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 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, alon ...

to the northeast of Ani, 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 Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula i ...

Early history

The earliest mentions of Shirakavan as a settlement appear as Yerazgavors in the 7th century, by the Armenian historian

Sebeos Sebeos () was a 7th-century Armenian bishop and historian. Little is known about the author, though a signature on the resolution of the Ecclesiastical Council of Dvin in 645 reads 'Bishop Sebeos of Bagratunis.' His writings are valuable as one o ...

. Yerazgavors was described by Sebeos as a village in the ''Shirak'' canton within the

Ayrarat Ayrarat () was the central province of the ancient kingdom Armenia, located in the plain of the upper Aras River. Most of the historical capitals of Armenia were located in this province, including Armavir, Yervandashat, Artashat, Vagharshapat ...

province of

Armenia Major The Kingdom of Armenia, also the Kingdom of Greater Armenia, or simply Greater Armenia ( hy, Մեծ Հայք '; la, Armenia Maior), sometimes referred to as the Armenian Empire, was a monarchy in the Ancient Near East which existed from 331 BC ...

. It was later developed by king Smbat I of Armenia 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 Smbat I of Armenia, 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 Kars (; ku, Qers; ) is a city in northeast Turkey and the capital of Kars Province. Its population is 73,836 in 2011. Kars was in the ancient region known as ''Chorzene'', (in Greek Χορζηνή) in classical historiography ( Strabo), part of ...

was chosen as capital by king

Abas I of Armenia Abas (, died 953) was king of Bagratid Armenia from 928 to 953. He was a member of the Bagratid ( Bagratuni) royal dynasty. He was the son of Smbat I and the brother of Ashot II the Iron, whom he succeeded. In contrast to the reign of his prede ...

. 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 Alp Arslan was the second Sultan of the Seljuk Empire and great-grandson of Seljuk, the eponymous founder of the dynasty. He greatly expanded the Seljuk territory and consolidated his power, defeating rivals to the south and northwest, and his ...

. 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 Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

, 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 Eastern Armenia ( hy, Արևելյան Հայաստան ''Arevelyan Hayastan'') comprises the eastern part of the Armenian Highlands, the traditional homeland of the Armenian people. Between the 4th and the 20th centuries, Armenia was partitioned ...

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