Rshtunik () was a canton () of the province of

Vaspurakan Vaspurakan (, Western Armenian pronunciation: ''Vasbouragan'') was the eighth province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, which later became an independent kingdom during the Middle Ages, centered on Lake Van. Located in what is now southeaster ...

of historical

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 ...

, encompassing the area on the southern coast of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

, which was also referred to as ("Sea of Rshtunik"), as well as Aghtamar Island. It was located to the east of the canton of Andzevatsik, to the north of

Moxoene Moxoene or Mokk' () was a territory of Kingdom of Armenia and later Sasanian Armenia, located east of Arzanene from south of Lake Van to north of Bohtan river. The territory was ruled by a local dynasty. Toponymy The name ''Moxoene'' only app ...

, to the west of Hayots Dzor, and to the east of Yerevark of

Turuberan Turuberan (), also known as Tavruberan () was the fourth Armenians, Armenian region that was part of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC to 387 AD. Then it was part of the Sassanid Empire, Byzantine Empire, ...

province. It was ruled by the

Rshtuni Rshtuni (, also spelled Rashduni, Rshdouni, Reshdouni, Rashdouni, Rachdouni, Rachdoni, Rshduni, and Rushdoony) was an old Armenian noble house which ruled the region of Rshtuniq who were purportedly descendants of Rusas I of Urartu. The first a ...

(also referred to as Rashduni) noble house until the ninth century. The name of the region is likely connected with the name of

Urartu Urartu was an Iron Age kingdom centered around the Armenian highlands between Lake Van, Lake Urmia, and Lake Sevan. The territory of the ancient kingdom of Urartu extended over the modern frontiers of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Armenia.Kleiss, Wo ...

/Urashtu, the Iron Age kingdom that was centered on the coastal regions around Lake Van. Rshtunik covered a mountainous region filled with river rapids, fertile lands, and rich mines. It was also home to a royal residence of the king of Armenia called , located directly across from Aghtamar Island. In medieval times, Rshtunik contained numerous churches and monasteries, which functioned as centers of learning and art. One of the most famous of these was

Narekavank Narekavank (, "Monastery of Narek", Western Armenian: ''Nareg'') was a tenth-century Armenian monastery in the historic province of Vaspurakan, near the southern shores of Lake Van, in present-day Gevaş district in Van Province in eastern Turke ...

(since demolished), where St. Gregory of Narek lived and studied. The region corresponded approximately to the latter-day district of

Gevaş Gevaş (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Van Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,544 km2, and its population is 26,918 (2022). In the last 2019 Turkish local elections, elections of March 2019, Murat Sezer from the Justic ...

in the

Van Vilayet The Vilayet of Van (; ) was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning of the 20th century, it reportedly had a population of about 400,000 and an area of .Van Vilayet was one of the six Armenian vila ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Before the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, 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 t ...

, this district contained more than twenty Armenian-populated villages with a total population of about ten thousand.

References

Early medieval Armenian regions Vaspurakan {{MEast-hist-stub

See also

References