Armenian ( endonym : հայերեն , hayeren , pronounced [hɑjɛˈɾɛn] ) is an Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenian people and the official language of Armenia . Historically spoken in the Armenian highlands , today Armenian is also widely spoken throughout the Armenian diaspora . Armenian is written in its own writing system , the Armenian alphabet , introduced in 405 AD by Saint Mesrop Mashtots . The estimated number of Armenian speakers worldwide is between five and seven million.
88-483: The Movses Khorenatsi Medal ( Armenian : Մովսես Խորենացու մեդալ ) is Armenia 's highest cultural award. It is presented by the president of Armenia to people who have significantly contributed to the advancement of Armenian culture . Artist Richard Jeranian received the medal in 2011 and pianist Şahan Arzruni in 2015. This Armenia -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to orders , decorations , and medals
176-558: A centaur is indicative of the unstable alliance of Persian and Mede formulated by Cyrus. He cites the regression of the Persians directly after the death of Cyrus as the result of this instability, a union made possible only through Cyrus. The strength of Cyrus in holding the empire together is praiseworthy, according to Xenophon. However, the empire began to decline upon the death of Cyrus. By this example, Xenophon sought to show that empires lacked stability and could only be maintained by
264-520: A consistent Proto-Indo-European pattern distinct from Iranian, and that the inflectional morphology was different from that of Iranian languages. The hypothesis that Greek is Armenian's closest living relative originates with Holger Pedersen (1924), who noted that the number of Greek-Armenian lexical cognates is greater than that of agreements between Armenian and any other Indo-European language. Antoine Meillet (1925, 1927) further investigated morphological and phonological agreement and postulated that
352-463: A follower of Socrates." Diogenes Laërtius also relates an incident "when in the battle of Delium Xenophon had fallen from his horse" and Socrates reputedly "stepped in and saved his life." Both Plato and Xenophon wrote Apology concerning the death of Socrates. Xenophon and Plato seem to be concerned with the failures of Socrates to defend himself. Xenophon asserts that Socrates dealt with his prosecution in an exceedingly arrogant manner, or at least
440-599: A horse, so much so that the Persians may actually seem to be centaurs (4.3.22–23). Xenophon plays upon the post-Persian-war propagandistic paradigm of using mythological imagery to represent the Greco-Persian conflict . Examples of this include the wedding of the Lapiths , Gigantomachy , Trojan War , and Amazonomachy on the Parthenon frieze . Johnson believes that the unstable dichotomy of man and horse found in
528-468: A loan from Armenian (compare to Armenian եւ yev , ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi ). Other loans from Armenian into Urartian includes personal names, toponyms, and names of deities. Loan words from Iranian languages , along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led some linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that
616-425: A network of schools where modern Armenian was taught, dramatically increased the rate of literacy (in spite of the obstacles by the colonial administrators), even in remote rural areas. The emergence of literary works entirely written in the modern versions increasingly legitimized the language's existence. By the turn of the 20th century both varieties of the one modern Armenian language prevailed over Grabar and opened
704-666: A person of remarkable prowess, such as Cyrus. Xenophon displays Cyrus as a lofty, temperate man. He is depicted as not subject to the foibles of others. He used the example of the Persians to decry the attempts at empire made by Athens and Sparta. Having written the Cyropaedia after the downfall of Athens in the Peloponnesian War , this work criticizes the Greek attempts at empire and "monarchy". Another passage that Johnson cites as criticism of monarchy and empire concerns
792-573: A philosopher. Today, Xenophon is recognized as one of the greatest writers of antiquity. Xenophon's works span multiple genres and are written in plain Attic Greek , which is why they have often been used in translation exercises for contemporary students of the Ancient Greek language. In the Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers , Diogenes Laërtius observed that Xenophon was known as
880-462: A pursuing enemy by the systematic devastation of the country traversed and the destruction of its villages to deprive him of food and shelter. And Xenophon is moreover the first who established in rear of the phalanx a reserve from which he could at will feed weak parts of his line. This was a superb first conception." The Ten Thousand eventually made their way into the land of the Carduchians ,
