Shows / The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Perched at the crossroads of East and West, the Armenian Highlands have witnessed the rise and fall of empires for millennia. In 'The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide,' hosts Lucas and Luna guide listeners through a saga of resilience that begins with the Urartian kingdom (9th–6th centuries BCE) and extends to the modern Republic of Armenia. The series traces Armenia's adoption of Christianity as a state religion in 301 CE under King Tiridates III, the creation of the…
Episodes
The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo HistoryThe Treaty of Zuhab: Armenia Between Ottoman and Safavid
In 1639, the Treaty of Zuhab redrew the map of the Caucasus, splitting historic Armenia between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia and setting a border that…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Refugee Children of 1915: Rescue and Identity
In the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide, thousands of orphaned children were scattered across the Ottoman Empire, adopted into Kurdish and Turkish homes, or…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Fire Rituals: Vahagn's Forge and the Dragon's Harvest
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the ancient Armenian fire god Vahagn, the forge of the gods, and the sacred fire rituals that shaped Armenian identity…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Surp Garabed Monastery: Armenia's Hidden Fortress of Faith
In the rugged mountains southwest of Mush, the Surp Garabed Monastery — also known as the Monastery of John the Precursor — stood for over a millennium as a…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Merchant Diaspora of New Julfa
In the early 1600s, Shah Abbas I of Persia uprooted hundreds of thousands of Armenians from their ancient homeland, marching them deep into Iran. Among the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Cross-Stones: Art, Faith, and Memory
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the intricate world of khachkars—Armenian cross-stones—as both sacred art and historical…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Bagratid Legacy: Armenia's Golden Age
Lucas and Luna explore the Bagratid dynasty's improbable rise in the ninth century, when Armenia emerged from Arab rule to create a cultural and political…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Diaspora's Secret Weapon: The Printing Press
Long before the internet, the printing press became the Armenian diaspora's most powerful tool for survival. In this episode, Lucas and Luna trace the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Alphabet: Language as a Fortress
In 405 AD, a monk named Mesrop Mashtots completed a revolutionary project: a script for the Armenian language. Born amid the struggle between the Byzantine and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Hidden Fortress of Tsitsernakaberd: A Forgotten Armenian Stand
In 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a small group of Armenian fighters made a desperate stand at the ancient fortress of Tsitsernakaberd…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The First Armenian Republic: A Brief Dawn, 1918-1920
In May 1918, after the devastation of the Armenian Genocide, a tiny, exhausted people declared independence in the Caucasus. The First Republic of Armenia…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Ani's Thousand Churches: The City of 1001 Churches
In Episode 203 of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna wander through the ruins of Ani, once the glittering capital of the Bagratid kingdom, known as the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia: A Crusader Alliance
In this episode, we explore the unlikely rise of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a Crusader-era state that forged a unique alliance with Western Europe. Lucas…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Genocide Orphans: The Hidden Children of 1915
In the aftermath of the 1915 Armenian Genocide, hundreds of thousands of children were orphaned, displaced, and often forcibly assimilated into Turkish…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Ani's Cathedral: Tracing Armenia's Architectural Soul
In this 200th episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the architectural and spiritual legacy of Ani, the medieval Armenian capital known as the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Manzikert: Byzantium's Armenian Frontier
In 1071, the Seljuk Empire shattered the Byzantine army at Manzikert, a battle fought on Armenian soil that changed the course of Anatolia forever. This…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Siege of Tigranocerta: Rome Versus the Armenian Empire
Before the genocide, before the medieval kingdoms, Armenia was an empire that challenged Rome. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of Tigranes the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Avarayr and the Birth of Armenian Resistance
In 451 CE, the Armenian nakharars faced an impossible choice: submit to the Sasanian Empire's forced conversion to Zoroastrianism, or fight a hopeless…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Coffee: A Ritual of Resilience and Identity
