The Armenians

The formation of the Armenian people took place in the depth of ages, between the 2nd and 1st millennia B.C. Modern science maintains that the process of the formation of the Armenian people has taken place on the Armenian plateau, involving several tribes that have gradually converged into a single nation. The leading role in this process was reserved to tribes speaking a language of the Indo-European family. The scholars single out Hayasa, a tribal association that populated the Armenian-plateau and has sent it name to the way Armenians call themselves: '"Hay". Oral history explains the lineage of the Armenian people as being the direct descendants of Noah's son Japheth. The Armenian plateau is the cradle of Armenians. This circumstance has left an imprint on its entire history. Living of the junction of two worlds, the Asia and the European, the Armenians were exposed from early on to the cultures of the East and the West, and Armenian culture incorporated many elements of these civilizations. Many factors have affected the formation of Armenian mentality. These may include the tribulations of Armenian history, the exposure of the Armenians to the proponents of Western and Eastern civilizations. And although the Armenians are quite susceptible to cultural penetration, they somehow succeeded in preserving their ingenuity, traditions of social behavior and family lifestyles. The Armenian family is traditionally strong. The patriarchal flavor of the Armenian family is in that more often three generations live under a single roof.

Armenians are hospitable, intelligent, clever, hard working, experienced. The majority of them are characterized by a leadership drive. In different countries Armenians have attained top positions in different spheres. Possessing centuries of experience of living in an alien environments the Armenians are not xenophobic, although they do have their own assessments of the ways and features of national characters of their close and distant neighbors.