To commemorate the 1600th anniversary of the Armenian alphabet, Armenia issued this stamp showing part of a statue of Mesrop Mashtots who created the alphabet in 405 a.d. The 36 letter alphabet also appears on the stamp.
     Mashtots was a assisted by Isaac (Sahak) the Great, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and by Rufanos, a Greek. The alphabet shows influences of both Greek and Pahlavi letters.