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.
99-483: Martakert ( Armenian : Մարտակերտ , Russian : Мардакерт , also Mardakert , Մարդակերտ ) or Aghdara ( Azerbaijani : Ağdərə (listen) ) is a town in the Tartar District of Azerbaijan , in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh . Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh , as the centre of its Martakert Province . The village had an ethnic Armenian -majority population until
198-617: A humanitarian crisis for the population of Artsakh. Imports of essential goods, including humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers were blocked. 120,000 residents of the region were trapped. There were widespread shortages of essential goods, including electricity, fuel, and water reserves, and emergency reserves were rationed, alongside massive unemployment, and closures of schools and public transportation. Azerbaijan claimed its actions were aimed at preventing
297-476: A "military assault on Artsakh could lead to the mass murder stage of genocide . It would almost assuredly result in the forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh and the widespread commission of genocidal atrocities...[and]...Artsakh's Armenians would lose their distinct identity as Artsakhsis, an identity that has been forged through centuries —millennia—of independent cultural flourishing in their mountains and valleys." On 19 September 2023, in violation of
396-643: A ceasefire from 13:00 on 20 September. Under the terms of the agreement, the government of the Republic of Artsakh agreed to disarm and to enter into talks with the government of Azerbaijan regarding the reintegration of the territory. Among the Azerbaijani demands was a requirement for Artsakh and Armenia to surrender a list of individuals to Azerbaijan for prosecution and trial, including former and current Artsakhi civilian and military leaders. Large masses of Armenian civilians began fleeing Artsakh after
495-514: A child, were killed, while 11 others were injured, eight of whom were children. By the end of the day, Artsakh reported that 27 people had been killed and more than 200 were injured. Artsakh authorities reported that they had evacuated over 7,000 people from 16 rural settlements, while Russian peacekeepers evacuated 5,000 others. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated that Russian food and medicine arrived in Artsakh via
594-520: 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
693-749: A form of hybrid warfare , ethnic cleansing , and genocide . Multiple international observers also considered the blockade and the inaction of the Russian peacekeepers to be violations of the tripartite 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, which ended the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and guaranteed safe passage for Armenia through the Lachin corridor . Azerbaijan and Russia ignored calls from various countries and international organizations to restore freedom of movement to Armenia through
792-777: A fuel storage facility in Berkadzor , 6 kilometres (3.7 miles) from Stepanakert on 25 September. Most of the victims were queueing to obtain fuel for their vehicles while on their way to Armenia. Victims with various degrees of burns were treated in the Republican Medical Center of Artsakh, facilities of the Arevik community organization, medical facilities in Ivanyan, and the medical station of Russian peacekeepers. The Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan said it sent an ambulance carrying medical supplies. 142 of
891-468: 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
990-425: 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
1089-467: A promise from the Azerbaijani delegation to not drive Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh were unresolved. According to Armenian journalist Tatul Hakobyan , a meeting between the head of State Security Service of Azerbaijan , Ali Naghiyev , and Artsakh's president Samvel Shahramanyan took place in Shusha. Elements of the Artsakh defense force began transferring their weapons to Russian peacekeepers, with
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#17327766311371188-420: A result five peacekeepers were killed. Armenia accused Azerbaijan of firing at its soldiers in the border town of Sotk , which Azerbaijan denied. In a televised address that evening, President Aliyev reiterated that "Karabakh is Azerbaijan", adding that his "iron fist" had consigned the idea of Karabakh being a separate Armenian state to history. After the fighting ended on 21 September, Azerbaijan opened
1287-614: A significant Azerbaijani victory. An armistice was established by a tripartite ceasefire agreement on 10 November, resulting in Armenia and Artsakh ceding the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh as well as one-third of Nagorno-Karabakh itself to Azerbaijan Ceasefire violations in Nagorno-Karabakh and on the Armenian–Azerbaijani border occurred following the 2020 war, leading to several casualties. Subsequent to
1386-664: A third meeting between representatives of the Karabakh Armenian community and officials from the government of Azerbaijan took place in Yevlakh . Azerbaijani police vehicles were seen in Stepanakert and officials placed the Azerbaijani flag on the city's We Are Our Mountains monument. A fourth round of talks was held in Stepanakert on 2 October, during which Azerbaijani authorities outlined their plans for
