Shirakavan ( hy, Շիրակաւան); founded as Yerazgavors and later Yerazgavork, was a medieval

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

n city and one of the 13 historic capitals of Armenia, serving as a capital city between 890 and 929 during the

Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia The Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia, also known as Bagratid Armenia ( xcl, Բագրատունեաց Հայաստան, or , , 'kingdom of the Bagratunis'), was an independent Armenian state established by Ashot I Bagratuni of the Bagratuni dynasty ...

. The city was located on the right bank of

Akhurian River The Akhuryan ( hy, Ախուրյան ''Axuryan''; xcl, Ախուրեան ''Axurean''; russian: Арпачай or Ахурян), or Arpachay ( tr, Arpaçay) is a river in the South Caucasus. It originates in Armenia and flows from Lake Arpi, al ...

to the northeast of

Ani Ani ( hy, Անի; grc-gre, Ἄνιον, ''Ánion''; la, Abnicum; tr, Ani) is a ruined medieval Armenian city now situated in Turkey's province of Kars, next to the closed border with Armenia. Between 961 and 1045, it was the capital of the ...

, corresponding with the current village of Çetindurak of Akyaka district of

Kars Province Kars Province ( tr, Kars ili; ku, Parêzgeha Qersê; hy, Կարսի նահանգ) is a province of Turkey, located in the northeastern part of the country. It shares part of its closed border with Armenia. The provincial capital is the city of ...

, within the Republic of Turkey.

Early history

The earliest mentions of Shirakavan as a settlement appear as Yerazgavors in the 7th century, by the Armenian historian Sebeos. Yerazgavors was described by Sebeos as a village in the ''Shirak'' canton within the

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras (river), Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Arm ...

province of Armenia Major. It was later developed by king

Smbat I of Armenia Smbat I (; c. 850–912/14) was the second king of the medieval Kingdom of Armenia of the Bagratuni dynasty, and son of Ashot I. He is the father of Ashot II (known as Ashot Yerkat) and Abas I. Rule Smbat I was crowned king in 892 in Shiraka ...

who moved the capital of Bagradit Armenia from Bagaran to Yerazgavors in 890, renaming it Shirakavan. The church of Surp Prkich (Holy Saviour) built in the 880s by king

, was among the notable landmarks of the city. Smbat was later crowned as king in the Surp Prkich Church by Catholicos George II of Armenia in 890. Shirakavan continued to serve as the capital of the kingdom until 929 when the city of Kars was chosen as capital by king Abas I of Armenia. As described by the 11th and 12th century historians

Stepanos Asoghik Stepanos Asoghik ( hy, Ստեփանոս Ասողիկ), also known as Stepanos Taronetsi ( hy, Ստեփանոս Տարոնեցի), was an Armenian historian of the 11th century. His dates are unknown but he came from Taron and earned the nickname ...

and Samuel Anetsi, Shirakavan had a central fortress surrounded with thick defensive city walls. Nonetheless, it was invaded by the Byzantines. Then in 1064, along with Ani, Shirakavan was destroyed by a large Seljuk Turkish army, headed by Sultan Alp Arslan. By the end of the 12th century, Shirakavan was revived and rebuilt by the Zakarids. However, the city declined during the second half of the 13th century to become a regular village.

The 20th century

In 1914, prior to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

, Shirakavan was a quite large Armenian settlement with a population of 1220. After the Turkish–Armenian War of 1920, Shirakavan was abandoned and the Armenian population of the village moved to Eastern Armenia and settled in the newly-formed village of Yerazgavors. Later in 1921, the territory of Kars including Shirakavan, was officially handed over to the Turks by the

Treaty of Kars The Treaty of Kars ( tr, Kars Antlaşması, rus, Карсский договор, Karskii dogovor, ka, ყარსის ხელშეკრულება, hy, Կարսի պայմանագիր, az, Qars müqaviləsi) was a treaty that est ...

.Yerazgavors
/ref> The church of Surp Prkich was partly ruined by the beginning of the 20th century. After it was blown up by the Turks in 1954 during regular military training of the Turkish Army, only the western wall of the church survived. Other parts of ancient Shirakavan were flooded by the waters of a dam built on the

References

External links

Shirakavan
in virtualani.org {{Historic capitals of Armenia Former capitals of Armenia Archaeological sites in Eastern Anatolia Geography of Kars Province