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20150120

Armenia and Azeribaijan: A Commentary (satire)

Armenia today consists of the Persian-Armenian "faction".  Thanks to the collapse of the Soviet Union, they fought the Azerbaijani over a region of Azerbaijan that contains a lot of Armenians, who were being targeted by Azerbaijani extremists, and "liberated" it for the good of Armenians there. This conflict was due to both sides declaring themselves republics in a frenzy of nationalism that spread throughout the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.

It makes me wonder if the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh thought out what would happen in their bid for independence in 1988.  The resulting war lasted for 4 years and led to massive killings on both sides - which leads me to suspect both sides, being suppressed by Moscow during the Soviet years, got a little giddy with the prospect of freedom and decided on scorched earth policies against each other due to each side as their fervent nationalism led to war.

Perhaps Armenians and Azeri were in conflict because the Armenians have been there since 1500 BCE and the Azeri only since 1064 CE when the Seljuk Turks moved into Asia Minor. From the Armenians' point of view, perhaps they were just keeping the invaders at bay as they have been doing since 1064 CE.

Today the Armenians outside of Armenia proper are fighting to preserve their traditions, but on both sides there were a lot of raids for booty before and after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Obviously, the Azeri versus Armenia enmity could not be ended overnight because neither side is willing to forgive and forget without UN intervention.

However, it is the Persian-Armenians who form the majority in Armenia. Almost everywhere else, it is the Greco-Armenians who originally lived in Cilicia since the days of the Parthian Empire circa 300s BCE. Cilicia was later resettled by Greco-Armenians around 1090 CE due to the Seljuk Turk incursion into Anatolia. It is they who form the majority of the Armenian diaspora outside of Asia Minor. Half of Cilicia was conquered by the Seljuks between 1064 and 1090s.

A few members of the Armenian diaspora are so well-learned that in order to convey the full meaning of deeply emotional and/or intellectual concepts, they will switch from Armenian to French, Greek or Persian and back again.

Additionally, the Armenians never formed an empire of their own, due to the rugged mountainous region in which they dwelled in what became eastern Turkey today. It was easier to make alliances with whoever subjugated them in the past, be it Sassanid Persians making incursions into Byzantium and Parthian Greeks ruling under satrapies prior to 190 BCE, along with Turks since 1000 CE.

Nationalism is a new phenomenon for both Azeri and Armenians, and is not a peaceful struggle for people who originally based their allegiance on the clan / tribal system.

There may be struggles in the future, thanks to the rise of jihadi cultism and the horrible violence it can cause in the world today. If it takes hold in Azeribaijan, then it could lead to a renewal of conflict between both nations.

At the moment, though, the uneasy peace in the region has left the West to consider more pressing matters elsewhere.

Nagorno-Karabakh War:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagorno-Karabakh_War

DID THE TURKS INVADE AND CONFISCATE ARMENIAN LANDS:
http://www.ermenisorunu.gen.tr/english/answers/invade.html

Armenians: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armenians

Cilicia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cilicia

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