1485-416: A third meeting taking place in a few days time. On 26 September, Azerbaijani forces reportedly took control of Martuni (Khojavend) . On 28 September, Artsakh president Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree stating that all state institutions would be dissolved by 1 January 2024, bringing the existence of the breakaway republic to an end. However, on 22 December, Shahramanyan, who was by then in exile in
1584-444: A violation of the ceasefire agreement signed in the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. The offensive took place in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh , which is de jure a part of Azerbaijan, and was a de facto independent republic. The stated goal of the offensive was the complete disarmament and unconditional surrender of Artsakh, as well as the withdrawal of all ethnic Armenian soldiers present in
1683-552: 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
1782-561: 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"),
1881-474: 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
1980-466: Is located on the right bank of the Tartar River , between two mountains. The population mainly works in different state institutions as well as with agriculture . As of 2015, Martakert has a municipal building, a house of culture, two schools, two kindergartens, a youth centre, 88 commercial enterprises, two factories and a regional hospital. The enlarged municipal community of Martakert includes
2079-471: 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,
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#17327766311372178-586: 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 . 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh Azerbaijani victory During
2277-486: The 2008 Armenian election protests . It involved the heaviest fighting between ethnic Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh since the 1994 ceasefire after the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . Armenian sources accused Azerbaijan of trying to take advantage of ongoing unrest in Armenia. Azerbaijani sources blamed Armenia, claiming that the Armenian government
2376-914: The 2020 Ganja missile attacks during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, adding that 300 other separatist officials were under investigation for alleged war crimes. On 3 October, the State Security Service of Azerbaijan detained former presidents Arkadi Ghukasyan , Bako Sahakyan and Arayik Harutyunyan, as well as President of the National Assembly Davit Ishkhanyan . On 21 September, negotiations between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan took place in Yevlakh to discuss security, rights and "issues of re-integration". The Artsakhi delegation consisted of Sergey Martirosyan and Davit Melkumyan [ hy ] , and
2475-441: The 2020 ceasefire , Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive against Republic of Artsakh . The Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense claimed to be undertaking "local anti-terrorist activities" and cited land mines allegedly planted by Armenians killing two Azerbaijani civilians and four police officers as a pretext for the offensive. The ministry demanded the disarmament and withdrawal of all ethnic Armenian soldiers, as well as
2574-466: 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
2673-563: 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 ),
2772-641: 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
2871-643: 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
2970-918: The Mardakert and Martuni Offensives in 1992. The town was captured by Azerbaijani forces on 4 July 1992, forcing Martakert's Armenian population to flee the town. Martakert was heavily damaged during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and many of its buildings remain ruined and uninhabited. According to Thomas Goltz, who was in Martakert in September 1992, the town became a "a pile of rubble", noting "more intimate detritus of destroyed private lives: pots and pans, suitcases leaking sullied clothes, crushed baby strollers and even family portraits, still in shattered frames". HRW later noted that harsh actions taken by Karabakh Armenian forces during and after
3069-542: 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
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3168-588: The army of the Republic of Armenia . In 1993, the United Nations Security Council adopted four resolutions that supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and demanded the immediate withdrawal of the occupying Armenian forces from Azerbaijan, which was reaffirmed by the 2008 United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/243 . In late 2020, the large-scale Second Nagorno-Karabakh War resulted in thousands of casualties and
3267-448: The exodus of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh . The town underwent heavy destruction by Azerbaijani forces while under their control during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War . Traditionally, the Armenian name of the town is interpreted as consisting of the elements mard ('man, person,' or in this context 'brave') and -kert ('built by'), supposedly referring to
