by YeReVaN » Wed Jul 20, 2005 8:24 pm
The Kingdom of Urartu or Van flourished in the Caucasus and eastern Asia Minor between ca. 800 BC and 600 BC. According to Strabo (XI, XIV, 5), Armeno-Phrygians conquered Carenitida (the region of the upper flow of the Euphrates) from the Chalybes, probably around 600 BC. The Armenians subsequently moved to the territory of the failing kingdom of Urartu. In the 5th century BC, when both Armenians and Phrygians served under Xerxes, Herodotus tells us that their costume and equipment was still identical, and the Armenians were considered colonists of the Phrygians.
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Armenian Kingdom
After the destruction of the Seleucid Empire, the first Armenian state was founded in 190 BC. At its zenith, from 95 to 66 BC, Armenia extended its rule over parts of Caucasus and the area that is now eastern Turkey, Syria and Lebanon. For a time, Armenia was one of the most powerful states in the Roman East. It came under Roman control in 66 BC and the Armenian People adopted a Western political, philosophical, and religious orientation.