There is no story so deeply embedded in the western mind as that of Noah and the ark. It is one of the very first tales we learn as children and it has endured for millennia, haunting the imaginations of believers and non-believers alike. It has inspired countless expeditions to Mount Ararat in search of the ark. Our story, too, will take us to Mount Ararat, but not in search of the ark. Instead, we will go in search of the vanished civilizations born in the shadow of Mount Ararat. The Peoples of Ararat were among the most advanced and powerful people of the ancient world. This is their story, from their elusive beginnings, to their conquests and accomplishments, to their ultimate defeat when they vanished from memory and sank into oblivion. It is also the story of the myths and legends that inspired the recent discoveries of the Peoples of Ararat and of the intrepid archaeologists and explorers who resurrected unsuspected civilizations from the ghostly silence of obscurity.