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

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the medieval Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, a unique Armenian state that emerged in the Crusader era. They discuss the Rubenid dynasty's rise, the crowning of Levon I, and the strategic alliance with the Crusaders. The episode delves into the kingdom's role in Silk Road trade, its cultural fusion with Frankish and Byzantine influences, and its eventual decline...

Long before the kingdom of Tigranes the Great or the conversion to Christianity, the Armenian highlands were home to a powerful and sophisticated civilization: Urartu. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise and fall of the Kingdom of Van, centered around the majestic fortress of Tushpa. They discuss how the Urartians built an irrigation network that still waters the fields of modern Arme...

Long before the Roman Empire crushed Armenia between the millstones of geopolitics, an Armenian king briefly made his kingdom the most powerful state in the Near East. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the astonishing career of Tigranes II—better known as Tigranes the Great—who at his height ruled an empire stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean. They trace his rise from a host...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known chapter of Armenian history: the Armenian legions that fought for the Roman Empire. They follow the story of the Legio I and II Armeniaca, auxiliary units raised in the Armenian Highlands during the Roman-Parthian wars. Lucas explains how these troops were deployed as limitanei on the eastern frontiers, garrisoning forts like Satala and helpin...

Fresh off the collapse of the tsarist empire, the First Armenian Republic faced a desperate fight for existence from 1918 to 1920. This episode zooms in on the republic's founding moment at the Battle of Sardarabad, where an improvised civilian army halted the Ottoman advance and secured a fragile independence. We explore the republic's internal challenges: a starving population, a shattered econo...

In December 1914, as World War I raged, the Russian Imperial Army launched an offensive into Ottoman territory near the city of Sarikamish. Among the Russian forces were thousands of Armenian soldiers serving in volunteer battalions, many of whom had survived the Hamidian massacres and saw this as a chance to liberate their homeland. This episode tells the story of the Battle of Sarikamish—a catas...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the fascinating Kingdom of Commagene, a small but strategically vital Armenian kingdom that flourished between the 1st century BCE and 1st century CE. Nestled in the upper Euphrates valley, Commagene was a unique fusion of Armenian, Persian, and Hellenistic cultures, best exemplified by the spectacular tomb-sanctuary of King Antiochus I Theos at Mount Nemrut...

After the fall of the Bagratuni kingdom and the Seljuk invasions, much of historic Armenia fell under foreign rule — but in the rugged mountains of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), a small Armenian principality not only survived but thrived for centuries. This episode explores the Principality of Khachen (also known as the Kingdom of Artsakh), a little-known but resilient Armenian state that endured fr...

In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the Kingdom of Vaspurakan, a powerful Armenian state that flourished in the 9th and 10th centuries around Lake Van. They discuss its ruling Artsruni dynasty, the construction of the magnificent Holy Cross Cathedral on Akdamar Island, and the kingdom's eventual absorption into the Byzantine Empire. The episode highlights King Gagik I A...

In 451 CE, on the plains of Avarayr in Persarmenia, a small Armenian army, outnumbered and outmatched, stood against the might of the Sassanid Persian Empire. Their commander, Vartan Mamikonian, led them not for territory or treasure, but for the right to remain Christian — the right to read their scriptures in Mesrop Mashtots' newly created Armenian alphabet, to baptize their children in the name...

In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the pivotal role of the Armenian Highlands as a crossroads of the ancient Silk Road. They discuss how Armenian merchants, monasteries, and kingdoms facilitated trade between East and West, exchanging goods like silk, spices, and lapis lazuli, as well as ideas—including Christianity, art, and technology. The conversation covers the imp...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Kingdom of Cilician Armenia, a unique crusader state that emerged in the 12th century on the Mediterranean coast. They discuss how the Rubenid dynasty established a principality after the Seljuk conquest of Greater Armenia, and how Cilicia became a crucial ally of the Crusader states. Lucas explains the crowning of Levon I as king in 1198, the role of th...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD. They discuss how this 36-letter script was developed not just to translate the Bible, but to forge a cultural identity that would preserve Armenian Christianity and language through centuries of foreign domination. Lucas explains the political context under King Vramshapuh, the role of the C...

