Some notes of the ancient history of the Armenians
- May 7, 2014
- 11 min read
The Northeast Caucasian or Dagestanian (Daghestanian) languages constitute a language family spoken in the Russian republics of Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, in northern Azerbaijan and northeastern Georgia, as well as in diaspora populations in Russia, Turkey, and the Middle East. They were formerly called Nakho-Dagestanian (Nakh-Dagestanian) and sometimes Caspian, the latter together with Pontic for the Northwest Caucasian languages.
The Proto-Northeast Caucasian language had many terms for agriculture, and Johanna Nichols has suggested that its speakers may have been involved in the development of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent. They had words for concepts such as yoke, as well as fruit trees such as apple and pear that suggest agriculture was already well developed when the proto-language broke up.
Nakh peoples are a group of historical and modern ethnic groups speaking (or historically speaking) Nakh languages and sharing certain cultural traits. In modern days, they reside almost completely in the North Caucasus, but historically certain areas of the South Caucasus may have also been Nakh.
The only healthy, living branch of the Nakh languages are now the Vainakh languages (spoken by the Vainakh peoples, namely Chechens, Ingush and Georgian Kist), due to the extinction of other peoples. The only non-Vainakh modern Nakh people are the Bats people in Northeast Georgia, but they are largely assimilated and their language is highly endangered.
Although the Vainakh are only a branch of Nakh peoples, due to the present day situation where the only well-known Nakh are Vainakh, the words Vainakh and Nakh are frequently confused. Hence the word Vainakh is frequently, but mistakenly applied to historical non-Vainakh peoples.
Only a few fragments of Vainakh mythology have survived to modern times. These fragments consist of the names of deities personifying elements of animist ideas, Nart saga, cosmogonic tradition, remnants of stock-breeding and landtilling, totemic beliefs and folk calendar.
The Nakh languages are a small family of languages spoken chiefly by the Nakh peoples, in Russia (Chechnya and Ingushetia), in Georgia, and in the Chechen diaspora (mainly in Europe, Middle East and Central Asia).
The Nakh languages were historically classified as an independent North-Central Caucasian family, but are now recognized as a branch of the Northeast Caucasian family. They are believed to have split off some 5,000–6,000 years ago.
Some linguists — notably I. M. Diakonoff and S. Starostin — also see similarities between the Northeast Caucasian family and the extinct languages Hurrian and Urartian. Hurrian was spoken in various parts of the Fertile Crescent in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC. Urartian was the language of Urartu, a powerful state that existed between 1000 BC or earlier and 585 BC in the area centered on Lake Van in current Turkey.
The two extinct languages have been grouped into the Hurro-Urartian family. Diakonoff proposed the name Alarodian for the union of Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian.
The Alarodian family was first proposed by Fritz Hommel (1854–1936). The term comes from the name that Herodotus used to refer to the kingdom of Urartu. The connection between the Northeast and North-central families was based on claimed similarities in phonetics and grammar, such as sentence structure and an ergative case system.
I. J. Gelb and E. A. Speiser believed Semitic Subarians had been the linguistic and ethnic substratum of northern Mesopotamia since earliest times, while Hurrians were merely late arrivals. The land of Subartu (Akkadian Šubartum/Subartum/ina Šú-ba-ri, Assyrian mât Šubarri) or Subar (Sumerian Su-bir4/Subar/Šubur) is mentioned in Bronze Age literature. The name also appears as Subari in the Amarna letters, and, in the form Šbr, in Ugarit, and came to be known as the Hurrians or Subarians and their country was known as Subir, Subartu or Shubar.
Subartu was apparently a polity in Northern Mesopotamia, at the upper Tigris. Most scholars accept Subartu as an early name for Assyria proper on the Tigris, although there are various other theories placing it sometimes a little farther to the east, north or west of there. Its precise location has not been identified. From the point of view of the Akkadian Empire, Subartu marked the northern geographical horizon, just as Martu, Elam and Sumer marked “west”, “east” and “south”, respectively.
The Sumerian mythological epic Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta lists the countries where the “languages are confused” as Subartu, Hamazi, Sumer, Uri-ki, and the Martu land. Similarly, the earliest references to the “four quarters” by the kings of Akkad name Subartu as one of these quarters around Akkad, along with Martu, Elam, and Sumer. Subartu may have been in the general sphere of influence of the Hurrians.
