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The Hovnatanyan family ( Armenian : Հովնաթանյաններ , Hovnat'anyanner ) was a prominent Armenian family of painters. They include five generations from 17th to 19th centuries. Hovnatanyans are originally from the village of Shorot , Yernjak district in Nakhichevan (now Şurud , Julfa Rayon , Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic ).

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75-672: They were based in Nakhichevan, Yerevan , Tbilisi , Ejmiatsin , Saint Petersburg and Persia . Most of their works are dedicated to Christianity like other works of their era. The surname derives from Hovnatan , the Armenian equivalent of Jonathan . A crater on the planet Mercury is named after Hakob Hovnatanian. Yerevan Yerevan ( UK : / ˌ j ɛr ə ˈ v æ n / YERR -ə- VAN , US : /- ˈ v ɑː n / , -⁠ VAHN ; Armenian : Երևան [jɛɾɛˈvɑn] ; sometimes spelled Erevan )

150-867: A Mongol protectorate as part of the Ilkhanate , and the Zakarids became vassals to the Mongols . After the fall of the Ilkhanate in the mid-14th century, the Zakarid princes ruled over Lori, Shirak and the Ararat Plain until 1360 when they fell to the invading Turkic tribes. During the last quarter of the 14th century, the Aq Qoyunlu Sunni Oghuz Turkic tribe took over Armenia, including Yerevan. In 1400, Timur invaded Armenia and Georgia, and captured more than 60,000 of

225-597: A brief Byzantine rule over Armenia between 1045 and 1064, the invading Seljuks —led by Tughril and later by his successor Alp Arslan —ruled over the entire region, including Yerevan. However, with the establishment of the Zakarid Principality of Armenia in 1201 under the Georgian protectorate, the Armenian territories of Yerevan and Lori had significantly grown. After the Mongols captured Ani in 1236, Armenia turned into

300-517: A brief period of Ottoman rule over Eastern Armenia between 1724 and 1736, and as a result of the fall of the Safavid dynasty in 1736, Yerevan along with the adjacent territories became part of the newly formed administrative territory of Erivan Khanate under the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, which encompassed an area of 15,000 square kilometres (5,800 square miles). The Afsharids controlled Eastern Armenia from

375-535: A consequence, Yerevan significantly lost its Armenian population who had declined to 20%, while Muslims including Persians, Turks, Kurds and Tatars gained dominance with around 80% of the city's population. Muslims were either sedentary, semi-sedentary, or nomadic. Armenians mainly occupied the Kond neighbourhood of Yerevan and the rural suburbs around the city. However, the Armenians dominated over various professions and trade in

450-610: A few decades, Yerevan was transformed from a provincial town within the Russian Empire to Armenia's principal cultural, artistic, and industrial center, as well as becoming the seat of national government. With the growth of the Armenian economy , Yerevan has undergone major transformation. Much construction has been done throughout the city since the early 2000s, and retail outlets such as restaurants, shops, and street cafés, which were rare during Soviet times, have multiplied. As of 2011 ,

525-552: A fully royal capital." According to Margarit Israelyan, Argishti began the construction of Erebuni after conquering the territories north of Yerevan and west of Lake Sevan , roughly corresponding to where the town of Abovyan is currently located. Accordingly, the prisoners he captured in these campaigns, both men and women, were used to help build his town. In the autumn of 1950, an archaeological expedition led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan discovered an inscription at Arin Berd dedicated to

600-528: A fully royal capital." By the late ancient Armenian Kingdom , new capital cities were established and Yerevan declined in importance. The city was mostly depopulated by the Great Surgun of 1603–05, when the Safavid Empire forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of Armenians to Iran. In 1679, the city was mostly destroyed by an earthquake , and then rebuilt on a smaller scale. In 1828, Yerevan became part of

675-609: A new larger province; the Georgia-Imeretia Governorate . In 1850 the territory of the former oblast was reorganized into the Erivan Governorate , covering an area of 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 square miles). Yerevan was the centre of the newly established governorate. At that period, Yerevan was a small town with narrow roads and alleys, including the central quarter of Shahar , the Ghantar commercial centre, and

