This is a list of the hypothetical

Armeno-Phrygian The Armeno-Phrygians are a hypothetical people of West Asia (specifically of Asia Minor and the Armenian Highlands) during the Bronze Age, the Bronze Age collapse, and its aftermath. They would be the common ancestors of both Phrygians and Pro ...

peoples and tribes. Armeno-Phrygians is the name given to the hypothetical common ancestors of both

Phrygians The Phrygians (Greek: Φρύγες, ''Phruges'' or ''Phryges'') were an ancient Indo-European speaking people who inhabited central-western Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) in antiquity. Ancient Greek authors used "Phrygian" as an umbrella term t ...

and

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

. Even if

are not more closely related to the

, some scholars think that there is some closer connection from common ancestors between

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

and

and their languages that between them and other Indo-European peoples (as the model tree of

Donald Ringe Donald Ringe () is an American linguist and Indo-Europeanist. He has been described as a historical linguist and as a mathematical linguist. He is multi-lingual. His work is on language family trees and the Proto-Indo-European language, a ...

and

Tandy Warnow Tandy Warnow is an American computer scientist and Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.Tandy Warnow's , retrieved 2020-09-10. She is known for her work on the reconstruction of evolution ...

). Regardless of their

Ethnogenesis Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification. The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th-century neologism that was later introduce ...

( հայեր - Hayer or Հայք - Hayq or

Hayk Hayk (, ), also known as Hayk Nahapet (, , ), is the legendary patriarch and founder of the Armenian nation. His story is told in the ''History of Armenia'' attributed to the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi and in the ''Primary History'' ...

- Հայկ - self name in their own language) are one of the oldest ethnic groups that live until modern times, they live or lived in the

Armenian Highlands The Armenian highlands (; also known as the Armenian upland, Armenian plateau, or Armenian tableland)Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: ...

and eastern

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, in the

historical regions of Armenia This is a list of regions and or districts of ancient Armenia. Aghdznik Artsakh Ayrarat Gugark Korchayk Mok Nor Shirakan Paytakaran Sophene Syunik Tayk Turuberan Upper Armeni ...

, and today's

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

for about or more than three millennia, by this standard they are clearly a native people of their land. Like many other, or even most, ethnic groups, Armenian ethnogenensis and origin was the result of a complex process and blend between older and later peoples that formed a new ethnic identity."The Armenians according to Diakonoff, are then an amalgam of the Hurrian (and Urartians),

Luvians The Luwians (also known as Luvians) were an ancient people in Anatolia who spoke the Luwian language. During the Bronze Age, Luwians formed part of the population of the Hittite Empire and adjoining states such as Kizzuwatna. During the Hittite ...

uwiansand the Proto-Armenian Mushki who carried their IE ndo-Europeanlanguage eastwards across Anatolia. After arriving in its historical territory, Proto-Armenian would appear to have undergone massive influence by the languages it eventually replaced. Armenian phonology, for instance, appears to have been greatly affected by Urartian, which may suggest a long period of bilingualism." in "Armenians" in

Ancestors

Proto-Indo-Europeans The Proto-Indo-Europeans are a hypothetical prehistoric ethnolinguistic group of Eurasia who spoke Proto-Indo-European (PIE), the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Knowledge of them comes chiefly from t ...

(

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

speakers) ** Proto-Graeco-Phrygians ( Proto-Graeco-Phrygian speakers) ***Proto-Graeco-Armenians ( Proto-Graeco-Armenian speakers)

Possible Direct Ancestors

Paleo-Balkan languages in Eastern Europe between 5th and 1st century BC

*Graeco-Phrygians ** Hellenics ***

Proto-Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Anatolia, parts of Italy and Egypt, and to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Eastern Mediterranean and Black Sea. They also f ...

****

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

(esp. speakers of northern dialects) **(?)

Paeonians Paeonians () were an ancient Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania (Roman province), Dardania ...

Paeones Paeonians () were an ancient Proto-Indo-Europeans, Indo-European people that dwelt in Paeonia (kingdom), Paeonia. Paeonia was an old country whose location was to the north of Ancient Macedonia, to the south of Dardania (Roman province), Dardania ...

