Persian Armenia (1502-1828) refers to the period of
Eastern Armenia during the early-modern and late-modern era when it was part of the various
Iranian empires, up to 1828. Armenians have a history of being divided since the time of the
Byzantine Empire and the
Sassanid Empire, in the early 5th century. While the two sides of Armenia were sometimes reunited, this became a permanent aspect of the
Armenian people. Following the
Arab and
Seljuk conquests of Armenia, the
western portion, which was initially part of Byzantium, became eventually part of the
Ottoman Empire, otherwise known as
Ottoman Armenia, while the
eastern portion became and was kept part of the Iranian
Safavid Empire,
Afsharid Empire and
Qajar Empire, until it became part of the
Russian Empire in the course of the 19th century, following the
Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828.