750-789: A result of the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639, the Iranians reconfirmed their control over Eastern Armenia, including Yerevan. On 7 June 1679, a devastating earthquake razed the city to the ground. In 1724, the Erivan Fortress was besieged by the Ottoman army. After a period of resistance, the fortress fell to the Turks. As a result of the Ottoman invasion, the Erivan Province of the Safavids was dissolved. Following

825-568: A telephone line with eighty subscribers became operational. Yerevan served as the centre of the governorate until 1917, when Erivan governorate was dissolved with the collapse of the Russian Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century, Yerevan was a small city with a population of 30,000. In 1917, the Russian Empire ended with the October Revolution . In the aftermath, Armenian, Georgian and Muslim leaders of Transcaucasia united to form

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900-402: A temple dedicated to Khaldi , a citadel, where the garrison resided, living quarters, dormitories and storerooms. The inner walls were richly decorated with murals and other wall paintings, displaying religious and secular scenes. Successive Urartian kings made Erebuni their place of residence during their military campaigns against northern invaders and continued construction work to build up

975-430: A triangular plan on top of a hill and ensconced by 10-to-12-metre (33 to 39 ft) high ramparts . Behind them, the buildings were separated by central and inner walls. The walls were built from a variety of materials, including basalt, tuff , wood and adobe. Argishti constructed a grand palace here and excavations conducted in the area have revealed that other notable buildings included a colonnaded royal assembly hall,

1050-628: Is a mighty king, king of Biainili, and ruler of Tushpa."[ Van ]. During the height of the Urartian power, irrigation canals and artificial reservoirs were built in Erebuni and its surrounding territories. In the mid-7th century BC, the city of Teishebaini was built by Rusa II of Urartu, around 7 kilometres (4.3 miles) west of Erebuni Fortress. It was fortified on a hill -currently known as Karmir Blur within Shengavit District of Yerevan- to protect

1125-458: Is likely that the city's name is derived from the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni , which was founded on the territory of modern-day Yerevan in 782 BC by Argishti I . "Erebuni" may derive from the Urartian word for "to take" or "to capture," meaning that the fortress's name could be interpreted as "capture," "conquest," or "victory." As elements of the Urartian language blended with that of

1200-525: Is the capital and largest city of Armenia , as well as one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities . Situated along the Hrazdan River , Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country, as its primate city . It has been the capital since 1918, the fourteenth in the history of Armenia and the seventh located in or around the Ararat Plain . The city also serves as

1275-518: Is the largest Armenian cathedral in the world. Tsitsernakaberd is the official memorial to the victims of the Armenian genocide. The city is home to several opera houses, theatres, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions. Yerevan Opera Theatre is the main spectacle hall of the Armenian capital, the National Gallery of Armenia is the largest art museum in Armenia and shares a building with

1350-445: Is visible from any area in the capital. The seal of the city is a crowned lion on a pedestal with a shield that has a depiction of Mount Ararat on the upper part and half of an Armenian eternity sign on the bottom part. The emblem is a rectangular shield with a blue border. On 27 September 2004, Yerevan adopted an anthem, "Erebuni-Yerevan", using lyrics written by Paruyr Sevak and set to music composed by Edgar Hovhannisyan . It

1425-671: The Achaemenid Empire . Between 522 BC and 331 BC, Erebuni was one of the main centers of the Satrapy of Armenia , a region controlled by the Orontid dynasty as one of the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire. The Satrapy of Armenia was divided into two parts: the northern part and the southern part, with the cities of Erebuni (Yerevan) and Tushpa (Van) as their centres, respectively. Coins issued in 478 BC, along with many other items found in

1500-676: The Erebuni Fortress , reveal the importance of Erebuni as a major centre for trade under Achaemenid rule. After Alexander the Great's victory over the Achaemenid Empire, the Orontid rulers of the Armenian satrapy achieved independence as a result of the Battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC, founding the Kingdom of Armenia . With the establishment of new cities such as Armavir , Zarehavan, Bagaran and Yervandashat ,

1575-528: The Erivan Fortress on the ruins of one thousand-years old ancient Armenian fortress, on the shores of Hrazdan river. However, Ottoman control ended in 1604 when the Persians regained Yerevan as a result of first Ottoman-Safavid War . Shah Abbas I of Persia who ruled between 1588 and 1629, ordered the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Armenians including citizens from Yerevan to mainland Persia . As

