5000 Dram Hayk Nahapet

Hayk Nahapet — Hayk the Tribal Chief — is the legendary patriarch from whom Armenians derive their endogenous name for themselves, Hay, and for their country, Hayastan. The figure belongs to mythology rather than verifiable history, yet Armenian historiographers as far back as Moses of Khoren's fifth-century chronicle treated him as literal genealogy, tracing the Armenian nation directly to Noah through Hayk's lineage.

This issue belongs to a broader Central Bank series honoring figures of Armenian cultural and historical identity, several of which appeared around the mid-2000s in small proof mintages intended primarily for collectors rather than circulation.