3366-576: The unconditional surrender and dissolution of the Republic of Artsakh. The statement from the ministry claimed that the Russian peacekeeping contingent and the joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre were informed about the operation. Russia denied this claim, stating that its peacekeepers were only informed of the offensive a "few minutes" before it started. Azerbaijan claimed that no civilian targets were attacked with weaponry, but witnesses reported strikes conducted in close proximity to large cities and densely populated areas. The attacks occurred in
3465-790: The 13th century), and a bridge across the Kusapat River from the early 20th century. The climate in Martakert is classified as Humid subtropical climate (Cfa) by the Köppen climate classification . Partnership agreement: 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
3564-532: The 2020 war, Azerbaijan rescinded its offer of granting special status and autonomy to its ethnic Armenian residents and insisted on their "integration" into Azerbaijan. Some international mediators and human rights organizations have advocated for self-determination for the local Armenian population and do not believe that Artsakh Armenians can live safely under Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev , whose leadership has been described as dynastic and authoritarian . In December 2022, Azerbaijan began blockading
3663-408: 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
3762-401: The Armenian capital Yerevan , said that there was "no document... of the Republic of Artsakh (Karabakh) stipulating the dissolution of government institutions," while his office said that the decree issued in September was "empty paper," adding that "no document can lead to the dissolution of the republic, which was established by people's will." Azerbaijani media reported on 29 September that
3861-515: The Armenian daily Aravot reported that the Kashen mine, one of the biggest sources of tax revenue for the Artsakhi government, had fallen under Azerbaijani control. Artsakhi president Samvel Shahramanyan said " Nagorno-Karabakh will have to take relevant steps to ensure physical security of population". Artsakhi authorities agreed to a proposal by Russian peacekeeping forces to establish
3960-481: 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,
4059-1047: The Artsakhi delegation, the negotiations stalled due to a "whole host of questions", but specifically when they requested security guarantees that the Azerbaijani government would not force ethnic Armenians to leave the Nagorno-Karabakh region, however, both sides agreed on the cessation of military action. Azerbaijan agreed to send food and fuel supplies to the region. On 22 September, Hikmet Hajiyev , foreign policy adviser to Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev , stated that his government would ensure that civilians can travel safely in their own vehicles on roads that connect Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia . He also suggested that an amnesty would be offered to former combatants who agree to disarm. Some ethnic Armenian armed groups vowed to continue fighting. Rumors spread on some Internet news publications that these included former colonel Karen Jalavyan and his subordinates. A journalist from Hraparak contacted Jalavyan and asked him if
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4158-467: 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
4257-630: The Lachin and Agdam routes. Armenian sources reported that Aznavur Saghyan, the mayor of Martuni , was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper. It was also reported that the Amaras Monastery near Sos had fallen under Azerbaijani control. Azg reported that Azerbaijani forces had captured the settlements of Drmbon and Harav ; later that day, Chankatagh , Chapar , Karmir Shuka , Khachmach , Machkalashen , Sarushen , Shosh and Vaghuhas were also reported to have been captured. Furthermore,
4356-542: The Lachin corridor. More than 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid was delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh by Russian peacekeepers, according to the Russian defence ministry. On 24 September, the town of Martakert was reported to have come under Azerbaijani military control. A second round of negotiations between representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Azerbaijan took place in Khojaly , where according to Azerbaijan, humanitarian issues were discussed. The two sides agreed to
4455-508: The Red Cross, were transporting 23 severely injured people from Artsakh to Armenia. In Armenia, the theatre in the city of Goris was converted into a base for the Red Cross to accommodate refugees. A secondary hub was later opened in Vayk . Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesian said some refugees died in transit due to exhaustion brought about by malnutrition, the lack of medicines and
4554-452: The Republic of Artsakh from the outside world, in violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement and international legal rulings. The Azerbaijiani government seized territory around the Lachin corridor both within Artsakh and Armenia , blocked alternative bypass routes, and installed a military checkpoint. Azerbaijan also sabotaged critical civilian infrastructure of Artsakh, including gas, electricity, and internet access. The blockade created
4653-669: 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
4752-404: 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