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1650-525: The History Museum of Armenia , and the Matenadaran contains one of the largest depositories of ancient books and manuscripts in the world. The exact origin of the name is unknown. One theory regarding the origin of Yerevan's name is the city was named after the Armenian king, Yervand (Orontes) IV , the last ruler of Armenia from the Orontid dynasty , and founder of the city of Yervandashat . However, it

1725-700: The Muslim conquest of Persia , as it was part of Persian-ruled Armenia. The city became part of the Emirate of Armenia under the Umayyad Caliphate . The city of Dvin was the centre of the newly created emirate. Starting from this period, as a result of the developing trade activities with the Arabs, the Armenian territories had gained strategic importance as a crossroads for the Arab caravan routes passing between Europe and India through

1800-997: The Pushkin Museum 's Board for the Preservation and Restoration of Architectural Monuments. The team was led by Konstantine Hovhannisyan and Boris Piotrovsky , who served as an on-site adviser. In the course of the early stage of the excavations (1950–1968), Argishti's palace, the royal assembly hall, temples and over a hundred rooms were excavated. Dozens of Urartian and Achaemenian artifacts, such as pottery, earthenware, belt buckles, bracelets, beads, drinking vessels, helmets, arrows and silver coins, were also uncovered. The fragments of murals that were uncovered were found to be decorated with important religious themes, including "processions of gods, sacred animals, and trees of life", as well as scenes of everyday life, displaying scenes of "hunting, cattle breeding, and agriculture." Storage areas for grain, oil, and wine were also uncovered. On

1875-582: The Russian Empire , which led to the repatriation of Armenians whose ancestors had been forcibly relocated in the 17th century. After World War I , Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia as thousands of survivors of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire arrived in the area. The city expanded rapidly during the 20th century while Armenia was a part of the Soviet Union . In

1950-748: The Sasanian Empire . Due to the diminished role of Erebuni, as well as the absence of proper historical data, much of the city's history under the Sasanian rule is unknown. In 587, during the reign of emperor Maurice , Yerevan and much of Armenia came under Roman administration after the Romans defeated the Sassanid Persian Empire at the battle of the Blarathon . Soon after, Katoghike Tsiranavor Church in Avan

2025-570: The Timurids , invited further destruction in Armenia, as many more Armenians were taken captive and sold into slavery and the land was subjected to outright pillaging, forcing many of them to leave the region. Following the fall of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1375, the seat of the Armenian Church was transferred from Sis back to Vagharshapat near Yerevan in 1441. Thus, Yerevan became

2100-523: The Transcaucasian Federation and proclaimed Transcaucasia 's secession . Erebuni Fortress Erebuni Fortress ( Armenian : Էրեբունի ամրոց , romanized :  Erebuni amrots' ) is an Urartian fortified city, located in Yerevan , Armenia . It is 1,017 metres (3,337 ft) above sea level. It was one of several fortresses built along the northern Urartian border and was one of

2175-463: The satrapy of Armenia . Despite numerous invasions by successive foreign powers, the city was never truly abandoned and was continually inhabited over the following centuries, eventually branching out to become the city of Yerevan. Erebuni's close affinity to Yerevan was celebrated in a splendid festival held in September 1968, commemorating Erebuni's 2,750th birthday. The site of Erebuni Fortress

2250-472: The 2nd half of the 4th millennium BC . The southern part of the city currently known as Shengavit has been populated since at least 3200 BC, during the period of Kura–Araxes culture of the early Bronze Age . The first excavations at the Shengavit historical site was conducted between 1936 and 1938 under the guidance of archaeologist Yevgeny Bayburdyan. After two decades, archaeologist Sandro Sardarian resumed

2325-706: The Arab-controlled Ararat Plain of Armenia. Most probably, "Erebuni" has become known as "Yerevan" since at least the 7th century AD. After two centuries of Islamic rule over Armenia, the Bagratid prince Ashot I of Armenia led the revolution against the Abbasid Caliphate . Ashot I liberated Yerevan in 850, and was recognized as the Prince of Princes of Armenia by the Abbasid Caliph al-Musta'in in 862. Ashot

