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 Armenian Fedayee: Guerrilla Fighters Against Empire
Before the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, before the First Republic, there were the fedayee — irregular guerrilla fighters who took to the mountains of the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Diaspora of New Julfa: Merchants, Spies, Silk
In the early 17th century, Shah Abbas I of Safavid Persia forcibly relocated tens of thousands of Armenians from the borderlands to his new capital, Isfahan…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The 1896 Ottoman Bank Takeover: Armenian Revolutionary Gamble
In August 1896, a small group of Armenian revolutionaries from the Dashnaktsutyun party seized the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople, the empire's most…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Siege of Edessa 1144 and the Fall of Armenian Cilicia
In 1144, the Crusader County of Edessa fell to the Zengid ruler Imad al-Din Zengi, triggering the Second Crusade and reshaping Armenian Cilicia. This episode…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Mihran: The Armenian Mercenary Who Shook Byzantium
In the waning days of the Byzantine Empire, few figures loom as large—or as contradictory—as Mihran, the Armenian mercenary commander who became a master of…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Avarayr 451 Faith Fire and Persian Ultimatum
In 451 CE, the Armenian nakharar aristocracy faced a fateful choice: convert to Zoroastrianism or face annihilation. This episode explores the Battle of…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Trade Networks: Merchants of the Silk Road
Long before the Genocide and the Republic, Armenian merchants were the invisible infrastructure of the Silk Road. This episode follows the vacharakank — the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Legion in World War I
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the story of the Armenian Legion (Légion Arménienne), a volunteer unit formed by France during World War I. The legion…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Forgotten Kingdom: Cilicia and the Crusader Alliance
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a Crusader-era state that emerged from the rubble of the Bagratid collapse. They…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Sardarabad: Armenia's Last Stand for Independence
In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, a ragtag Armenian force made a desperate stand at Sardarabad. This episode tells the story of that…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Highlands: Van, Lake, and Lost Kingdoms
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the deep history of the Armenian highlands, focusing on Lake Van and the kingdom of Urartu, but…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Saints and Martyrs: Hripsime, Gayane, and the Christianization of Armenia
The story of Armenia's conversion to Christianity is often told through King Tiridates III and Gregory the Illuminator, but this episode focuses on the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and a Nation's Soul
In the early 5th century, a monk named Mesrop Mashtots accomplished a feat that would define Armenian identity for millennia: he invented the Armenian…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Illuminated Gospels: Faith, Art, and Survival
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the rich tradition of Armenian illuminated manuscripts, focusing on the Gospel books that are…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Zoroastrian Legacy in Armenia: Faith, Fire, and Resistance
In this episode of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore the deep and often overlooked Zoroastrian influence on Armenian culture and religion. From the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's First Republic: 1918-1920 and the Fight for Independence
In May 1918, as the Ottoman Empire advanced into the Caucasus, a small Armenian force faced impossible odds at Sardarabad. Against expectations, they held the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Arshak II: The Last Arsacid King of Armenia
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the dramatic reign of Arshak II, the last Arsacid king of Armenia, who ruled during the fourth century CE. They discuss…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Forgotten Queen: The Reign of Tamar of Georgia
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the life and legacy of Tamar the Great, Queen of Georgia, whose reign in the late 12th and early 13th centuries brought…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Last Kingdom: Armenia's Bagratid Golden Age Before the Fall
This episode centers on the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia (885–1045), a period often called Armenia's golden age. We explore how the Bagratid dynasty…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Mamikonians: Armenia's Warrior Dynasty Against Persia and Byzantium
Before the Bagratids and the Rubenids, one family shaped Armenia's military destiny for over three centuries: the Mamikonians. In this episode, Lucas and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Mkhitar Gosh: The Armenian Lawgiver Who Defied Empires
Before the Mongol invasion swept across the Caucasus, a monk named Mkhitar Gosh compiled a legal code that would shape Armenian identity for centuries. This…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Dvin Earthquake of 893: How a Disaster Reshaped Armenia
In 893, a massive earthquake devastated Dvin, the capital of Bagratid Armenia, killing tens of thousands and leveling the city’s famous markets, palaces, and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Death of an Armenian King: Gagik II and the Fall of the Bagratid Kingdom
In 1045, the last Bagratid king of Armenia, Gagik II, was lured to Constantinople under a promise of safe passage, only to be imprisoned and forced to…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Trade and the Black Death: A Silk Road Catastrophe
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a devastating chapter in medieval Armenian history: the Black Death of the 1340s and its impact on Armenia's trade…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia Under the Mongols: Surviving the Ilkhanate
After the fall of Ani and the Bagratid golden age, Armenia faced a new and formidable power from the steppes: the Mongol Empire. This episode explores the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Diaspora: How an Ancient Nation Rebuilt Itself
After centuries of conquest and the 1915 genocide, Armenia's story didn't end. This episode explores how the Armenian diaspora emerged as a global…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Urartian Legacy: Engineering and Empire in Ancient Armenia
Before the Bagratids, before the Seljuks, before even the Armenian alphabet, the Armenian highlands were home to the Kingdom of Urartu—a powerful Iron Age…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Soviet Republic: From Independence to Stalin's Purges
In 1920, Armenia's brief independence gave way to Soviet rule. This episode explores the rise of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic under figures like…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Zoroastrian Legacy in Armenia: Faith, Fire, and Resistance
Long before Christianity, Armenia was a crossroads of Zoroastrian influence from Persia. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how Zoroastrianism shaped…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Avarayr: St. Vartan and Armenia's Faith
In 451 AD, on the plains of Avarayr in what is now northwestern Iran, a small Armenian army faced the might of the Sasanian Persian Empire. Led by Vartan…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenians of Constantinople: An Ottoman Elite