4851-430: The Russian defence ministry confirming the turnover of six armored vehicles, more than 800 small arms units and 5,000 rounds of ammunition. The memorial tank monument, a restored T-72 tank of Gagik Avsharyan commemorating the capture of Shusha and located on Shusha road, was reportedly dismantled by Azerbaijan. Additionally, a convoy of 15 trucks from the Russian peacekeepers left Armenia for Nagorno-Karabakh, crossing
4950-833: 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
5049-403: The border for the first time in months to allow people to leave, and tens of thousands of Armenians began to flee out of the Lachin corridor as part of a large flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. On 24 September, Azerbaijan opened the Lachin corridor for residents of Nagorno-Karabakh to travel one-way to Armenia despite its ongoing blockade . A mass evacuation of ethnic Armenian civilians from
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#17327766311375148-516: The ceasefire announcement, with many of them gathering at Stepanakert Airport . Later, Nikol Pashinyan commented on this that "it is obvious to me that this is being done to cause internal political upheavals and chaos". The Armenian government said it was not involved in the drafting of the ceasefire agreement, while Azerbaijani presidential envoy Elchin Amirbeyov [ az ; fr ; ru ] said that Russian peacekeepers helped facilitate
5247-496: The ceasefire. Colonel Anar Eyvazov [ az ] , Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry , announced that during the operation, Azerbaijan had captured 90 combat positions. He also said that Azerbaijani forces had captured seven combat vehicles, one tank, four mortars and two infantry fighting vehicles from Armenian military units as trophies. Shelling of Stepanakert continued until
5346-434: 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
5445-468: The city was virtually abandoned except for a few residents, Azerbaijani police officers and Russian peacekeepers. They also added that Azerbaijani telecommunications firms and signals were already present in the city. A United Nations report released the same day found that there were between 50 and 1,000 ethnic Armenians left in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Armenian government said the number of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh had reached 100,617 on 3 October, nearly
5544-576: The city's electrical grid was knocked out several hours after the ceasefire was supposed to go into effect. According to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense , several peacekeepers were killed near the village of Chankatagh in Tartar District after their vehicle was attacked [ ru ] while they were returning from an observation post. Azerbaijani official Elin Suleymanov admitted that Azeri forces had killed
5643-605: The corridor. Two weeks before the clashes, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention issued a report stating that there was "alarming evidence that President [Ilham] Aliyev may be planning a military assault on Artsakh in the very near future." The report noted that Aliyev had recently signed a new decree ordering all eligible citizens 18 years of age or older to report for military service between 1 October and 31 October 2023. The Lemkin Institute also warned that
5742-524: The entire current population of Nagorno-Karabakh. A total of 21,043 vehicles were recorded to have crossed the Hakari Bridge going to Armenia in the week since the exodus began. The government of Artsakh said that families left homeless due to Azerbaijan's military offensive and who expressed a desire to leave Artsakh will be transferred to Armenia, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers. It was reported that 23 ambulances, accompanied by specialists and
5841-542: The existence of the breakaway state to an end. The offensive and subsequent surrender resulted in a flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians , in which nearly the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh fled the region for neighboring countries, primarily Armenia . Human rights organizations and experts in genocide prevention issued multiple alerts that the region's Armenian population was at risk or actively being subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide, as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity. Luis Moreno Ocampo ,
5940-580: 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
6039-504: The ground. It is now time for courageous compromise solutions, also in light of today's escalation. —Spokesperson of Charles Michel , President of the European Council , on 1 September 2023. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is an ethnic and territorial conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh , inhabited mostly by ethnic Armenians until the offensive. The Nagorno-Karabakh region
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#17327766311376138-625: The hostilities and sit down at the negotiation table with the aim of settling the situation". The Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan responded that it was ready to meet with representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians in the Azerbaijani town of Yevlakh . It stressed at the same time that the Azerbaijani offensive would continue unless Artsakh disband its government bodies and armed forces. The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry later stated that its forces had captured more than 60 military posts and destroyed up to 20 military vehicles. The Armenian daily Azg reported claims that Azerbaijan had captured
