. In ‘The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide,’ hosts Lucas and Luna guide listeners through a saga of resilience that begins with the Urartian kingdom (9th–6th centuries BCE) and extends to the modern Republic of Armenia. The series traces Armenia’s adoption of Christianity as a state religion in 301 CE under King Tiridates III, the creation of the unique Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots, and the country’s role as a buffer between Rome and Persia, Byzantium and the Seljuks, Ottomans and Safavids. It delves into the medieval Bagratid and Cilician Armenian kingdoms, the devastating Mongol invasions, and the centuries under Ottoman, Persian, and Russian rule. The show does not flinch from the darkest chapters: the Hamidian massacres (1894–1896), the Adana massacre (1909), and the Armenian Genocide (1915–1923), which erased 1.5 million lives. It also explores the First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), Soviet Armenian history, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the post-Soviet challenges of a nation still fighting for recognition and survival. Through the voices of historians, literary figures like Hovhannes Tumanyan, and the silent witness of Mount Ararat—now a symbol of loss—this podcast offers a deep, unflinching look at a civilization that has refused to vanish. Join Lucas and Luna as they recover a history written in stone, blood, and hope.
