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Ara the Beautiful or Ara the Handsome ( - Ara Geghetsik in Armenian
Armenian language

The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh....
), according to legend, was an Armenian king
List of Armenian Kings

This is a list of the kings and queens of Armenia, an ancient kingdom in Anatolia and Caucasus as well as other Armenian people Kingdoms. For more information on ancient Armenia, please see History of Armenia....
 who ruled the Kingdom of Ararat
Urartu

Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia , rising to power in the mid 9th century BC, and finally conquered by Median Empire in the early 6th century BC....
 from 1769 to 1743 B.C. He is notable in Armenian literature for the popular legend in which he was so handsome that the Assyria
Assyria

Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
n queen Semiramis
Semiramis

Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen, also known as Semiramide, Semiramida, or Shamiram in Aramaic.Many legends have accumulated around her personality....
 waged war against Armenia just to get him.

The legend
According to the legend, Semiramis, queen of Assyria
Assyria

Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
, had heard about Ara's good looks and charm and desired him for herself.






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Shamiram Ara
Ara the Beautiful or Ara the Handsome ( - Ara Geghetsik in Armenian
Armenian language

The 'Armenian language' is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. It is the official language of the Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh....
), according to legend, was an Armenian king
List of Armenian Kings

This is a list of the kings and queens of Armenia, an ancient kingdom in Anatolia and Caucasus as well as other Armenian people Kingdoms. For more information on ancient Armenia, please see History of Armenia....
 who ruled the Kingdom of Ararat
Urartu

Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom in Eastern Anatolia , rising to power in the mid 9th century BC, and finally conquered by Median Empire in the early 6th century BC....
 from 1769 to 1743 B.C. He is notable in Armenian literature for the popular legend in which he was so handsome that the Assyria
Assyria

Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
n queen Semiramis
Semiramis

Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen, also known as Semiramide, Semiramida, or Shamiram in Aramaic.Many legends have accumulated around her personality....
 waged war against Armenia just to get him.

The legend


According to the legend, Semiramis, queen of Assyria
Assyria

Assyria was a political state centered on the Upper Tigris river, in Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times in history....
, had heard about Ara's good looks and charm and desired him for herself. Ara, being married, declined her advances because he did not want to betray his home and his family.

This infuriated Semiramis and she soon declared war on Armenia
Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in South Caucasus between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea....
. With a powerful army, she attacked the Armenians. In a battle fought in the Ararat
Ararat

Ararat may refer to:*Ararat, a common first name for Armenian_language males *Ararat / Araratian, a common family name for Armenians *An Anatolian toponym...
 valley, Ara was slain despite Semiramis having explicitly ordered that he be captured alive. This led her to become depressed, as had been the case with thousands of other women who had longed for the beauteous king. In order to halt continuous warfare with the Armenians, it is said that Semiramis prayed to the gods to revive Ara from the dead. Semiramis, reputed to be a sorceress, took his body and tried in vain to enliven him. When the Armenians advanced to avenge their leader, she disguised one of her lovers as Ara and spread the rumor that the gods had brought him back to life. As a result, the war was ceased.

The ending


There are different endings to this legend, some even stating that Ara came back from the dead. Arguably, most of the time, the legend consists of Ara dying, and never returning. Here are a few different endings:



See also


  • Haik
    Haik

    Hayk is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenians. His story is told in the History of Armenia ....
  • Semiramis
    Semiramis

    Semiramis was a legendary Assyrian queen, also known as Semiramide, Semiramida, or Shamiram in Aramaic.Many legends have accumulated around her personality....