6237-425: 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 )
6336-504: The inaugural prosecutor of the International Criminal Court , has classified the ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians as a second Armenian genocide , and opined that the inaction of the international community encouraged Azerbaijan to act with impunity. All the above efforts have only one goal: ensure irreversible normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan for the benefit of all populations on
6435-512: The inhabitants' reputation for bravery. Other explanations link the name with the word matur’ ('chapel'). The Azerbaijani name for the settlement, Aghdara, translates to 'white river'. The site of the settlement was historically a part of the Melikdom of Jraberd, one of the Melikdoms of Karabakh . In 1918, a battle took place near the town between Ottoman and Armenian forces where
6534-506: The injured were later brought to Armenia. Azerbaijani forces were reported to be screening refugees fleeing to Armenia as part of its search for "war criminals" in border checkpoints. The Azerbaijani State Border Service detained several Artsakhi officials in the Lachin corridor while attempting to cross into Armenia, including former army commander and defence minister Levon Mnatsakanyan , former deputy army commander Davit Manukyan, and Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan , who
6633-470: 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
6732-434: 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
6831-703: The latter emerged victorious. During the Soviet period, Martakert was the administrative centre of the Martakert District of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast . It received the status of an urban-type settlement in 1960. During the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1991–94), Martakert and the surrounding district saw heavy fighting, especially during the Azerbaijani Operation Goranboy and
6930-498: The mediation of the Russian peacekeeping contingent where it was agreed that the Artsakh Defence Army , the armed forces of Artsakh would be disarmed. Ceasefire violations by Azerbaijan were nonetheless reported by both Artsakhi residents and officials until early October. On 28 September, the president of Artsakh, Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree to dissolve all state institutions by 1 January 2024, bringing
7029-402: The midst of Azerbaijan's ongoing blockade of the region. Azerbaijan said that it had set up " humanitarian corridors and reception points on the Lachin road and in other directions" which would "ensure the evacuation of the population from the dangerous area". These announcements were disseminated through text messages, leaflets, and social media, triggering fears of ethnic cleansing amongst
7128-567: 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
7227-403: 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
7326-575: The offensive against Aghdam were seen as a revenge for the Azeri destruction of Martakert, in the context of the tit-for-tat nature of the conflict. Martakert was recaptured by Armenian forces on 27 June 1993. The area around the town has been controlled by Artsakh since the end of the war. Some of Martakert's natives gradually returned over the years, but many remained in Armenia , Russia , and elsewhere. The 2008 Mardakert clashes began on 4 March after
7425-407: The offensive: Post- ceasefire : 27 Armenian and 1 Azerbaijani civilian killed 200+ Armenian and 1 Azerbaijani civilian injured 5 Russian peacekeepers killed by Azerbaijan 1994 ceasefire 2020 ceasefire 2023 ceasefire Between 19 and 20 September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against the self-declared breakaway state of Artsakh , a move seen as
7524-486: 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
7623-639: 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
7722-483: 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
7821-407: 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 ,
7920-487: The peacekeepers, calling it an accident, expressed condolences to Russia, and vowed to launch a probe into what happened. Among those killed was Captain First Rank Ivan Kovgan, the deputy commander of Russia's Northern Fleet submarine forces , and a concurrent deputy commander of the peacekeeping force. With Azerbaijani cooperation, Russian peacekeepers detained suspects, and an Azerbaijani commander
8019-570: 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
8118-560: The region then started, fearing persecution and ethnic cleansing if they remain. The first group of refugees arrived in Armenia through the border post at Kornidzor . By the end of the day, the Armenian government said 1,050 refugees had arrived in the country. The last scheduled evacuation bus out of Nagorno-Karabakh left on 2 October carrying 15 refugees. On the same day, the Artsakhi government said that some officials would stay on until search operations for people killed and missing were completed. Journalists who visited Stepanakert said
8217-405: The region. The offensive occurred in the midst of an escalating crisis caused by Azerbaijan blockading Artsakh , which has resulted in significant scarcities of essential supplies such as food, medicine, and other goods in the affected region. One day after the offensive started on 20 September, a ceasefire agreement described as a written agreement for the surrender of Artsakh was reached at
