Berdkunk () is a village in the

Gavar Municipality Gegharkunik (, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenians. Gegharkunik Province is located at the eastern part o ...

of the

Gegharkunik Province Gegharkunik (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province (''Administrative divisions of Armenia, marz'') of Armenia. Its capital and largest city is Gavar. Gegharkunik is inhabited by approximately 209,669 people and the majority are ethnic Armenian ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Etymology

The village was previously known as ''Aghkala'' or ''Aghgala'' (; ; ), consisting of Turkic ''agh'' ( ağ, meaning "white") and

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

''gala'' ( qala, meaning "castle" or "tower"). Berdkunk is a combination of two words in Armenian: ''berd'' ( բերդ, meaning "fortress") and ''kunk'' ( կունք, meaning "place" or "foundation").

History

The village was once a transit point on the ancient road between Dvin and Partev. There are cyclopean fortresses nearby with megalithic tombs. One of the fortresses in particular, Berdkunk Fortress (also known as ''Ishkhanats Amrots'' and ''Spitak Berd'' ), is located along the eastern edge of the village and was built in the 10th century BC.HelpMe.am - Berdkunk (White Fortress)
/ref> There is also an 11–12th century church, a 12–20th century cemetery, and 16–17th century tombstones in the village. Berdkunk, then known as Aghkala, was part of the

Nor Bayazet uezd The Nor Bayazet or Novobayazet ''uezd'' was a county (''uezd'') of the Erivan Governorate of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire. The ''uezd'' bordered the Alexandropol uezd to the north, the Etchmiadzin and Erivan uezds to the west, ...

of the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central ...

within the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. Bournoutian presents the statistics of the village in the early 20th century as follows:

Economy

The population of the village is engaged with animal husbandry, cultivation of forage crops and potatoes.

Demographics

The population of the village since 1831 is as follows:

Gallery

Image:Berdkunk fortress2.jpg, Front view of Berdkunk Fortress Berdkunk fortress 02.jpg, A view of

Lake Sevan Lake Sevan () is the largest body of water in both Armenia and the Caucasus region. It is one of the largest freshwater Alpine lake, high-altitude (alpine) lakes in Eurasia. The lake is situated in Gegharkunik Province, at an altitude of abov ...

and Berdkunk Fortress Berdkunk fortress 07.jpg, Berdkunk Fortress

References

External links

* * Populated places in Gegharkunik Province Former Azerbaijani inhabited settlements {{Gegharkunik-geo-stub