The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History

Long before the Armenian Genocide, a generation of young fighters took to the mountains. They called themselves fedayee — a word borrowed from Arabic for 'one who sacrifices.' In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the world of the Armenian fedayee movement that arose in the late Ottoman Empire. We meet legendary commanders like Aghbiur Serob, Andranik Ozanian, and Kevork Chavush, who led small b...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the enigmatic figure of Movses Khorenatsi — Moses of Khoren — the fifth-century historian whose 'History of Armenia' shaped Armenian national identity for over a millennium. They discuss how Khorenatsi wove biblical genealogy, Persian epic, and local legend into a coherent narrative tracing Armenia's kings from Hayk to the Arshakuni dynasty. The conversation...

In the year 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation in history to adopt Christianity as its state religion, a decision that would shape its identity for millennia. But how did a small kingdom in the Caucasus come to make such a radical choice? This episode explores the figure of Gregory the Illuminator, the Armenian king Tiridates III, and the miraculous conversion story that blended pagan traditi...

Long before Tigranes the Great, before the Bagratunis, before Armenia even had its name, the highlands of eastern Anatolia gave rise to a kingdom that would challenge the might of Assyria. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the shadowy origins of Urartu—the Iron Age kingdom that many historians consider the first Armenian state. We meet Aramu, the first named king of Urartu, who around 860 BC...

In the 1890s, the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid II unleashed a wave of state-sanctioned massacres against its Armenian subjects, killing an estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people. This episode dives into the Hamidian massacres of 1894-1896, focusing on the brutal suppression of the Sassoun rebellion, the role of the Hamidiye cavalry—Kurdish irregulars armed by the state—and the desperate re...

This episode revisits the Armenian merchant network, focusing on the role of the Mkhitarist Catholic Congregation in preserving Armenian identity and culture through scholarship and printing. We explore how the Mkhitarist monks, based first in Venice and later in Vienna, became custodians of Armenian language, history, and manuscripts, producing the first modern Armenian dictionaries and histories...

This episode revisits the pivotal Battle of Avarayr in 451 CE, where the Armenian forces under Vardan Mamikonian faced the Sassanid Persian army demanding conversion to Zoroastrianism. We explore the strategic context, the key leaders, the aftermath including the Nvarsak Treaty, and the enduring legacy of the Vardanank martyrs. Through the voices of historians like Ghazar Parpetsi, we examine how...

In the wake of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, a new geopolitical flashpoint emerged: the Zangezur Corridor. This episode traces the deep history of the narrow strip of southern Armenia that connects mainland Armenia to Nakhchivan and Turkey, and its role in Silk Road trade, Soviet border engineering, and the current blockade. Lucas and Luna explore the ancient trading route through the Zangezur Mo...

In the early 5th century, Armenia faced a cultural crisis: the country had no distinct written language, and the Church struggled to reach ordinary people. Enter Mesrop Mashtots, a former court secretary turned monk, who undertook a remarkable linguistic journey across the Caucasus. This episode follows Mashtots as he studies scripts from Edessa to Samosata, invents the Armenian alphabet in 405 AD...

When the Abbasid Caliphate was fragmenting and Byzantium was looking east, a princely family from the heart of Armenia seized the moment. The Bagratunis — Ashot I, Smbat I, Gagik I — not only restored the Armenian monarchy in 885 AD after nearly four centuries of foreign rule, but built a cultural and architectural renaissance that still defines Armenia's identity. This episode explores how the Ba...

In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia—a medieval Crusader state forged by Armenian refugees fleeing Seljuk invasion. They trace the rise of the Rubenid dynasty, the coronation of King Levon I in 1198, and the unique Franco-Armenian synthesis that produced illuminated manuscripts, hybrid castles, and a papal alliance. Along the way, they dis...

Before the Bagratids and the Rubenids, one family shaped Armenian destiny for nearly four centuries: the Mamikonians. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the rise of this nakharar clan from their possible origins among the Karen-Pahlav dynasty of Parthia to their peak as Armenia's hereditary sparapets — commanders-in-chief. They explore the legendary Vardan Mamikonian, who led the doomed but gal...

