The Armenian art of manuscript illumination survived 14 centuries, from the V^th till the XIX^th century. Starting from the V^th century, after the creation of the Armenian alphabet by Mesrop Mashtots in 405, Armenia experiences the flowering of literature, both translated and original. The boom was soon reflected in the art of the miniature.

Many manuscripts, especially those dated back to the early period, did not survive till our time. During the centuries Armenia was often a hostility arena. The country was suffering from the armies of foreign invaders and was subject to violent devastation. All these lead to the destruction of the ancient Armenian literary monuments, among which there were many magnificently illuminated codices. However the people that always had a deep love and respect to a book, selflessly strove to preserve its spiritual values. In difficult times of foreign occupations refugees, escaping from enemies, carried books with them as the most precious belonging or dug big and heavy volumes under the ground to find them again when they were back. Book was cherished, bought out for a lot of money, people tried to return It to the temple where It belonged.

Most of the illuminated manuscripts that survived till nowadays have the spiritual meaning. The reasons for that are the close relationship between medieval art and religion and a very protective attitude towards the sacred manuscripts.

Miniature was painted with Kalam, a sharpened reed stick, or with an “eternal” pen which had a bulge for ink storage. To make a sketch, the artist used ruler and pair of compasses and marked the initial outline with cinnabar or ochre. Then he covered certain parts of the drawing with gouache. Paints were made out of herbs, minerals (yellow, red, brown), colored soil, metal oxides (blue, green) or imported (lapis lazuli). The famous purple was made out of worm (vortan karmir). It gave a lot of other tints as well. Vegetable glue (for gouache) or sometimes an egg (for tempera) were used as a binding agent. Gold-leaves was used in miniatures of the XII^th century. Books were given leather covers, often decorated with precious golden, silver or sometimes ivory frameworks. These frameworks almost did not survive till our times due to their pure material value.

In the VII^th century Armenia was occupied by Arabs, who subdued also other countries of the Middle East: Iran, Middle Asia, Caucasus, rich provinces of Byzantine Empire – Syria, Palestine, Egypt – they seized Northern Africa and a part of Spain. Many early Armenian codices did not survive the times of the Arab sway as well as the times of winning back the freedom from the Arabs.

The post-Arabic period is the time of the rise and flourishing of the Syuniq kingdom, one of the largest provinces of the historical Armenia. Liberation from the Arab yoke and the political independence attained by a number of Armenian feudal lords brought about long years of peace and favored the economic and cultural revival of the country. The monastery of Tatev became the center of this new life in the country. Those times the foundation for the famous Tatev school of miniature was laid down.

In the 40’s of the XIII century, Armenia was subjected to other raids; this time the Mongols invaded the country. The cruel Mongolian yoke, lasting more than a hundred years, caused tremendous damage to the prospering towns and the developed agriculture. 

During this widespread decline in Armenia, Syuniq was one of those regions enjoying relatively favorable conditions. The advantageous position of Syuniq was conditioned by the clever diplomacy of the noble families, the Orbelians and the Proshians. Beginning from the middle of the XIII^th century, the Orbelians managed to improve their position in Syuniq, secure privileges and ensure peace in that region for some decades. While a wave of migration swept over the various regions of Armenia, it was quite the contrary in Syuniq. Refugees from other regions, robbed and plundered, moved to Syuniq in the hope of safety. 

All that, in turn, created favorable conditions for the development of culture. During the XIII – XIV centuries, the creative activities of many skilled architects, sculptors, talented poets and painters unfolded in the cultural centers of Syuniq.

Overall, fortunately, a large number of Armenian manuscripts are preserved, nearly 30,000, dating from the IX^th to the XIX^th centuries, and produced in every region inhabited by Armenians. 

The manuscripts and the works of art they contain are preserved in public museums and libraries, the most important of which are the Matenadaran in Erevan (11,000 whole manuscripts), the Library of the Mekhitarist Brotherhood at San Lazzaro, Venice (4,000), Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem (4,000), the Library of the Mekhitarist Brotherhood in Vienna (1,200), the Armenian Catholic Monastery of Bzummar in Lebanon (1,000), the Armenian Monastery at New Julfa, Isfahan (1,000) and important collections of fewer than 1,000 manuscripts are kept at the Catholicossate of Etchmiadzin, the Oriental Institute, Leningrad, the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris, Bodleian Library, Oxford, the British Library, London, the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin, the Catholicossate of Cilicia, Antelias, University of California, Los Angeles, and the Vatican Library. Hundreds of other libraries have small, but artistically very important, collections, for instance the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, the Pierpoint Morgan Museum in New York, the Walters Gallery in Baltimore, and the John Rylands Library in Manchester.

The exposition includes pieces from collections of the Museum of History of Armenia and Museum of Erebuni fortress.

The exposition is divided into several parts.
The first part includes pieces of the XIII-II millennium BC from different archaeological complexes on the territory of Armenia: small plastic art, ceramics, golden and bronze items, jewelry.

The second part includes pieces of the Urartian time, the IX-VII centuries BC: bronze and clay sculptures of gods, stone and bone figures of animals, ceramics, golden and silver jewelry and vessels, as well as bronze armour, items of martial equipment and objects of worship with dedicatory inscriptions of the Urartian kings and several clay tablets with cuneiform texts. A big part of the Urartian memorials was discovered during excavations of the Teishebaini fortress, situated in the western suburb of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. The excavations were held by a joint expedition of the Armenian Academy of Science and the Ermitage in 1939 – 1971 under the direction of Boris Piotrovsky.