Before the Armenian Genocide, a generation of Armenian guerrilla fighters known as fedayi took up arms to defend their villages in the Ottoman Empire's eastern provinces. This episode follows the story of the fedayi movement from the late 19th century through the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. We discuss key figures like Aghbiur Serob, Andranik Ozanian, and Kevork Chavush, and their battles at Holy A...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rich and resilient tradition of Armenian music, from ancient liturgical chants to modern folk melodies. They begin with the invention of the Armenian alphabet and the development of khaz notation, which preserved sacred music for centuries. Moving to the 20th century, they discuss the life and work of Komitas Vardapet, the ethnomusicologist who collected...

This episode of The Story of Armenia explores the architectural wonders of medieval Armenia, focusing on the monasteries of Tatev and Geghard. Lucas and Luna discuss the unique construction techniques, the symbolism of cross-stones (khachkars), and the role of Prince Ashot III and Queen Khosrovanuysh in commissioning these structures. They delve into the legend of Tatev's swinging pillar, the acou...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Armenian diaspora, tracing its roots from the medieval Silk Road to the modern global network of Armenian communities. They discuss early merchant colonies in India and Persia, the role of Armenian traders in the Safavid and Mughal empires, the establishment of the first Armenian printing press in Venice, and the impact of the 1915 genocide on the disper...

In episode 7 of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore Armenia's 20th-century odyssey within the USSR, from Stalin's purges to the 1988 Spitak earthquake and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. They discuss how Soviet modernization transformed Yerevan, the role of the Armenian diaspora in the Karabakh movement, and the enduring legacy of the 1915 genocide in shaping national identity. The convers...

In the wake of the Armenian Genocide and the collapse of the Ottoman and Russian empires, a fragile window of opportunity opened for Armenian statehood. This episode examines the short-lived First Republic of Armenia (1918–1920), focusing on its desperate struggle for survival against Ottoman forces, famine, and territorial disputes with neighboring Georgia and Azerbaijan. We explore the pivotal B...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Armenian Genocide of 1915, a systematic campaign of mass killing, deportation, and cultural erasure carried out by the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Lucas explains the context of Ottoman decline, the rise of Turkish nationalism under the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), and the role of figures like Talaat Pasha and Enver Pasha. They discuss th...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Armenia's experience under Ottoman rule, focusing on the millet system that allowed Armenians to maintain their religious and cultural identity as a confessional community. They discuss how Armenian merchants, bankers, and clerics thrived within the empire, building churches and schools in Constantinople, while peasants in the eastern provinces faced increas...

After the fall of the Bagratuni dynasty, Armenian nobles carved out a new kingdom far from the homeland — in Cilicia, on the Mediterranean coast. This episode follows the rise and fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, from its founding by the Rubenid dynasty in 1080 to its eventual conquest by the Mamluk Sultanate in 1375. We explore how Armenian rulers navigated the Crusader states, forged all...

This episode explores the Bagratuni dynasty, which led Armenia through a remarkable cultural and political revival from the 9th to 11th centuries. Lucas and Luna discuss how the Bagratunis navigated between the Byzantine and Arab empires, establishing a semi-independent kingdom centered at Ani, the 'City of 1001 Churches.' They cover the rise of Ashot I, the architecture of the Cathedral of Ani de...

In this pilot episode of The Story of Armenia, we begin in the year 301 AD, just outside the city of Vagharshapat, where King Tiridates III makes a decision that will shape Armenian identity for millennia. Lucas and Luna explore the geographical reality of the Armenian Highlands—a natural fortress without natural borders, perpetually squeezed between Rome and Persia, Byzantium and the Caliphate. T...