Armenia
ارمنستانA Christian kingdom of the Caucasus with deep ties to Iran: an Achaemenid satrapy, an Arsacid dynasty and centuries of shared history.
Armenia was a satrapy of the Achaemenid empire, and from the first century CE a branch of the Parthian Arsacid family ruled it as kings. The Armenian language, though not itself Iranian, absorbed hundreds of Parthian and Middle Persian words.
Armenians have lived in Iran for many centuries. Shah Abbas resettled thousands of Armenian families from Julfa to Isfahan in 1604, where New Julfa and its Vank Cathedral still stand.
Cities and towns
Yerevanایروان
The capital, below Mount Ararat
Vagharshapatواغارشاپات
Seat of the Armenian Church at Etchmiadzin
Meghriمغری
A southern town on the Aras, facing Iran
Landmarksبناها و نشانهها
Garni Temple
معبد گارنیA first-century temple, believed by many to have been dedicated to Mihr (Mithra)
Armenia through time
Iranian historyThe Safavidsصفویان
The Safavids made Twelver Shia Islam Iran's state religion and rebuilt Isfahan as one of the most admired cities in the world.
- Earthquake destroys Garni Temple
- Reconstruction of Garni Temple completed
Stories from hereداستانها
The Persian leopard
The great cat that never left: the Persian leopard still hunts the mountains of Iran and the Caucasus, sometimes within sight of Tehran's apartment blocks.
Seleucids and Parthians
After Alexander, Greek kings ruled Iran for a time, until the Parthians, horsemen from the north-east, built an empire that lasted nearly five centuries and held Rome at bay.