Pieces belonging to the third part of the exposition are dated VI-V centuries BC and represent the post-Urartian epoch on the territory of Armenia.

The last part includes glass items of the medieval Dvin of the VIII-XIII centuries AD. This is the heritage of a well-known scientist and archaeologist Ripsime Djanpoladian, the wife of Boris Piotrovsky. She devoted her life to the study of the medieval Armenian culture and made a great contribution into investigation of the Armenian glass-making.

The exhibition is open till January 25, 2009.

Each province is divided further into communities, which stand for municipalities. It can be urban or rural communities. In total there are about 915 communities, 49 of which are urban. Yerevan has no communities, it’s itself is also a community and is divided into 12 districts.

So what are the 10 provinces of Armenia and what each of them is known for?

Let’s shortly mention the capital city Yerevan. It is situated in the center-west of the country in the north-eastern extremity of the Ararat Valley. Yerevan is the largest city in Armenia, inhabiting about 1/3 of the total population of Armenia, which is over 1 million people. It used to be a small city, but grew fast in the Soviet time. There’s a legend, a joke or truth that Yerevan grew to 1 million due to construction of the Yerevan underground system. When subway was built in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, Armenia couldn’t help getting it in Yerevan (“Tbilisi was faster to get it, so we must do our best to catch up”). But there was a serious obstacle for catching up with Tbilisi – population. There was a rule that an underground can be built only in cities with population more than 1 million. And then Yerevan executives started an urbanization program, attracting people from provinces  to Yerevan. Thus it grew to 1 million and the underground system was built and has 2 branches and 10 stations.  

The provinces, marz’es, of Armenia are: Aragatsotn, Ararat, Armavir, Gegharkunik, Kotayk, Lori, Shirak, Syunik, Tavush and Vayotz Dzor. The biggest by population is Shirak, and by area – Gegharkunik.

But let’s first say a couple of words about Aragatsotn marz. This is the region, where the highest and the most beautiful mountain of the present-day Armenia, Aragats, is situated (Aragatsotn means “the foot of Aragats”) and this is the greatest natural attraction of Armenia! Several areas and spots of petroglyphs, stone carvings by primitive man, were found in the area. So if you find yourself in Armenia, you should by all means visit Aragats. To explore the area I recommend staying in SOAr’s b&b’s.

Shirak marz, a namesake of the previous president of France, Jacques Chirac , is situated in the north-west of the country, bordering Georgia and Turkey. The capital of Shirak, Gyumri, is the second largest city in Armenia and the victim of the Armenian earthquake of 1988. There are many churches and the Urartian citadel and cemetery. On the Turkish border one can have a look at the ancient Armenian capital Ani.

Gegharkunik marz is in the North-East of the country, bordering Azerbaijan. The main attraction of the region is Lake Sevan, a big mountainous fresh lake that occupies 5% of the country’s territory. Sevan’s water has a very beautiful marine color, and Sevan’s banks carry many beautiful churches.

Syunik marz is the southernmost province of Armenia, bordering, Iran and Azerbaijan’s exclave Nakhichevan. This region has one of the most stunning scenery and some of the most popular tourist attractions. Tatev monastery, situated here, is one of the biggest complexes in Armenia. Another great sightseeing destination is Karahundj, the Armenian Stonehenge-like ancient stone observatory. Syunik marz is the richest area for petroglyphs.

Lori marz, situated on the North of the country and bordering Georgia, is the home to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Haghpat and Sanahin, as well as to the well-preserved Akhtala and lovely Kober monasteries and marvelous landscapes.

Tavush marz is the northeastern province of Armenia, bordering Georgia and Azerbaijan. This is one of the most beautiful corners of Armenia, the most covered with thick forests mountainuos area. It is sprinkled with beautifully sited churches, monasteries and fortresses. The most known of them are Haghartsin and Goshavank. There are a lot of b&b’s and hotels to stay, but I would recommend Apaga’s base.

Vayots Dzor marz lies in the south-east of the country, bordering Azerbaijan on both east and west sides. It’s one of the most historically interested areas of Armenia. Sparsely populated, Vayots Dzor is stuffed with medieval churches, monasteries, forts, caves as well as remains of Bronze and early Iron Age. The most favourite destinations are Noravank monastery, Magil cave, Mozrovi cave, Areni church and Smbataberd fort.

Ararat marz named after the Mount Ararat is bordering Turkey along the Arax river and contains the Ararat Valley, dominated by Mount Ararat. It’s a plane and agriculturally rich, but very hot valley. However, the province includes also a very green and nice area on the other side, which is mostly protected within the bounds of the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. The most known attractions here are Khor Virap monastery with a stunning view on Ararat, and ruins of the ancient Armenian capital city Dvin.

Kotayk marz is situated in the center of the country. It contains Geghama range in the east, with areas rich of petroglyphs, Ara mountain and beautiful Azat river gorge in the south. The latter is famous for Garni temple and Geghard monastery. Kotayk province is home to the Armenian and Soviet Olympic ski resort Tsakhkadzor. Besides these popular destination it abounds many other churches, monasteries and forts.

Armavir marz is in the west of Armenia, located in the Ararat valley between Ararat and Aragats mountains and bordering Turkey along the Araz river. Armavir is home to the Holy City of Etchmiadzin, the center of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the residence of Katolikos, the head of the Church. Other famous sites here are Zvartnots cathedral, the Sardarapat battle monument, fortress of Aragats and the early Iron Age site/museum of Metsamor.