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2400-501: The Armenian one, the name eventually evolved into Yerevan (Erebuni = Erevani = Erevan = Yerevan). Scholar Margarit Israelyan notes these changes when comparing inscriptions found on two cuneiform tablets at Erebuni: The transcription of the second cuneiform bu [original emphasis] of the word was very essential in our interpretation as it is the Urartaean b that has been shifted to the Armenian v (b > v). The original writing of

2475-493: The Erebuni at the time of its founding meant "capture", "conquest", or "victory." Erebuni was founded by Urartian King Argishti I (r. c.  785 –753 BC) in 782 BC. It was built on top of a hill called Arin Berd overlooking the Aras River Valley to serve as a military stronghold to protect the kingdom's northern borders. It has been described as being "designed as a great administrative and religious centre,

2550-463: The Great . Thus, with the dominance of cities such as Artaxata and Tigranocerta , Erebuni significantly lost its importance as a central city. Under the rule of the Arsacid dynasty of Armenia (54–428 AD), many other cities around Erebuni including Vagharshapat and Dvin flourished. Consequently, Erebuni was completely neutralized, losing its role as an economic and strategic centre of Armenia. During

2625-632: The Illuminator was opened in 1900. Electricity and telephone lines were introduced to the city in 1907 and 1913 respectively. When British traveller H. F. B. Lynch visited Yerevan in 1893–1894, he considered it an Oriental city. However, this started to change in the first decade of the 20th century, in the penultimate decade of Imperial Russian rule, when the city grew and altered dramatically. In general, Yerevan rapidly grew under Russian rule, both economically and politically. Old buildings were torn down and new buildings of European style were erected. At

2700-585: The Iranian rule. Due to its strategic significance, Yerevan was initially often fought over, and passed back and forth, between the dominion of the rivaling Iranian and Ottoman Empire , until it permanently became controlled by the Safavids . In 1555, Iran had secured its legitimate possession over Yerevan with the Ottomans through the Treaty of Amasya . In 1582–1583, the Ottomans led by Serdar Ferhad Pasha took brief control over Yerevan. Ferhad Pasha managed to build

2775-521: The area and were of great economic significance to the Persian administration. During the second Ottoman-Safavid War , Ottoman troops under the command of Sultan Murad IV conquered the city on 8 August 1635. Returning in triumph to Constantinople , he opened the "Yerevan Kiosk" ( Revan Köşkü ) in Topkapı Palace in 1636. However, Iranian troops commanded by Shah Safi retook Yerevan on 1 April 1636. As

2850-400: The beginning of the 20th century, Yerevan city's population was over 29,000. In 1902, a railway line linked Yerevan with Alexandropol , Tiflis and Julfa . In the same year, Yerevan's first public library was opened. In 1905, the grandnephew of Napoleon I ; prince Louis Joseph Jérôme Napoléon (1864–1932) was appointed as governor of Yerevan province. In 1913, for the first time in the city,

2925-410: The centre of the newly formed Chukhur Saad administrative territory. The territory was named after a Turkic leader known as Emir Saad . However, this peaceful period was shattered with the rise of Qara Iskander between 1420 and 1436, who reportedly made Armenia a "desert" and subjected it to "devastation and plunder, to slaughter, and captivity". The wars of Iskander and his eventual defeat against

3000-460: The city was known in Persian as Iravân ( Persian : ایروان ). The city was officially known as Erivan ( Russian : Эривань ) under Russian rule during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The city was renamed back to Yerevan (Ереван) in 1936. Up until the mid-1970s the city's name was spelled Erevan more often than Yerevan in English sources. The principal symbol of Yerevan is Mount Ararat, which

3075-460: The city's founding which was carved during Argishti's reign. Two other identical inscriptions have been found at the citadel of Erebuni. The inscription reads: By the greatness of the God Khaldi , Argishti, son of Menua , built this mighty stronghold and proclaimed it Erebuni for the glory of Biainili (Urartu) and to instill fear among the king's enemies. Argishti says: The land was a desert, before

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3150-448: The country Bianinili, ruler of the town of Tushpah The enormous ceramic jars that held the wine and oil had markings upon them. Smaller ceramic vessels were also found in excavations and are known to have been used in brewing beer made from barley. Other much larger vessels were used for storing foods and wine. Small circular markings on the sides of these containers near the top indicated the amount that could be stored inside. The larger of

