Armenia

Armenia is a country in Asia Minor. It is between Europe and the Middle East. Its capital city is Yerevan. Armenia is no longer part of the Soviet Union since 1991.

Armenia touches Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.

Armenia is not a very diverse (differing in people) country. Although there are small Greek, Russian, and Azeri minorities, more than 90% of the people are ethnic Armenians. Also, the Armenian Apostolic Church, is by far the largest religion in the country. There are a small amount of other Christians, Muslims and atheists.

Armenia is the place that some Christians believe Noah's Ark landed, and Noah's family settled. The Armenian name for Armenia ( Hayastan) means Land of Haik. Haik was the name of a great-great-grandson of Noah.

Throughout history, Armenia's size has changed many times. Today Armenia is much smaller than it was once. In 80 BC, the Kingdom of Armenia covered parts of what is today Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and, of course, Armenia.

When it was part of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s, the Ottoman Turks killed up to 1.5 million Armenians. This is called by the Armenians and many scholars the Armenian Genocide. This caused many Armenians to leave the area, and move to places like Russia, France, and the United States.

From 1920 to 1991, Armenia was a Communist country. (Communism is a political idea.) It was a member of the Soviet Union.

Today, Armenia's borders are locked with Turkey and Azerbaijan, due to conflicts. In 1992, Armenia and Azerbaijan had a war over the land of Nagorno-Karabakh. The fighting stopped in 1994, and Armenia has control over this land, but Armenia and Azerbaijan have not made peace.