This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Craig Thomasian (talk | contribs) at 17:21, 31 October 2006 (see talk page). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 17:21, 31 October 2006 by Craig Thomasian (talk | contribs) (see talk page)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
The origin of the Armenians is not decisively certain and has been explained by several scholarly theories.
Traditional Armenian explanation
The earliest surviving Armenian writings about their own origin explain that the Armenian people are descendants of Japheth, a son of Noah. As Mt. Ararat, which was historically in the kingdom of Armenia, is held to be the site on which Noah's ark landed, his family settled in Armenia, and later moved to Babylon. Haik, a descendant of Japheth who is said to have been the leader of the Armenian people, rebelled against the Babylonians and returned to the lands of Armenia. This legendary account reflects the Christian beliefs of the Armenians after 301 AD, as they favored an explanation of their origins that gave them a prominent place in the history of the Bible.
Contemporary Greek Theories
Some ancient Greeks believed the Armenians to be descendants of Armenus the Thessalian, one of the argonauts. However, the historian Herodotus wrote that the Armenians originated in Thrace, moved into Phrygia, and finally settled in the lands of Armenia. Strabo wrote that the Armenians were descended from people who migrated from Phrygia in the west and the Zagros region to the south.
Modern Scholarly Theories
A popular scholarly theory, which was unchallenged until the 1980s, posits that the Armenians were an Indo-European group that migrated with proto-Iranians from the Aral Sea or with Phrygians from the Balkans after the collapse of the Hittite empire. Another recent theory is that the Armenians were among the original inhabitants of the area, given the apparent uniqueness of Armenian in the Indo-European language family and its similarity to the language of the Hurrians, a group of people indigenous to the area. This theory tends to be more popular with Armenian scholars, where as the theory that the Armenians have origins in Thrace and Phrygia is more accepted among Western scholars.
DNA Testing
The current "Genographic Project" funded by the National Geographic Society, has discovered that Armenians are genetically closer to Persians (Iranians) than any other group. The tests are on-going. They use both mtDNA and Y-DNA testing that can trace DNA roots up to 60,000 years ago. It is strongly suspected that Armenians originated from the Qafzeh Cave over 100,000 years ago. (Source: The Geongraphic Project - See external link below)
References
- Books
- Bournoutian, George A. 2002. A Concise History of the Armenian People. Mazda Publishers, Inc.