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the deep history and cultural significance of Armenian coffee. From the Ottoman and Safavid…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Merchants of Madras: The First Printing Press
In 1772, a small group of Armenian merchants in Madras, India, published the first ever Armenian-language printed book, a work that would ignite a cultural and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Sassanid Siege of Ani: Armenia's Last Stand
In 1045, after centuries of Bagratuni rule, the ancient Armenian capital of Ani fell to the Byzantine Empire—but the real tragedy came two decades later when…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Coffee: A Ritual of Resilience and Identity
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rich history of Armenian coffee, a tradition that has survived empires, genocide, and diaspora. They trace its…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Sardarabad: Armenia's Last Stand
In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a desperate Armenian force—made up of soldiers, peasants, and priests—stood at Sardarabad and stopped the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Merchant Networks: The Silk Road Elite
In the 17th century, Armenian merchants from New Julfa built a global trading empire stretching from Venice to Manila, controlling the silk trade between…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Merchant Networks: Silk, Silver, and Survival
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore how Armenian merchants wove a global commercial web from the Caucasus to Venice, India, and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Arshak II and Pharandzem: Armenia's Doomed Royal Pair
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, we explore the turbulent reign of Arshak II (Arshakuni dynasty) and his queen Pharandzem, set against the 4th-century…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Fall of the Last Armenian Kingdom: Ani 1045
In 1045, the Bagratid kingdom of Armenia — the last independent Armenian state for nearly a millennium — came to an end when the city of Ani surrendered to the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Crusader Kingdom: The Rise and Fall of Cilicia
After the fall of Ani in 1045, many Armenians migrated to Cilicia, where they forged a new kingdom that would become a key Crusader ally. In this episode…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
April 24, 1915: The Intellectual Foundation of Armenian Genocide
On the night of April 24, 1915, Ottoman authorities arrested over 200 Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople—writers, poets, lawyers, clergymen, and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Operation Nemesis: Armenia's Revenge for the Genocide
After the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the perpetrators largely escaped justice. In 1919, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation launched a covert operation…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Legion Fighting for France in WWI
In the aftermath of the 1915 genocide, thousands of Armenian survivors and diaspora volunteers banded together to form the French Armenian Legion. This episode…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Avarayr: Armenia's Fight for Faith and Freedom
In 451 CE, Armenia faced an existential crisis. The Sasanian emperor Yazdegerd II demanded that the Christian kingdom abandon its faith and adopt…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Musa Dagh Resistance: Armenia's Siege of Hope
In 1915, as the Armenian Genocide unfolded across the Ottoman Empire, one community refused to march to its death. On the slopes of Musa Dagh — Mount Moses —…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Defense of Van: Armenia's 1915 Uprising
In April 1915, as the Ottoman Empire began its systematic genocide of Armenians, the ancient city of Van on the shores of Lake Van became a site of…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
1965 Yerevan Protests: Armenia's Silent Revolution
On April 24, 1965, tens of thousands of Armenians poured into the streets of Yerevan to mark the 50th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, demanding…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
New Julfa: Armenia's Global Merchant Empire
In 1604, Shah Abbas I of Safavid Iran forcibly relocated tens of thousands of Armenians from the town of Julfa on the Arax River to a new suburb of Isfahan…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Creation of the Armenian Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and the Birth of Armenian Literature
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the invention of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots around 405 AD. They discuss the political and cultural…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Treaty of Turkmenchay: How Russia Reshaped Armenia
In 1828, a peace treaty between Russia and Persia redrew the map of the Caucasus and laid the foundation for modern Armenian statehood. This episode explores…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Church: Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the spiritual heart of Armenia: the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. From its founding by Gregory the Illuminator in 301…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1895-96 Hamidian Massacres: Armenia's Pre-Genocide Warning
