Numerous Armenian dynasties such as Artaxiad, Arsacid, Bagratuni and Rubenid, used these symbols as their royal insignia.

Like other post-Soviet republics whose symbols do not predate the October Revolution, the current emblem retained one component of the Soviet one such as the Mount Ararat on the shield.

The symbols on this earlier version were placed in a slightly different order and the eagle and lion have their tongues out, giving them a more menacing look.

The coat of arms was designed by architect and member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts Alexander Tamanian and artist Hakob Kojoyan.

The latticework in the star itself bespeaks the former coat of arms of Georgia from 1918 to 1921 and adopted again from 1991 to 2004; the crescent moon represents the Muslim Azeris, on a background depicting the national symbol of the Armenians, Mount Ararat.

Like the coat of arms of the first independent republic, this one prominently featured Mount Ararat along with the Soviet hammer and sickle and red star behind it.

In the lower left portion of the shield, there are two eagles looking at each other, symbolizing the length of the Armenian territory during the reign of the Artaxiad dynasty that ruled from the second century B.C.

In the upper left portion, there is a lion with a cross, the emblem for the Bagratuni dynasty that ruled during the Middle Ages, between the 9th and 11th centuries.

This dynasty reigned in the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a state that expanded and prospered during the 12th and 13th centuries, until the Mamelukes eventually conquered it in 1375.

Since 1920, the symbol of the two-headed eagle on the shield of the RA coat of arms has been attributed to the Arshakid dynasty.