Hayk Enters Armenia
ARMENIANS TRACE THEIR beginnings to the hero Hayk, who led their successful rebellion against Babylon and emigration to the new homeland of Armenia. Armenians call themselves Hay and their country “Hayastan” after their hero. This lithograph, which shows the hero and his conquering troops with Mt. Ararat and the ark of Hayk's reputed ancestor Noah in the background, is from the enormously influential Patmutiwn Hayots, considered the first history of Armenia composed according to modern historiographical methods.
Mikayel Chamcheants. Patmutivn Hayots (History of Armenia). Venice: 1784. Near East Section, African and Middle Eastern Division, Library of Congress