3225-445: The doors of the storage areas inscriptions were placed at the entry doors telling the who built the storage area and the quantity of the items placed in them. One such inscription reads: By the greatness of god Chaldis, Sarduri , son of Argistis, built this house, and he also created these granaries. In one of them there were 12,600 Kapis, another one had 11,500 Kapis; entirely 24,100 Kapis. Sarduri, son of Argistis, mighty king, king of

3300-402: The eastern borders of Urartu from the barbaric Cimmerians and Scythians . During excavations, the remains of a governors palace that contained a hundred and twenty rooms spreading across more than 40,000 m (10 acres) was found, along with a citadel dedicated to the Urartian god Teisheba . The construction of the city of Teishebaini, as well as the palace and the citadel was completed by

3375-758: The end of the 7th century BC, during the reign of Rusa III . However, Teishebaini was destroyed by an alliance of Medes and the Scythians in 585 BC. In 590 BC, following the fall of the Kingdom of Urartu at the hands of the Iranian Medes , Erebuni along with the Armenian Highlands became part of the Median Empire. However, in 550 BC, the Median Empire was conquered by Cyrus the Great , and Erebuni became part of

3450-460: The excavations starting from 1958 until 1983. The 3rd phase of the excavations started in 2000, under the guidance of archaeologist Hakob Simonyan. In 2009, Simonyan was joined by Mitchell S. Rothman from the Widener University of Pennsylvania . Together they conducted three series of excavations in 2009, 2010, and 2012 respectively. During the process, a full stratigraphic column to bedrock

3525-530: The first theatre opened its doors in 1879. On 1 October 1879, Yerevan was granted the status of a city through a decree issued by Alexander II of Russia . In 1881, The Yerevan Teachers' Seminary and the Yerevan Brewery were opened, followed by the Tairyan's wine and brandy factory in 1887. Other factories for alcoholic beverages and mineral water were opened during the 1890s. The monumental church of Saint Gregory

3600-419: The fortress defences. Kings Sarduri II and Rusa I also utilized Erebuni as a staging site for new campaigns of conquest directed towards the north. In the early sixth century the Urartian state, under constant foreign invasion, collapsed. The region soon fell under the control of the Achaemenian Empire . The strategic position that Erebuni occupied did not diminish, however, becoming an important center of

3675-411: The great works I accomplished upon it. By the greatness of Khaldi, Argishti, son of Menua, is a mighty king, king of Biainili, and ruler of Tushpa ." Argishti left a similar inscription at the Urartian capital of Tushpa (current-day Van ) as well, stating that he brought 6,600 prisoners of war from Khate and Tsupani to populate his new city. Similar to other Urartian cities of the time, it was built on

3750-447: The importance of Erebuni gradually declined. With the rise of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia who seized power in 189 BC, the Kingdom of Armenia greatly expanded to include major territories of Asia Minor , Atropatene , Iberia , Phoenicia and Syria . The Artaxiads considered Erebuni and Tushpa as cities of Persian heritage. Consequently, new cities and commercial centres were built by Kings Artaxias I , Artavasdes I and Tigranes

3825-453: The inscription read «er-bu-ni»; therefore the prominent Armenianologist- orientalist Prof. G. A. Ghapantsian justly objected, remarking that the Urartu b changed to v at the beginning of the word (Biani > Van) or between two vowels (ebani > avan, Zabaha > Javakhk )....In other words b was placed between two vowels. The true pronunciation of the fortress-city was apparently Erebuny . Early Christian Armenian chroniclers connected

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3900-441: The main economic, cultural and administrative centre in Armenia. In 1501–02, most of the Eastern Armenian territories including Yerevan were swiftly conquered by the emerging Safavid dynasty of Iran led by Shah Ismail I . Soon after in 1502, Yerevan became the centre of the Erivan Province , a new administrative territory of Iran formed by the Safavids. For the following 3 centuries, it remained, with brief intermissions, under

3975-478: The mid-1730s until the 1790s. Following the fall of the Afsharids, the Qajar dynasty of Iran took control of Eastern Armenia until 1828, when the region was conquered by the Russian Empire after their victory over the Qajars that resulted in the Treaty of Turkmenchay of 1828. During the second Russo-Persian War of the 19th century, the Russo-Persian War of 1826–28 , Yerevan was captured by Russian troops under general Ivan Paskevich on 1 October 1827. It

