|RNature and climate:|N Mountainous country of highland plateaus surrounded by mountainchains. Several extincted vulcanos. Longest river Arak and greatest lake Sevansea.
Average temperature in the valleys - 5°C in January and + 25°C i July. Percipitation in the valleys less than 500 mm. In the mountains somewhat lower temperature and more rain.
|RPeople:|N Armenians 88%, Azerbaijanians 6%.
|REconomy:|N Extensive artificially irrigated farming and stockraising. Most important crops are cotton, sugar beets, wine, fruits, tobacco and corn.
Many minerals, most important copper.
Great resources of waterpower has led to the establishment of industries with high energy consumption, such as synthetic rubber and artificial fertilizer.
Armenia also have important textile and metal manufacturing.
|RHistory:|N The republic of Armenia covers barely one fourth of the province Armenia, which has parts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. Close to three quarters of Armenia is in Turkey. Within that part of the province river Eufrat has its source and here lies the mountain Ararat, at which the Arch of Noa is supposed to have stranded.
The first known people in Armenia were the Kalders(?). Their nation Urartu had its first time of prosperity in the 9th century BC and was conquered by Indo-European tribes in the 7th century BC.
Two separate nations were founded 191 BC: Little Armenia and Great Armenia, and in 66 AD Little Armenia was made a Roman province.
The people of Armenia was Christianized about 300 AD. By then Armenians created an alphabet of their own.
Later Armenia was divided between Byzantines, Iranians and Moors. From about 1500 the greater part of the province came under the Turks.
In the 19th century a fight for freedom engaged most Armenians but was brutally beaten during World War I. In 1918 there were plans on constituing an Armenian nation, but this was stopped by Turkey. In stead Turkey incorporated most of Armenia and one fourth of it was incorporated with the Transcaucausian Sovjet Republic.
In 1936 Armenia was declared an autonomous Sovjet republic.
When the Sovjetunion disbanded in 1991 Armenia became an independent nation.
The Christian Armenia has since long been fighting with the moslem neighbour Azerbaijan about Nagorno-Karabach, an enclave in Azerbaijan, where the majority of the population is ethnic Armenian.
In 1988 an earthquake struck Armenia, killing over 50 000 and leaving several cities and towns in ruins.
