Armenia

Abstract

Education in Armenia has a very long tradition. Its origins are closely linked to the early christianization of the country at the beginning of the fourth century and the introduction of the Armenian alphabet by monk Mesrop Mashtots in 405 AD. The first school was opened in Vagharshapat where the bible, ethics, grammar, rhetoric, and dialectics were taught. Disciplines such as astronomy and geometry were added later. To help disseminate knowledge, the school trained teachers and priests who were then sent to other monasteries. There were also special schools where translators and “men of the quill,” who transcribed books, were trained. These first schools drew on works of grammar, rhetoric, and philosophy translated from Greek.