8316-436: 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
8415-533: The residents. Artsakhi authorities warned its residents that "the Azerbaijani propaganda machine uses large-scale information and psychological influence measures." The Cyber Security Service of Azerbaijan [ az ] temporarily restricted access to TikTok in Azerbaijan. Late in the afternoon, Nagorno-Karabakh's leadership offered to negotiate with Azerbaijan after it launched its military offensive and called on Azerbaijan to “immediately cease
8514-481: The rumors were true, but he did not answer the question directly. Noticeably upset, he stated that "the entire nation has washed its hands from the people of Karabakh" and told Pashinyan to "go defend Artsakh". The second day of negotiations also ended in deadlock despite the amnesty offer to Artsakhi commanders and fighters as the Artsakhi delegation stated the questions of humanitarian aid, security guarantees, and
8613-468: 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
8712-519: 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
8811-624: The transportation of weapons and natural resources. It also said its goal was for Artsakh to "integrate" into Azerbaijan, despite opposition from the population, and threatened military action if the Artsakh government did not disband. The spokesperson for Charles Michel , President of the European Council called for the "irreversible normalization" of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations and "courageous compromise solutions". Numerous countries, international organizations, and human rights observers condemned Azerbaijan's blockade and considered it to be
8910-420: The travel time which took up to 40 hours. The Armenian government promised a one-off payment to each refugee of 100,000 drams and provide a monthly subsidy of 50,000 drams for at least six months, adding that it had so far managed to provided temporary accommodation for 53,000 refugees. During the movement of refugees, at least 170 people were killed and more than 290 people were injured after an explosion at
9009-448: The villages of Charektar and Getavan . The Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan claimed that Armenian forces attacked Shusha with large-caliber weapons, killing one civilian. Artsakh authorities stated that the state's de facto capital, Stepanakert , and other cities were being heavily shelled, accusing Azerbaijan of attempted ethnic cleansing. Artsakh's human rights ombudsman Gegham Stepanyan said two civilians, including
9108-497: The villages of Haykajur , Jraberd , Maralyan Sarov , and Levonarkh . Historical heritage sites in and around the town include tombs from the 2nd–1st millennia BCE, the pre-Christian Kr’apasht Cemetery, the medieval village of T’aza Khach’ , cemeteries from between the 17th and 19th centuries, St. John the Baptist Church ( Surb Hovhannu Karapet Yekeghets’i ) built in 1883 (possibly originating from as early as
9207-731: Was escorted by Russian peacekeepers . The Azerbaijani delegation consisted of Ramin Mammadov , Bashir Hajiyev and Ilkin Sultanov. The head of the Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Center , Oleg Semyonov, was also present. The talks, which lasted two hours, ended without a formal agreement, however a statement from the Azerbaijani government said the they were "constructive and positive" and that further negotiations would continue in October. According to
9306-562: Was once entirely claimed by, and partially de facto controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh , but is recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan. The conflict escalated in 1988, when the Karabakh Armenians demanded the transfer of the region from Soviet Azerbaijan to Soviet Armenia , triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War that ended in 1994 with Azerbaijan losing control of about 13.6% of its territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh, to Karabakh Armenians and
9405-405: 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,
9504-476: Was suspended. President Ilham Aliyev subsequently apologized over phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the incident. According to the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan , a group of military personnel of the Azerbaijan army opened fire on a car with Russian peacekeepers, mistaken believing they were Armenian forces due to the difficult terrain and foggy-rainy weather conditions. As
9603-682: 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
9702-475: Was the former state minister . Former foreign minister David Babayan surrendered to Azerbaijani authorities in Shusha. Azerbaijani presidential adviser Hikmat Hajiyev later confirmed that up to six people had been arrested on charges of committing "war crimes". On 1 October, Azerbaijani Prosecutor-General Kamran Aliyev issued arrest warrants against former Artsakhi President Arayik Harutyunyan and military commander Jalal Harutyunyan over their role in
9801-475: Was trying to divert attention from internal tensions in Armenia. In 2020 , some clashes along the ceasefire lines took place near Martakert. During the Second Nagorno-Karabakh war , the town was bombed by Azerbaijani forces more than once, resulting in civilian deaths. The town came under Azerbaijani control on 24 September 2023, following the 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh offensive . The town
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