A statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the role of statehood and kings in shaping the national identity of the Armenian people has sparked debate in the country.
Globalinfo.az reports that Pashinyan made the remarks in a speech at the Third World Armenian Summit on November 6.
The prime minister said Armenians existed even before 301.
According to him, at that time Christianity was not yet a state religion and the Armenian alphabet and church did not yet exist, so the kings formed the basis of the people’s national identity.
“We took our identity from the kings. Why were we called Armenians in the first century BC? Because our kings were Armenian,” Pashinyan said.
Armenian public figure Armen Hovasapyan objected to the statement.
In a post on his social media account, he described Pashinyan’s remarks as an attempt to tailor historical reality to political goals.
According to Hovasapyan, the identity of the Armenian people was not created by royal dynasties. He said the Yervanduni were of Iranian origin and the Arshakuni of Parthian origin, and it is wrong to claim they played a decisive role in the formation of the Armenian people.
“Armenian identity was not created by the order of some king. Our history is a history of statehood, but our identity is broader than any state, royal dynasty or political power,” Hovasapyan argued.
Aliyar Khalil
Globalinfo.az
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