ABSTRACT
The Armenian plateau is one of the ancient hearths of human civilization. Armenia was the first state in the ancient world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. Armenians, like Georgians, belong to the Indo-European ethnic family. Armenian is one of the oldest written languages; Mesrop Mashtots created the alphabet at the beginning of the 9th century. Machine building, chemical, non-ferrous metallurgy, light goods and food production are major branches of industry in Armenia. Since 1988 the republic has been in conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan for control of Nagomo-Karabakh, an Armenian enclave within the territory of Azerbaijan. Armenia is located at the same latitude as Spain, Italy and Greece. The plant and animal kingdoms of Armenia are rich and diverse. Armenia has a rich variety of useful minerals. The small amount of forest cover in Armenia is one of the reasons erosion and mudflows are a problem, which in tum decreases the productivity of arable land.
