THE ANCIENT IRANIAN STATES (ELAM AND MЕDIA) ACCORDING TO THE “ANCIENT ARMENIAN GEOGRAPHY” OR ASHKHARATSUITS

H. Zh. Harutyunyan

Yerevan State University

Many different states have existed on the territory of the modern Persian Highlands across the millennia. The first among them was the state of Elam (from 4,000 to 1,000 BC), followed by Media (the first half of the first millennium BC). The history of Elam goes back many centuries. As a result, it is impossible to give a definitive answer to the question of when to date the start of the socio-economic and cultural history of this kingdom. As for the political history, it is considered to be the beginning of the third millennium BC (as in neighboring Mesopotamia). The historical-geographical description of the Persian Highlands and the neighboring territories found its full description in the Ashkharatsuits (or “Ancient Armenian geography”). The second ancient Iranian state, Media (in the Armenian language it is known as Marastan, that is the country of the Maras or Medes), is also mentioned in this ancient Armenian primary source. As in the description of Elam, the authors of Ashkharatsuits remain faithful to their principle of describing almost all known countries of the world, that is they adhere to a northern orientation in the enumeration of states. They also describe the historical and geographical divisions and natural resources of the countries mentioned. Overall, Ashkharatsuits complements information from other authors of antiquity about these countries.

Keywords: Movses Khorenatsi, Ananias of Shirak, Ashkharatsuits, “Ancient Armenian Geography,” history of Armenia, ancient Iran, Elam, Media, 4,000 to 1,000 BC.

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