968-454: A rhetorical challenge worthy of the great persuader. By contrast, Plato argued that Socrates was attempting to demonstrate a higher moral standard and teach a lesson. Xenophon's lessons on leadership have been reconsidered for their modern-day value. The Cyropaedia , in outlining Cyrus as an ideal leader, is the work that O'Flannery suggests be used as a guide or example for those striving to be leaders. The linking of moral code and education
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#17328009956541056-522: A temporary truce, and the Greek army retired for a winter camp at Byzantium . In 398 BC, Xenophon captured the city of Lampsacus . The Spartan ephors officially cleared the Ten Thousand of any previous wrongdoing (the Ten Thousand were likely a part of the investigation of Thimbron's failure at Larissa) and integrated the Ten Thousand into Dercylidas' army. Hellenica mentions the response of
1144-518: A wild tribe inhabiting the mountains of modern southeastern Turkey. "Once the Great King had sent into their country an army of 120,000 men, to subdue them, but of all that great host not one had ever seen his home again." The Ten Thousand were shot at with stones and arrows for several days before they reached a defile where the main Carduchian host sat. Xenophon had 8,000 men feint and marched
1232-513: A young boy (present at the banquet alongside his own father). In Oeconomicus , Socrates explains how to manage a household. Both the Apology and the Memorabilia defend Socrates' character and teachings. The former is set during the trial of Socrates, while the latter explains his moral principles and that he was not a corrupter of the youth. Although Xenophon claims to have been present at
1320-500: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Armenian language Pontic Steppe Caucasus East Asia Eastern Europe Northern Europe Pontic Steppe Northern/Eastern Steppe Europe South Asia Steppe Europe Caucasus India Indo-Aryans Iranians East Asia Europe East Asia Europe Indo-Aryan Iranian Indo-Aryan Iranian Others European Armenian
1408-552: Is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages . It is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological changes within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization , although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian ), Albanian and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian
1496-461: Is best outlined in the Histories of Herodotus . Herodotus contradicts Xenophon at several other points. Herodotus says that Cyrus led a rebellion against his maternal grandfather, Astyages , king of Media, and defeated him, thereafter keeping Astyages in his court for the remainder of his life ( Histories 1.130). The Medes were thus "reduced to subjection" (1.130) and became "slaves" (1.129) to
1584-561: Is clearly the dialect to be most closely related to Armenian. Eric P. Hamp (1976, 91) supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis and even anticipates a time "when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian" (meaning the postulate of a Graeco-Armenian proto-language). Armenian shares the augment and a negator derived from the set phrase in the Proto-Indo-European language * ne h₂oyu kʷid ("never anything" or "always nothing"),
1672-474: Is derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵipyós , with cognates in Sanskrit (ऋजिप्य, ṛjipyá ), Avestan ( ərəzifiia ), and Greek (αἰγίπιος, aigípios ). Hrach Martirosyan and Armen Petrosyan propose additional borrowed words of Armenian origin loaned into Urartian and vice versa, including grammatical words and parts of speech, such as Urartian eue ("and"), attested in the earliest Urartian texts and likely
1760-471: Is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. There are words used in Armenian that are generally believed to have been borrowed from Anatolian languages, particularly from Luwian , although some researchers have identified possible Hittite loanwords as well. One notable loanword from Anatolian is Armenian xalam , "skull", cognate to Hittite ḫalanta , "head". In 1985,
1848-615: Is the working language. Armenian (without reference to a specific variety) is officially recognized as a minority language in Cyprus , Hungary , Iraq , Poland , Romania , and Ukraine . It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . Xenophon Xenophon of Athens ( / ˈ z ɛ n ə f ən , ˈ z iː n ə -, - ˌ f ɒ n / ; Ancient Greek : Ξενοφῶν ; c. 430 – probably 355 or 354 BC)
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#17328009956541936-466: The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (11–14th centuries) resulted in the addition of two more characters to the alphabet (" օ " and " ֆ "), bringing the total number to 38. The Book of Lamentations by Gregory of Narek (951–1003) is an example of the development of a literature and writing style of Old Armenian by the 10th century. In addition to elevating the literary style and vocabulary of