4050-442: The most important political, economic and cultural centers of the vast kingdom. The name Yerevan itself is derived from Erebuni. On an inscription found at Karmir Blur , the Urartian verb erebu-ni is used in the sense of "to seize, pillage, steal, or kidnap" followed by a changing direct object . Scholars have conjectured that the word, as an unchanging direct object, may also mean "to take" or "to capture" and thus believe that

4125-421: The north Caucasus . The cuneiform inscription found at Erebuni Fortress reads: By the greatness of the God Khaldi , Argishti, son of Menua , built this mighty stronghold and proclaimed it Erebuni for the glory of Biainili [Urartu] and to instill fear among the king's enemies. Argishti says, "The land was a desert, before the great works I accomplished upon it. By the greatness of Khaldi, Argishti, son of Menua,

4200-402: The origin of the city's name to the legend of Noah's Ark . After the ark had landed on Mount Ararat and the flood waters had receded, Noah , while looking in the direction of Yerevan, is said to have exclaimed "Yerevats!" ("it appeared!" in Armenian ), from which originated the name Yerevan. In the late medieval and early modern periods, when Yerevan was under Turkic and later Persian rule,

4275-424: The period of the Arsacid kings, Erebuni was only recorded in a Manichaean text of the 3rd century, where it is mentioned that one of the disciples of the prophet Mani founded a Manichaean community near the Christian community in Erebuni. According to the medieval Armenian geography Ashkharhatsuyts , Erebuni was part of the canton ( gawaṙ ) of Kotayk (not to be confused with the current Kotayk Province) of

4350-415: The personal guards of Argishti I and guards of the fortress garrison were held here. In the southwest portion of the yard was a temple of the god Khaldi. The temple had a large oblong plan with a staircase that led to the roof of a ziggurat type tower and a side room on the lower floor. Surrounding the hall was a double-rowed twelve-column open portico with benches along the walls. An altar for sacrifices

4425-465: The population of Yerevan was 1,060,138, just over 35% of Armenia's total population. By 2022, the population further increased to 1,086,677. Yerevan was named the 2012 World Book Capital by UNESCO . Yerevan is an associate member of Eurocities . Of the notable landmarks of Yerevan, Erebuni Fortress is considered to be the birthplace of the city, the Katoghike Tsiranavor church is the oldest surviving church of Yerevan, and Saint Gregory Cathedral

4500-431: The province of Ayrarat , within Armenia Major. Armenia became a Christian nation in the early 4th century AD, during the reign of the Arsacid king Tiridates III . Following the partition of Armenia by the Byzantine and Sasanian empires in 387 and in 428, Erebuni and the entire territory of Eastern Armenia came under the rule of Sasanian Persia. The Armenian territories formed the province of Persian Armenia within

4575-445: The residential neighbourhoods of Kond, Dzoragyugh, Nork and Shentagh. During the 1840s and the 1850s, many schools were opened in the city. However, the first major plan of Yerevan was adopted in 1856, during which, Saint Hripsime and Saint Gayane women's colleges were founded and the English Park was opened. In 1863, the Astafyan Street was redeveloped and opened. In 1874, Zacharia Gevorkian opened Yerevan's first printing house, while

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4650-425: The rest of the complex in that it had wood floors composed of small planks, compared to the clay-coated adobe floors that were faced with stone slabs found in the rest of the citadel's rooms. Early excavations began during the 19th century while more systematic excavations were carried out at Erebuni in 1952, under the joint sponsorship of the Armenian Academy of Sciences ' Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography and

4725-421: The seat of the Araratian Pontifical Diocese , which is the largest diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church and one of the oldest dioceses in the world. The history of Yerevan dates back to the 8th century BC, with the founding of the fortress of Erebuni in 782 BC by King Argishti I of Urartu at the western extreme of the Ararat Plain. Erebuni was "designed as a great administrative and religious centre,

4800-434: The survived local people as slaves. Many districts including Yerevan were depopulated. In 1410, Armenia fell under the control of the Kara Koyunlu Shia Oghuz Turkic tribe. According to the Armenian historian Thomas of Metsoph , although the Kara Koyunlu levied heavy taxes against the Armenians, the early years of their rule were relatively peaceful and some reconstruction of towns took place. The Kara Koyunlus made Yerevan