Long before the Genocide scattered Armenians worldwide, merchant communities from New Julfa to Madras built a commercial empire that connected Asia and Europe. This episode explores how Armenian trade networks operated across Safavid Persia, Mughal India, and the Ottoman Empire—dealing in silk, gems, and information. We examine the role of the Julfan Armenians under Shah Abbas I, their use of fami...

Long before the Ottoman and Safavid partitions, before the genocide and the republic, Armenia once ruled an empire stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. This episode follows the rise and fall of Tigranes the Great, the Artaxiad king who built a short-lived superpower at the crossroads of Rome and Parthia. We explore his early years as a hostage in Parthia, his marriage to Cleopatra of...

Before the Mamikonians and the Bagratunis became household names, Armenia was governed by a web of noble houses known as the nakharars. These hereditary lords commanded their own armies, minted their own coins, and ruled their own territories with near-royal autonomy. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how the nakharar system functioned from the 4th to the 9th centuries — a uniquely Armenian...

Long before Armenia was Armenia, the Kingdom of Urartu ruled the highlands around Lake Van. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the forgotten empire that built irrigation canals still in use today, forged iron weapons that rivaled Assyria, and left behind cuneiform inscriptions that puzzle archaeologists. We walk the ruins of Tushpa, the capital carved into a limestone cliff, and trace the ris...

In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the medieval Kingdom of Cilician Armenia—a unique Armenian state that allied with Crusader princes, adopted Western feudal practices, and forged a brief golden age on the Mediterranean coast. They trace its rise under the Rubenid dynasty, the coronation of King Levon I in Tarsus in 1198, and the flourishing of trade, art, and manuscri...

Long before the kingdoms of Urartu or the empires of Tigran the Great, the Armenian Highlands were home to some of the earliest settled societies in the Caucasus. This episode explores the pre-Urartian archaeological record, focusing on the site of Metsamor and the mysterious Kura-Araxes culture that flourished around 3500 BCE. We examine their distinctive black burnished pottery, early metalworki...

Episode 81 digs into the shadowy paramilitary force that orchestrated the Armenian Genocide: the Teskilat-i Mahsusa, or 'Special Organization.' Lucas and Luna explore its origins in the Balkan Wars, its evolution under the Committee of Union and Progress, and its role in implementing deportation and massacre. They discuss key figures like Enver Pasha, Talaat Pasha, and Dr. Nazim, and examine how t...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Armenian Legion, a volunteer military unit formed by the French during World War I. Recruited from Armenian diaspora communities worldwide, these soldiers fought alongside the Allies in the Middle Eastern theater, notably at the Battle of Arara in Palestine in 1918. They discuss the Legion's formation under the French-Armenian Agreement, its...

In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna delve into the dark chapter of the Armenian Genocide, focusing on the controversial evidence of Talaat Pasha's telegrams. They examine the historical debate over whether the Ottoman government systematically ordered the extermination of Armenians in 1915. Lucas explains how key documents, including the so-called 'Talaat telegrams,' were prese...

When the Ottoman Third Army surged toward Yerevan in May 1918, Armenia’s fate hung on a thread. While Sardarabad is often remembered as a battle won by men under arms, this episode uncovers the crucial role of Armenian women — from the peasant girls hauling ammunition under fire to the nursing corps that kept the army on its feet. We look at the women who took up rifles alongside their husbands, t...

When the First Republic of Armenia was born in 1918, it had almost nothing: no army, no money, and barely a government. But within months, Armenian pilots were flying French and Russian planes over Yerevan, bombing Turkish columns and dropping leaflets. This episode tells the little-known story of the Armenian Air Force — a handful of daredevils, a few battered Nieuports and Farmans, and the despe...

In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a ragtag Armenian force of barely 10,000 men—mostly civilians, deserters, and priests—stood between the nascent Republic and annihilation. This episode tells the story of the Battle of Sardarabad, the desperate three-day fight that saved Armenian statehood. We follow commander Movses Silikyan's tactical gambit, the role of Catholicos George V w...

In May 1918, the fate of the Armenian people hung by a thread. The Ottoman army was advancing on Yerevan, the Russian Empire had collapsed, and the First Republic of Armenia barely existed on paper. Yet at Sardarabad — a dusty plain near Mount Ararat — a ragtag army of refugees, priests, and fedayee fighters turned the tide. This episode walks through the three-day battle, the commanders like Movs...