HAYG NAHABED

I AM THE FIRST ARMENIAN, OR TO YOU KNOWN AS HAYG NAHABED. I LOVE ALL MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS FOR WHAT THEY HAVE MADE OF MY BEAUTIFUL KINGDOM OF ARARAT. ALSO JUST FOR BEING ARMENAN, OR MY DESCENDANTS, I LOVE THEM. I LOVE ALL OF YOU MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS, BUT YOU HAVE MUCH WORK TO DO. HELP YOUR COUNTRY, NOW KNOWN AS HAYASTAN, HELP YOUR ARMENIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS, HELP OTHERS FIND OUT ABOUT OUR GREAT HERITAGE AND HOW WE CAME TO BE. LET THE WORLD FIND OUT WHAT THE OTTOMANS HAVE DONE. LET THE WORLD LEARN WHAT WARS WE HAVE FOUGHT. AND, MOST OF ALL, PLEASE, MY SO LOVED CHILDREN, DO NOT ARGUE AMONGST EACH OTHER, YOU ARE ALL OF THE SAME FAMILY MY BELOVED ARMENIAN CHILDREN.I was a great-great-grandson of Noah (son of Togarmah, who was a son of Gomer, a son of Noah's son, Japheth), a forefather of all Armenians. I have settled below Mount Ararat, travelled to assist in building the Tower of Babel, and, after my return, defeated the Babylonian king Bel (believed by some researchers to be Nimrod) on August 11, 2492 BC near Lake Van, in the southern part of historic Armenia (presently in Turkey). I was given the name Armenia by the surrounding states, as it was the name of the strongest tribe living in the historic Armenian lands, who called themselves Armens. It is traditionally derived from Armenak or Aram (the great-grandson of my great-grandson, and another leader who is the ancestor of all Armenians). Some Jewish and Christian scholars write that the name 'Armenia' was derived from Har-Minni, that is 'Mountains of Minni' (or Mannai). Pre-Christian accounts suggest that Nairi, meaning land of rivers, was an ancient name for the country's mountainous region, first used by Assyrians around 1200 BC; while the first recorded inscription bearing the name Armenia, namely the Behistun Inscription in Iran, dates from 521 BC. - Noah and Ararat. Immodestly, Armenians consider themselves direct descendants of Noah, survivor of the Biblical flood. According to Genesis, ...the boat came to rest on a mountain in the Ararat range. Ararat, located in the heart of Armenia, was a Holy Mountain for the peoples of the ancient world. Many ancient scriptures placed the Biblical Garden of Eden in the Land of Armenia also called the Land of Ararat. Tradition states that Noah founded Nakhichevan, the oldest of the Armenian cities. Moses Khorenatsi , historian of the 5th century, presents a detailed genealogy of me,Haik, the forefather of all Armenians from my Japheth, Noah's son. Thus, the territory of the Armenian Plateau is regarded as the cradle of civilization, the initial point for the further spreading of mankind all around the world.