Akkadian inscriptions from as early as 2400 BC mention the ‘Armani’ (aka Armani-Subartu or Arme-Shubria) near Lake Van. Martiros Kavoukjian, best known for his account of Armenian prehistory in Armenia, Subartu And Sumer, published in 1987, is inspired by the Armenian hypothesis of Indo-European origins. It seeks to establish an ethnic Armenian identity for the Armani mentioned by Naram-Sin, for “Armani-Subari connections” and “Armani-Subari-Sumer relations”. Old Persian name ‘Armin’ meant “dweller of the garden of Eden” (Persians also used this form ‘Armin(a)’ for Armenia)
Uratri in hurri-urartian, Aratta in Sumerian, Urashtu in Babylonian, Urartu, or Ararat, in Assyrian and Armenia in Persian, corresponding to the biblical Kingdom of Ararat or Kingdom of Van (Urartian: Biai, Biainili) was an Iron Age kingdom centred around Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. Strictly speaking, Urartu is the Assyrian term for a geographical region, while “kingdom of Urartu” or “Biainili lands” are terms used in modern historiography for the Proto-Armenian (Hurro-Urartian) speaking Iron Age state that arose in that region.
That a distinction should be made between the geographical and the political entity was already pointed out by König (1955). The landscape corresponds to the mountainous plateau between Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and the Caucasus mountains, later known as the Armenian Highlands.
The kingdom rose to power in the mid-9th century BC, but was conquered by Media in the early 6th century BC. It is often argued that the heirs of Urartu are the Armenians and their successive kingdoms. Shubria was part of the Urartu confederation. Later, there is reference to a district in the area called Arme or Urme, which some scholars have linked to the name Armenia.
In the early 6th century BC, the Urartian Kingdom was replaced by the Armenian Orontid dynasty. In the trilingual Behistun inscription, carved in 521 or 520 BC by the order of Darius the Great of Persia, the country referred to as Urartu in Assyrian is called Arminiya in Old Persian and Harminuia in Elamite.
Records from other nations mentioning the ancient history of the Armenians:
Sumerian inscription ‘Haya’ as early as 3000 BC way before ‘Hayasa’ of Hittite inscription 1400 BC
Akkadian inscriptions from as early as 2400 BC mention the ‘Armani’ (aka Armani-Subartu or Arme-Shubria) near Lake Van
Tutmoses III of Egypt (1500 BC) mentions the people of ‘Ermenen’ paying tribute when he held his court at Ninevah, and says that in their land “heaven rests upon its four pillars.” (note: Tutmose III was the first Pharaoh to cross the Euphrates to reach the Armenian Highlands)
Old Persian name ‘Armin’ meant “dweller of the garden of Eden” (Persians also used this form ‘Armin(a)’ for Armenia)
Menua, king of Urartu (our Khaldi tribe cousins) mentions the ‘Armeni’ nativein the “land of Ari” (Ariyan)
Some of the history:
Hurrians also known as Armani-Subari were an Armenian tribe, “Har”an was the capital located near UrHai/Urfa at the time. “Har”-minni is the alternative way of saying “Ar”mani, which the “H” is silent and its pronounced as “Ar”mani. To this day Assyrians call Armenians by “Armani” (aka Armani-Subartu or Arme-Shubria) from the 2300 BC Akkadian inscriptions referring to them as Armani. Hurri is the Sun with the wings the very Hurri-Mitanni symbol. Hurri/Hur/Har = Fire, Sun, Light just like “Ar” to this very day in Armenian.
The land of Ararat or the Armenian Highland is the home of the “Aryan”(Indo-Europeans) people. Armenians refer to themselves as “Aryaee” (Aryan) in their language. Armenians refer to themselves as “Aryan” people. The Indo and Persian Aryans seperated from them during 1200 to 800 BC. That is why a little later the Persians established there empire in 500 BC.
Some scholars reveals that Hurrians are the same as Subarians, which reveals that “Armani”-Subartu is Hurrians. The root word “Ar” meaning Sun, Light, Fire (the same as the word “Hurri/Hur”) which is used in a lot of words such as Ararat, Aratta, Armenia, Armeni, Armen, Arev, etc etc. The root word which in Semitic form is “Ur”.