2024-563: The Armenian genocide , mostly in the diaspora ). The differences between them are considerable but they are mutually intelligible after significant exposure. Some subdialects such as Homshetsi are not mutually intelligible with other varieties. Although Armenians were known to history much earlier (for example, they were mentioned in the 6th-century BC Behistun Inscription and in Xenophon 's 4th century BC history, The Anabasis ),
2112-479: The Cyropaedia to outline his political and moral philosophy. He did this by endowing a fictional version of the boyhood of Cyrus the Great , founder of the first Persian Empire , with the qualities of what Xenophon considered the ideal ruler. Historians have asked whether Xenophon's portrait of Cyrus was accurate or if Xenophon imbued Cyrus with events from Xenophon's own life. There is a consensus that Cyrus's career
2200-641: The Greek language , the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages . Graeco-Aryan unity would have become divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-3rd millennium BC. Conceivably, Proto-Armenian would have been located between Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian, consistent with the fact that Armenian shares certain features only with Indo-Iranian (the satem change) but others only with Greek ( s > h ). Graeco-Aryan has comparatively wide support among Indo-Europeanists who believe
2288-591: The Indo-European homeland to be located in the Armenian Highlands , the " Armenian hypothesis ". Early and strong evidence was given by Euler's 1979 examination on shared features in Greek and Sanskrit nominal flection. Used in tandem with the Graeco-Armenian hypothesis, the Armenian language would also be included under the label Aryano-Greco-Armenic , splitting into Proto-Greek/Phrygian and "Armeno-Aryan" (ancestor of Armenian and Indo-Iranian ). Classical Armenian (Arm: grabar ), attested from
2376-542: The Mekhitarists . The first Armenian periodical, Azdarar , was published in grabar in 1794. The classical form borrowed numerous words from Middle Iranian languages , primarily Parthian , and contains smaller inventories of loanwords from Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Mongol, Persian, and indigenous languages such as Urartian . An effort to modernize the language in Bagratid Armenia and
2464-492: The Nabonidus Chronicle , there is mention of the death of the wife of the king (name not given) within a month after the capture of Babylon. It has been conjectured that this was Cyrus's first wife; Cyropaedia' s stated (8.5.19) that Cyaxares II gave his daughter in marriage to Cyrus soon after the fall of the city, with the kingdom of Media as her dowry. The Cyropaedia praises the first Persian emperor, Cyrus
2552-534: The Symposium , he was only a young boy at the date on which he proposes. Xenophon was not present at the trial of Socrates, having been on campaign in Anatolia and Mesopotamia . It seems that Xenophon wrote his Apology and Memorabilia as defences of his former teacher and to further the philosophic project, not to present a literal transcript of Socrates' response to the historical charges incurred. Xenophon
2640-667: The Ten Thousand while in the service of Cyrus the Younger , Cyrus's failed campaign to claim the Persian throne from Artaxerxes II of Persia , and the return of Greek mercenaries after Cyrus's death in the Battle of Cunaxa . Xenophon wrote Cyropaedia , outlining both military and political methods used by Cyrus the Great to conquer the Neo-Babylonian Empire in 539 BC. Anabasis and Cyropaedia inspired Alexander
2728-599: The deme (local district) of Erchia in Athens ; his father was called Gryllus ( Γρύλλος ) and belonged to an Athenian aristocratic family. The Peloponnesian War was being waged throughout Xenophon's childhood and youth. A contemporary of Plato , Xenophon associated with Socrates , as was common for wealthy young men in this period, and probably served in the Athenian cavalry. He appears to have remained in Athens during
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2816-660: The "Attic Muse" because of the sweetness of his diction. Despite being born an Athenian citizen, Xenophon came to be associated with Sparta , the traditional opponent of Athens. Much of what is known today about the Spartan society comes from Xenophon's royal biography of the Spartan king Agesilaus and the Constitution of the Lacedaemonians . The sub-satrap Mania is primarily known through Xenophon's writings. Xenophon's Anabasis recounts his adventures with
2904-408: The 5th century to the 19th century as the literary standard (up to the 11th century also as a spoken language with different varieties), was partially superseded by Middle Armenian , attested from the 12th century to the 18th century. Specialized literature prefers "Old Armenian" for grabar as a whole, and designates as "Classical" the language used in the 5th century literature, "Post-Classical" from