Before 1915, Constantinople boasted a vibrant Armenian community of over 150,000. This episode explores the rise of the Armenian amira class—bankers…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenian Trade Networks in the Early Modern Ottoman Empire
Beyond the well-known story of Armenian merchants in New Julfa, this episode explores the vast trade networks that Armenians built across the Ottoman Empire…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenians of Tbilisi: Silk, Culture, and a Lost World
Long before the Soviet era, the Georgian capital Tbilisi was a thriving center of Armenian culture, commerce, and political life. By the 19th century…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenians of Iran: A Community's Enduring Legacy
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the history of the Armenian community in Iran, from its origins in the 11th century to its role in the Safavid Empire…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Secret Resistance: The Fedayee Fighters of 1894-1896
In the 1890s, long before the genocide of 1915, Armenian fedayee guerrilla bands launched a desperate armed resistance against Sultan Abdul Hamid II's…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Fall of Ani: How a Silk Road Capital Became a Ghost City
Ani, the once-glorious capital of the Bagratid Armenian kingdom, was a city of a hundred churches and a bustling Silk Road hub. But by the 14th century, it was…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Highland: Urartu, Behistun, and Ancient Roots
This episode traces Armenia's deep history before the classical period, focusing on the kingdom of Urartu (Biainili), its rivalries with Assyria, and the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia: Crusaders, Trade, and a Nation at Sea
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the often-overlooked Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a Crusader-era state that flourished on the Mediterranean coast from…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Vahan Malezian: The Silent Doctor of the Armenian Genocide
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a little-known story of resistance during the Armenian Genocide: physician Vahan Malezian, who used his medical post in…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Church Under Soviet Rule: Resistance in the Catacombs
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the persecution of the Armenian Apostolic Church under Soviet rule. From the Bolsheviks' anti-religious campaigns…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Battle of Sardarapat: How Armenia Almost Lost Its Independence
In May 1918, as the Ottoman army advanced on Yerevan, the fate of the Armenian nation hung in the balance. Just weeks after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ceded…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Lost Kingdom: The Bagratid Golden Age in Ani
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the remarkable story of the Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, a period of cultural and political revival under Arab…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's First Alphabet: Mesrop Mashtots and the Birth of Armenian Letters
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in the early 5th century. They discuss the political and…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia: A Golden Age Under Arab Rule
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the rise of the Bagratid dynasty, which restored Armenian sovereignty after centuries of foreign domination. They focus…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia Under the Seljuks: The Fall of Ani and a Nation's Resilience
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Armenia's traumatic but transformative encounter with the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century. They focus on the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Karabakh Movement: Armenia's Fight for Self-Determination
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the Karabakh movement of 1988, a pivotal chapter in Armenia's modern history. They trace the origins of the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Ottoman Bank Occupation: Armenia's 1896 Revolt
In August 1896, a small group of Armenian revolutionaries from the Dashnaktsutyun party seized the Ottoman Bank in Constantinople, the financial heart of the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Legion: Fighting for the Allies in WWI
During World War I, while the Ottoman Empire was enacting the Armenian Genocide, thousands of Armenian volunteers and later conscripts fought alongside the…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Kingdom of Commagene and Mount Nemrut
Before the Seljuks, before the Mongols, even before Rome and Parthia carved up the Near East, a small but dazzling Armenian kingdom flourished in the shadow of…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Zabel Yessayan: The Writer Who Witnessed the Genocide
In the shadow of the Armenian Genocide, one woman risked everything to document the truth. Zabel Yessayan was a novelist, journalist, and activist who traveled…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Genocide: Planning, Denial, and Legacy
In 1915, the Ottoman Empire began a systematic campaign to exterminate its Armenian population. This episode explores the planning behind the genocide, the key…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia Under the Mongols: Survival Through Subjugation
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a complex and often overlooked era of Armenian history: the period of Mongol domination from the 13th to 14th…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Erzerum Congress: Armenian Nationalism on the Eve of Genocide
In July 1919, as the Ottoman Empire lay defeated and Allied powers redrew the map of the Middle East, a remarkable assembly gathered in the Armenian highlands…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia Under Soviet Rule: The Dark Years of Stalin and Beyond
In Episode 101 of The Story of Armenia, Lucas and Luna explore a chapter often left in shadow: Armenia's decades under Soviet domination. From the brutal…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Diaspora Before the Genocide: Global Networks 1600-1900
Long before the 20th century's cataclysms, Armenian merchants, scholars, and artisans had already built a worldwide network stretching from India to…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Armenian Fedayee: Guerrillas Who Fought an Empire
Long before the Armenian Genocide, a generation of young fighters took to the mountains. They called themselves fedayee — a word borrowed from Arabic for…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Moses of Khoren and the Invention of Armenian History
In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the enigmatic figure of Movses Khorenatsi — Moses of Khoren — the fifth-century historian whose 'History of…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's Conversion to Christianity: The Gospel That Changed a Nation
In the year 301 AD, Armenia became the first nation in history to adopt Christianity as its state religion, a decision that would shape its identity for…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
Armenia's First King: The Rise of Urartu under Aramu
Long before Tigranes the Great, before the Bagratunis, before Armenia even had its name, the highlands of eastern Anatolia gave rise to a kingdom that would…
- The Story of Armenia: Survival Through Empires and Genocide — Fexingo History
The Massacres of Hamidian Era and Armenian Resistance
In the 1890s, the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid II unleashed a wave of state-sanctioned massacres against its Armenian subjects, killing an estimated…