Before the 1915 Armenian Genocide, there was a brutal dress rehearsal: the Hamidian Massacres of 1895-96. Under Sultan Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman authorities…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Bash Abaran: Armenia's Other Last Stand
In May 1918, as the Ottoman army rolled toward Yerevan, three battles determined whether the Armenian republic would be born or strangled in its cradle…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Tatev Monastery: Armenia's Silk Road Fortress of Faith
High in the mountains of Syunik, the Tatev Monastery stands as both a spiritual sanctuary and a fortress of Armenian identity. This episode explores how a…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Cross-Stones: Sacred Art of a Nation
Episode 172 of The Story of Armenia explores the ancient tradition of khachkars — the intricately carved cross-stones that have served as Armenia's…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Great Repatriation: Armenia's Post-WWII Soviet Homecoming
In 1945, the Soviet Union launched an unprecedented campaign to bring the Armenian diaspora home. Over the next three years, some 100,000 Armenians from Syria…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1918 Battle of Sardarabad: Armenia's Last Stand
In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a ragtag Armenian force — including fedayee fighters, villagers, and a few thousand regular troops — made…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Zangezur Corridor: Armenia's Mountain Lifeline
In Episode 169, Lucas and Luna explore the strategic and symbolic significance of Zangezur, the rugged southern region of Armenia that served as a lifeline…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Bagratid Renaissance: Kings, Bagratuni, Ani
This episode explores the Bagratid dynasty of Armenia, a golden age of culture and independence between Arab and Byzantine empires. We follow the rise of Ashot…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Lost Kingdom: The Orontid Dynasty and the Rise of Yervanduni
Before Tigran the Great and the Artaxiad empire, before the Arsacid and Bagratid kingdoms, Armenia's first documented royal dynasty was the Orontids — the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Third Republic: Armenia's 1918 Founding Gamble
In May 1918, as Ottoman armies closed in on Yerevan and the Transcaucasian Federation collapsed, Armenian leaders faced an impossible choice: declare…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1918 Armenian Retreat: Survival Through the Caucasus Mountains
In the summer of 1918, as Ottoman forces advanced deep into the Caucasus, tens of thousands of Armenian civilians fled through treacherous mountain passes in a…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and Its Crusader Legacy
This episode explores the fascinating history of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a medieval Armenian state that forged a unique alliance with the Crusaders…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Tigran the Great: Armenia's Forgotten Emperor
Long before the Christianization of Armenia or the Ottoman genocide, an Armenian king ruled an empire stretching from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. Tigran…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1905 Armenian-Tatar War: Roots of Ethnic Conflict
In 1905, the Caucasus erupted in a brutal ethnic war between Armenians and Azerbaijanis—then called 'Tatars.' Over the course of several months…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Hovhannes Tumanyan: Armenia's National Poet and Storyteller
Today Lucas and Luna explore the life and legacy of Hovhannes Tumanyan, the beloved Armenian poet and writer who shaped the nation's literary identity…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Legion in WWI: Musa Dagh and the Fight for Cilicia
This episode of The Story of Armenia turns to the Armenian Legion formed during World War I under French command. We follow the Legion's journey from…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Genocide Trials: Justice in Constantinople 1919
In 1919, as the Ottoman Empire collapsed, the new government in Constantinople staged a series of military tribunals to prosecute the masterminds of the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Karakilisa: 1918's Forgotten Stand
In May 1918, as Ottoman forces pushed deep into the Caucasus, a desperate Armenian defense at the village of Karakilisa — modern-day Vanadzor — helped turn the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and a Nation's Soul — Part 2: The Lost Scripts
In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive deeper into the story of the Armenian alphabet, picking up where their previous episode left off. They explore the mystery…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's First Constitution: The 1890 Program of the Dashnaks
In 1890, a small group of Armenian intellectuals in Tiflis drafted a revolutionary program that would shape the next three decades of Armenian history. This…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1915 Armenian Genocide: Deportation, Resistance, Aftermath
Lucas takes Luna through the systematic destruction of the Ottoman Armenian population during World War I. They discuss the April 24 roundups of intellectuals…