2992-481: The Armenian language by adding well above a thousand new words, through his other hymns and poems Gregory paved the way for his successors to include secular themes and vernacular language in their writings. The thematic shift from mainly religious texts to writings with secular outlooks further enhanced and enriched the vocabulary. "A Word of Wisdom", a poem by Hovhannes Sargavak devoted to a starling, legitimizes poetry devoted to nature, love, or female beauty. Gradually,
3080-615: The Great and other Greeks to conquer Babylon and the Achaemenid Empire in 331 BC. The Hellenica continues directly from the final sentence of Thucydides ' History of the Peloponnesian War covering the last seven years of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) and the subsequent forty-two years (404–362 BC) ending with the Second Battle of Mantinea . Xenophon was born c. 430 BC in
3168-683: The Great , and it was through his greatness that the Persian Empire held together. However, following the lead of Leo Strauss , David Johnson suggests that there is a subtle layer to the book in which Xenophon conveys criticism of the Persians, the Spartans, and the Athenians. In section 4.3 of the Cyropaedia , Cyrus wrote his desire to institute cavalry. He wrote that he desires that no Persian kalokagathos ("noble and good man" literally, or simply "noble") ever be seen on foot but always on
3256-583: The Greeks led by Thimbron lay siege to Larissa . Failing to capture Larissa, the Greeks fall back to Caria . As a result, the ephors of Sparta recall Thimbron and send Dercylidas to lead the Greek army. After facing the court at Sparta, Thimbron is banished. Xenophon describes Dercylidas as a significantly more experienced commander than Thimbron. Led by Dercylidas, Xenophon and the Greek army march to Aeolis and capture nine cities in 8 days, including Larissa , Hamaxitus , and Kolonai . The Persians negotiated
3344-595: The Greeks made an alliance with the locals and fought one last battle against the Colchians , vassals of the Persians. Xenophon ordered his men to deploy the line extremely thin so as to overlap the enemy. The Colchians divided their army to check the Greek deployment, opening a gap in their line through which Xenophon rushed in his reserves. They then made their way westward back to Greek territory via Chrysopolis ( Anabasis 6.3.16). Once there, they helped Seuthes II make himself king of Thrace before being recruited into
3432-478: The Greeks reached the Great Zab river, one of the men devised a plan: goats, cows, sheep, and donkeys were to be slaughtered and their bodies stuffed with hay, sewn up, laid across the river, and covered with dirt so as not to be slippery and be used as a bridge to cross the river. This plan was discarded as impractical. Dodge notes, "On this retreat also was first shown the necessary, if cruel, means of arresting
3520-488: The Greeks to Leucophrys . Dercylidas proposed the new terms of truce to Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus and the three parties submitted the truce proposal to Sparta and the Persian king for ratification. Under Dercylidas' proposal, the Persians abandoned claims to independent Greek cities in Ionia, and the Spartans withdrew the army. In 396 BC, the newly appointed Spartan king, Agesilaus , arrived at Ephesus and assumed command of
3608-467: The Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian origins for these words and instead suggest native Armenian etymologies, leaving the possibility that these words may have been loaned into Hurro-Urartian and Caucasian languages from Armenian, and not vice versa. A notable example is arciv , meaning "eagle", believed to have been the origin of Urartian Arṣibi and Northeast Caucasian arzu . This word
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3696-711: The Medes were the strongest of the kingdoms that opposed the Babylonians (1.5.2). In the Harran Stele, a document from the court of Nabonidus wrote the same point. In the entry for year 14 or 15 of his reign (542–540 BC), Nabonidus speaks of his enemies as the kings of Egypt, the Medes, and the Arabs. There is no mention of the Persians; according to Herodotus and the current consensus, the Medians had been made "slaves" of
3784-504: The Persians 20 years before the capture of Babylon in 539 BC. The Cyropaedia relates instead that Astyages died and was succeeded by his son, Cyaxares II , the maternal uncle of Cyrus (1.5.2). In the initial campaign against the Lydians, Babylonians, and their allies, the Medians were led by Cyaxares and the Persians by Cyrus, who was crown prince of the Persians since his father was still alive (4.5.17). Xenophon relates that at this time
3872-457: The Persians several years previously. An archaeological bas-reliefs in the stairway at Persepolis shows no distinction in official status between the Persian and Median. Olmstead nevertheless wrote, "Medes were honored equally with Persians; they were employed in high office and were chosen to lead Persian armies." Both Herodotus (1.123,214) and Xenophon (1.5.1,2,4, 8.5.20) present Cyrus as about 40 years old when his forces captured Babylon. In