There are different views and still no agreement among scholars about the

' ethnic and linguistic kinship. Some such as

Wilhelm Tomaschek Wilhelm Tomaschek (; 26 May 1841 – 9 September 1901) was a Czech- Austrian geographer and orientalist. He is known for his work in the fields of historical topography and historical ethnography.Paul Kretschmer Paul Kretschmer (2 May 1866 – 9 March 1956) was a German linguist who studied the earliest history and interrelations of the Indo-European languages and showed how they were influenced by non-Indo-European languages, such as Etruscan. Biogr ...

claim that the

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

spoken by the

belonged to the Illyrian family, while

Dimitar Dechev Dimitar (, , ) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is widely found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. It's derived from one or more of the following: * Saint Demetrius (280–306) * Dimetor ''Διμήτωρ'' ("twice-born"), epithet of Dio ...

claims affinities with

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

. Irwin L. Merker considers that the

spoken by the

was closely related to

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(and ancient Macedonian if it was a distinct language from

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

), a Hellenic language with "a great deal of Illyrian and Thracian influence as a result of this proximity". ***

Agrianes The Agrianes (Ancient Greek: Ἀγριᾶνες, ''Agrianes'' or Ἀγρίαι, ''Agriai'') or Agrianians, were a tribe whose country was centered at Upper Strymon, in present-day central Western Bulgaria as well as southeasternmost Serbia, at t ...

Early symbolic systems for communication in Southeast Europe, Part 2 by Lolita Nikolova, , 2003, page 529, "eastern Paionians (Agrianians and Laeaeans)" (also, ''Agriani'' and ''Agrii'') (it is also claimed that this tribe was

) *** Almopians (also ''Almopioi'') ***

Derrones The Derrones (or ''Deroni, Derroni'') were a Thracian or a Paionian tribe. Our knowledge of them comes from coins bearing variations of the legend of DERRONIKON (ΔΕΡΡΟΝΙΚΟΝ) - DERR (ΔΕΡΡ). The letters used in the coins are Greek, al ...

(also ''Derroni'') (it is also claimed that this tribe was

) ***

Doberes ''Doberes'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. Species Recognised species in the genus ''Doberes'' include: * ''Doberes anticus'' (Plötz, 1884) References Natural History Museum Lepidoptera genus database
Pyrginae Hes ...

***

Laeaeans The Laeaeans (; ) were a Paeonian tribe who in the 4th century BC lived adjacent to the Agrianes, another Paeonian tribe, along the upper course of the Strymon river, at the western edge of Thrace. They were not incorporated into the Odrysian st ...

(also ''Laeaei'' and ''Laiai'') *** Odomantes (also ''Odomanti'') (it is also claimed that this tribe was

) ***

Paeoplae Paeoplae (Ancient Greek: Παιόπλαι) were an ancient Paeonian tribe in Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounde ...

***

Siropaiones Siro-Paeonians or Siropaiones (Ancient Greek: Σιροπαίονες, ) were an ancient Paeonian tribe inhabiting the ancient city of Siris (present day Serres) and the Strymon plain. They were one of eight (Herodotus) or ten (Thucydides) tribes of ...

**(?)

( Armeno-Phrygians? Part of the larger and older Graeco-Phrygians?)

Possible Armeno-Phrygians

May have been part of the older and larger Graeco-Phrygians. * Armeno-Phrygians (

Bryges Bryges or Briges () is the historical name given to a people of the ancient Balkans. They are generally considered to have been related to the Phrygians, who during classical antiquity lived in western Anatolia. Both names, ''Bryges'' and ''Phryg ...

- Phryges-

Mushki The Mushki (sometimes transliterated as Muški) were an Iron Age people of Anatolia who appear in sources from Assyria but not from the Hittites. Several authors have connected them with the Moschoi (Μόσχοι) of Greek sources and the Geor ...

) (

speakers) **

(

, Mygdones and

Pieres The Pieres (Ancient Greek,"''Πίερες''") were a Thracians, Thracian tribe connected with the Brygi, that long before the archaic period in Greece occupied the narrow strip of plain land, or low hill, between the mouths of the Pineios River (T ...

