Edited by Richard Hovannisian

From early antiquity, the Armenian people developed a rich and distinctive culture on the great highland extending from eastern Asia Minor to the Caucasus. On that crossroad, they interacted on many levels with other civilizations. The continuity of Armenian life in most of this historic homeland was brought to an abrupt end as a result of the Armenian Genocide.

The UCLA conference series titled Historic Armenian Cities and Provinces is organized to explore the historical, political, cultural, religious, and socio-economic legacy of the Armenian people.

Located along the Taurus Mountains between the Armenian plateau and northern Mesopotamia, Tigranakert and Edessa hold special significance in Armenian history. It was in the vicinity of modern-day Diarbekir that Tigran the Great built an opulent new capital city in the heart of his expansive empire in the first century B.C. and it was by way of Edessa that early Christianity made its way to Armenia through the Apostles of Christ.

For centuries, the regions of Tigranakert and Edessa were on the front lines in the unceasing contest for dominance between the empires of the southeast and the northwest. But these zones of military contact were also areas of active economic and cultural exchange.

ISBN# 1568591535