3960-413: The Persians to detach a major part of their force parallel. Xenophon overwhelmed the force at his ford. Winter has arrived as the Greeks marched through Armenia "absolutely unprovided with clothing suitable for such weather". The Greeks decided to attack a wooden castle known to have had storage. The castle was stationed on a hill surrounded by forest. Xenophon ordered small parties of his men to appear on
4048-669: The Russian Empire), removed almost all of their Turkish lexical influences in the 20th century, primarily following the Armenian genocide . In addition to Armenia and Turkey, where it is indigenous , Armenian is spoken among the diaspora . According to Ethnologue , globally there are 1.6 million Western Armenian speakers and 3.7 million Eastern Armenian speakers, totalling 5.3 million Armenian speakers. In Georgia, Armenian speakers are concentrated in Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki districts where they represent over 90% of
4136-459: The Russian and Ottoman empires led to creation of two separate and different environments under which Armenians lived. Halfway through the 19th century, two important concentrations of Armenian communities were further consolidated. Because of persecutions or the search for better economic opportunities, many Armenians living under Ottoman rule gradually moved to Istanbul , whereas Tbilisi became
4224-833: The Soviet linguist Igor M. Diakonoff noted the presence in Classical Armenian of what he calls a "Caucasian substratum" identified by earlier scholars, consisting of loans from the Kartvelian and Northeast Caucasian languages . Noting that Hurro-Urartian-speaking peoples inhabited the Armenian homeland in the second millennium BC, Diakonoff identifies in Armenian a Hurro-Urartian substratum of social, cultural, and animal and plant terms such as ałaxin "slave girl" ( ← Hurr. al(l)a(e)ḫḫenne ), cov "sea" ( ← Urart. ṣûǝ "(inland) sea"), ułt "camel" ( ← Hurr. uḷtu ), and xnjor "apple (tree)" ( ← Hurr. ḫinzuri ). Some of
4312-608: The army from Dercylidas. Xenophon joined Agesilaus' campaign for the Ionian Greece independence of 396–394 BC. In 394 BC, Agesilaus' army returned to Greece, taking the route of the Persian invasion eighty years earlier and fought in the Battle of Coronea . Athens banished Xenophon for fighting on the Spartan side. Xenophon probably followed Agesilaus' march to Sparta in 394 BC and finished his military journey after seven years. Xenophon received an estate in Scillus where he spent
4400-506: The army of the Spartan general Thimbron (whom Xenophon refers to as Thibron). Xenophon's conduct of the retreat caused Dodge to name the Athenian knight the greatest general that preceded Alexander the Great. Xenophon's Anabasis ends in 399 BC in the city of Pergamon with the arrival of the Spartan commander Thimbron . Thimbron's campaign is described in Hellenica . In the describtors, after capturing Teuthrania and Halisarna ,
4488-459: The captains in Cyrus's mercenary army, Xenophon, sailed to Ephesus to meet Cyrus the Younger and participate in Cyrus's military campaign against Tissaphernes , the Persian satrap of Ionia . Xenophon describes his life in 401 BC and 400 BC in the memoir Anabasis . Written years after the events it recounts, Xenophon's book Anabasis (Greek: ἀνάβασις, literally "going up") is his record of
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#17328009956544576-434: The center of Armenians living under Russian rule. These two cosmopolitan cities very soon became the primary poles of Armenian intellectual and cultural life. The introduction of new literary forms and styles, as well as many new ideas sweeping Europe, reached Armenians living in both regions. This created an ever-growing need to elevate the vernacular, Ashkharhabar, to the dignity of a modern literary language, in contrast to
4664-498: The commander of the Ten Thousand, "But men of Lacedaemon, we are the same men now as we were last year; but the commander now is one man (Dercylidas), and in the past was another (Thimbron). Therefore you are at once able to judge for yourselves the reason why we are not at fault now, although we were then." In 397 BC, Dercylidas' force mirrored the movement of Tissaphernes ' and Pharnabazus ' forces near Ephesus but did not engage in battle. The Persian army retreated to Tralles and
4752-583: The devaluation of the homotīmoi ("equal", or "same honours", i.e., "peers"). Homotīmoi were highly educated and thus became the core of the soldiers as heavy infantry. Their band (1000 when Cyrus fought the Assyrians ) shared equally in the spoils of war. However, in the face of overwhelming numbers against the Assyrians, Cyrus armed the commoners with similar arms instead of their normal light ranged armament ( Cyropaedia 2.1.9). Argument ensued as to how