Also, language changes over course of 1000 year time periods and when moving to different lands. Even today Armenians have different sounds with words like “H” and “Kh” = “X” (example of the word Hurri/Khurri). Arevmdahye’s are South-Western Armenians and Arevelahye’s are Eastern Armenians in Iran and modern Armenia.
Since ancient times words were pronounced slightly different but yet same meanings and same ethnic peoples. So the words Hurrian and Aryan are pronounced different but yet remain the same word and meaning.
Tigran the Great’s crown is exactly of the “Hurri”-Mitanni seal with the 2 eagles and sun with the 8 (number of eternity) rays. Hurri-Mitanni kings names like Artatama translates to “most righteous”, which the first part of the word Arta is righteous is in Armenian.
Artatama’s (Armenian Aryan-IE name) title was “King of the Hurri”, which yet again reveals that Hurrians are linked with Aryans. Tusratta translates to “ten chariots”, and Tus is Ten in Armenian. Hurri/Hur the very word used now in Armenian, was the same word and meaning in “Hurri”-Mitanni times.
The Khaldi (from the Nairi people), an Armenian tribe from the Hittites, mixed with the Armenians later in their history, that is why people refer to them with the term Indo-“European”.
The Armenian legacy of Sumer-Hurrian-Hyksos heritage in the second millennium B.C. had already developed a rich architectural style. This in turn spread and influenced the nearby cultures of ancient Near East. Building techniques and architecture as such reached a high degree of development during the period of the Araratian (Urartian) Kingdom of Van (XIIIth -VIth centuries BC).
The great Armenian civilization of Sumer was inherited and continued to progress under the powerful Armenian kingdoms of Hurri-Mitanni and Haiasa (ethnically and linguistically tied to their Indo-European kinsmen — the Hittites) in the Second Millennium B.C.
Much before the Achaemenians, in the times of Hurri-Mitanni, the name Mihr was already known to the people, particularly to those living in the regions of Hurri-Mitanni or Armani-Subari (and later Arme-Subria) where Sasun is located, in the form of Mitra (or perhaps even as Mher). Otherwise, it would not have been so readily accepted by the people during the Achaemenian period or later.
The word Ar-ma-ni is a compound noun, where the first component Ar is none other than the name of the natioanal sun-god of the Armens,-AR- and the second component -ma-(me a varient) signifies ‘build, make, beget, offspring, son’. Ma, with this meaning, was known to many peoples of the Ner East in antiquity. The goddess of birth and fertility, so well known in Asia Minor, was called by this very same name-Ma.
Ma also occurs in its reduplicated from -Mama or Mami in Assyro-Babylonian inscriptions. This root-word (and also its variant -me) is found also in Sumerian language with the same meaning. It results that Ar-ma (and its variant Ar-me) means ‘built by Ar, born of Ar’, or ‘Ar’s offspring’, ‘Ar’s/Ara’s son’ (‘the son of the sun’, Arevvordi).
The ending -ni (the plural-forming or toponymic suffix-ni is found in Subarian-Hurrian-Nairian place and tribal na We find the plural form ni also in Armenian.
Dividing “Aryan” people like the Indo-Aryans only being Hurrian-Aryan is misunderstood. Its not only Indo but “Aryan” is from the Armenian highlands, the Aryan peoples spread across to Persia and India etc. The “Indo” Aryans and Persian Aryans migrated south from Armenians (Aryans) around 800 BC to their lands.
There is no question that the Hurrian and Urartian languages were very similar, and some have used this evidence that the Hurrian Armenian tribes had origins in the Urartu area in and around Lake Van before migrating to South-Western Armenia.
The Hurrian timeframe in Syria (South-Western historic Armenia), the area that the Hurri-Mitanni kingdom of Armenia was present (c. 2300-1200 BC) predates the timeframe of Urartu in Eastern Armenia (c. 1000-585), it is more often considered likely that the Armenians of Urartu had origins there, and fled from the South-Western Armenian Highlands into the Eastern part of Armenia after the Hittites and Assyrians conquered the region. Chronologically, the Urartian language seems to be a continuation of Hurrian dialects, and not the other way around.