) (

Haemus Mons The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

) *** Bryges Proper *** Mygdones (in

Mygdonia Mygdonia (; ) was an ancient territory, part of ancient Thrace, later conquered by Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon, which comprised the plains around Therma (Thessalonica) together with the valleys of Klisali and Besikia, including the ar ...

) ***

(originally in Pieria, later in Pieris) **(?)

(

Mysians Mysians (; , ''Mysoí'') were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor. Origins according to ancient authors Their first mention is by Homer, in his list of Troy, Trojans allies in the Iliad, and according to whom the Mysia ...

and Proto-Armenians) (

) (they may have entered

in the

Bronze Age collapse The Late Bronze Age collapse was a period of societal collapse in the Mediterranean basin during the 12th century BC. It is thought to have affected much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, in particular Egypt, Anatolia, the Aege ...

and also migrated eastward to

Eastern Anatolia The Eastern Anatolia region () is a geographical region of Turkey. The most populous province in the region is Van Province. Other populous provinces are Malatya, Erzurum and Elazığ. It is bordered by the Black Sea Region and Georgia in th ...

(Eastern

); Eastern Mushki may have been identical with Phrygians or related to them and they possibly blended with local populations and formed Proto-Armenians).I. M. Diakonof
The Problem of the Mushki
in The Prehistory of the Armenian People Other scholars, such as Aram Kossian have a different view and consider a native origin for the Eastern

. ***(?) Western Mushki (

and

) ****

(

) ( Coastal Phrygians) (they lived in

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...

) ****

( Inland Phrygians) (they lived in

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; , ''Phrygía'') was a kingdom in the west-central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. Stories of the heroic age of Greek mythology tell of several legendary Ph ...

) ***(?) Eastern Mushki ( Moschoi / Moscheni /

Meshech In the Bible, Meshech or Mosoch ( ''Mešeḵ'' "price" or "precious") is named as a son of Japheth in Genesis 10:2 and 1 Chronicles 1:5. Another Meshech is named as a son of Shem in 1 Chronicles 1:17 (corresponding to the form ''Mash'' in Gene ...

) ( Proto-Armenians?) ****(?) Meskhi (a

tribe that lived in

Moschia Moschia ( Meskheti, possibly related to Mushki) is a mountainous region of Georgia between Iberia, Armenia, and Colchis. The Moschian Mountains were the connecting chain between the Caucasus and Anti-Taurus Mountains. The people of that area were k ...

Meskheti Meskheti ( ka, მესხეთი ) or Samtskhe ( ka, სამცხე ), also known as Moschia in ancient sources, is a mountainous area in southwestern Georgia. History Ancient tribes known as the Mushki (or Moschi) and Mosiniks (or Mo ...

, assimilated by the Proto-Kartvelians?) ****(?) Proto-Armenians (possibly descendants of an eastward

according to some scholars, or from an early native origin, Eastern

may have been a people of different origin from the Western

, according to other scholars).

Criticism

A number of linguists have rejected a close relationship between Armenian and Phrygian, despite saying that the two languages do share some features. Phrygian is now classified as a

centum Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An ...

language more closely related to Greek than Armenian, whereas Armenian is mostly

satem Languages of the Indo-European family are classified as either centum languages or satem languages according to how the dorsal consonants (sounds of "K", "G" and "Y" type) of the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) developed. An ...

. Recent research suggests that there is lack of archaeological and genetic evidenceHaber, Marc; Mezzavilla, Massimo; Xue, Yali; Comas, David; Gasparini, Paolo; Zalloua, Pierre; Tyler-Smith, Chris (2015). "Genetic evidence for an origin of the Armenians from Bronze Age mixing of multiple populations". ''European Journal of Human Genetics''. 24 (6): 931–6. for a group from the Balkans entering eastern

or the

during or after the Bronze Age Collapse (as was suggested by Diakonoff).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armeno-Phrygian peoples and tribes Indo-European peoples Lists of ethnic groups Lists of ancient people ancient Armeno-Phrygian peoples and tribes

Ancestors

Possible Direct Ancestors

Possible Armeno-Phrygians

Criticism

See also

References