4840-463: The emperor for positions and honours; from this point, they were referred to as entīmoi , no longer of the "same honours" but having to be "in" to get the honour. The Spartans wrote nothing about themselves, or if they did it, it is lost. Xenophon, in the Constitution of the Spartans, wrote: It occurred to me one day that Sparta, though among the most thinly populated of states, was evidently
4928-580: The existence of the two modern versions of the same language was sanctioned even more clearly. The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1990) used Eastern Armenian as its official language, whereas the diaspora created after the Armenian genocide preserved the Western Armenian dialect. The two modern literary dialects, Western (originally associated with writers in the Ottoman Empire) and Eastern (originally associated with writers in
5016-629: The expedition of Cyrus and the Greek mercenaries' journey to home. Xenophon writes that he asked Socrates for advice on whether to go with Cyrus and that Socrates referred him to the Pythia . Xenophon's query to the oracle, however, was not whether or not to accept Cyrus' invitation, but "to which of the gods he must pray and do sacrifice, so that he might best accomplish his intended journey and return in safety, with good fortune". The oracle answered his question and told him which gods to pray and sacrifice to. When Xenophon returned to Athens and told Socrates of
5104-403: The genre of Socratic dialogue . These works include Xenophon's Apology , Memorabilia , Symposium , and Oeconomicus . The Symposium outlines the character of Socrates as he and his companions discuss what attributes they take pride in. One of the main plots of the Symposium is about the type of loving relationship ( noble or base ) a rich aristocrat will be able to establish with
5192-491: The hill road, and when the defenders shot at them, one soldier would leap into the trees. Then, "the other men followed his example [...] When the stones were almost exhausted, the soldiers raced one another over the exposed part of the road", storming the fortress with most of the garrison now neutralized. Soon after, Xenophon's men reached Trapezus on the coast of the Black Sea ( Anabasis 4.8.22). Before their departure,
5280-425: The hypothetical Mushki language may have been a (now extinct) Armenic language. W. M. Austin (1942) concluded that there was early contact between Armenian and Anatolian languages , based on what he considered common archaisms, such as the lack of a feminine gender and the absence of inherited long vowels. Unlike shared innovations (or synapomorphies ), the common retention of archaisms (or symplesiomorphy )
5368-470: The interests of the population at large were reflected in other literary works as well. Konsdantin Yerzinkatsi and several others took the unusual step of criticizing the ecclesiastic establishment and addressing the social issues of the Armenian homeland. These changes represented the nature of the literary style and syntax, but they did not constitute immense changes to the fundamentals of the grammar or
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#17328009956545456-452: The larger army of King Artaxerxes II ( Anabasis 1.1.8–11). At Tarsus , the soldiers became aware of Cyrus's plans to depose the king and, as a result, refused to continue ( Anabasis 1.3.1). However, Clearchus , a Spartan general, convinced the Greeks to continue with the expedition. The army of Cyrus met the army of Artaxerxes II in the Battle of Cunaxa . Cyrus was killed in the battle ( Anabasis 1.8.27–1.9.1). Shortly thereafter, Clearchus
5544-434: The late 5th to 8th centuries, and "Late Grabar" that of the period covering the 8th to 11th centuries. Later, it was used mainly in religious and specialized literature, with the exception of a revival during the early modern period, when attempts were made to establish it as the language of a literary renaissance, with neoclassical inclinations, through the creation and dissemination of literature in varied genres, especially by
5632-567: The morphology of the language. Often, when writers codify a spoken dialect, other language users are then encouraged to imitate that structure through the literary device known as parallelism . In the 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland was once again divided. This time Eastern Armenia was conquered from Qajar Iran by the Russian Empire , while Western Armenia , containing two thirds of historical Armenia, remained under Ottoman control. The antagonistic relationship between
5720-460: The most powerful and most celebrated city in Greece; and I fell to wondering how this could have happened. But when I considered the institutions of the Spartans, I wondered no longer. Xenophon goes on to describe in detail the main aspects of Laconia . A short treatise on the Constitution of the Athenians exists that was once thought to be written by Xenophon was probably written when Xenophon