4875-463: The vessels were usually buried half-way into the soil which naturally kept the contents cool. Numerous cuneiform inscriptions carved on basalt have been found around the complex. Some of them are currently displayed in the museum, while others can still be found displayed on the walls. In 1968 the Erebuni Museum of History was established. Its opening was timed to coincide with the 2750th anniversary of Yerevan . The museum houses items uncovered during

4950-420: Was atop the 65-metre (213 ft) tall hill of Arin Berd as a strategic position overlooking the Ararat plain and the main roads leading to the citadel. It also overlooked a cramped Urartian town made up of residences below at the foot of the hill. The main entrance to the fortress was located at the more gently sloped southeastern site of the hill. It led to the central yard of the citadel. Ceremonies held by

5025-405: Was built between 595 and 602. Despite being partly damaged during the 1679 earthquake ), it is the oldest surviving church within modern Yerevan city limits. The province of Persian Armenia (also known as Persarmenia) lasted until 646, when the province was dissolved with the Muslim conquest of Persia . In 658 AD, at the height of the Arab Islamic invasions, Erebuni-Yerevan was conquered during

5100-402: Was formally ceded by the Iranians in 1828, following the Treaty of Turkmenchay . After 3 centuries of Iranian occupation, Yereven along with the rest of Eastern Armenia designated as the " Armenian Oblast ", became part of the Russian Empire , a period that would last until the collapse of the Empire in 1917. Although not mentioned specifically by name, article XV of the Turkmenchay treaty

5175-424: Was formed in the 9th century BC by King Arame in the basin of Lake Van of the Armenian Highland , including the territory of modern-day Yerevan. Archaeological evidence, such as a cuneiform inscription, indicates that the Urartian military fortress of Erebuni was founded in 782 BC by the orders of King Argishti I at the site of modern-day Yerevan, to serve as a fort and citadel guarding against attacks from

5250-434: Was intended solely for the repatriation of those Armenians whose ancestors had been forcibly relocated to Iran in the early 17th century during the Safavid period. The Russians sponsored the resettlement process of the Armenian population from Persia and Turkey and spread announcements in Armenian villages. Due to the resettlement, the percentage of the Armenian population of Yerevan increased from 28% to 53.8%. The resettlement

5325-425: Was intended to create Russian power bridgehead in the Middle East. In 1829, Armenian repatriates from Persia were resettled in the city and a new quarter was built. Yerevan served as the seat of the newly formed Armenian Oblast between 1828 and 1840. By the time of Nicholas I 's visit in 1837, Yerevan had become an uezd ("county"). In 1840, the Armenian Oblast was dissolved and its territory incorporated into

5400-586: Was later crowned King of Armenia through the consent of Caliph al-Mu'tamid in 885. During the rule of the Bagratuni dynasty of Armenia between 885 and 1045, Yerevan was relatively a secure part of the Kingdom before falling to the Byzantines . However, Yerevan did not have any strategic role during the reign of the Bagratids, who developed many other cities of Ayrarat , such as Shirakavan , Dvin , and Ani . After

5475-415: Was located at the left wall. The walls were decorated with colorful frescoes depicting representations of human figures, gods, geometric and floral designs. One of the frescoes uncovered depicts the god Khaldi standing on a lion with a warder in his left hand and a horned crown upon his head. It is typical of other representations of Khaldi found at other sites. The floor of the temple contrasted greatly from

5550-423: Was reached, showing there to be 8 or 9 distinct stratigraphic levels. These levels cover a time between 3200 BC and 2500 BC. Evidences of later use of the site, possibly until 2200 BC, were also found. The excavation process revealed a series of large round buildings with square adjoining rooms and minor round buildings. A series of ritual installations was discovered in 2010 and 2012. The ancient kingdom of Urartu

5625-527: Was selected in a competition for a new anthem and new flag that would best represent the city. The chosen flag has a white background with the city's seal in the middle, surrounded by twelve small red triangles that symbolize the twelve historic capitals of Armenia. The flag includes the three colours of the Armenian National flag . The lion is portrayed on the orange background with blue edging. The territory of Yerevan has been inhabited since approximately

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