The Armenian Revolutionary Federation was founded in Tiflis (Tbilisi in modern-day Georgia) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian, Stepan Zorian, and Simon Zavarian.

The Aztag daily (in Armenian Ազդակ) replaced Pyunig and started publication on March 5, 1927, in Beirut, Lebanon.

With failure of all mediation, and in the context of the Lebanese civil strife of 1958, an armed conflict erupted within the Lebanese community as well, between supporters of Catholicos Zareh I (mainly adhering to the Armenian Revolutionary Federation) and the opponents of Zareh I mainly adhering to the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (Hunchakians) and Armenian Democratic Liberal Party (Ramgavars), with the two latter parties supporting the positions of the Catholicos of All Armenians Vazgen I and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin in Soviet Socialist Republic of Armenia.

The situation developed into armed confrontations and various shootings and killings between the different groups resulting in a big rift within the Armenian Apostolic Church in Lebanon and worldwide.

But ARF and the general Armenian consensus neutral position and refusal to ally openly with the right-wing Christian forces soured the long-standing relations between the ARF and the Phalangist party, and more particularly the Lebanese Forces (a militia dominated by Phalangists and commanded by Bachir Gemayel, Pierre Gemayel's son).

[2] In addition, the statue dedicated to the Armenian genocide and located in Bikfaya was also targeted by a bombing by pro-Lebanese Forces elements.

After things calmed down, mediations resulted in the ARF party continuing its control of the Armenian districts with a lower key operation and presence in agreement with Christian leadership of the country.

In the midst of the Lebanese civil war, and in a surge of retaliation against Turkish targets worldwide led by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), another guerrilla organization called Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide (JCAG) emerged and carried out a string of its own assassinations and operations from 1975 to 1983.

Negotiations to form a joint ticket between the ARF and the Karama (Dignity) party of Rafik Hariri broke down over Hariri's insistence that all candidates elected on his list, including ARF candidates, would have to form subsequently a unified parliamentary block—a rarity in Lebanese politics.

[5] The ARF held one seat through its MP Hagop Pakradounian from the Metn district that includes Bourj Hamoud heavily populated by Armenians.

[6] On August 5, 2007, a by-election took place in the Metn district, to replace the slain anti-Syrian minister Pierre Gemayel, the ARF decided to support Camille Khoury, the candidate backed by opposition leader Michel Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement.

After protests from October 2019 onwards until January 2020, which aimed for a change in the political arena,[10] Vartine Ohanian became the first Lebanese Minister of Armenian descent in the Government of Hassan Diab, after she was proposed by the ARF.