5808-561: The next twenty-three years. In 371 BC, after the Battle of Leuctra , the Elians confiscated Xenophon's estate, and, according to Diogenes Laërtius , Xenophon moved to Corinth . Diogenes writes that Xenophon lived in Corinth until his death in 354 BC, at around the age of 74 or 75. Pausanias mentions Xenophon's tomb in Scillus . Xenophon took a keen interest in political philosophy and his work often examines leadership. Xenophon wrote
5896-403: The now-anachronistic Grabar. Numerous dialects existed in the traditional Armenian regions, which, different as they were, had certain morphological and phonetic features in common. On the basis of these features two major standards emerged: Both centers vigorously pursued the promotion of Ashkharhabar. The proliferation of newspapers in both versions (Eastern & Western) and the development of
5984-541: The official status of the Armenian language. Eastern Armenian is the official variant used, making it the prestige variety while other variants have been excluded from national institutions. Indeed, Western Armenian is perceived by some as a mere dialect. Armenian was also official in the Republic of Artsakh . It is recognized as an official language of the Eurasian Economic Union although Russian
6072-639: The oldest surviving Armenian-language writing is etched in stone on Armenian temples and is called Mehenagir . The Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405, at which time it had 36 letters. He is also credited by some with the creation of the Georgian alphabet and the Caucasian Albanian alphabet . While Armenian constitutes the sole member of the Armenian branch of the Indo-European family, Aram Kossian has suggested that
6160-474: The oracle's advice, Socrates chastised him for asking so disingenuous a question ( Anabasis 3.1.5–7). Under the pretext of fighting Tissaphernes , the Persian satrap of Ionia , Cyrus assembled a massive army composed of native Persian soldiers and Greeks. Prior to waging war against Artaxerxes, Cyrus proposed that the enemy was the Pisidians , and so the Greeks were unaware that they were to battle against
6248-481: The other 2,000 to a pass revealed by a prisoner under the cover of a rainstorm, and at daylight, they pushed in. After the fighting, the Greeks went to the northern foothills of the mountains at the Centrites River, later finding a Persian force blocking the route north. Xenophon's scouts found another ford, but the Persians blocked this as well. Xenophon sent a small force back toward the other ford, causing
6336-506: The overthrow of Athenian democracy under the Thirty Tyrants , and fought democratic insurgents in the civil war of 403-404. Accounts of events in Hellenica suggest that Xenophon personally witnessed tumultuous political events such as the return of Alcibiades in 407 BC, the trial of the generals in 406 BC, and the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants in 403 BC. Personally invited by Proxenus of Beotia ( Anabasis 3.1.9), one of
6424-483: The parent languages of Greek and Armenian were dialects in immediate geographical proximity during the Proto-Indo-European period. Meillet's hypothesis became popular in the wake of his book Esquisse d'une histoire de la langue latine (1936). Georg Renatus Solta (1960) does not go as far as postulating a Proto-Graeco-Armenian stage, but he concludes that considering both the lexicon and morphology, Greek
6512-407: The path to a new and simplified grammatical structure of the language in the two different cultural spheres. Apart from several morphological, phonetic, and grammatical differences, the largely common vocabulary and generally analogous rules of grammatical fundamentals allows users of one variant to understand the other as long as they are fluent in one of the literary standards. After World War I ,
6600-570: The population. The short-lived First Republic of Armenia declared Armenian its official language. Eastern Armenian was then dominating in institutions and among the population. When Armenia was incorporated into the USSR, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic made Eastern Armenian the language of the courts, government institutions and schools. Armenia was also russified . The current Republic of Armenia upholds
6688-436: The representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels, and other phonological and morphological peculiarities with Greek. Nevertheless, as Fortson (2004) comments, "by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, the evidence of any such early kinship has been reduced to a few tantalizing pieces". Graeco-(Armeno)-Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family , ancestral to
6776-468: The similarities between the two languages meant that Armenian belonged to the Iranian language family . The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann (1875) used the comparative method to distinguish two layers of Iranian words from the older Armenian vocabulary . He showed that Armenian often had two morphemes for one concept, that the non-Iranian components yielded