Those who wrote the inscriptions were the elite. The common people didnt understand all of it at that time. There are even Armenian words today that are not understood, because of writers using difficult words.
This clearly shows at the time of King Bartarna 1450 BC the beginnings of Hurri-Mitanni, that they already had the area around Lake Van. They was there to begin with and then they stretched further west.
Egyptian sources apply the term ‘nhr’, Naharina or Nairi (from the Assyro-Akkadian word for ‘river’ or ‘land of rivers’ Tigris Euphrates and Armenian Highlands) referring to Hurri-Mitanni with Naharina (Nairi).
References
Rafael Ishkhanyan, “Illustrated History of Armenia,” Yerevan, 1989
Rafael Ishkhanyan points out the Sumerian words in Armenian, and its link with Hurrian as well
Martiros Kavoukjian, “Armenia, Subartu and Sumer”, Montreal, 1989
Martiros Kavoukjian, “The Genesis of Armenian People”, Montreal, 1982
Hovick Nersessian, “Highlands of Armenia,” Los Angeles 1998
Hovick points out that in the cuneiform inscriptions of Mitanni and Urartu are found Armenian words, and even some sentences which are used today in Armenian.
Artak Movsisyan, “Sacred Highland: Armenia in the spiritual conception of the Near East,” Yerevan, 2000.
Artak reveals the Mitanni kings IE names are in Armenian
T. V. Gamkrelidze and V. V. Ivanov, The Early History of Indo-European Languages, Scientific American, March 1990
Look in Hurrians
Once you get there search Hurrian-Aryan and you will see it stands for Mitanni and the scholar explains it all in detail. And Aryan is the same as Indo-European. He explains all this there.
Vahan Kurkjian: “History of Armenia” Michigan, 1968
“The Hurri-Mitanni kingdom of Armenia kept close contact with its western neighbor, Hittite or Hatti land. Masses of population were often transplanted from one country to the other. ”
Jacquetta Hawkes: “The First Great Civilizations” London, 1967
“Yet the Hurrians did not disappear from history. Away to the North in their Armenian homeland, they entrenched themselves and build up the kingdom of Urartu.”
M. Chahin: “The Kingdom of Armenia” London, 2001
“The new kingdom of Urartu, which proved to be the stronghold of the Hurrian race.”
Hurri ( pl. same or Hurris) a member of a people, originally from Armenia, who settled in northern Mesopotamia and Syria during the 3rd-2nd millennium bc and were later aborbed by the Hittites and Assyrians. (See also Mitanni.) Hittite & Assyrian Harri, Hurri The Oxford English Reference Dictionary, © Oxford University Press 1996
E. A. Speiser: “Hurrians and Subarians”
“The evidence as a whole admits of only one possible interpretation in the historical records of Assyria: the term Subarians is applied specifically to Hurrians.”
E. A. Speiser:, “Introduction to Hurrians”
“All indications point toward the general region of Armenia as a main area of Hurrian concentration.”
Dr. Johannes Lehman, “The Hittites”
“The Hurrians had a history of their own. Assyrian and Sumerian sources dating from the end of the third millenium B.C. supply our first information about this nation, people, and the land of Hurri, South of Caucasus. We also know that they come from the region of Lake Van in Eastern Anatolia, and are referred to as Horrittes by the Bible. Still, later in the ninth-seventh centuries N.C. the highland of Armenia were inhabited by a people who were related to the Hurrians and whose country bore the name Urartu, the Biblical Ararat”
“Queen Nefertiti of Egypt was a native of Mitanni. The Mittani Kingdom of Armenia was an off-shoot of the Hurrian kingdom. The Hurri and the Mittani in turn were the contemporaries the Hittites and the Hykos, within whom they shared many cultural and political aspects. Today, all these aforementioned nations are considered to be, in varying degrees, proto-Armenians, that is, we modern day Armenians are direct descendants of the remnants of those ancient tribes.”
Artak Movsisyan, “Aratta: The ancient Kindgom of Armenia,” Yerevan, 1992.
Artak Movsisyan, “Mithraic (Mehian) Writing in the Kingdom of Van (Biaynili, Urartu, Ararat),” Yerevan, 1998.
Artak Movsisyan, “Aratta: Land of the Sacred Law,” Yerevan, 2001.
Here are some good links:
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