Armenia is the capital of Quindio Department. It is one of the main centers of the national economy and of the Eje Cafetero. Armenia is a medium-sized city located between Bogotá, Medellin and Cali, the three biggest cities in Colombia.

History

The city was founded on October 14, 1889 by Jesús María Ocampo, also known as "Tigrero" (translates to "tiger killer") due to his love of hunting jaguars, known locally as tigers. Ocampo came from Anaime, Tolima, looking for shelter in the mountains of Quindío since he was running away from General Gallo. He paid one hundred pesos in gold coins to Antonio Herrera for the land in which to build a fonda, or trade center, not only for himself but also for other colonists who came from Salento, Antioquia, Manizales and areas surrounding the Quindío River and La Vieja River. Ocampo then proceeded to sell land for settlement. To encourage settlement, Ocampo returned to Anaime to ask for the help of his friend Juan de la Cruz Cardona, and to marry thirteen-year-old Arsenia Cardona. Six months after its founding, in August 1890, Armenia had reached a population of 100 people, allowing it to gain legal recognition by the government. The city was initially called Villa Holguín, in honor of Carlos Holguín Mallarino, the then-current president of the country. It is believed the name was changed to Armenia after the country of the same name, in memory of the Armenian people murdered in the Turkish Ottoman Hamidian Massacres of 1894-97 in Western Armenia, and later the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23. It is also known by its nickname "Ciudad Milagro" (Miracle city).

Coordinates: 40°N 45°E / 40°N 45°E / 40; 45

Armenia (ⁱ/ɑːrˈmiːniə/, /-ˈmiːnjə/;Armenian: Հայաստան, tr. Hayastan, IPA: [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Armenian: Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, tr. Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun), is a sovereign state in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located in Western Asia, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.

Armenia is a unitary, multi-party, democratic nation-state with an ancient cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Van was established in 860 BC and by the 6th century BC it was replaced by the Satrapy of Armenia. In the 1st century BC the Kingdom of Armenia reached its height under Tigranes the Great. Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its official religion. In between the late 3rd century to early years of the 4th century, the state became "the first Christian nation." The official date of state adoption of Christianity was 301 AD. The ancient Armenian kingdom was split between the Byzantine and Sasanid empires around the early 5th century. Under the Bagratuni dynasty, the Armenian Kingdom was restored in the 9th century. Declining due to the wars against the Byzantines, the kingdom fell in 1045 and Armenia was soon after invaded by the Seljuk Turks. An Armenian principality and later a kingdom Cilician Armenia was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea between the 11th and 14th centuries.

Armenia was a merchant vessel launched at Calcutta in 1796. Captain Thomas Meek (or Meik), was her only captain. In 1799 the East India Company (EIC) took her up. She made one trip to Britain for the EIC. On that trip she left St Helena on 6 July in the company of the East Indiamen Tellicherry, Triton, and Barwell, and under escort by the 18-gun Cornwallis.Armenia arrived in Britain on 27 September.

Capture and postscript

The French privateer Clarisse captured Armenia on 5 July 1800 and sent her into Mauritius.Clarisse was armed with 16 guns and had a crew of 180 men under the command of Captain La Meme. Armenia encountered Clarisse at 7°30′S 79°30′E / 7.500°S 79.500°E / -7.500; 79.500, and after a five-hour chase she caught up with Armenia and combat ensued. Captain Meik resisted, but after about 40 minutes of exchanging fire he stuck. Armenia had lost her Third Officer killed and six men wounded, one of whom died later; Clarisse appeared to have had three men killed. Another report has Clarisse's casualties as seven killed and 20 wounded.

The name Armenia enters English via Latin, from Ancient Greek Ἀρμενία. The Armenian endonym for the Armenian people and country is hayer and hayk’, respectively. The exact etymology of the name is unknown, and there are various speculative attempts to connect it to older toponyms or ethnonyms.

Etymology

The earliest attestations of the exonym Armenia date around the 6th century BC. In his trilingual Behistun Inscription, Darius I the Great of Persia refers to Urashtu (in Babylonian) as Armina (in Old Persian) and Harminuya (in Elamite). In Greek, Αρμένιοι "Armenians" is attested from about the same time, perhaps the earliest reference being a fragment attributed to Hecataeus of Miletus (476 BC).Herodotus, in c. 440 BC, said "the Armenians were equipped like Phrygians, being Phrygian colonists" (7.73) (Ἀρμένιοι δὲ κατά περ Φρύγες ἐσεσάχατο, ἐόντες Φρυγῶν ἄποικοι.). Xenophon describes many aspects of Armenian village life and hospitality. He relates that the people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians.

TheColumbia is one of the first breeds of sheep developed in the United States. The product of USDA and university research, it was intended to be an improved breed specially built for the Western ranges of the country (where the majority of sheep raising takes place). Beginning in 1912 in Laramie, Wyoming, Lincoln rams were crossed with Rambouillet ewes. In 1918, the foundation flock was moved to the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station near Dubois, Idaho, for further refinement. Today's Columbia is a popular breed, with heavy, white fleeces and good growth characteristics. It is one of the larger breeds, and is often used for cross breeding in commercial western flocks.

Characteristics

Adult rams weigh between 275 and 400 lb (125 and 181 kg), while females weigh between 175 and 300 lb (79 and 136 kg). An average fleece from an ewe weighs from 10 to 16 lb (4.5 to 7.3 kg) with a yield of 45 to 55%. The staple length of the wool ranges from 3.5 to 5 in (8.9 to 12.7 cm). The wool is classified as medium wool with a spin count of 50s to 60s. The wool varies from 31.0 to 24.0 microns.

Colombia is a station on Line 8 and Line 9 of the Madrid Metro. It is located in fare Zone A.

References

Colombia (UCI team code: COL) was a Colombian UCI Professional Continental cycling team based in Adro (Italy) that participates in UCI Continental Circuits and UCI World Tour races.

In January 2012 it was announced that the team had received invites to the Italian classic races Tirreno–Adriatico, Milan–San Remo and Giro di Lombardia. They were invited to ride the 2013 Giro d'Italia. The team was also invited to the 2014 Giro d'Italia, where during the tenth stage of the race, members of the team wore a white cockade, in memory of the people who died in the Fundación bus fire in Colombia. In 2015 they were invited to the Vuelta a España for the first time. At 30 August it became clear that Cano, Qunitero and Ávila who all cycle for Team Colombia, was picked out for Colombia National Team at the 2015 UCI Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia.

In October 2015, the team announced they would be disbanding and not returning for the 2016 season, citing shortfalls in sponsorship from the Colombian Sports Ministry.