Not just a neighbor’s mountain, but identity: What does Ararat symbolize?

As early as the 5th century, historian Movses Khorenatsi described Mount Ararat as an inseparable part of the homeland and the sacred mountain of Armenia. The importance of Ararat has also been celebrated by writers such as Tumanyan, Isahakyan, Paruyr Sevak, and others, who called it the eternal symbol of the Armenian people and their spiritual center.

According to historian and Urartologist Mikael Badalyan, Ararat is also a national dream.

But how did this mountain come to embody national value and ideology? Why do Armenians immediately picture the homeland when they hear the name “Ararat”? And what would it mean for Armenians to be forced away from the mountain that has become their dream?