6864-401: The spoils would now be split, and Cyrus enforced a meritocracy . Many homotīmoi found this unfair because their military training was no better than the commoners, only their education, and hand-to-hand combat was less a matter of skill than strength and bravery. As Johnson asserts, this passage decries imperial meritocracy and corruption, for the homotīmoi now had to ingratiate themselves to
6952-446: The system of retreat [...] He reduced its management to a perfect method." Xenophon and his men initially had to deal with volleys by a minor force of harassing Persian missile cavalry. One night, Xenophon formed a body of archers and light cavalry. When the Persian cavalry arrived the next day, now firing within several yards, Xenophon unleashed his new cavalry, killing many and routing the rest. Tissaphernes pursued Xenophon, and when
7040-519: The terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, but he suggests they were borrowed through Hurrian or Urartian. Given that these borrowings do not undergo sound changes characteristic of the development of Armenian from Proto-Indo-European , he dates their borrowing to a time before the written record but after the Proto-Armenian language stage. Contemporary linguists, such as Hrach Martirosyan , have rejected many of
7128-474: Was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian. At the age of 30, he was elected as one of the leaders of the retreating Greek mercenaries , the Ten Thousand , who had been part of Cyrus the Younger 's attempt to seize control of the Achaemenid Empire . As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior". Xenophon established precedents for many logistical operations and
7216-545: Was a student of Socrates. In his Lives of Eminent Philosophers , the Greek biographer Diogenes Laërtius (who writes many centuries later) reports how Xenophon met Socrates. "They say that Socrates met [Xenophon] in a narrow lane, and put his stick across it and prevented him from passing by, asking him where all kinds of necessary things were sold. And when he had answered him, he asked him again where men were made good and virtuous. And as he did not know, he said, 'Follow me, then, and learn.' And from this time forth, Xenophon became
7304-543: Was about five years old. The author, often called in English the "Old Oligarch" or Pseudo-Xenophon, detests the democracy of Athens and the poorer classes, but he argues that the Periclean institutions are well designed for their deplorable purposes. Xenophon's works include a selection of Socratic dialogues; these writings are preserved. Except for the dialogues of Plato , they are the only surviving representatives of
7392-600: Was among the first to describe strategic flanking maneuvers and feints in combat. For at least two millennia, it has been debated whether or not Xenophon was first and foremost a general, historian, or philosopher. For the majority of time in the past two millennia, Xenophon was recognized as a philosopher. Quintilian in The Orator's Education discusses the most prominent historians, orators and philosophers as examples of eloquence and recognizes Xenophon's historical work, but ultimately places Xenophon next to Plato as
7480-406: Was invited by Tissaphernes to a feast, where, alongside four other generals and many captains, including Xenophon's friend Proxenus, he was captured and executed ( Anabasis 2.5.31–32). The mercenaries , known as the Ten Thousand , had no leadership in territory near Mesopotamia . They elected new leaders, including Xenophon himself. Dodge says of Xenophon's generalship, "Xenophon is the father of
7568-421: Was perceived to have spoken arrogantly. Conversely, while not omitting it completely, Plato worked to temper that arrogance in his own Apology . Xenophon framed Socrates' defense, which both men admit was not prepared at all, not as a failure to argue, but as striving for death even in the light of unconvincing charges. As Danzig interprets it, convincing the jury to condemn him even on unconvincing charges would be
7656-405: Was situated between Proto-Greek ( centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian ( satem subgroup). Ronald I. Kim has noted unique morphological developments connecting Armenian to Balto-Slavic languages . The Armenian language has a long literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Another text translated into Armenian early on, and also in the 5th-century,
7744-682: Was the Armenian Alexander Romance . The vocabulary of the language has historically been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages , particularly Parthian ; its derivational morphology and syntax were also affected by language contact with Parthian, but to a lesser extent. Contact with Greek, Persian , and Syriac also resulted in a number of loanwords. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian (spoken mainly in Armenia) and Western Armenian (spoken originally mainly in modern-day Turkey and, since
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