Armenia has experienced quite a lot throughout its history. Once it was a great state, then part of the USSR. Today it is a sovereign country, following its own path in its development, although not every adult will confidently show it on the map. And even more so, few people will be able to say something definite about the coat of arms of Armenia, the meaning of the colors on its flag, and name its political leader. It is still worth partially filling this gap.
About the story
This state is already more than 2.5 thousand years old, and the people are known even more. Armenia has experienced many ups and downs, conquests and liberations, was part of the empires and gained complete independence. And its rich history simply had to be reflected in its modern symbols. As you know, each state usually has three of them: an anthem, a coat of arms and a flag. It is worth talking about them a little more.
National symbols of Armenia
Unfortunately, the modern tricolor has nothing to do with the history of this country and appeared only in 1918. The colors red, blue and orange were chosen and approved artificially, they are notreflect the symbolism used for centuries. Within the framework of the USSR, a traditional scarlet cloth was used with some details that are different for each individual republic, but after declaring independence, Armenia again began to use the pre-Soviet tricolor. The meaning of its colors is explained as follows: red is the personification of the blood of local soldiers, blue is the sky, and orange symbolizes the fertile fields.
The anthem also does not have a serious history, it first appeared in 1918 and lasted only a couple of years, after joining the USSR, its use ceased for a long time. They returned to it after the collapse of the country in 1991, and it still operates. The author of the lines is Mikael Nalbandyan, and the music is Barsegh Kanachyan.
But about the coat of arms of Armenia it is worth talking separately and in a little more detail. It is by it that one can judge the past of the country, because, unlike the flag and the anthem, it has a fairly rich history.
Coat of arms
Despite the fact that, like the flag with the anthem, it was approved only in 1918, when the republic gained independence, but before joining the USSR, it is more than them based on its history. At the first glance at the coat of arms of Armenia, it is quite difficult to understand which country it belongs to, one can hardly immediately think of this small modern state. The main colors are golden, red, blue and orange. The lion and the eagle hold a shield divided into four sectors and a central part. In each corner is a symbol of one of the great dynasties,ruling Armenia. There are four in total: the Bagratids from the 9th to the 11th century with a running lion on a red field in the upper left corner, the Arsacids from the 1st to the 5th century with two eagles on a blue field at the bottom left, the Artashesids, who ruled BC, with birds on scarlet below, and finally, Rubenids, who ruled until the 14th century, whose graphic reflection is in the remainder. In the center is the main mountain of Armenia - Ararat with Noah's Ark on top.
The coat of arms of Armenia was re-approved in 1991, its artists were the famous Alexander Tamanyan and Hakob Kojoyan. Despite their authority, a number of alleged heraldic inaccuracies or errors have recently come to light. On any illustration or photo, the coat of arms of Armenia looks very solid, but some little things catch the eye of specialists.
So, the lion, which is usually a symbol of strength and wisdom and is depicted with an open mouth, here, on the contrary, with a closed one. In this case, it can be interpreted as evidence of weakness and vulnerability. Also, some experts consider the absence of the motto on the ribbon at the bottom of the symbol to be an omission. Perhaps in the coming years, the coat of arms of Armenia will undergo some minor changes, keeping the overall picture unchanged.
Paradox
Those who know that the mountain on the coat of arms of Armenia symbolizes Ararat may wonder how it happened that it is located in Turkey. The fact is that for a long time it really was located within the borders of the state, the symbol of whichis an. However, in 1921, when the Armenian SSR had already become part of the Soviet Union, under the terms of the Moscow and Kars treaties, some territory was ceded to Turkey. As a result, the mountain was outside the country, 32 kilometers from it. Nevertheless, she still remains her informal symbol and is also present on the coat of arms.
