In the legend
of the great rebellion during the time of Narām-Sîn (22th century
BCE), the king of Akkad, seventeen provincial governors from Iran united
against him. Among them, a region called Armanum is mentioned, which is the ancient homeland of the Armenians and corresponds to present-day
Armenia. This region was first recorded during the reign of Sargon I (23th-22th
centuries BCE). The name of the king of Armanum during the Narām-Sîn period was
Madagina (JRAS 2: 259), or more precisely Madakina (RA 70: 121), where Mada likely derives from Mede
and the second part of the name, kina, corresponds to the Avestan word
kaēna. This name could indeed potentially mean “avenger of the Mede(s)” or “who seeks vengeance of the Mede(s)”. The name Armanu(m) is derived from Proto-Indo-Aryan Arimanu or Ariamanu
meaning “Aryan/Iranian Human”.
The linguistic, cultural, and religious affinities are strong evidence of the shared ancestry between Iranians and Armenians.