Upper Armenia ( hy, Բարձր Հայք ''Bardzr Hayq'') was the first province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in present-day

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, roughly corresponding to the modern province of

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The ...

, to the west of the Kura River. Within the borders of the kingdom, it was bounded by the regions of

Sophene Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnē or hy, Չորրորդ Հայք, lit=Fourth Armenia) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Ro ...

Turuberan Turuberan ( hy, Տուրուբերան) was the fourth Armenian region that was part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC to 387 AD. Then it was part of the Sassanid Empire, Byzantine Empire, Arab Caliphate, medieval Kingdom of Armenia, ...

Tayk Tayk ( hy, Տայք, Taykʿ) was a historical province of the Kingdom of Armenia, one of its 15 (worlds). Tayk consisted of 8 cantons: * Kogh * Berdats por * Partizats por * Tchakatk * Bokha * Vokaghe * Azordats por * Arsiats por There ...

, and

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat ...

. It was called Upper Armenia, as it was higher in elevation than the other provinces. The total area of Upper Armenia was . It consisted of 9 cantons: * Daranaghi * Aghyun * Mzur * Yekeghyats * Mananaghi * Derjan * Sper * Shaghagom * Karin

History

Upper Armenia was famous for its

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s (especially the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

mines and

fields Fields may refer to: Music * Fields (band), an indie rock band formed in 2006 * Fields (progressive rock band), a progressive rock band formed in 1971 * ''Fields'' (album), an LP by Swedish-based indie rock band Junip (2010) * "Fields", a song b ...

. In the 2nd millennium BC, Upper Armenia's western parts were conquered by

Hittite Empire The Hittites () were an Anatolian people who played an important role in establishing first a kingdom in Kussara (before 1750 BC), then the Kanesh or Nesha kingdom (c. 1750–1650 BC), and next an empire centered on Hattusa in north-centra ...

; from the 15th century BC, it was conquered by

Hayasa-Azzi Hayasa-Azzi or Azzi-Hayasa ( hit, URUḪaiaša-, hy, Հայասա) was a Late Bronze Age confederation in the Armenian Highlands and/or Pontic region of Asia Minor. The Hayasa-Azzi confederation was in conflict with the Hittite Empire in t ...

. From 189 BC, it became part of the Kingdom of Armenia. Upper Armenia was famous for its pagan temples. From 62 AD, it became part of the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia. As it was an outlying province it served as a defense shield against enemies. According to

Pavstos Buzand Faustus of Byzantium (also Faustus the Byzantine, hy, Փաւստոս Բուզանդ, translit=P'awstos Buzand) was an Armenian historian of the 5th century. Faustus' ''History of the Armenians'' (also known as '' Buzandaran Patmut'iwnk) exists ...

, Armenian Arsacid Kings were buried in Ani (Upper Armenia). In 387, Upper Armenia passed to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. It was renamed into Inner Armenia, which was ruled by a Count. Inner Armenia's capital was Teodosupolis (Karin). During the reign of

Justinian I Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

, Inner Armenia was made a province with the name of

First Armenia Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st ce ...

. In the 8th century, western parts of Upper Armenia were conquered by Arabs, thereafter many Arab tribes settled in the border regions in order to separate Armenia from the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. In 885, Upper Armenia became part of Bagratuni Kingdom of Armenia. In the 11th century, Upper Armenia was once again conquered by the

. In 1071, it passed to the

Seljuq dynasty The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turk ...

; in 1157, it was conquered by the

Sultanate of Rum fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254)Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = By ...

. In 1207, Upper Armenia's eastern parts were liberated by Zakarids. In 1242,

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

conquered Upper Armenia; in 1502, it was conquered by

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

; in 1514 by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Upper Armenia maintained a large

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

population until the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

in 1915.Armenian Soviet Encyclopedia, 2nd volume, page 321-322

References

*Mack Chahin, ''The Kingdom of Armenia '' Provinces of the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity) History of Erzincan Province Western Armenia {{Armenia-hist-stub

History

See also

References